While the coronavirus continues to weaken the economy, it would be smart to reduce your monthly expenses so you are ready for any worst-case scenarios.
Technically, increasing your salary will help you bring more money in, but it doesn’t determine how much money you get to spend on yourself.
However, if you reduce your expenses, you can achieve the SAME goal of increasing your salary.
As you can see, the net takehome pay is what matters most in regards to the money you have left in your pocket.
For those of you who want to spend more money on yourself, here are 13 ways to increase your net salary.
1. Rent out almost any of your belongings
In today’s age, you can rent out almost anything you are not using.
Have an extra bedroom? Try renting it out on Airbnb. Want to rent out your car? Turo can help you accomplish this with their simple platform. What about those golf clubs you haven’t touched in over a year? That is where Buro comes in handy.
The options are endless and each of these solutions has insurance built-in to protect your stuff.
2. Share a phone plan with someone
There is no need to spend more money on a phone plan if you don’t have to. While I am typing this article, I am currently paying $38 per month on my cell phone.
Sharing a phone plan with my wife, brother, and sister-in-law has been one of the best financial decisions I’ve ever made. But there must be a catch…right? No, I only pay $38 per month for a plan with unlimited minutes, data, and texting.
Keep in mind, I am also getting this deal because I took advantage of step # 7 (see below).
3. Lower your auto insurance premium
Most people will stay with their auto insurance company for a minimum of 5 years before switching to another carrier. These loyal consumers are paying the price for each year they stay without shopping around first.
In fact, I was doing this until I found Lee at Ellis Insurance (based out of San Antonio, TX). They are my insurance broker and they do the shopping for me every year before the renewal hits. I’ve never had such great service and I didn’t know such a service existed. I highly recommend finding a local broker that will help you find the best deal so you are not overspending each year.
4. Move to a less expensive area
Did you know that you can practically buy a mansion in Mississippi for just over $200k? Yeah, yeah…I know you don’t want to move to the boonies, but take a moment to think about this. There are plenty of places across the United States that have a much lower cost of living than your area.
Moving to a new town away from your family and friends may be hard, but you would most likely save so much money to have the home you’ve always wanted and a decent budget to travel back and forth to your loved ones.
5. Cut the cord and ditch cable
There are a plethora of options for watching TV or streaming your favorite shows. Honestly, there is no need to spend more than $50 a month on TV services. Stop using cable services and stick to something inexpensive like Netflix or YouTube TV. Or you may want to consider dropping all TV services altogether.
Find a friend that will let you use their account every now and then or take a digital break and enjoy the outdoors for a few months.
6. Refinance your home or car
This could be a great option to quickly increase your net salary. You may end up extending the lifetime of the loan, but the benefits could be lowering the interest rate and monthly cost. If you are considering refinancing your mortgage, it may make sense to get a financial planner involved prior to pulling the trigger.
7. Change cell phone carriers
Do you currently pay AT&T, Sprint, or any of the big phone companies for your cell phone service? While they do have decent services, there are plenty of others that do just as good of a job. For example, I switched from AT&T to Cricket Wireless a few years ago and I haven’t looked back since.
At first, I thought this company was going to let me down (thinking I would get what I pay for). However, nothing changed but the price. Cricket Wireless runs off of the same cell tower infrastructure as AT&T, so I get the same coverage either way.
8. Reduce your internet bill
Most of the time there are a couple of internet providers you can choose from. If you have this option, definitely take a moment to call your current provider and let them know that your bill is too costly. All internet companies will rase their pricing almost every year and they know it would be more beneficial to give a discount than to lose a paying customer.
If you call your provider and let them know that you are unable to pay such a high price, you are likely to get a reduced rate. This could potentially increase your net salary by hundreds of dollars a year.
9. Find a roommate
This is another strategy I fell into by accident. I recently moved from Austin to the Dallas area and my parents were generous enough to board my wife and kiddo while we build a new home. Because of this, my family is able to save a mortgage payment each month which has been a HUGE breath of fresh air.
If living with your parents is not an option (this is most likely the case), think about having a roommate that would be very easy to live with. If you can get along with someone that is easy to live with, you will be able to save money and stress.
10. Share an Amazon Prime account
Amazon offers a family shared Prime account for multiple people under the same roof. If you are paying for prime with any of your roommates or family members, you may want to consider linking your accounts into one shared plan. The great part about this is the fact that you don’t have to share a login. Instead, you are able to log into your personal accounts and order just like you did prior to syncing the accounts.
Don’t forget, there are tons of other Amazon perks to help you save.
11. Sell your car
This isn’t always ideal, but it could definitely increase your net salary by thousands of dollars over time. If you have a car payment, you might reconsider selling your car and using public transportation or a ride-sharing solution. This may not be an option outside of the city, but it is something to definitely look into.
Another option could be relocating closer to your work. My last company had apartments within walking distance, which gave people the option to have a 5 -minute commute on foot.
12. Cancel your gym membership
This is a no-brainer for you guys and gals that are paying for a membership and haven’t gone to the gym in the last month. Maybe try downloading the Nike Training Club app and start working out at home. If this isn’t enough, go for a run outside, do pushups, or watch online routines on YouTube.
There are plenty of options but the most important aspect is to find the best way to get motivated.
13. Re-evaluate your health/life insurance
Most of us have the option of choosing multiple health and life insurance coverages. If this is the case for you, consider moving to a plan that isn’t so hard on your monthly expenses. This could be a gamble, but then again, you could stash these savings into your own personal health account.
Take a few minutes to review your options and increase your net salary with a quick adjustment.
Do you have other great ideas that reduce your monthly expenses? Please let us know in the comments below or shoot us a DM!
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