Help me, I am drowning financially. I need an extra 1000 dollars a month!?

[SAHMOnTheGo]

It is going to be much easier to reduce your expenses by $1000 a month than it will be to increase your income by $1000 a month. Perhaps both reducing your expenses and increasing your income will help.

1. Quit eating out! It is expensive and something that busy parents fall back on too frequently. So you are not rushed to cook dinner when you get home:

invest in a CrockPot if you do not already have one and look for the many (MANY) recipes you can fix in them.
When you do cook, cook double and freeze half. For instance, you might make spaghetti sauce one night. It is not much more effort to cook double, then if you freeze half one morning all you have to do is take it out to thaw. When you get home, heat up the sauce and prepare the pasta. There are many potential sides that do not take long.
Cook meat, such as browning hamburger, and freeze it. Later you can thaw it and use it for chili, spaghetti, Sloppy Joes, tacos/burritos, etc. You can do the same with chicken breasts which can then quickly be used for fajitas or something.

2. Shop sales, clip coupons, buy in bulk. The trick here is not to buy something just because it is on sale or you have a coupon for it. Plan out your menus for the week or month and check your pantry and make a shopping list. A list is proven to save you money! And make sure you check your pantry before you leave home so you do not purchase something you do not need.

3. Not eating out includes your lunch. Take leftovers instead!

4. Conserve gas by consolidating trips.

5. Unplug items that you do not need to have plugged in. Turn the thermostat down a few degrees in winter and up a few degrees in summer so the heat/ac is not used as much. You might enroll in budget billing- check with your electric company about that and see if it would be an option for you.

6. Do you have cable/satellite? Really, with only one free hour a day I would suggest you get rid of it altogether. If you want to keep it, though, analyze your package and other options and see if you can downgrade.

7. Analyze your phone plan as well, and see if you can go with a less expensive plan. And, sometimes just calling will help, especially if you are a longtime loyal customer. Do you have a landline? If so, do you need it? Several years ago we eliminated our landline and saved money, even when adding mobile broadband (for internet) and another cell line.

Now, you may be able to make some money with your hobby in your spare time. Make some things and offer them on Facebook, Craigslist, local craft sales, eBay, etc. However, I do not think you will be able to make an extra $1000 a month, especially not immediately.