It may feel impossible to get ahead financially when you work a 9 to 5 and can barely make enough money. The best way to build true wealth is to find ways to turn money into more money. This guide will explain how to make money with money – and some creativity.
You may have already considered asking for a raise or investing in stocks, but there are many other ways to grow your money and reach your financial goals. The key is understanding where to start.
5 Ways to Make Money with Money
Here are the top 5 ways to your money into more money and start building wealth today:
- Raise Your Money Consciousness
- Grow Your Skills and Education
- Invest Your Earnings
- Start a Side Hustle
- Create a Company
1. Raise Your Money Consciousness
One of the most important ways to turn money into more money is to practice money consciousness or stay aware of where your money goes.
This first starts with a budget. Think of a budget like a map for your money. Without outlining where your money should go, you could spend it needlessly, leaving you with little money for your future goals.
If you want to turn money into more money, you must be conscious about where you spend your money.
For example, when you’re shopping, and you see something you MUST have. Conscious thinking would have you stop, breathe, and think about the opportunity cost of the purchase. If you’re spending money you would have invested, is it worth it? Will that purchase make more money, or will skipping the purchase and investing make more money?
Money consciousness means being present with your money and not absentmindedly making financial decisions that have negative repercussions.
So how do you do this quickly? Here are a few ways:
Live Within Your Means
I already talked about budgeting, but let’s talk about living within your means. For example, say you make $5,000 a month. This doesn’t mean your monthly bills and spending should total $5,000.
Instead, it would be best if you lived within your means, so you have enough money for the following:
- Fixed bills like housing, utilities, etc.
- Fun spending
- Saving
- Debt payoff
- Investing
- Charitable giving
That may seem like many categories to fit into your monthly budget, but it’s possible when you live within your means.
For example, don’t buy a house that makes you house poor. In other words, don’t spend a large percentage of your income on housing. Ideally, your mortgage payment shouldn’t be more than 28% of your income, including your real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance.
Don’t Let Lifestyle Creep Happen
A big part of budgeting means not letting lifestyle creep happen. This requires excellent money consciousness.
Say, for example, you get a $500 a month raise. Suddenly, you have an extra $500 that doesn’t have anywhere to go, so you could easily let that money go to work on a larger car payment or more expensive habits.
Instead, consider increasing your retirement contributions or investing the funds in another account to help you reach your financial goals.
Don’t let material things take up your newfound money, leaving you with a higher cost of living outside your means.
Live For Yourself
Rather than trying to keep up with anyone else, consider what makes you happy, and don’t care about anyone else. You aren’t here to make anyone else but yourself happy.
Of course, if you have a family, you want to keep them happy, but it stays within your four walls. You aren’t here to impress your neighbors, friends, or extended family.
When you live for yourself, you focus on your goals and making yourself better for the future, not just living for today.
Pay off Debts
The debts you have today rob you of your financial future. So instead of going into debt to keep up with everyone, only borrow what’s necessary and do without the rest.
For example, a mortgage is necessary because you need somewhere to live. However, you don’t need such an expensive housing payment that you can’t save for retirement or other long-term goals.
First, focus on paying off high-interest consumer debts, such as credit cards and student loans. The interest on these loans is an unnecessary expense. Figure your budget so you have enough money to pay your consumer debts off as quickly as possible.
Consider paying your mortgage off earlier when you’re out of consumer debt. Even shaving a few years off your mortgage can save you thousands of dollars that you can grow into more money by investing in your future.
2. Grow Your Skills and Education
Investing in yourself is a great way to turn money into money. You are your most significant investment, and the earnings will compound more than any other investment.
It may sound crazy to invest in yourself – how is it possible?
There are many ways, but the key is continuously improving yourself to make more money. Every dollar you make becomes more money as you use other steps to turn money into money, such as investing.
So how do you invest in yourself? Here are a few ways.
Education
You are never too old to return to school. If you never went to college, go now. But if you have already earned a degree, consider another. Think about ways higher education could help you make more money.
For example, if you’re a teacher and go back to school for a higher degree, you’ll likely get a raise. You could also return to school to change careers and get a higher-paying job or work your way up the ranks at your current place of employment.
Some people go back to school to do something completely different. For example, if you went to school to be a teacher but decided to be a nurse later in life, you could go back to school and pursue your dreams.
The key is to go to school to start a higher-paying career or to add to what you already do.
Increase Your Income
Earning more money is always a way to turn money into more money. It might not sound easy initially, but there are many ways to increase your income.
- Negotiate a Raise: If you love what you do, consider asking for a raise. You won’t know unless you ask. When you ask for a raise, have reasons and data proving why you deserve it. Look around and see what other companies pay people in the same position and use it as leverage if they pay more.
- Get Promoted: Work hard and do what’s necessary to get a promotion. Most higher positions come with higher pay.
- Change Jobs: If you can’t make more money at your current job, consider changing jobs if you know you can make more elsewhere. Make sure when you change jobs, there’s room for you to climb the ladder and make more money.
Freelance
If you’re happy at your job, consider freelancing. You can freelance in your industry, offering consulting services, or start something separate, such as freelance writing, graphic design, photography, or tutoring.
Think of things you like to do and/or are good at and start a business doing it in your free time that can help you increase your income.
Professional and Career Development
Never stop learning, even if you don’t go back to school. Make it a habit to read self-improvement books, take courses, or follow mentors in your industry.
Find ways to improve yourself and find new ways to make more income. For example, networking can open up more doors for you, sometimes not even in your industry. For example, say you are in a conversation with someone who needs a website built, and you have website-building skills. You can earn money on the side just by networking and talking to others about your skills.
Of course, you can also take professional courses and seminars to continually level yourself up, showing your employer and others what you have to offer.
3. Investing
Investing is one of the most popular ways to turn money into money. However, it can be a passive income that helps your money grow, and you reach your financial goals.
There’s no right or wrong way to invest; it depends on your risk tolerance and financial goals. If you’re a beginner, consider starting small, investing in bonds, a couple of stocks, and putting some money in a CD for safekeeping.
The key to investing is to keep your money growing. Reinvest the money you earn so you compound your earnings further and strive to reach your goals.
You can invest in almost any asset, but here are some of the most popular.
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are investments made by pooling funds from many investors. The fund manager determines which assets to include in the funds and usually actively manages them by buying and selling stocks to earn capital gains.
Mutual funds have fees, but they are a hands-off investment because the investment manager handles all investment decisions for you.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
ETFs are another crowdfunded investment that pools the funds of many investors. ETFs are similar to mutual funds, except they are passively managed. Fund managers don’t actively manage them; instead, they buy and hold the investments that typically track a major index, such as the S&P 500.
ETFs are available in many themes, tracking different markets or for different risk tolerances. They don’t have as many fees as mutual funds but are a longer-term investment.
Real Estate Investing
Real estate investing is a popular way to invest and compound your earnings. You can invest in real estate in several ways.
- Buy physical property – You can buy and hold property to rent to tenants. This method of investing provides monthly income from rent plus capital gains earned from selling an appreciated property. When you buy a rental property, you are the landlord, so you’re responsible for all maintenance and repairs, as well as managing tenants; so, it’s an active form of income but can be lucrative.
- Buy fix and flip properties – If you don’t want to be a landlord, you can buy undervalued properties, fix them up and flip them for a profit. This real estate investing strategy requires a lot of work upfront, but you earn your profits within 6 – 12 months. You can then buy more properties or invest the funds in other assets.
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) – If you don’t want to buy physical properties or can’t afford them, real estate investment trusts are another way to invest in real estate. With REITs, you purchase shares of a real estate company that buys commercial properties, manages, and sells them for a profit. REITs pay at least 90% of their profits to shareholders, and you benefit from not owning any physical real estate yourself.
Stock Investing
Investing in stocks is the most common way to make your money grow by investing. When you buy stocks, you own a portion of a company. When the company does well, the stock price increases, and when they have trouble, it falls.
When you invest in stocks, consider a buy-and-hold strategy. The longer you hold onto stocks, the greater your chances of a high return. Of course, there’s never a guarantee, but on average, the stock market has 9% returns over ten years.
Invest in Others
The internet has made it possible for investors to invest in other peers. In other words, you can act as the bank and lend money to people who need it.
Peer-to-peer platforms offer this option, allowing investors to invest their money in people who need loans. Typically, you can invest as little as $25 in one loan, allowing you to diversify your funds and increase your chances of earning interest and growing your money.
Invest in High Yield Savings Accounts (HYSAs) or Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
You might not think of savings accounts to grow your money since banks pay low-interest rates; however, a high-yield savings account or CD may be a good option.
I prefer these options for money that I need to keep liquid and not risk. For example, emergency funds or any money required in the next few months should be in a liquid account while still earning interest.
High-yield savings accounts pay high-interest rates, allowing your money to grow while keeping it accessible should you need it.
CDs also offer liquidity; however, they do have maturity dates. When choosing a CD, select one with a maturity date you can live with so you don’t have to withdraw the funds early and pay the penalty.
4. Get a Side Hustle
If you haven’t reached your financial goals, but have tapped out all other sources, consider starting a side hustle.
Millionaires have seven streams of income, and a side hustle is often at least one of them. You can have active or passive side hustles, diversifying your efforts to make more money.
Active Side Hustles
You must actively work to make money with active side hustles. Driving for Uber or Lyft, delivering for DoorDash, pet sitting, or selling arts and crafts are examples of active side hustles.
You exchange your time for money and grow your net worth. Most active side hustles can be done in your free time and on your schedule, allowing you to work as little or as much as you want.
Passive Side Hustles
These are side hustles you might work a little upfront, but they continue to bring money in after you’re done working them.
Examples include writing a book, creating an online course, or selling stock photography. You write the book, make the course, or take the photos and then sell them as many times as people will buy them, sometimes years down the road.
Start a Blog
A great way to make somewhat passive money is to start a blog. You can create a blog and make money if you have the knowledge to share on a topic.
To make money, you must grow an audience, which requires you to promote your blog on social media and other networking sites.
Once you have an audience, you can add affiliate links, ads, and sponsored posts to make money. Then, when your audience clicks the links and buys something, you earn a small commission from the sale, increasing your income.
If you grow the blog large enough, you can make as much as $10,000 a month writing blog posts and sharing affiliate links.
5. Start a Company
If you want to be in control of how much money you make, consider starting a business. You can do this on the side or as your full-time gig.
Think about what you’re good at and what voids you can fill. For example, if there are a lot of competitors with the business model you want to have, determine what they don’t do that you can so you can set yourself apart from the competition.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to start a business; you just have to see what you can do better than everyone else to make more money.
The nice thing about owning a business is you can work as little or as much as you want, keeping it small and manageable or letting it grow to something much bigger, helping you reach your financial goals.
Learn More:
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Passive Income?
Passive income is income you earn while sleeping or doing nothing. Not all forms of passive income are entirely passive, though. Sometimes you have to put work in upfront to make money, and then the rest falls into place.
How Many Income Streams Should a Person Have?
Millionaires have several streams of income. While the average person might not have that many, having as many income streams as possible is essential. Consider adding some active and passive income streams to your regular income to reach your financial goals.
How Long Can It Take to Double Your Income Stream?
To learn how long it will take to double your income stream, use the rule of 72. Then, divide 72 by your rate of return. If, for example, you’re earning 8% annually, it would take nine years to double your income (72/8 = 9).
You Can Turn Your Money Into More Money
Turning money into more money is possible with consistency and some trial and error. Find ways to make your money grow and keep trying new things. Add income streams, watch your budget, don’t let lifestyle creep happen, and start investing.
With a few steps, you’ll see your money grow faster than you thought possible, and that’s before asking for a raise or investing in yourself and starting a new career!
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