If Your Rent is More Than $1,200/Month, Make These 5 Moves
[The Penny Hoarder, Getty Images]
If you’re paying more than $1,200 a month in rent by yourself, that means two things:
- It stinks to pay that much rent, and
- You’ve clearly got some income. Not everyone can afford that kind of rent.
So you’re making money and living in a decent place. You’ve finally got a little cushion in your bank account. You’ve achieved a certain level of financial stability.
What should you do next? Well, we have five suggestions for you:
1. If You Can’t Lower Your Rent, Launch a Little-Business That Earns up to $64/Hour
We get it — there are kids to drop off to school, errands to run and dinner to cook. So the idea of getting a full-time job without any flexibility just doesn’t work for a lot of people.
Truth be told, life would be a lot easier if you could just make money without leaving the house. But that’s not something most employers offer. But have you considered bookkeeping? It’s the No. 1 most profitable business, according to an article in Inc Magazine — and they earn up to $64/hour.
You don’t have to be an accountant or good at calculus to be successful at bookkeeping. As long as you’re motivated, a company called Bookkeeper Launch will teach you everything you need to know. It’s one of the leading training courses in the field, and they even give you the first three classes for free.
It’s helped thousands of people launch their own mini-businesses, including Daniel Honan, a military veteran and former painter who’s in his early 30s. He never considered starting his own company. But he signed up for Bookkeeper Launch, and now he’s making $50,000 a year keeping track of business expenses for his 10 clients.
It only took him three months to get started, taking one class a week. Oh, and he makes his own schedule, earns up to $60 an hour and is able to spend more time with his wife than ever.
If you’re just a little curious, you just have to submit your email address here to take the first free class.
2. Grow Your Savings More Than 23x Faster
Now that you can afford rent, it’s time to start thinking about your savings. If you’re already saving some money for your future, that’s great! But if your savings are in a typical bank account, chances are your money isn’t growing as quickly as it could be.
But there’s a legitimate way to grow it a lot faster than the average person — more than 23 times faster.
It’s with a mobile banking app called Varo. The FDIC reports that the average savings account pays a paltry .06% APY*, but when you open an online checking and savings account with Varo, it will pay you more than 23 times that amount on your savings account.
Oh, and there are no monthly fees.
We know opening a new bank account isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of fun, but Varo makes it easy. You can open an account with just a penny, and more than 750,000 people have already signed up.
*https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/rates/
3. Ask This Website to Pay Your Credit Card Bills This Month
If you have credit card debt, you know. The anxiety, the interest rates, the fear you’re never going to escape…
And the truth is, your credit card company doesn’t really care. It’s just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates. But a website called AmOne wants to help.
If you owe your credit card companies $50,000 or less, AmOne will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every single one of your balances.
The benefit? You’ll be left with one bill to pay each month. And because personal loans have lower interest rates (AmOne rates start at 3.99% APR), you’ll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.
AmOne won’t make you stand in line or call your bank, either. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could help you pay off your debt years faster.
4. Protect Everything in Your Apartment for $5
What if you lost everything? All your possessions — your clothes, your furniture, your laptop. Any jewelry you have. Even your microwave oven.
A kitchen fire could torch it all. A burglar could steal your valuables. And where would you be then?
You could be out of luck — unless you have renters insurance. And here’s the thing: It can be surprisingly cheap, especially if you get it through a company like Lemonade.
With Lemonade, you could get a policy for as little as $5 a month — less than half the average rate.
Even better? No phone calls. No lengthy sign-up process. The whole process takes just 10 minutes. And $5-a-month renters insurance policy could be a lifesaver in the event of a fire or theft or vandalism.
If you think you don’t own enough stuff that’s worth insuring, just take a look around you. How else would you be able to replace your possessions if you lost them all? Check to see how much it would cost to insure it all. You might be surprised.
5. Add up to 300 Points to Your Credit Score
You’re doing pretty good. You’ve got a decent place to live, you make your rent payments — you’re not overly concerned with your credit score. In fact, you might not think much about it at all.
But what happens when you want to buy a house? Or a car? Even a five-point difference in your credit score could make a huge difference. That’s why it’s important to keep tabs on your credit score, which you can do for free through Credit Sesame.
James Cooper, of Atlanta, used Credit Sesame to raise his credit score nearly 300 points in six months.** “They showed me the ins and outs — how to dot the I’s and cross the T’s,” he said.
If you want to make sure your credit score is in tip-top shape, Credit Sesame will help. Just sign up for an account — it takes 90 seconds — and Credit Sesame will outline exactly what you need to do to give your credit a boost.
**Like Cooper, 60% of Credit Sesame members see an increase in their credit score; 50% see at least a 10-point increase, and 20% see at least a 50-point increase after 180 days.
Credit Sesame does not guarantee any of these results, and some may even see a decrease in their credit score. Any score improvement is the result of many factors, including paying bills on time, keeping credit balances low, avoiding unnecessary inquiries, appropriate financial planning and developing better credit habits
By Mike Brassfield