Another great topic! A few thoughts come to mind:
1. Lisa, Kayla – have you guys looked at websites that connect creative freelancers with clients? Fiverr and 99Designs are a popular ones, but I know there are others. You sign up with the site to be a service provider; clients come to the website and choose from the provider list who they want to do their project. The idea is to take the marketing/networking/billing part of the job off your plate, so you can focus on just doing the work. It gets you in front of many more potential clients than you might meet on your own.
2. When it comes to saving more, SUM180 has found that having a specific savings goal in mind can really help. It’s a very motivating first step – when you know how much you need to save, it can really kickstart your thinking and spark creative ideas about how to get there. I think it also helps focus your thinking.
One example – side gigs are great, but what about cost-sharing, too? Under the “cost sharing” umbrella alone, there may be dozens of ways to “share” the cost of expenses we currently cover alone. One example: subscriptions and memberships sometimes allow family sharing plans. If you split the cost with someone else who had individual subscriptions, your savings can add up. I can see this as a good way to build $500 in savings or so, over a few months.
If my savings goal were bigger – say $10,000 or more – I’d probably think seriously about a housemate. Cutting my rent in half would move me towards my goal faster than smaller cost cutting measures would, for sure!
Just some thoughts. 🙂
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