Going From Broke: A Practical Guide to Saving More Money

Saving money helps you feel financially secure and have more stability in your life. However, saving more money is no easy task and usually requires dedication to change spending habits. Once you’ve committed to changing your habits, you will be on your way to financial independence! 

Those featured in the Crackle TV series "Going from Broke" learned these steps to escape their financial hardships. While it wasn't easy for them, they all followed the fundamental ideas for saving more money. Keep reading because we’re going to cover some of the steps you can do to improve your finances!

Create an In-Depth Financial Plan 

When you finish reading this and decide it's time to make some changes, one of the first things you should do is make a plan. Creating an actionable plan will keep you focused and give you a goal to work towards. To start, you should first create a budget based on your earnings and expenses. Take note of all the expenses that you spend in a month. 

You should immediately find some expenses that you can remove from your life pain-free. Cutting down on eating out at restaurants and reexamining your monthly subscriptions to services. Cutting your expenses can only go so far though, when your budget is all said and done, you may still not be earning enough to cover them. 

If this is the case, you’ll need to find ways to earn more money to help take care of your monthly expenses. Earning more money is the hardest part of personal finance, but there are ways to make the process easier. By following along with the worksheets provided by the Going from Broke team, you’ll have a fantastic headstart!

Get a Side Hustle 

In the first worksheet provided by the team, you can find the side hustle to match your skills and passions. A side hustle is work done outside of your job, this can give you a second source of income to help cover those extra expenses or build your savings. However, side hustles are not created equally and each one has different earnings potential. 

Follow the worksheet and list five of your interests and five things that you are good at doing. With these points in mind, you can develop a side hustle that uses the skills you already know. Many side hustles use the skills you learn in your career and create your own business around it. 

Some good examples of side hustles are: 

• Getting a Roommate
• Tutoring 
• Babysitting 
• Walking dogs 
• An online store
• Consulting 

Once you found the perfect side hustle for you, write on your worksheet how many hours you plan on doing it each month. By listing the hours and the potential earnings, you can see how much extra money you will have at your disposal. However, side hustles can take some time to get going. That's why there is another way to earn fast cash—selling your stuff. 

Sell Your Stuff 

Another effective albeit sometimes painful method of earning more money is by selling some of the stuff. On worksheet #2, you are given a diagram that helps you organize the items you want to sell. Start in the attic and work your way down to the basement, listing all the items you would be comfortable selling. 

You can sell these items on many of the platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Craigslist. Once you have the items you want to sell, use the worksheet to document the price and total amount of money you have earned from them. You can set an earnings goal that you want to get from these items. 

However, be aware that sometimes the selling price will be lower than what you expect. Take a look at items selling and list your items for a similar price. While it may not be the most enjoyable way to earn money, selling your items can get you money quickly. This money can help you pay down debts, fund your side hustle startup costs, or increase your savings.

Higher-Paying Employment 

Budgeting and side hustles are great ways to save more money, but they also have a limit. You only have so much time to work on a side hustle in a week, so finding a higher-paying job may be necessary. To help you gain more income potential, look to worksheet #3 to help document your professional successes. 

Find things that show the impacts you had while working for your current and previous employers. You can use this feedback to help you land that promotion, get a raise, or impress employers at your next interview. Ask those around you for feedback on your work, and make meaningful contributions to your community.

If you are at the start of your career, you can also strive to learn new skills to boost your resume or CV. Earning additional certifications and awards in your industry can drastically improve your chances of landing a high-paying career. You want to demonstrate that you are passionate about your career and are willing to learn new skills. 

Get a Roommate 

As part of the plan to help people save money, Roommates.com was featured on Going from Broke. As the participants struggled with lowering their expenses, living with a roommate helped significantly reduce their expenses. Instead of taking the full amount of the living costs, you can split them among roommates. 

Along with helping you pay your living expenses, roommates often develop into great friends. The ideal roommate is someone with a similar lifestyle as you who is  looking for a roommate. Once you have found the perfect match, you now have someone with you on your money-saving journey. 

However, finding the perfect roommate for you can be a very tough task. That's why Roommates.com has developed the Perfect Match System. To help find your perfect roommate match, use Roommates.com to connect with thousands of potential roommates who are just like you!