Make Money

10 Weird Things To Do If You’re Barely Scraping By Financially

Last updated April 30, 2025 | 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:

Ohio Driver? Cancel your car insurance

Driving without car insurance is illegal, but if you do this, you’re not actually breaking the law.

Our new tool can help you see if you’re overpaying for car insurance in just a few clicks. You’d be shocked by the difference. $233 per month is what they wanted to charge me. I thought that was the best price, don’t even look anywhere else. Right? Wrong.

I used our new tool and now I’m able to pay just $50 a month for two cars.Too many insurance companies do this. They push up our rates and make us pay even more. But if you want to try this new tool and compare and score same-day savings, here’s what to do:

  1. Click the link below and enter your zip code, date of birth, and email.
  2. Answer a few questions about your car’s make and model to get matched with top offers.
  3. You will get a phone call from an agent and they’ll set it up for you right away.

Compare rates now and score same-day savings today!

I can hardly believe I waited so long to do this, but I’m glad I finally did. It takes two minutes. Super fast. You have to trust me on this. Just try it out.

Earn up to $360 in cash back on everyday purchases with this rare account

You can now earn cash back on everyday purchases without using a credit card. With the Discover® CashBack Debit One Checking account (member FDIC), you can earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month!1

You don’t have to worry about a credit check to apply, and there are no monthly fees. Start earning nearly passive income on purchases you’re making anyway — up to an extra $360 a year!2

There are other great perks too, like getting access to your paycheck up to 2 days early, and no minimum deposit or monthly balance requirements.

Don’t wait to apply: In 2022, Discover temporarily suspended new account applications. Luckily, they reopened applications again. (But you shouldn’t wait to apply!)

Apply for a Discover® Cashback Checking account today

Earn money online by taking surveys

$55,000 might sound crazy … but with a company called Survey Junkie, it’s possible to get your share of it every day by taking their simple surveys.

While it might sound strange, these “market research” surveys are a known way to make extra cash online. Of course, they won’t make you rich … but if you have some extra free time, the money you earn could be enough to cover gas, groceries, coffee, and more!

Follow these simple steps to get your share of $55,000:

  1. Sign up for an account with Survey Junkie here.
  2. Take surveys.
  3. Repeat daily and get paid!

Sign up here and share your opinion on these companies with simple surveys. Survey Junkie has paid out over $76 million to date.

P.S.: You can cash out with as little as $5 through PayPal or bank transfer, or transfer to gift cards from a number of stores.

Get your share of $55,000 daily by signing up here

Pay no interest on balance transfers until 2027

Imagine getting an intro 0% APR on balance transfers for 21 months from date of account opening (APR then 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable)). 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 from date of account opening. 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! After the intro period, the APR is 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable) (balance transfers must be completed within 4 months of account opening).

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

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

Credit card debt is suffocating. It constantly weighs on your mind and controls every choice you make. You can end up emotionally and even physically drained from it. And even though you make regular payments, it feels like you can never make any progress because of the interest.

Accredited Debt Relief is designed specifically to help you get out of over $20,000 in credit card debt faster, without having to make drastic life changes. With Accredited Debt Relief, you could pay off your credit card debt in one simple monthly payment.

How to get Accredited Debt Relief to lower your debt:Sign up for a free quote here. (Do not skip this step!) By getting a no-obligation quote, they can immediately assist you in paying off your debt … but only if you request a quote.

Try this

Don’t pay a CENT to contractors for home repairs until you do this

Sounds crazy. And maybe you’re not even sure if this is real. But … you’re probably curious anyway. Choice Home Warranty makes it so you might be able to save $100s in home repairs!

They’ve been around since 2008 (so you know they’re legit) and they offer affordable plans to cover appliances and systems in your home that could break down from routine wear and tear.

Think of it like this: Say your air conditioning unit breaks down during a heatwave. Instead of paying $1,500 for repairs, you may only need to pay a $100 service fee with Choice Home Warranty, and their techs come and fix it ASAP. This could save you $1,400 almost instantly!

Choose a plan here and you can still lock in their ultra-low 2024 rates (for a limited time). Then, whenever a covered system in your home breaks down, all you have to do is make your claim online or give them a call. Their team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.3

Choose a plan from Choice Home Warranty here and lock in 2024 rates

P.S. Use the links above and you’ll get $50 off and 1 month free. We don’t know how long this will last, so take advantage of it today before it disappears.

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 $15 the first year with auto-renewal.

Become an AARP member now

Borrow cash from your home (now that the Fed cut rates)

If you need cash, you do not need a cash-out refinance or home equity loan. Yes, the Fed just cut interest rates, but they could keep cutting, and you don’t want to be locked in with a fixed rate.

Keep your options flexible and get a home equity line of credit (HELOC) instead. It's like a credit card that lets you access cash from your home equity. HELOCs usually have variable rates, meaning you could access cash now at newly lowered rates and have the opportunity to access more down the road at potentially even lower rates.

Use LendingTree’s simple HELOC matching tool4to compare options in a few minutes. Getting quotes and checking rates doesn't affect your credit. You could qualify as long as your credit score is 620 or higher and you have equity in your home.

See how much cash you could get

Stop overpaying on credit card interest

If you have credit card debt, you know that paying your bill each month is anxiety-inducing … and sometimes close to impossible with what you have in the bank.

A company called MoneyLion wants to help.5If you owe less than $100,000 in credit card debt, MoneyLion can match you with loan providers that could help you pay off your credit card debt with a personal loan almost instantly.

You don’t need a perfect credit score, and checking for loans won’t affect your credit.

Truthfully, this company exists to help you get ahead in life. They facilitate more than 200 million loan requests a year, and you can see your options in a matter of minutes. It’s certainly worth a shot if you’re feeling suffocated by debt.

Get a loan offer here

Alert: In 2023 Americans lost over $10 billion to identity theft and fraud

That's right. According to the FTC, Americans lost over $10 Billion to fraud and identity theft in 2023.

But you can safeguard your data with all-in-one identity theft protection services from Aura which comes with $1,000,000.00 in identity theft insurance6per adult, to cover you should you have eligible identity theft-related losses.

An individual plan starts at $9 per month, and you can choose a family plan that outmatches most others - includes Dark Web monitoring to scour data breaches and leaks for your sensitive personal data — such as Social Security numbers (SSN), Medicare information, and phone numbers.

Before you make your next online purchase, protect what you’ve built for a fraction of what it could cost you if your data were compromised.

Save up to 68% when you sign up for protection today!

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