Sunday, September 07, 2008
Upate on Income/Expenses
| By Lynn Forgy Time for an update on my income and expenses - below are some of the steps I've taken to increase my income and decrease my expenses:  (Image from library.thinquest.org) Income: 1) Mystery Shopping - OK, I know I said I was going to "quit" for a while, but what can I say? It's not a lot of money, but I have managed to make anywhere from $200 to $600 extra per month. I will be posting a complete list of the companies that I've signed up for recently (roughly 20 to 30). 2) Hmmm... (I'm working on this one) Expenses: 1) Electric bill - As I've said before, the thermostat is set at 82 in the summer and in the low 60s in the winter. We're not using the dryer in the summer. Perhaps the biggest energy saver has been not using the oven during the summer. My electric bill is half what it was at this time last year. 2) Cable/Satellite - My daughter threw a fit, but I cut out all the extras on our satellite. We only get the basic channels, and have saved $35 per month. 3) Water - We're still using our buckets in the shower (reusing the water for laundry), take shorter showers, and only wash the clothes when we have enough for a full load. 4) Miscellaneous - I feel guilty even buying new clothes or splurging on anything for myself. I try to avoid shopping and thus avoid the temptation. That's not to say I don't buy new clothing, but I do limit the number of times I go shopping. Instead, I satisfy my "shopping needs" by doing the mystery shops. That way, I'm still buying "things", but I get reimbursed for them. 5) Christmas Presents - It is a little early to be talking about Christmas, I know. But I thought I'd share my family's gift exchange policy - it has to be free, not dead or alive, and it can't smell. This will save quite a bit of money in December. (HINT: I have gotten all my Christmas presents for this year from mystery shops). DEBT TRACKER UPDATE: As of today, my student loan balance is down to $3500!!!! |
