Sometimes you need to find $50.  Maybe you really need that $50 quickly.  For others it is simply good practice to occasionally look for ways to make a little extra or save a little extra.  In either case here are some possibilities.

Check Piggy / Change Bank

Many of us keep jars or cans of loose change.  Gather them up and start counting.  You might be surprised and find that $50 right there.

Old Bank Accounts

Sometime in the past we may have, with good intentions, opened a savings account for some purpose.  It may have been a few years ago and we almost forgot about it.  If so, close the account and collect the funds toward that $50.

Old Brokerage Accounts

Similar to old bank accounts you may have opened a brokerage account in the past.  Many of them would advertise small opening amounts (like $50) and we took the bait with good intentions.  Or we actually used a certain brokerage account for a while but when we stopped there was still a little left over sitting in the settlement account.  Close them and pocket the dollars.  Another reason to close these old savings and brokerage accounts is that some start charging a fee at some point and slowly drain away your money.  Better in your pocket than in some big corporation.

Sell Something on Craigslist

This is probably the most common and for good reason.  There is almost always something laying around that can be sold on Craigslist.  It doesn’t take much to add up to $50!  Follow safe practices like meeting in a public place but most people have used Craigslist many times with no issues at all.

Find a Regular Bill to Eliminate

When it comes to eliminating bills I’ve always thought it pays to think in terms of annual savings.  A $5 a month bill comes out to $60 in a year.  So, look where you can save a little each month and it will add up.  You probably won’t even miss what you are eliminating.

Find a Subscription to Cancel

Easiest examples here are magazine subscriptions or streaming TV channels.  Magazine subscriptions are fine if you actually read them but watch out for those that lure you in with a cheap price and then a big increase when they come up for renewal.  I’m a sucker for adding a TV Streaming subscription at the free or low rate because there is a particular show I want to watch.  I often forget to cancel after the trial period is up even if I don’t often watch the channel.

Do some tasks on Amazon Mechanical Turk or Similar Sites

I don’t know too much about this one but others have said you can make a few bucks quickly.  Not sure how effective it is to make $50 but you may want to check it out.

Offer a Task on FIVERR

Find something that you can do fairly quickly.  Be careful how muh time you need to spend per gig so you don’t end up paying yourself 50 cents an hour!  Others have started freelance careers using FIVERR.

Find a Temp Job on Craigslist

Craigslist is good for more than just selling stuff.  There are short term gigs advertised there too.  See if you can find something that fits your skills so you can make a few quick bucks.

Take Something to a Pawn Shop

This is probably the oldest one around and probably only makes sense if you do not have a better alternative.  It might make sense if you absolutely must have $50 today.  I get it!

With a little thought there are probably many more ideas.  People are always looking for new ideas to make or save a little so why not share your new ideas!

There is so much out there about saving money.  We are talking about eliminating or reducing expenses to save money here, as opposed to putting money in a savings account.  And saving money is important for most of us.  If you never seem to have enough money, then saving money is a priority.  If you have enough to get by it is still important so you can invest and maybe save for a dream.

There are so many good articles out there about saving a few dollars here or there or even moving to a new location to save a lot of living expenses.  But you know what? Saving money is often kind of boring.  Spending money is fun!  Saving money is not fun because you would rather have whatever you are eliminating to save money.  And on top of that you seem to waste precious time even thinking about ways to save money.

The trick to saving money might be finding a way to make it fun, or at least somewhat interesting.  There have been several ideas put forth out there, mostly centering around using your savings for something you really want.  I’d like to propose the idea of a Savings Journal.

The idea of the Savings Journal is very simple.  There are just two tasks:

• Every time you save a little money you record it in the Journal.
• You keep a running total of what you have saved.

Here are some basic rules.

• If your savings is one shot just record the amount.  Example – You decide to not buy a new computer game and enter $60.
• If your savings is something you spend on a regular basis you put down the amount you save in a year.  Example – the
• famous one of skipping your $4 a day gourmet coffee.  You save 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year for a grand total of $1040!
• Subscriptions also work on a yearly basis.  A magazine with a $30 annual subscription generates a $30 entry.  Cutting a $20/month streaming service generates a $240 entry.

You are aiming to make saving a bit of a game or competition.  We all like games and competition.  You should subtotal your savings at least once a month.  Then you can play a little game and try to beat your previous month’s savings.

OK, so here I’ll throw in some savings ideas to get you started making entries in your Savings Journal.  Note that there are whole books out there and many good articles that provide guidance and ideas.  Hopefully the Savings Journal makes the ideas more interesting.

Find Little Sources of Cash Savings

I would consider the reduced gourmet coffee stops here.

Streaming Subscriptions

I’m a sucker for free and low-cost streaming trials.  And then I forget to cancel when they go to full price!

Magazines and Newspapers

If you really look forward to receiving a magazine by all means keep it.  But if it just lays around or you don’t have time to even open the Email subscription you should let it go.

Look at Food Bill

There is almost always some savings available here.  Less processed and prepared items might be a place to start.

Less Restaurants and Take out.

This can be a really big one for many people.  And learning to cook more is probably healthier for you too.

Fix Something and Estimate How Much You Saved

Can it be fixed, rather than replaced?

Use the 24 Hour Rule

When you decide to buy anything expensive wait 24 hours and see if you still think it is a good idea.  This is especially important with credit cards that make it all too easy.

Give the Savings Journal a try and see if it works for you.  The worst that can happen is you’ll be encouraged to save some dollars.  And that is usually a good thing!