Making money is easy. Saving it and putting it to the right use is what most people struggle with. Impulse buying, revenge traveling, stress-eating, nostalgia, jumping a red, FOMO investing, and buying expensive things because they are listed as collectibles. Some of the worst ways to lose your money. Many of us justify most things we buy, and rightly so (collectibles are rare and a resale value). It is our hardened money, and we ought to spend it on things we like instead of losing it all in the economy, which is already in shambles.
We hear stories every day of the roar and mew of the stock market. People would rather keep their money in their lockers instead of investing in stocks or even in their savings accounts. Banks close at the drop of a hat and the next thing you know your last saved penny is gone with it. Crazy stress, even crazier opinions about the market emerge from all the corners. We wish we knew about the incoming debacle as account holders. We wish we had an inside man who’d give us the update beforehand. But, businesses close, banks shut down, and people lose money. The saying, “never put all your eggs in one basket” holds true in such scenarios.
Realistically, making money off of one investment is a folly many of us end up committing because of the lack of discipline for awareness. There is no easy way to make money. Even an online survey you do during free time needs at least a handful to be able to amount to the electricity you burned to call it an earning.
People fixate a lot on hacks in the pretext of making money on the side, but it only takes more than it gives. Even the simplest of ways of making money: blogging, requires you to have the introductory knowledge of the topic you are writing for. Travel and food blogs at that might require you to first visit the places and share your authentic/ first-hand experiences with your readers. Making money is a skill that has to be honed every day. Honing your skills takes practice and practice would mean you will not always be successful. You have to go through thick and thin to be able to confidently say to yourself one day, “I think I am good at it.”
In this blog, we will share some effective ways to make money in 2022. It is more about holding on to the money, than finding different ways to make some.
Also, Read- How to Buy corporate bonds in India?
Drop Impulse buying
We all have been there. Every time we see, “prices dropped” in your notification panel, on your favorite product, most of us go, “I have money, it won’t hurt to buy.”
This cannot be said louder. It was first said that impulse buying is rife among women, but recent studies and behavior dictate that men are just as hooked to impulse buying as women. There is no gender sensitivity attached to it. Especially during the pandemic, when we were deprived of shopping opportunities because of the lockdown.
As soon as the lockdown started releasing, most of India emptied their Amazon and Myntra carts. The owner of Louis Vuitton became the richest man in the world for a short period because people wouldn’t stop shopping for bags and other LV products all over the world. One of the most luxurious brands ran out of bags to sell in 2021.
7 Effective ways to avoid impulse buying:
- Turn off app notifications on e-commerce websites.
- Save up for the annual sale.
- Question yourself before buying it. Are you buying it because it is on sale or is it because it is selling out ‘fast’ and you may not get it again?
- Ask your Mother or your siblings, or your friends for the money you are going to pay for the product.
- Do not shop under the influence of alcohol
- Leave it on the cart and sleep on it. Your decision may change.
- Remind yourself about the time you went completely broke one month.
Share a cab or take public transport
This might sound cliché, and you might even feel, “it is not something I don’t know about.” We get it. But, it is a point worth considering, and we should remind ourselves about it all the time.
It has become more of a moral obligation for us to choose public transport than a daily need. With the rising fuel price (both diesel and petrol), you are only led to allocate more and more of your budget money into fuelling your car every day.
Managing expenses is difficult as it is with too many things to take care of daily, with fuel prices soaring, it places people in a position where they have to rethink every little thing in their salary brackets. Furthermore, taking public transport does not include annual maintenance, paying EMIs monthly, and tolls.
Turn your hobby into a side hustle
There is always something people are good at. Academics and specific skills might get you a job, but side hustle is personal. It is where you grow as an individual. Evolution has taught us to not just rely on one skill. To survive, one must have the courage to pursue different avenues to generate income and cultivate as many responsibilities as possible. The more responsibilities you have, the more fulfilled you are with your life. Most of us are multi-talented. But it is also
Invest in a secondary source of income
A lot has been said about generating fixed income besides your salary. There are at least a hundred different ways to diversify your income streams so that when the economy plunges further, you will have a diversified source of income to help you take care of your expenses.
Generation of an alternate source of income is not as challenging as it sounds. All you need is to find out what interests you more and then begin to start working on it. It requires time and patience. Above all, it requires showing up every day. It simply means, once you start, make sure you find the reason to do it every day. It could be as simple as referring candidates to companies and earning a referral bonus or doing freelance photography, and investing in inflation-linked bonds. Passive income is incredibly helpful. It increases your savings. You have the liberty to switch lanes and work on a different interest.
Also, Read- Where to invest in Fixed Deposits or Bonds in India
5 Best ideas to create a secondary source of income
- Start affiliate marketing
The concept is easy to understand and start. Affiliate in simple terms means, you attach a product/company that you think your readers/visitors will be interested in and direct them to purchase those products. In return, the company pays you for upselling. The beauty of it is that it is not limited to just one company. You can sell products from multiple companies.
- Angel Investing
It might sound absurd at first. A lot of people in their right minds don’t appreciate the fact that they have to invest in a company: rather, an idea that might take off in months to come. You trust a company when they don’t even have enough employees to qualify as a company, and wait for people to take notice of the idea and finally start acknowledging it. Angel investing is a hit or miss.
- Property hosting
If you have an extra piece of land, house, room, or even a vehicle, you can think about renting it out to people/companies to earn a passive source of income monthly. Yes, it takes work; to entertain every caller, every visitor who is interested in renting your flat or vehicle. But, a widely known fact is that it is worth putting in all the effort.
- Side hustle
This is not only important as far as income goes, but it also adds to your personality. We all have that one friend who was a gym addict and a workout enthusiast once and is now a part-time gym trainer. Like they say, One for the Kitchen, One for the Soul.
- Invest in Stocks and debt instruments
Stocks and debt investments are two different things. One is risk-based and the other is stability-based. Meaning, stocks give you high returns, nevertheless, but debt investments are for risk-averse people who want their investment back after a period of time and are happy with the little interest they earn in the process.
There are several perks to investing in stocks and bonds. However, thorough research is necessary on the investor’s part while making any investment decisions. Bonds India is one of the best platforms for investing in fixed-income securities online. Create your BI account and start trading bonds and investing in IPOs. Have a level-headed watch on the market movements to decide your way forward for investments.
Parting Note
To make waves, you need to understand the ripples. What you want as a long-term solution may not come about overnight. Focus on honing your skills without dreaming about quitting your job and completely dedicating your time to the side hustle. Secondary income takes time. It will require disappearing from your social circle for a few months to learn and fail to make money from it.