Need to make £3500 - any ideas welcome

Amanda65

Hi all

Don't often read or post on this board - which is probably why I am in the situation I am in :rolleyes:

Sat down with OH last night and worked out that the fact that we spend more than we earn is why we struggle each month - not exactly rocket science I know but the important thing here is that we are now BOTH aware of this and not just me :T .

We have done our own SOA with the budget tracker and cut down where we can but what would really help is paying off our CC debt of about £3500. We were paying £500pm but realise that this is realy stretching us (it was much higher:eek: ) so I am in the process of transferring the debt to a 0% card and lowering our payments to £200 per month on the agreement that any extra money we can make goes straight to the debt. So - what we now need to do is make that extra money.

Realistically we can sell some bits and pieces on Ebay but have nothing that will bring in a large sum, although it will be a good excuse to clear the loft. I have done a little personal creative writing in the past and wondered about getting some articles printed but have no idea where to start. OH is a bit of a computer whizz and has done a couple of websites before and probably could earn something from this but again were not really sure where to start.

I am registered with PiggyPoints and Ipoints and do market research when I get offered it - and in sheer desperation have entered some competitions today!!!!!

Please don't get me wrong - we are in no way destitute and I know our problems are minor compared to many on here - but any advice anyone could give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Browntoa

theres good money to be made fixing PC's in peoples homes if OH is good at fixing them , £20-35 an hour depending on the local competition

knock up a few leaflets and doorstep the local area as a start

most faults are virus/malware related or problems with printer sharing and Networking

tightbarsteward

Browntoa wrote: »

theres good money to be made fixing PC's in peoples homes if OH is good at fixing them , £20-35 an hour depending on the local competition

knock up a few leaflets and doorstep the local area as a start

most faults are virus/malware related or problems with printer sharing and Networking

Is this something you do Browntoa? I am good with PC's/Windows etc. This is something I would seriously consider doing to earn some extra cash. If it is something you do could you give me any pointers?

Browntoa

I've done it on a "ad hoc" basis

as a part time job you can find that if need be you are available at short notice, while the big boys are not, and at more anti social hours

I'd knock up a form for the customer to sign saying that they are aware , and that you have explained, that data may or can be lost. You can always charge a small additional fee for data recovery using a linux boot CD before any repairs, you know the stuff , photo's school work etc.

it's always worth asking if they have all the Cd's for the Pc/Laptop to hand and to have them ready when you turn up, I also used to ask if the version of windows was legit otherwise I would not take the job then if I turned up and it was illegal then charge then a flat rate £10 or something

I always offered "no fix , no fee" cost me a few hours of my time but the goodwill is worth it weight in gold

MoneyGypsy

Hi,

not sure where you might start but a good Google search might give you ideas re: the writing and computer stuff. Having skills that you can market is a good way forward. Perhaps try the weekly mags for selling short stories?

Good luck with it.

Lol.

CarUser_2

What does your OH do for a job, Im doing a degree in Computer Science and i know there is alot of money in for people who create/maintain website. If he is looking for work tell him to look on monster.co.uk, i found my work placement from an advert on that site.

Protogenia

There is a really good book on writing and publishing short stories, it lists all the publishers who accept manuscripts, what magazines and journals accept manuscripts and who to send them to. As well as various information on actual writing.
My sister swears by it (she being a prolific writer of short stories). She has had quite a few published in magazines too.
It's called "Cracking the short story market" you might be able to get it cheap off Amazon or Ebay.
You could certainly get some extra money that way.
Good luck x

Good luck X

mummytofour

What about an evening part-time job? Paper round?

Protogenia

Are you registered with Quidco & Topcashback too?

You can make a few pounds a week from clickthrus with those two cashback sites.

Genia X