6 Things To Do If You’re Barely Scraping By Financially

Last updated April 16, 2024 | By FinanceBuzz Editors

You’ve got just enough money in your bank account to last until Friday … but then Monday rolls around, and you’re in the same situation. Again.

Food. Bills. Rent. Gas. They dry up every bit of your take-home pay.

But it doesn’t have to be this hard. With a few smart moves, you could supplement your income — without doing much extra “work,” or even getting a side job!

Here’s what to do:

Get out of $20,000 or more in credit card debt

If you have a lot of debt, getting out of it can feel stressful (and nearly impossible). Here’s the problem: the longer you put off tackling it, the harder it gets to fix. If you don’t take control of it early on, it can add undue stress to your life for years. But what if there was a way to get out of debt once and for all?

TurboDebt¹can help. If you have more than $20,000 in debt from credit cards, medical bills, collections, or personal loans, their representatives might be able to assist you in consolidating your debt into one low monthly payment.

Best of all? There are zero fees until your debt is resolved, and you could be debt-free in as little as 24-48 months. To get started, just answer a few simple questions. It only takes 30 seconds to see if you qualify!

Try TurboDebt

Pay no interest on balance transfers until January 2026

Imagine getting 21 months with 0% interest on a balance transfer. Sounds great — right? You could dramatically change your financial picture with this industry-leading low-interest card - the Citi Simplicity^® Card.

If you want to kick high-interest credit card debt to the curb, this is one of the leading get-out-of-debt cards available. Transfer your high interest debt to this card with a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months. Your payments can go directly to paying down your balance without incurring a pile of additional charges. That could save you hundreds of dollars in interest!

It doesn't just stop with balance transfers though. Cardholders also get a generous intro APR of 0% for 12 months on purchases. After the intro period for purchases and balance transfers, the APR is 19.24% - 29.99% (Variable).

The best part? There's no annual fee with the Citi Simplicity^® Card(Rates and fees).

Click here to Apply Now to the Citi Simplicity^® Card

Don't let home repairs drain your bank account

Did you know if your air conditioner stops working, your homeowner’s insurance won’t cover it? Same with plumbing, electrical issues, appliances, and more. Not being able to make repairs could leave you in a bad situation — but a home warranty could protect you against surprise expenses.²

Whether you’re a brand-new homeowner or you’ve owned your home for years, a plan from Choice Home Warranty could pick up the slack where homeowner’s insurance falls short.

If a covered system in your home breaks down, you can call their hotline 24/7 for assistance to get it repaired. They have a network of over 15,000 technicians that can assist you, making sure any issue can be taken care of swiftly — without breaking the bank.

Not sure if it’s for you? Rest easy: they were named one of the "Best Home Warranty Companies" by US News 360 Reviews and were awarded Best Company's 2020 Consumer's Choice Award. For a limited time, you can get your first month free when you sign up for a Single Payment home warranty plan.

Get a free quote

Unlock up to $1,070 value over the next year with this incredible card

There's a credit card that's making waves with its amazing bonus and benefits. The Discover it^® Cash Back (Rates and fees) card has no annual fee, and Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. This generous welcome offer and the top-notch cash back rewards provides an estimated $1,070 value in the first year!

The excellent $1,070 first-year value is estimated through the FinanceBuzz Credit Card Rewards Valuation Model based on spending, the welcome bonus, and the annual fee. The actual value will be determined by how much and in which categories you spend, but this card makes racking up valuable rewards easy! Earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate, including gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants. Plus, you'll earn 1% cash back on all other purchases automatically. The welcome offer combined with the up to 5% cash back reward rate could be worth up to 10% cash back!

This card also offers an intro APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then APR 17.24% - 28.24% Variable. To top it all off, the Discover it^® Cash Back is accepted by 99% of merchants, and there's no annual fee.

Click here to apply now for the Discover it^® Cash Back.

If you’re over 50, take advantage of massive discounts and financial resources

Over 50? Join AARP today — because if you’re not a member you could be missing out on huge perks. When you start your membership today, you can get discounts on things like travel, meal deliveries, eyeglasses, prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance and more.

How to become a member today:

Go here, select your free gift, and click “Join Today”
Create your account (important!) by answering a few simple questions
Start enjoying your discounts and perks!

You’ll also get insider info on social security, job listings, caregiving, and retirement planning. And you’ll get access to AARP’s Fraud Watch Network to help you protect your money, as well as tools to help you plan for retirement.

Important: Start your membership by creating an account here and filling in all of the information (Do not skip this step!) Doing so will allow you to take up 25% off your AARP membership, making it just $12 per year with auto-renewal.

Become an AARP member now

Earn up to $75/hour working from home

Bookkeeping is a basic (but powerful) way to earn money online.

And while $75/hour might sound like a lot of money, the data backs it up: Thanks to its high profit, low cost nature, Foundr Magazine has described it as one of the most profitable businesses you can start …

Plus, data from a 2021 survey by Intuit shows that the average hourly rate for this in-demand skill jumped from $69/hour to $75/hour! This unique skill can help you supplement your existing income … or even replace your current job.

Start learning how to launch a bookkeeping business by taking this free 3-class intro from Bookkeepers.com. The classes cover:

How you can own a virtual bookkeeping business.
What it takes to run a profitable virtual bookkeeping business.
How to land high paying clients … even if you've never done bookkeeping!

BTW: You don’t need to be a math savant or even have an accounting degree. Like anything, it does take work, but you can be successful even if you’re busy with kids, family, or a regular 9-5 job.

Enter your first name and email here to access the training