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

make money
Last updated April 2, 2025 | By FinanceBuzz Editors
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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

Ohio Driver? Cancel your car insurance

We’ve got bad news. You could be wasting $600 every year on overpriced, second-rate car insurance. And you should probably cancel your existing insurance right now, because there’s something much better.

Our tool can tell you if you’re overpaying for your car insurance in just a few clicks. We match drivers with companies that report saving drivers up to $600 or more per year when they switch! Each driver’s savings will vary by driving history and how many discounts you’re eligible for. And once you try it out, you’ll never have to look for affordable insurance again because we find you the lowest rates that other companies can’t match.

Oh, and it’s also free. And come on — you can’t tell us you don’t want to save up to $600. To find out if you're losing up to $600 or more a year, just answer a few questions, and then make sure to enter your zip, dob, and email, to see if you qualify for a lower rate. It takes less than 2 minutes.

See if you’re overpaying

Earn a $300 bonus offer when you open and fund this powerful account

We hate to tell you this, really. But if you aren’t using Bank of America Advantage Banking, you could be missing out on extra cash. Don’t worry though … it's easy to fix.

Earn a $300 bonus when you open an account through the Bank of America promotional page. This offer is available online only and may not be available if you leave this page, visit bankofamerica.com, visit a Bank of America Financial center, or if you call the bank. See offer page for more details. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC.

Besides potentially earning a nice bonus, you’ll also get access to Bank of America’s highly-rated mobile apps, thousands of ATMs and financial centers, 24/7 security with Total Security Protection® and fraud monitoring, and much more.

This is practically passive income and a great way to supercharge your earnings. Hurry, this is a limited-time offer and is only valid through 5/31/2025.

Open a Bank of America Advantage Banking account here

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.2

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.

Ask this company to help you pay off your late tax debt

Past-due tax debt is overwhelming.

It weighs on your mind and causes massive anxiety. You end up emotionally and physically drained. Even worse when the IRS starts sending letters threatening wage garnishment and huge fines.

Alleviate Tax is designed specifically to help you get out of tax debt faster and could reduce some of the debt you owe.

While most tax companies just put you on a payment plan and file your taxes for you, Alleviate Tax talks to the IRS directly. They can help you pay off your tax debt faster while potentially reducing what you owe.

Important: Not everyone will qualify. To take advantage of this special program you must owe more than $10,000 in past-due taxes.

Answer a few questions to get started

Earn money shopping online with this tool (yes, it’s kind of crazy)

This new Chrome add-on might be the best thing on the internet right now. Yes, lots of add-ons promise to find you discount codes. But very few (if any) let you earn money while you shop.

Add Redeemer to Chrome here, and the tool automatically finds the highest possible cash back for your purchases. Then it deposits that cash into your Redeemer wallet. You can cash out to Venmo, Zelle, or a bank account at any time. It’s basically free money.

Even better, Redeemer’s price tracker helps you buy items when they’re cheapest, and can find discount codes for you when they’re not. And the tool will even show you which credit card to use to maximize rewards points.

Seriously, add it to Chrome now and try it out for your next purchase. It’s insane.

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 nearly 2027

Imagine getting 18 months with 0% intro APR on a balance transfer (APR then 18.24% - 28.24% (Variable)). Sounds great — right? You could dramatically change your financial picture with this industry-leading card - the Citi Double Cash® 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 18 months. After the intro period for balance transfers, the APR is 18.24% - 28.24% (Variable). 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 stop with balance transfers though. Cardholders can also earn double cash back — 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases; plus, a special travel offer, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25. Even better, you can redeem your cash back as direct deposit, a statement credit, or even a mailed check! You can turn your everyday purchases into cash back and make a dent in your debt, regular bills, or save for the future.

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

Click here to apply now for the Citi Double Cash® Card

Get paid up to $225 a month while watching viral videos

It sounds crazy. And $225 is definitely not the “average.” But come on … you’re at least a little curious. Getting paid while watching viral videos is a real way to earn cash, and you can do it with a company called InboxDollars.

No … it’s not going to get you rich. And yes. .. it’s probably one of the lowest-effort side hustles. But it’s totally worth your time if you’re just sitting on the couch scrolling anyway. Instead of watching viral videos on YouTube, you could be getting paid actual cash to take surveys while watching viral videos instead. Every little bit of extra money counts.

It's simple. You sign up here and confirm your email. Then you watch and take surveys. Then you earn cash (yes, actual cash … not "points"). Take these surveys whenever you’re just chilling on the couch watching videos and see how much extra you could earn every month.

Get paid while watching videos

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National Debt Relief Benefits

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