My sister, Kelly, has her Spending Fast update for us below. I can’t believe how much she’s been able to save in only 4 months. NUTS. Follow all the Spending Fasters stories here.

This month the Spending “Fast” has looked a lot more like a Spending “Diet”. With 3 children I knew there would have to be some level of flexibility in there, and this month proved that. Between all the little things that have come up with regular life I’ve been tempted to forget about this entire Spending Fast thing. But thankfully(? ;) Anna is only a text away and she “gently” reminds me I haven’t submitted a post in a while.

Saving, Making, and Earning More Money with Little to No Effort… 

Untraditional Methods

I’ve been looking for ways to increase my income with little to no effort — seriously — I’m busy enough as is! Though if it ever came down to it, I always thought Starbucks would be a good place for a part time job. The change of pace is appealing, there are free drinks (I’m assuming?), a free pound of coffee to take home per week, and I hear they’ve got a great college loan payment program for employees as long as you work a certain amount of hours.

A couple things I’ve done besides getting a part time job: I signed up for a weight loss competition at my gym for $50, top prize is $6500. It was an extra expense to do the challenge but the money on the line is very motivating, and working out is not only mentally healthy for me but it’s also a pretty cheap hobby. It’s a 12 week challenge and I’m in the middle of the 5th week right now. I’ve lost 10lbs and 8.5″ so far. I’m determined to make that prize money mine. IT WILL BE MINE!!!

Of course, a good idea is an even better idea when there’s more of it right???? And since I’m already putting in the effort I searched my city for other weight loss challenges, and was lucky enough to found another contest with a prize bucket of $5000. That 12 week fitness challenge doesn’t even have an entry fee, and it officially started this week. Maximizing my efforts (and chances) by pulling double-duty on the weight-loss contests.

Sell the Junk

Also, to make additional money, I’ve been able to sell some random things on Craigslist. I had some cardboard boxes that I listed and made $40. I’ve also got other baby items we’re not using anymore like a changing table and a Diaper Genie. I’ll throw those up on Craigslist before giving away for free which is what I would normally have done before the Spending Fast. Anna’s garage sale post inspired me to de-clutter, and try to get whatever I can out of these random items that are currently hanging out in closets.

Return Things

I’ve also been finding new, unopened items that somewhere along the line I thought we needed, but obviously didn’t. Even though they’re kind of old I’ve had success returning the items to the store. I’ve found that most chain stores, like Target, have easy and liberal return policies.

Check Roulette

I have been doing A LOT better with my eating out problem. Every once in awhile though, my significant other and I eat out here and there. He told me about something he and his friends occasionally do when they go out. It’s a thing called Check Roulette. Have you heard of this before? What happens is when the check comes everybody gives the server their credit/debit cards and then the server randomly selects one card that will foot the entire bill. The 2 times we’ve done it I haven’t had to pay! Of course, there are potential (expensive) downsides to this method but-hey-it’s an option.

Kelly’s Spending Fast Savings (since 11/5/14)

Month 1, November: $6,884.21
Month 2, December: $914.33
Month 3, January: $2,871.04
Month 4, February: $1,397.25

Total Debt Paid Off Since Starting the Spending Fast:
$12,066.83!

What’s the strangest thing you’ve done to save, or earn, money with little to no effort?

P.S. Ready to get out of debt ASAP? Check out the Spending Fast Bootcamp!