Starting a home business is not always expensive. Homepreneurs recently posted an article suggesting a real business could start for under $1000.00. We also posted a list of business ideas to consider; many of these require only a couple hundred dollars or less to start up. The big question you probably have: Where do I find a few hundred to one thousand dollars? I live paycheck to paycheck now!
This post is about finding the start up money needed to launch a simple home business. We’re going to give you some tips to save a little money here and there.
1) Instead of starving yourself, try a serious spending diet at the grocery store. Do this by buying only the essentials for a month. Shop the sales and stock up and live from goods in your freezer and pantry. Don’t avoid fresh foods, just shop smart. Use coupons too: coupsmart.com , coupons.com , shopathome.com or any of a variety of Facebook coupon groups.
2) Spring cleaning and garage sale time! How much extra stuff do you have that somebody else can use? If you are like the rest of us, you probably have hundreds of dollars in stuff sitting around. Sell it at in your own garage sale or join with neighbors and create a big sale. Also available are several online sites for selling stuff: Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, and Half.com
3) Recycle that metal. Most of us drink cans of soda pop and have extra metal sitting around the house. Copper, brass, aluminum, steel, and other metals are cash! Take the scrap to local metal recyclers and get cash.
3) Eliminate services and subscriptions you don’t need. Newspapers and magazines that collect dust in the corner or cable and Netflix. Look at your insurance rates and see if other companies offer better plans. Ditto for cellular service and cable. Bundled rates can be a good deal too, but beware the teaser (intro) rates.
4) Find a second job for a while. Simple positions are always available including: yard care, pizza delivery, babysitting, freelance writing, and handyman or handywoman services. Take a look at MoneyNing for a list of 15 possible positions.
5) Better rates at banks and credit unions. Negotiate better rates by suggesting you will leave to the bank next door. You won’t get tons of savings here, but every bit helps. Half percent on a loan is extra money you didn’t have before. Take a look at Bankrate for listings of local bank offerings.
6) Donate items to charity and Goodwill. This won’t give you immediate returns, but are tax write-offs at years-end. Use the IRS-accepted Goodwill chart to calculate approximate value of books, clothes, and household items.
None of these will make you rich fast, but you’ll be surprised how quickly you can reach $1000.00. If you made it easily, why not continue what you’re doing and save more? Better yet, start that personal business dream.
By Dion D Shaw
Dion D Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs
Homepreneurs. New Day. New Opportunity.
Disclaimer
Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed. Homepreneurs receives no compensation or consideration for its suggestions. Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.
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In 1991, Dion Shaw was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Over the years, his health has declined, including ongoing vision problems associated with optic neuritis, and doctors now say a stem cell transplant is essential to his well-being and perhaps, survival.
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