Coming Up With Emergency Cash
My husband is teaching a small Dave Ramsey class this summer, and most of the attendants are either second timers, or already living pretty pared to the bone frugal lifestyles.
The first step in Dave Ramsey's course is coming up with a thousand dollars for an emergency savings fund, o r 500 dollars if you make under around 20,000 dollars a year. We already have our emergency fund, but I thought it would be a good exercise to see if we could come up with an extra few hundred dollars this month anyway, since my husband is teaching the class. I'm also looking for tips from y'all that I can pass on to the rest of the class. The usual insta-tips, like cutting cable or stopping your steak of the month club subscriptions or no more eating out are of no value to these families, because they either already did these things two years ago or more, or they never started in the first place
Also, the common advice that time is money doesn't apply here, for now, for a couple of reasons- let's assume that none of those involved have a second business where the time that might be spent making muffins and bread from scratch could be spent making money listing inventory or cleaning an extra house. Or that they do have that second business, but they can't find another house to clean or dog to sit for, or all the inventory is listed at the moment. Keep in mind, too, that money saved is actually worth more than money you bring in- when you save a hundred dollars, you save an entire hundred buckolas (presuming we are talking about saving dollars you really were going to have to spend, not just buying a two hundred dollar item you didn't need and hadn't planned to buy for a hundred dollars just because it's on sale). When you earn a hundred dollars, you are supposed to report that on your taxes and social security gets taken out, etc, etc.
And, if you don't have money, the 'time is money' equation is essentially meaningless, unless you have a really good (and legal) way to quickly turn your time into free money.
So let's imagine you had to come up with some extra cash in the next 2-4 weeks? What are some things you could try? Here are some ideas I have, or I've found elsewhere:
Save up your change, then cash it out at coinstar. They have different special offers at different time. Right now, you can get a five dollar gift card to use at Borders just for cashing in five dollars. You have to spend 25.00 or more at Borders, so this is only a good deal to me if that is something you were going to do anyway, or if you have somebody who will appreciate it that you can give the gift card to. However, the deals change, so keep coinstar bookmarked and watch for a deal you can use.
Sell something on e-bay, Etsy, Amazon, Craig's List, or ...?
Swagbucks, of course, which you then use for Amazon gift cards (five dollars), which you then use for things you would have had to purchase at the store, enabling you to move funds from the groceries, school supplies, toiletries, or gifts envelope over to the savings envelope.
If you are in a union, you can get a refund of that portion of your dues which is used for political purposes.
Ebates: This only saves you money (and brings some in) if you are strict with yourself about only using it for things you were going to have to buy anyway. A small bit of flexibility is useful- for example, I needed to buy some gifts and I had set aside X amount of dollars for those gifts. I didn't have a specific gift in mind, which is where the flexibility came in- I happened upon a really good sale of several different magazines for just 5-10 dollars each- and I had budgeted ten dollars for the gifts, so I was able to get magazines the recipients would love for less than I had budgeted, moved some money I saved out of that budget envelope and into the savings account, and then I got an additional rebate which also goes to the savings envelope. We need to buy my son some new glasses. The cheapest pair I've found were twenty dollars- and that was at a store forty miles away so I'd have to add gas to the cost. ebates offers 7% off for a eyeglasses store online where I can get the glasses for under ten dollars, so the money budgeted for glasses? Only part of it goes for glasses, the other part goes back into the savings envelope. Since ebates gives a five dollar sign up bonus, and a friend signed up under me, I essentially got paid some pocket change to buy the glasses!
Eat from the pantry, even if it doesn't sound good, just for today. And tomorrow do the same thing, just for today. And the next day, do it again- just for today. And the next day- you get the idea. If you fall off the wagon, don't give up, get back on. Any single day that you manage to keep to your plan is a good day and every little bit helps. Move the money you save by not shopping into your savings envelope.
Plan ahead and cook up big batches of several things at once that you freeze- saving time, fuel costs and the cost of having to run to the store when you don't plan ahead- pancakes, breads, muffins, beans, a casserole or three. My weakest grocery budget moments are when I am hungry and tired and don't have a plan and suddenly it's dinner time.
Do you have some 'too much month at the end of the money' recipes? Here are three of my favorites: Noodle Fritters, which can be made with leftover cooked spaghetti; various potato recipes; cottage cheese pancakes (good for sandwiches, too); and quiche, which is incredibly adaptable and you can use what you have on hand. And the truth is, what you have on hand is the most frugal ingredient you can use.
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12 Responses to “Coming Up With Emergency Cash”
June 24th, 2011 at 6:53 am
My husband and I are moving from Montana to Texas to be close to our grown children and needed not only to purge and downsize (going from 3,300 sq feet to 1,100) but to make as much money as possible for the move. Last year we had an incredible yard sale and made $4,000 and it looks like we are going to make even more this year.
We are trying to live more simply by keeping the 16 year old Subaru as our only car, no cable, no eating out and using the library instead of buying books or magazines. My husband is selling tons of books that he has had for 40 years on Amazon and Ebay and was shocked to see similar editions were selling for hundreds of dollars.
Moving will make you do the ultimate purge. We are moving the end of July and feel so clean and free of all the stuff.
If we get down there and see we DO need an extra chair or sofa, then Goodwill or Salvation Army will have what we need.. Also, the last thing on our list of “must haves” is a television.
Our Mantra is “it is just stuff”
June 24th, 2011 at 7:56 am
I’m no novice to careful living but have never had to live a truly frugal life (except for post college in my first apartment when I ate Ramen 3-4 days a week to make do). The only thing I can think of that will really work for virtually no investment is plant lettuce and greens…this can be in a sunny window if need be and while you may not be enough to meet all your needs, having fresh lettuce (or sprouts), spinach, etc. really works to save a little money for investment of a dollar for seeds and a little time.
I’ll be interested to see what else people give for suggestions.
It is also interesting to realize my mother did many of these things but we never knew it was to save money…pancakes for dinner…we loved it; meat free meals–who cared, we loved macaroni. I think it is all how you present it in how it is received.
June 24th, 2011 at 8:42 am
You didn’t mention using coupons? And stockpiling when there is a good sale, making these items free or cheap. I save thousands of dollars a year cutting those coupons out and using them. And I stockpile things I can use. I plan to sell my stockpiles at a flea market(was giving my stuff away for free, no more doing that)and using that money for my house & land fund.
Havingg a part time job cleaning, baby sitting, cleaning houses…does bring in extra money and I have done those too.
June 24th, 2011 at 9:02 am
Great Idea, for those of us that love living frugal this would be a fun project to undertake. Can you come up this $500-$1000 emergency money in a reasonable amount of time.
June 24th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
I do not know of anything that will bring in ‘extra’ money quickly that most people can do except maybe sell their blood plasma. My husband did that in college. He made a tidy sum every week.
I would also think doing things like drying laundry on a rack (or on hangers in a bathroom) and not using the dryer will save a few dollars on the bill. I cut our bill about $20.00 when I got rid of our dryer.
Use your imagination too. Maybe deliver papers. Deliver pizza. Our good friend makes over $100.00 in a weekend delivering pizza for Domino’s on campus.
June 24th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
My only advice is look to the trash, look hard at what you throw away what else can it be used for?
Also look at trash whenever your out and about.
When I visited a friend on vacation we went thru the recycle bins and pulled all the coke rewards off the empty coke boxes that the 12pks later we used these to get gift cards.
Looking at your own trash a bag that potatoes comes in the nylon mesh can be reused over a sponger or wash cloth to clean pots and pans.
So my advice look hard at all of the trash.
June 24th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
My credit union has a coin counting machine and they do not take a cut from it- I think it’s worth looking into banks that take coins over Coinstar.
You can get $30 for your plasma in my area, and you can give it twice a week. You also get a free medical exam the first time you do this, so it might be a nice option for people with no access to medical care. At least you can know if you’re healthy? Anyhow, only for non-phobic people with no health conditions to prevent it. I know it’s looked down on, but I see nothing wrong with doing it- you’re making honest money and helping save lives.
Hanging clothes to dry does save money over using the dryer. If you rely on the laundromat, then washing your clothes in the bathtub and hanging them to dry saves money- a LOT of money if you are comparing it to the laundromat. This sounds extreme, but I have a friend whose mother had immigrated from a small village in China and she did this for years and years until her sons grew up and bought her a washing machine. She had never considered wanting one- the idea of hot running water was amazing enough for her.
Collecting cans and bottles for refunds can help. Most people do not care if you take them out of their recycle bins. My brother makes a little money just driving around and picking up cans and bottles and occasionally spotting old broke-down stoves and things to throw in his truck. He takes these to the recycling center and they pay for the metal. He’s always on his way somewhere else when he does this, so he’s not using up gas just on these trips.
Cutting out paper products and commercial cleaners helps, if you haven’t already done so. Along those lines, just questioning everything you buy is a good idea. Like when efficiency experts make people justify why they should be not laid off- ask your cereal, “Why should I buy you, cereal? Oatmeal can do your job for cheaper.”
June 25th, 2011 at 10:51 am
A friend of mine buys boxes of half-dollars from the bank. This amounts to 50 rolls, and costs $500. (It doesn’t really “cost” $500 since you get your money back in half-dollars, but you have to have the $500 to convert to coin, obviously). Actually, he buys TWO boxes at a time, so his initial cash on hand was a whopping $1000.
He sorts through the coins to find those minted before 1965, when silver was still in circulation. The first time he did this, he found two 40%-silver Kennedy half dollars, which were each worth about $3.00 at the time (silver was at $13/oz.)
After going through the coins, he keeps the silver ones and trades the rest back in for more boxes of coins from the bank (he calls ahead to “reserve” the boxes). Apparently, a quick way to find the silver coins is to unwrap each roll and hold the stack sideways to see the coin edges. He says the silver ones look white or light gray, and they sound distinctly different from others when dropped on a table (they make a ring sound).
Once he came home with his coins and found that 700 of them ($350 face value) were silver. He supposes someone traded in a coin collection for cash. A few weeks ago when silver hit $50/oz, making each 50 cent piece worth over eleven dollars, he cashed in a bunch of the coins.
He continues to get two boxes a week from the bank, and has had a lot of fun with this. I’ve sat at his table after dinner and enjoyed looking at some of the oddball stuff that has made its way through the coin cointer–a magician’s coin, for example, that looks and feels like a half dollar, but which can pry open to reveal a different coin inside.
Obviously, if you cull silver coins, you need to replace them with cash if you are going to buy more, so I suppose you do need a little extra cash on hand to keep it flowing.
June 25th, 2011 at 11:22 am
We use Coinstar quite a bit! It’s amazing of how much change can accumulate over time!
June 29th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
I haven’t done the plasma thing myself, but I have a couple of friends who have done it in lean times, and it can add up. Plus you’re doing a good thing for people who need the plasma.!
I have collected cans for extra cash. You have to collect quite a bit, but I found that if I put a bin out at my office, it filled up surprisingly quickly. And I like helping the environment by recycling.
A third way that I can think of is to keep an eye on the “free stuff” on Craigslist or Freecycle. See if there are items you could agree to take that you could sell on eBay or at a garage sale. Some items would sell as-is, and others would sell easily with a small repair or cleanup.
July 2nd, 2011 at 6:55 pm
This is one of the most useful posts I’ve read recently on the subject of frugal living. We are one of those families who already “pack the lunch,” “brew your own coffee instead of Starbuck’s,” etc. etc. Once you’ve trimmed the fat, things get a lot harder, don’t they? Thanks for the encouragement and the tips.
July 12th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
love this: “what you have on hand is the most frugal ingredient you can use.” well said!!
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