11 tips will help you not suffer from hunger and boredom if you have only a small change in your pocket.
1. Determine the budget
There is almost no money left, but there may be more than it seems. Check the surfaces you usually put the contents of your pockets on, look in your bags. In a word, think about where you could leave money in a comfortable period. At that time, 300 rubles seemed like a trifle for you, but now they can provide you with meals for the whole week.
Spend the collected amount on the most necessary things – food or travel.
Read also: What to do When You Have Financial Problems.
2. Optimize transportation costs
Transportation costs are not easy to cut. You still have to get to work somehow. Otherwise, the week before the paycheck may stretch for an indefinite period. Still, there are several ways to optimize your spending.
- If work is less than 5 km from home and the street is not 30 degrees below zero, you can completely abandon transport. This distance can be covered with an easy step in less than an hour, and such a walk in the fresh air will bring not only savings but also health benefits.
- If you are using a car, consider whether it would be more profitable to switch to public transport for a week. Even if the costs are, at first glance, approximately equal, consider the additional risks. For example, a car can be evacuated and to pick it up. You need the money you do not have now.
- If someone from your colleagues lives next to you, you can ask him to give you a lift. At the same time, it is important to be a disciplined passenger who is not late and does not distract from the road. Otherwise, you will have to return to the first two points.
3. Check edible supplies
For a few people, the phrase “empty refrigerator” really means absolutely free shelves. Usually, there will be three or four eggs, a small slice of cheese, half a lemon, cans of canned fish and peas, or something else suitable for eating. There will be half a pack of buckwheat, rice, and pasta in the cabinet in a basket under the sink – two onions and three potatoes.
If you manage your supplies wisely, it is quite possible to master a full menu of several dishes for the whole week with minimal or no additional expenses.
4. Switch to cheaper products
If you are used to buying milk from cows raised in alpine meadows and farm meat, it’s time to find out what else is in the range of hypermarkets. Outside of the luxury segment, there are many products with normal composition. Even for those who are usually not chic, it makes sense to see what else is on the shelves. And, of course, pay attention to discounts.
5. Refuse catering
It’s better to take lunch to work from home. Even if you have a rolling ball on your shelves and still have to buy food for cooking, it will still be cheaper than giving money for a business lunch.
For example, for 300 rubles, you can contrive to buy 1 kg of chicken drumsticks or thighs, a pack of rice, some carrots, onions, and potatoes. A not so gluttonous person will get soup and rice porridge-like pilaf from these products for the whole week, and all for the price of one business lunch. Of course, such a diet cannot be called diverse, but there are few options in the absence of finance.
6. Choose free entertainment
It is not difficult to do without cinema, theaters, clubs, and bowling during the week. If you still want some entertainment, at your service, for example, a walk in the park. And tea in a thermos will replace takeaway coffee. You can find on social networks if there are free exhibitions or film screenings held anywhere in your city.
7. Conduct an inventory of coupons and bonuses
In your wallet or on the shelf, coupons could well have been lying around, thanks to which you can get a discount at the supermarket. If your bank card is connected to the bonus program, but you don’t use it much, it’s time to figure out how it works and where you can pay with points. Use all the tools to help you save money.
8. Sell unnecessary
Surely you have something that constantly gets in the way and is not used in any way. It could be an old cell phone, a dress, an armchair – whatever. Try selling them through classifieds sites or social media. To get money quickly, the price will have to be set below the market price.
9. Find a part-time job
Also read: 6 Tips for Coping with Temporary Financial Difficulties
Think about what talents of yours you can quickly exchange for money. You can register on the freelance exchange, write a text or a piece of code, and draw a logo. Uncreative people, but with their hands, should look to repair a cabinet or sewing curtains. In your case, options that do not take much time are suitable. It should be borne in mind that the pay will hardly be high if you have not previously developed a reputation in this area.
10. Borrow
If a person s ready to give you some money for a while, take this opportunity. But take the minimum amount based on your most important needs. This money will have to be paid from future salaries. If you don’t calculate, you will again be figuring out how to get by for a week without money at the end of next month.
But borrowing from a microfinance organization is not worth it, a loan at huge interest rates, albeit small, will definitely aggravate your financial situation in the future.
11. Apply for a credit card
If there is no money left at all, you can get a credit card with a long interest-free period, especially since it does not take much time. There is only one caveat: you need to withdraw a small amount from your credit card for vital expenses. After the paycheck, it is worth paying off the debt and forgetting about the card until the next difficult situation.
By constantly withdrawing money from your credit card, you run the risk of building up debt that you cannot handle.
Outcome
These tips are suitable for those who occasionally find themselves in a difficult financial situation, a salary was delayed, an emergency happened. If you have to live a week without money every month, it is worth solving the problem differently. Make a budget to plan all expenses, not lose all salary immediately after receiving it, or think about increasing income.
Adapted and translated by The Cop Cart Staff
Sources: Life hacker
