In Ideas for Staying out of Debt I plan to cover my ideas/plans on how to stay out of debt.
This is one area I can speak about from experience. When I first started my business I made less then $1,000 the first year. I had no ads, no car, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it. My primary income at the time was helping out at the family business, a steel yard and a farm. Over time I got my business built up till last year my business out earned the family business and I haven’t looked back.
Now, if you are in debt right now the extra income from a side business or just working longer could be used to pay it down quicker. Or you could use it to build up your savings. This way you will have more income to work with. Think about it, your in risk of going into debt with your current job. By adding an extra $100-$300 a month of income could mean the difference between scraping by or ringing up debt.
For short term debt such as a personal or payday loan then selling items you no longer use on eBay could help. Just make sure you properly describe the object and take real pictures, the buyer would want to see what it really looks like. But for the long term debt you would be better off ether working more hours (if possible) or even starting a side business. I started my business on the side and eventually now it’s my only source of income, after about 3-4 years.
No matter what option you pick, make sure you actually use the extra money to pay down debt. Once you are debt free, then you can splurge a bit, or save it up. Just make sure if you don’t already have an Emergency Fund, to set that up with the extra income first. After all, you want to make sure a bad tire doesn’t wipe out the extra bit you just paid down.