Need or want to make extra money? Side hustles can create additional streams on income to pay off debt or save more money faster. Courtney Connley of BlackEnterprise.com shares 4 unique side hustles that can bring in big bucks.[us_separator type=”short” icon=”fas|dollar-sign”]
Ever thought about what you can do to make additional money on the side? Wonder what others are doing to provide that extra financial cushion? From turning your hobbies into jobs and making an extra buck off your passions, below are four unique side hustles that can bring you a little more cash flow.
Vending Machine Investor: If you like selling snacks and other quick food items but don’t really care for customer interaction, then becoming a vending machine investor may be the perfect sides hustle for you. Depending on what items you sell, how much you charge and how much money you dish out for maintenance, the profit vending machine investors make can vary greatly. On average, a beverage machine can bring in more than $200 in one day alone (and snack machines more than double that). While the return for making quick money can be good, one must keep in mind the maintenance and upkeep required in terms of making sure the machine stays stocked and observing what products sell better than others.
Virtual Assistant: Thanks to the Web, many companies now seek out assistance from individuals who are miles away with a computer and who can help with data entry, writing, consulting bookkeeping and secretarial work. While the rates for this position range depending on where you work and how often, virtual assistants can make … (continue reading 4 Unique Side Hustles That Bring in Big Bucks)[us_separator type=”invisible” size=”small” icon=”fas|star”]
November is National Scholarship Month, which means that it is time to start looking and applying for Free Money through Scholarships. Scholarships play a significant role in paying for college. Check out Sallie Mae‘s cool inforgraphic about scholarships and the power of free money. Also, go to SallieMae.com/Scholarships to search for scholarships for college.
One of the killers of a budget is overspending. Leslie E. Royal of Essence.com, shares easy ways to eliminating overspending. Check it out.
As the holidays quickly approach and the shopping season swings into full gear, companies will be creating advertisements designed to grab your attention and convince you to buy their products. If you tend to overspend, this article will help address underlying issues that trigger this behavior and get you on the road to being “in the black” for 2015.
The first step to take to stop the bleeding and get out of the red in your financial life is to be honest with yourself. Admit this is a problem for you, talk to someone about it and seek help from an accountability partner or maybe even a specialist.
“Some signs of overspending include buying things you don’t use, hiding purchases, feeling compelled to buy several of an item, going over your budget, giving gifts when others don’t reciprocate, finding yourself in a store or on a website with all of your free time and being deceptive about your finance to others,” says Dr. Sally Palaian, a licensed psychologist at the Positive Self Center and author of Spent: Break the Buying Obsession and Discover Your True Worth.
Once you acknowledge there is a problem, you can proceed to the process of elimination. Create a budget and stick to it. Discontinue the use of credit cards and opt in for cash for your shopping purchases. Understand the difference between needs and wants. Keep a record of everything you spend in a small notebook, on a 3×5 card or use a mobile app. Terrence Shulman, author of Bought Out and Spent! Recovery from Compulsive Shopping and Spending, says practical strategies women should use are to avoid people who over shop and/or trigger you to want to shop, take along a person who is a disciplined shopper, install channel and website blockers, unsubscribe from sites, get a productive hobby or interest and seek assistance from Shopaholicnomore website.
“The urge to splurge is a craving. Cravings start in the brain and are created when ’Super Stress’ occurs,” says Gloria Arenson, a licensed marriage and family therapist and author of Born to Spend: Overcoming Compulsive Spending. “The ‘rush’ of a getting a good bargain or buying things to make yourself or others feel good is temporary feel good that keeps the spender from dealing with her real life problems.”
According to Arenson, when you have the urge to buy what you don’t need and overspend:
STOP – Think about what you are doing and make note in a journal
LOOK – For the out of control days and discover how they represent emotional tantrums
LISTEN – To what this is saying about your problems that make you feel powerless
It seems like Fair Isaac and Vantage Score hold their credit scoring formulas as a close secret much like the formula for Coca-Cola or your grandma’s legendary double chocolate-chip cookies. This can be very frustrating for consumers when they see remarks on the credit report like “too many revolving debt accounts” and not knowing exactly that means.
Fortunately, Fair Isaac and Vantage Score have issued some public information about how they calculate credit scores. Let’s take a look at the various factors:
Payment History:
The top rated factor for both models is payment history. This is because lenders want to know a person’s payment history–past and present. This category can be broken down into three subcategories:
Recency – This is the last time a payment was late. The more time that passes the better.
Frequency – One late payment looks a heck of a lot better than a dozen.
Severity – The “Hierarchy of madness” so to speak, rest on the logic that a payment 30 days late is not as serious as a payment 60 or 120-days late. Collections, tax liens, foreclosures, repossessions, charge-offs and bankruptcies are credit score killers.
How much is owed:
The score looks at the total amount owed on all accounts as well as how much you owe on different types of accounts (mortgage, auto, etc). Using a higher percentage of the credit limits will worry lenders and hurt the credit score. People who max out their limits have a much greater risk of default.
Utilization:
When it comes to revolving debt-credit cards, the formula looks at the difference between the high limit and balances. For Example, let’s say your customer has a MasterCard with a credit limit of $10,000 and they have spent $2,000 of it. This is a 20% utilization ratio. The lower the ratio, the higher the credit score. So, if your client’s are looking for a quick credit score boost, have them pay down any accounts they can. Don’t expect this to be instantaneous as it can take up to 45 days for the credit bureaus to update reports.
One more important tidbit, CLOSED ACCOUNTS do not help and can hurt if there is a balance remaining. Therefore, tell clients not to close accounts. A long perpetuated myth has been to close accounts that are not in use but this will hurt consumers in several ways. As you now know, overall and individual account utilization plays a major role in credit scoring- if consumers close old accounts, their overall utilization rate will increase which will cause their score to decrease. In today’s tightening credit markets the availability of credit has drastically changed, having accounts that have been established will serve as a “Safety Net” if the consumer finds themselves in need of some emergency funds.
Length of credit history / Depth of credit:
This is less important than the previous factors, but it still matters. It considers (1) the age of the oldest account and (2) the average age of all your accounts. It is possible to have a good score with a short history, but typically the longer the better. Young people, students, and others can still have high credit scores as long as the other factors are positive. If a person is new to credit then there is little they can do to improve a credit score. The only solution is to open an account and be patient.
However, what we say we want and what we do are usually extremely different. We know that we need to save money for emergencies, child’s college education and retirement, but are we doing what we need to do in order to achieve financial freedom we say we want? For most of us, the answer to that question is, “no.”
Many of us know what is necessary to achieve financial success but just don’t follow the financial principles necessary. The infographic below by Great Plains Lending provides some interesting, informative and surprising financial statistics on why many of us struggle financially, even though we may know better.
Is Credit Appeal just as important as other characteristics of a potential mate? Based on FreeCreditScore.com‘s survey and press release, a Sexy Credit Score is just as important.
Despite all the money men and women spend trying to improve their looks and attract the opposite sex, flaunting one’s frugal qualities may prove more alluring. According to a new survey from freecreditscore.com™, men and women rank financial responsibility more important than physical attractiveness. Among women, 96 percent say financial responsibility is important, compared to 87 percent noting physical attractiveness as an important quality. Men slightly favor good looks over financial responsibility (92 percent versus 91 percent) but, on average, financial responsibility is second only to personal compatibility when picking out Mr. /Mrs. Right.
“Our survey shows most people consider a partner’s ability to manage money before saying ‘I do,’” said Ken Chaplin, senior vice president at freecreditscore.com. “Women are clearly more focused on this than men, but a lot of guys say they are thinking about things like the future co-signing of loans or how one partner’s bad credit score may impact the other. It makes sense in this economy that we see increased scrutiny from both men and women; a low credit score is a warning of potential problems down the road, after vows are exchanged.”
Key highlights of the research:
Women find financial responsibility (96 percent) more attractive in assessing a romantic partner than physical attractiveness (87 percent) or career ambition (87 percent).
Credit scores are significantly more important to women (75 percent) than men (57 percent).
Women rank financial compatibility and sex/intimacy (96 percent) equally as important when considering a long term partner.
Women view “is financially responsible” (95 percent) and “pays bills on time” (92 percent) as the top two financial attributes when evaluating a romantic prospect’s attractiveness. Collectively, men and women view “spends beyond means” (88 percent) and “has debt” (52 percent) as the least attractive attributes.
Survey methodology The data points referenced above come from a study commissioned by ConsumerInfo.com, Inc., an Experian company, produced by research firm Edelman Berland and conducted as an online omnibus survey among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 American adults ages 30 to 49 (500 men, 500 women). Interviewing took place from June 12–17, 2013. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.
About freecreditscore.com freecreditscore.com is part of a family of online consumer credit reporting sites belonging to ConsumerInfo.com, Inc., an Experian company. ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. was founded in 1995 to give consumers quick, easy and inexpensive access to their credit profile. It is now the leading provider of online consumer credit reports, credit scores, credit monitoring and other credit-related information. ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. provides credit monitoring to its more than 11.2 million members and has delivered more than 185 million credit reports to consumers. As part of the Experian family, it continues to grow its membership base and develop innovative products to help consumers better understand their credit.
This press release is provided for general guidance and information. It is not intended as, nor should it be construed to be legal, financial or other professional advice. Please consult with your attorney or financial advisor to discuss any legal issues or financial issues involved with credit decisions.
About Tarra Jackson
Tarra “Madam Money” Jackson is a financial educator, international speaker, author, and wealth empowerment strategist helping you heal, build, and grow your wealth.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.