If I had to take a guess, I would say one of the biggest issues in a lot of people's lives is money. We're all always trying to make the best budgets for us, but sometimes we could all use a little extra cash, whether it's saving up for a vacation, saving up for a rainy day, or just even just trying to minimize the things in our lives.



So, here are a few things you may or may not have thought of before:



1. Junk an old car, or old car parts. Hubby and I have both junked cars. My 2002 Malibu, which I loved dearly, ended up with a warped engine that was going to cost more to replace than we paid for the car. A 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was quite literally falling apart. A 1991 Toyota Celica that had too many problems to count, and eventually filled with spiders because the window wouldn't roll up. We've definitely had our share of car problems, and have really made a come-up and now both own our own cars we bought brand new. But finding a trustworthy, reliable, and easy-to-work-with junker can be difficult to come by and you certainly want to get the best deal for your car - because sometimes our cars can come with a lot of sentimental value, so we don't want to just get rid of our cars, ya know? So find a great, reliable junking service like Sanford & Sons Junk Cars. Serving the Atlanta area for many decades, Sanford & Sons are reliable, trustworthy, and quick. Plus, they pay on the spot when they pick up - not to mention, they'll come to you!





2. Turn your skills into services. Are you great at writing? Pick up some tasks like writing articles freelance for your local newspaper or even online outlets. If you've got a blog, work on sponsored posts (like this one!) that you feel can fall into your blog's niche. There are also sites and apps, like TaskRabbit that let you pick up all kinds of varieties of tasks, from cleaning to organizing to styling!



3. Drive folks around with Lyft or Uber, if that's an option for you. It's not personally a job I'm sold on (I don't want to drive drunk people around and risk them throwing up in my car, if I'm being completely honest), but my brother-in-law does it, and since I work at a university, I honestly know a handful of people who earn a lot of extra money by driving for rideshare companies.



4. Thrift unwanted clothes. I've been visiting thrift shops my whole life. My mom really taught me how to stretch a dollar and it's something I'm still proud of to this day. But thrift shops have really become more popular, especially since Macklemore's Thrift Shop dropped several years ago. So get rid of the clothes, shoes, and accessories you don't wear anymore, or let's face it, if they're never going to fit anytime soon. While you may want to donate,  you can certainly earn an extra buck or two by selling your clothes to local thrift stores, resale stores like Plato's Closter, or resale apps like Poshmark, ThreadUp, or Mercari.





5. Recycle cans. This can take a bit of time, depending on how many cans you go through a day, but you could think a little out of the box here, too. Collect cans at work, or collect a group of friends to volunteer to pick up cans and trash roadside or within the community. Look in your area for a recycling company - they typically pay mere cents per can, but I used to rack up like $80 every couple of months growing up because I forced my family to recycle their cans!



6. Use apps that help you earn, like Shopkick (earn kicks/points for walking into stores, scanning items, and shopping - you don't have to spend money to earn, which is my favorite thing about this app) or Achievement (earn points for being active, taking health and wellness quizzes, and keeping track of your food intake!). There are probably a million other apps out there, but those are just some I actually use fairly regularly.