One thousand ways to make $1000 by Frances Mary Cowan Minaker, 1940, The Dartnell corporation edition, in English. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • By We’d all like to finish next year with a bit extra in our pockets. The good news is, when your goal is relatively modest, there are plenty of ways to get there. On the following pages you’ll find our best saving and earning ideas—each with the aim of winning you an extra $1,000 in 2018. Few of these strategies are easy, but none will require a major life change. While you are certainly free to give up your daily trip to ($3.65 for a grande latte x 365=$1,332.25), we aren’t even going to ask you to do that. Rejigger Your Bills. Cover illustration by Adam Hayes 1. Cut the cord Tens of millions of Americans have —and for good reason. The average bill hit $103 a month last year, according to the Leichtman Research Group. But there are countless streaming options. A comprehensive package would include HBO Now,, Hulu, and All Access, totaling around $37 a month, or $444 a year, for a savings of almost $800. Go with just HBO and Netflix and you’ll save $968. Switch your cell phone plan The average family of four’s cell phone bill adds up to about $2,880 a year. But Sprint’s prepaid Family Plan—the —is only $1,260. Switch credit cards The average household with credit card debt pays $1,292 in interest a year, according to NerdWallet. A can give you a year of 0% APR to help you catch up. Boost your credit score Doing it in a year won’t be easy, but you can get there, says Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. Paying your bills on time is the first step. Also focus on keeping your “credit utilization ratio”—the amount of your credit limit you use—below 10%. Your new, higher credit score could shave as much as one percentage point off your mortgage rate in today’s market, says McBride. That will save you $1,000 a year on a $150,000 home loan. Refinance student loans On a $90,000 parent PLUS loan with a 6.6% interest rate, you’re shelling out $1,025 a month on a standard repayment plan. Refinance to a private loan at 4.5% and you could save $93 a month, says Christine Roberts, head of student lending at Citizens Bank. Skip the gym The costs $50 a month—and much more for boutique classes like SoulCycle. Try a free fitness group like the November Project, which is active in over 40 cities, or an intramural team through work. If all else fails, Janis Isaman, a nutrition coach and Pilates instructor based in Calgary, Alberta, recommends looking on and Craigslist to find people nearby who also want to form an ad hoc fitness club. Lower Your Cost of Living. Think about an ARM got a bad rap during the financial crisis, but they can make a lot of sense if you aren’t planning to stay in your home long term. Right now the average 30-year rate is 4.1%, according to Bankrate, compared with just 3.6% for a five-year adjustable-rate loan. On a $300,000 mortgage, that half a percentage point should save you about $86 a month, or $1,032 a year.
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January 2019
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