Starting a business or side hustle has never been easier than it is today.
You see, back in the day, aspiring entrepreneurs had only a few options for getting a business up and running:
- Save money to start a business for years and years, then invest it all and hope the company doesn’t fail
- Take out a massive business loan to supplement your own savings, then invest it all into the new business
- Buy a business from someone else
- Inherit the business from family
Basically, if you didn’t have a ton of money already or connections, you had a lot of work ahead of you.
These days, however, the internet’s changed all that.
You can start all sorts of businesses and side hustles online with less than a few hundred dollars — and sometimes no money at all.
Naturally, I’m partial to trading — which, of course, does require a little bit of start-up capital to get going.
You only need a few dollars to start, but even that can be a big ask if you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck or close to it.
And even if you aren’t living paycheck to paycheck, there’s a good chance you’re putting your leftover earnings toward other goals.
So with that said, today I thought I’d help you out with a few tips you can use to create extra room in your budget to start or grow your trading account.
(Note: If you currently have a lot of credit card debt or lack enough savings to cover emergencies, I’d use these tips to take care of those issues first. Remember that you don’t want to trade money you aren’t willing to lose. If you’re in a stable financial position first, you can fund a larger trading account with less stress.)
1. Ask for a raise
If you’re currently employed, the simplest way to find more money for trading is to ask for a raise.
After all, if you’ve been working hard at your job without the appropriate financial recognition, then it might be time to bring compensation up with your boss.
Not to get too deep into the details here, but maximizing the chances of raise negotiation success involves doing some research on similar positions (and what they pay), then selling your boss on the value you’ve brought to the company recently.
Interviewing with another company and securing an offer is a helpful tool. You can use that as leverage — if your boss truly needs your skills and talents, they’ll pay you more so you don’t leave.
Should the negotiations go well, you’ll have more money in your pocket to fund your trading.
But remember: once you land your raise, DON’T increase your cost of living as well.
Yes, it’s okay to treat yourself to a nice dinner to celebrate, but don’t make bigger spending a routine occurrence. Otherwise, you’ll spend what you could have had leftover for your trading account.
2. Sell old junk
Have you cleaned out and decluttered your home in a while? Many say that decluttering your home can bring down your stress levels.
The timing is perfect, too, since spring is on the way. Almost time for that spring cleaning!
Now, lower stress is not the only benefit of cleaning and decluttering.
There’s a good chance you’ve got piles of money sitting around your home — tied up in junk that’s collecting dust.
Check your closets and basement (and other nooks and crannies) for boxes full of old clothes, books, electronics, and so on. Think hard about whether you will use any of them.
Here’s a hint: if you haven’t used whatever the item is in years, and it holds no sentimental value, then it’s a good candidate for selling.
As a nice little bonus, you might find some legitimately useful items you forgot you owned.
Once you’ve got your items sorted, have a garage sale or throw that stuff on eBay/Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace or whatever your preferred platform is.
3. Cash in your coins
A few pennies, nickels, dimes or quarters don’t do much on their own. But think of what you do with spare change when you have it. Do you simply throw it in a bag or drawer, never to see it again?
If so, I’d recommend keeping track of those coins. They’ll give your trading account a small boost every so often without much work on your part.
You don’t need to be hunting for spare coins on the ground all time, either. In fact, in the pandemic era, it might be a good idea to leave those alone.
But any time you pay with cash and get change, or find some spare change around your house or car, throw it in a jar. Fill that jar up and cash those coins out every so often.
Then throw your newfound money into your account, and you’ve got the fuel for more trading.
4. Take a hard look at your budget and trim some fat
This is one of the most common pieces of advice given by personal finance blogs and experts: take a hard look at your budget, and see if you can make cuts anywhere.
I only shared this last because if you’re reading this, there’s a chance you already are decent with budgeting and living within your means.
Still, I thought I’d discuss budgeting and expense cutting briefly.
Chances are, there’s a lot of money flowing out toward things you can cut back easily on, such as dining out or coffees.
I won’t be that guy who says cutting out your morning Starbucks will make you rich, but each of those cups does represent a few bucks that could go into your trading account.
Now, one big area many people can cut is subscription services. These can become a huge drain on your money because it’s easy to sign up for them and forget you have them — especially when each one is only a few bucks individually.
I mean, some people sign up for Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, Prime, HBO, and several other streaming services… yet their time between each one is spread so thin, it makes it hardly worth it.
Hey, even if you use some subscription services, consider cutting them temporarily. If you can turn your trading into a big money-maker, then you can always resubscribe later.
Anyway, now that you know some ways to find extra cash to trade with…
I’d recommend you check out my simple trading system.
It made me over $430k in 2020.
I’m not saying you’ll make that same amount, but you don’t have to start big.
By following my simple trading method, you have an excellent chance of making plenty of winning trades that can, over time, turn into a much larger trading account.
Learn more about my system here.
Here’s to your personal and financial success in 2020!