๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ช๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ท
๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ, ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ต โ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ด.
๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ โ this canโt be my life.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ, ๐ข ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ค๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐ช๐ณ.
๐ข๐ฝ๐ฎ๐น ๐ญ: ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฒ๐ฝ-๐๐ธ๐๐ท ๐ข๐น๐ป๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ธ๐ฌ๐ด
- created a simple debt spreadsheet
- listed every loan, interest rate, minimum due
- realized: credit cards were killing me with 20% APR
๐ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ต ๐ข๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฅ: ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ-๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ต ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต.
๐ข๐ฝ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ: ๐ ๐๐พ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฝ ๐ช ๐๐พ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ ๐๐ช๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ
Made a zero dollar based budget (explained in detail in blog post=https://smartdollarway.com/what-is-zero-dollar-budgeting-a-simple-guide-to-control-your-money/).
used apps like YNAB and Rocket Money.
slashed my subscriptions, eating out, and impulse buys
๐ค๐ผ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐น๐น๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐ก๐ธ๐ฌ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐๐ธ๐ท๐ฎ๐ โ ๐๐พ๐ฝ ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ ๐๐ธ ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฝ๐พ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ ๐๐ธ?
What YNAB Does:
YNAB helps you give every dollar a job.
Instead of just tracking your expenses, it teaches you to plan your money before you spend it.
Key Features:
- Zero-Based Budgeting:
If you earn $1000, YNAB makes sure you assign every dollar โ like $400 for rent, $150 for groceries, $200 for savings, etc.
No dollar left sitting idle! - Goal Tracking:
Want to save for an emergency fund or a vacation? YNAB helps you plan towards it step-by-step. - Real-Time Sync:
Use it on your phone and computer โ everything stays updated automatically.
Why Itโs Helpful:
- Gives you total control of your money.
- Helps you break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.
- Makes you think before you spend โ itโs like giving each dollar a mission!
What Rocket Money Does:
Rocket Money helps you find and cut useless spending and manage bills smartly.
Key Features:
- Subscription Killer:
It automatically finds all your active subscriptions โ and even cancels the ones you donโt need.
(No more random $5 charges for apps you forgot about!) - Budgeting & Tracking:
See exactly where your money goes: food, bills, shopping โ all tracked and categorized. - Bill Negotiation:
Rocket Money can even negotiate your internet or phone bill to get you lower rates (yes, really).
Why Itโs Helpful:
- Saves time by spotting money leaks.
- You can lower bills without calling customer service.
- Helps automate your money clean-up routine.
๐ข๐ฝ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ: ๐๐ ๐๐ท๐ฌ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ช๐ผ ๐ฃ๐ธ๐ธ ๐ข๐ถ๐ช๐ต๐ต โ ๐ข๐ธ ๐ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ฎ ๐๐ธ๐ป๐ฎ
1. Freelancing on Upwork
Freelancing means working independently for clients online.
I did content writing (like blog articles) and virtual assistant tasks (like managing emails, data entry).
I used Upwork.com to find clients
Work on your own time
Paid per project or hour
2. Started a Side Blog
I made a blog about personal finance.
In the first year, I didnโt earn anything โ but it helped me build trust and authority.
Later, it helped me earn in many ways
Clients saw my writing and offered work
Blog gave me credibility
3. Sold a Digital Product
I created a Budgeting Template Pack (Excel/Google Sheet).
People could download it for $7.
One-time setup, but income kept coming = passive income
100+ downloads/month = $700
Sold using Gumroad (a simple online store)
๐ข๐ฝ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ: ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ท๐ช๐ท๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ ๐ ๐๐ธ๐พ๐ต๐ญ
Used balance transfer cards (0% APR for 12 months)
Refinanced student loans to lower rates using Earnest
Whatโs a Balance Transfer Card?
A balance transfer card lets you move your existing credit card debt to a new card that offers 0% interest (APR) for a limited time โ usually 12 to 18 months.
So instead of paying 20โ25% interest on your old card, you get 12 months of interest-free breathing room.
Why I Did It:
- I had credit card debt building up.
- Instead of paying high interest every month, I transferred the balance to a 0% APR card.
- Now, every payment went toward the debt, not interest.
- That helped me pay it off way faster.
Important:
Some cards charge a 2โ3% transfer fee, and if you donโt pay off the full balance before the 0% period ends, interest kicks back in.
What Does โRefinanced Student Loans Using Earnestโ Mean?
Refinancing means replacing your existing student loan with a new loan โ ideally with a lower interest rate and better repayment terms.
I used Earnest, a student loan refinancing platform. They offered:
- Lower rates
- Customizable monthly payments
- No hidden fees
Why I Did It:
- My original loan had a super high interest rate.
- Earnest gave me a much lower one.
- That instantly reduced my monthly payments and total interest over time.
- It didnโt erase the debt โ but it made it a lot easier to manage.
In Simple Words:
โI stopped wasting money on high interest.
First, I froze my credit card debt with a balance transfer card.
Then, I made my student loan cheaper by refinancing it through Earnest.
That single move saved me hundreds (maybe thousands) of dollars.โ
๐จ๐ธ๐พ๐ป ๐๐ต๐พ๐ฎ๐น๐ป๐ฒ๐ท๐ฝ
๐๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ต ๐๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ spreadsheet
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข Zero-Based Budget monthly
๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ ๐๐น๐ต๐ณ๐ข Income Stream
๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต
๐๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ
