“It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” – Theodore Roosevelt

We all love a good deal and who doesn’t want to save a bit money in the process of buying the things we want and need. However, some deals aren’t as good as they seem and some deals are designed purely to get you to spend money. For example, be wary of the ones like “Spend $100 and get free shipping.” Or “Spend $50 get $10 back.” Those are great if what you’re actually buying is going to cost more than that… but most of the time, it takes a lot to reach those minimums before you qualify for the special offer and you end up buying more than you needed and spent more than you had just so you could say you saved $10 at checkout.

If part of the debt your fighting is credit card debt, give your credit card company a call and let them know you’d like to negotiate your interest rate. It’ll take a bit of your time to make the call and work through any details, but you’d be surprised just what these companies are able and willing to do for their customers to keep them happy. With that said, keep in mind that the worst they are going to say is, “No.” So there is no reason to get upset if you can’t lower your interest rate… at least you tried. Always remember, you get more with sugar than you do salt… so be nice and be gracious with the outcome.

This might be a great idea of someone who seems to have the knack of selling things online. They know how to price things and handle negotiations. It’s a great way to de-clutter your space, but your might also start offering up your skill to others for a fee. I’ve done this before where I’ve offered to sell things for people at a 10% fee of the selling price. 

These are some side-hustles that can turn into some serious summer work. The only downside is you need to have the equipment to do the work. So there might be some upfront capital costs, but there are some great ideas that you can do to earn some extra money. (Lawn care, sprinkler installs, concrete pressure washing, etc) (Marketing tip: put a flyer on garbage can on trash day)

You might not be interested in doing airport runs for strangers or picking up late-night bar goers, but you can pickup food for people who are “too busy” to go get their own food. You can get up with services like Doordash, Grubhub, and UberEats. Walmart Grocery has even partnered with all the popular food delivery services to delivery groceries to their customers. Aside from these, there is also pizza delivery you can do to make some extra money through the tips you’ll earn.

With as often as we are on our phones, we might as well be productive by filling out surveys. There are lots of places out that will compensate you for your time in taking a survey to provide them with information. You can checkout places like SurveyJunkies and Inboxsurveys. These aren’t big money makers by any means, but a little extra here and there can add up to something big for you. When doing surveys, companies are looking for information for specific demographics to help them better understand how “working women in their 30’s” find time to go grocery shopping. 

DISMISS THE DISTRUCTIVE Never skip an aid station - Update budget. Listen to inspirational podcasts. Take a break. Celebrate the small wins. Comparison and Complaining will kill you! - Complaining is unattractive. The more you are critical of yourself, the less likely you’ll be able to recognize the good that is in you, and all around you. - When we compare, we become arrogant and complacent. Meaning, we find reasons to be content. Never Stop! Make it to the finish line. There will come moments that seem so hard you can't go on. The man or women who can drive them self further when the pain comes will win. “There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent, or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

“Pay the price today so you can pay any price tomorrow.” - Grant Cardone. Put the time and effort into things the first time. And stop wasting weekends on nonsense. — This quote showed up while scrolling through LinkedIn (again) from an article of what successful entrepreneurs would tell their 25 year old selfs. I think it would almost go without saying that “we would thank ourselves later”, but there is a balance in all things. If we spend our youthful days working so we can play later, or travel later or do whatever later... we might not be able to enjoy it later. 

It occurred to me that I after talking about car buying tips, I never shared with you how I went about buying my car. Inspired by Ramit Sethi, I found email address for all the dealerships I was willing to buy a car from and emailed them.