All Forum Posts by: Vonetta Booker

As much as I'd like to post the SNL video with Steve Martin "Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford" it would be mean and wouldn't help you. I haven't been in your shoes exactly, but I've been through times when money was tight because I got in over my head on a deal or two and I laid in bed at night trying to think what I could do until escrow closed. Unfortunately, there is no tooth fairy answer to your situation. So here are my suggestions to get you on the long road to recovery;

The 20/20 rule or as I like to call it, Driving the Gap: Every day, think how you can save $20 and earn $20. Nothing too exciting, but this daily practice will get you on the road to financial well being. If you figure out how to earn an extra $20 every day, you bring home an extra $600/month, $7,200/year. Add that to the $20 you save and we're talking about a lot of money. Now, I know it isn't feasible to save $20 every single day, but do your best. Even if you save just 3 days a week, you'll have an extra $60/week, $240/month. That's not peanuts when you're broke. Riding a bike when you were going to drive your car just to the store an back can save a lot of money on gas, wear & tear over a year. Increase your deductible. That will lower your insurance. If canceling your cable is a problem, sell your TV. Then you won't need cable. You should be reading business books to relax, not staring at people making millions of dollars/year at your expense. I don't know how anyone in financial trouble could consider watching other people be successful at their dreams while they are struggling as relaxing?? There's lots of other ways to save a few bucks every day, coupons come to mind. It all adds up over a year. Personally, I never look at something in terms of what it costs me per month. I always think what is the cost per year. It helps me make much better financial decisions; smart phone at $180/month doesn't sound so bad. $2,160/year just so you can post pictures of your lunch to Facebook starts to sound a lot more stupid. Save $20/ earn $20 and drive the gap. This helped me out A LOT when I was really struggling. I made me live like it is always lien times. I don't let money go to my head. Now, if I have a slow month, nothing changes in my life unlike the days when I was eating lunch out every day, leasing a car, and having the stupid thing detailed every Wed.

The $100/month passive income rule: Every month, work on earning an extra $100/month of passive income. When you're really broke, this isn't easy, but if you study, you'll start to see ways you can create income and that education you get when you're really broke will benefit you in so many ways later on. Do you have something you can rent that would bring in an extra $100/month? You could advertise it on Craigslist. Do you have any specialized knowledge? Maybe you could write a course on how to do something and sell it online? I think I read you work at Walmart. Maybe you could use your employee discount in some way? (Do those cheap b*$tard$ even offer an employee discount?) When you get further into real estate, generating an extra $100/month becomes quite easy; a small loan, a rent raise, acquiring a new rental, etc. The rule is that you have to generate $100/month of passive income every month. If you miss a month, you owe it next month. If you go over this month, you don't get a credit towards next month. It is another great exercise in financial awareness.

Odd jobs are a good way to earn quick cash. You could sell some service on fiverr.com. Check out the site and look at some of the wacky stuff people do for extra money. I recently saw an ad for an app that lets you use your car as a taxi. People say they are earning on average $25/hour. Probably have to be in a good sized metro area and I don't recall where you live so don't know if that is an option. You could deliver pizzas in the evening though if you are in a less populated area. Bar tending was always profitable for me when I was young.

Real estate related, the best chance you have is going through neighborhoods looking for a beat up house. Knock on the door and ask if they might be interested in selling. If it is a tenant, try to find out where the owner lives. The tenant probably won't tell you though. You can do some research on here for 'yellow letters,' 'door knocking,' and 'absentee owners' though. A little research can go a long way.

What got me through tough times - When I was really struggling, I had a quote written down on my desk, "This too shall pass." I would read it so many times every day. Just remember to not read it when times are good! LOL

Lastly, if things are really going south like they were for me when I was headed out of high school and didn't have choice one of what to do with my life, I joined the Navy to escape. The pay sucked for the first few years, but I got away from my old life and loser friends. It gave me time to figure things out and find direction.

Good luck to you and you will get through it.