Sometimes You Need More Money

I read a ton of personal finance themed websites and blogs.  There seems to be a recurring theme on the majority of personal finance sites that people can get out of debt just by reducing expenses and using their income to pay on existing debt. 

Unfortunately, sometimes people who have debt got that way because they don't have enough income to pay their living expenses and older debts.  I do believe everyone can reduce unnecessary expenses to make things easier- what I'm saying is it may not be enough.  You may also need to increase the money you make each month to help make ends meet and to get out of debt.

There have been many times when I needed to increase income along with reducing expenses to make any progress towards paying off debt.  What would normally happen is I would start applying as much money as possible to my older debts and then an emergency would happen (like needing to replace something on my aging car for $463) and because I hadn't been able to establish a large enough emergency fund- of course I would have to use either a credit card or reduce a payment to another debt in order to pay for the vehicle repairs!

It may not be feasible for you to go out and get another job- because if you really check how much you're earning from a part time job, you may find you're not earning anything at all!  The price of gas makes commuting to another location a few days a week expensive, and can severely reduce the amount of income you actually receive from a part time job.

What you could do to increase your income is take on odd jobs here or there- perhaps you can help people clean up their lawns after storms or between seasons?  Advertise yourself as a handyman and people may call you to fix things around their homes, or shovel their driveways or rake their leaves.  While these tasks can turn into a full time business for people who are so inclined; they're really a good way to get some extra cash here and there to boost your total income.

If you are good on the computer, there are thousands and thousands of possibilities for making money to increase your income.  (here are 101 Ways to Make Money Online in case you need some ideas!)

The bottom line is- if you are determine to pay off your debt and live debt-free; not only do you need to reduce your overall living expenses, but you may also need to increase your overall income until the debt is paid off.

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