How do you Find Money Fast?
On Instagram, I announced I was doing a 5 day fast money challenge.
Day one has seen me find $1,062.89 before lunchtime! Day two is here (all about budgets, books and mindset). Day three covers cash you can get, freebies and discounts.
What is a Money Hunt?
A money hunt is going in search of money. I do this 2 ways - physically and online.
Physically, it is searching through my home, under appliances, in my car, looking through clothes etc.
Sometimes I have turned up only a few coins, once I found $70 under my stereo (I was young and messy. I remembered losing it but didn't find it until I did this).
Also, check if you have anything that needs to be returned/refunded or paperwork lodged.
We travel and move all the time so this wasn’t really an option.
The only thing I had was my Linkt account which I closed and sent back as I won’t need it anymore. $37.11 to me in about a month.
Also, I had some return and earn vouchers I forgot about, $5.40 worth!
Online Money Hunt
Look at everything you have signed up to online and see if you have cash in there ready to claim.
It is amazing how much we sometimes have spread across a few places, especially if you have been doing everything I recommend to make and save more.
Check all cashback sites
I have a list of my favourite cashback sites. Check them all to see if there is cash sitting in there. I had cashed out the other day, as I do it the last Wednesday of the month.
Check online survey sites and cash out
One had $70 but I no longer recommend them. Check out the best Aussie online survey sites for more.
Check Loyalty Programs
How many VIP and loyalty programs are you a member of? I have a full list of Aussie reward programs here. Most have a sign-up bonus as well.
When I checked mine, I had $20 to cash out in Flybuys and $10 with Woolworths.
Check Your Banking
I have a few bank accounts as I am in the process of switching everything. Loads of banks offer sign up bonuses when you join so have a look around.
Payoneer is an online payment platform I’ve used from time to time as a few companies I do work for use it. I had $17.73USD in it ($26.46).
PayPal had $45.53 (not from work)
Check services
I use CarNextDoor and every time I have lately, the car has been on empty so I had to refuel & claim a refund.
But the process credits the money to your CarNextDoor account then you have to cash out manually.
$40.50 was available there plus a $39.99 refund was processed as I used them the other day but have credit.
Also, if you want to try Car Next Door, Kiva is another service I use that had $14USD sitting in it.
I could cash out if I wanted but I lend those funds again and add to them regularly.
I have a return coming of $200 which was a security deposit for a service I used recently.
And I found out something I paid for isn’t going ahead so a refund of $350 is being processed.
Check for any Online Gift Cards
I had $150 from David Jones and $15 Visa Credit (from a PayPal survey I did).
Search your emails and check everywhere for any online gift cards you might have missed.
Check Your Investments
Lastly, while I won’t cash out, I did check my investments but their amount is not included in the total.
I love shares and a great way to get started was Raiz and Spaceship.
All up, not including the invoice, it’s $1,062.89! This makes it sound like I didn’t know or wasn’t organised.
To be honest, the past 6 weeks were all over the place and it shows in every area of my life. Hence why I am dedicating the time now to sort everything and fast!
Money Making Brainstorm
Whenever I needed money fast, I resorted to selling things or buying things to resell as it was easy for me.
When I was doing this as a full-on side hustle I made almost $3,000 in my first month and over $10,000 in my 4th.
My main tips are to take good photos, list in niche Facebook groups, not just marketplace or gumtree. I rarely list on eBay now.
Have a clear description and price fairly. On eBay, you can check sold listings to see if the item you want to sell is selling.
Ways To Make Money
Renting a room out or your garage can sometimes spin money quickly. Domestic chores such as cleaning, babysitting, lawns etc.
Read 22 ways to make money in 2022 for some ideas too.
As for me, my little brainstorming session focused on business-related options.
Since I don’t own a car or house and am nomadic, the options are smaller in that sense.
So I have a little list of business tasks to do in relation to upcoming travel instead.
Don’t just think about them, do them!
No Spend Challenge
As basic as it sounds, unnecessary spending creeps in. This week there are no treats or excess spending.
Only exactly what we need.
Due to travel, we don’t do full grocery shops anymore, generally only enough food for a couple of meals.
It has reduced waste but at times also increased my spending on food or takeaway.
For our No Spend Challenge, we have scaled back everything.
My kids are budgeting and learning a lot. I've allocated amounts for each thing and they are learning to budget, grocery shop, cook and participate more.
We have a delayed gratification list where we write anything we want.
At the end of the week, we will discuss those items and maybe work them into the budget.
They have loved being involved and learning. We started this a little a few weeks ago.
Next Steps
I have my list from my brainstorming session and will be implementing those things during the rest of the day and moving forward. Tomorrow, I have other things I will do and share.
How Much Have you Found on a Money Hunt?
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