Bright Ideas for Replacing Lost Income

As the economy shifts, opportunities for generating money sprout in place of others that fade away. Money Management Solutions notes that history demonstrates the foundation for great fortunes can be laid during a financial downturn. If your earnings have dipped because of a job loss or underemployment, try these suggestions from FinancialAdvisors.com to replace and even exceed lost income.

Organize Your Budget

If you’ve been lax about watching where every dollar goes, reassess your personal budget. List items in order of necessity, such as housing expenses, transportation costs, food, and health care. Avoid sacrificing necessary expenses, such as life insurance and nutritious food, as this increases costs later.

Search for Unique Sources of Quick Cash

If you have the option, carefully decide between accepting termination or resignation. The opportunity to resign from a company that intends to fire you may seem like a gracious way to let you go without leaving a negative remark on your resume. However, a resignation removes access to unemployment benefits, money that can buy you time to prepare for your next venture. 

Money may be found through a few odds and ends to hold you over. If you have a storage full of items you rarely use, figure out what things you can sell at a yard sale or online auction. Online surveys can be a fun way to make money by providing your opinion for market research. Be aware that companies typically offer compensation with gift cards.

You can also search for unclaimed money, as reports show millions of dollars are left on the table yearly. Check with various agencies from different states where you’ve lived to find money from settlements. Government grants can assist with paying for education, covering utility and housing bills, and child care costs. Don’t forget to check on available benefits for parents, veterans, and disabled individuals.

Assess Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Create a schedule to search for gainful employment so you capitalize on your time. Drexel University suggests revamping your resume as a concise snapshot of your abilities focused on recent concrete results. Sign up for alerts from the major job sites and subscribe to social media sites where locals post current job listings. While in between positions, add more know-how to your resume with free online courses.

Evaluate Freelancing and Business Ideas

Finding employment with another company may not be the best solution if you can create a service or product that allows you to be your own boss. You won’t have a supervisor to help you stay on task, so develop excellent time-management skills. Prioritize communication with clients about situations that may cause delays to maintain a good reputation.

Investigate flourishing industries that use your existing talents. Some potential freelance opportunities are:

• Teacher or tutor: Share a skill on a paid subscription site or offer in-person classes. Sharpen your communication skills and request anonymous feedback at the end of courses to improve your lessons.
• Translator: If you speak a language other than English, freelance translating is a great way to bring in money. For example, translation services for Korean tend to charge at least $20 per hour and often much more. Create a profile on a job board to offer your services.
• Virtual assistant: If you’re a great organizer with excellent attention to detail, help professionals with scheduling, research, and other administrative duties from home.
• Social media manager: Create engaging and current content for brands and manage their online profiles to promote brand awareness and build relationships. Pinterest is a great site for flexing your social media chops. There’s always value in driving traffic for a blog or promoting a particular product or business.
• Graphic designer: Convey a brand’s message with attractive imagery. Create concepts and layouts for a business’s ads, logos, displays, and signage across digital and print media.

Advertise yourself with a company website and remain active in freelancer marketplaces to find work.

Find new paths when others close. With ingenuity and persistence, you can make good money and enjoy job satisfaction by turning a challenging situation into a lucrative prospect. Reassess your budget, look for quick ways to earn some cash, consider your strengths and weaknesses, and look for freelancing opportunities