It turns out that millennials have practically nothing in the bank, even those who are on a large amount of money. According to data collected from over 2,500 people by How Much, the vast majority of millennials have less than $5,000 in savings for a rainy day. 44 percent of people earning less than $24,000 a year had less than $1,000 in the bank, and this percentage actually rises to 48.4 percent for those earning in the $50,00 to $75,000 income bracket.
The question for millennials, therefore, is how to double their money so that they can finally start generating some meaningful savings?
Find Lost Income
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to double your monthly income by searching for money down the back of the sofa unless your sofa happens to be a safety deposit box, or you have giant holes in your pockets. But you may be able to positively affect your finances by looking for other sources of lost income. What about uncashed paychecks? How about royalty payments that never arrived? What about your forgotten student bank account or Paypal account – is there any money sitting there that you could use?
According to the aptly named National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, there was more than £1 billion lost income returned to people during 2011, with an average payment of over £600.
Rent Out Your Stuff
If you have any particularly nice assets, it might be time to rent them out. For instance, if you’ve got a sports car, don’t just let it sit there on your driveway depreciating. Put it to use by renting it out through a site like RelayRides. Just renting out a car for five days a month could net you an extra $2,800 – not bad. You can also rent out an unused parking space on sites like Spot, which can also net you a considerable amount of money every month.
If you’re into photography, there are opportunities to make money here too. For instance, sites like Spokefly allow you to rent out photography equipment for people who need use of a great camera for a day or while they are away on holiday.
Hire An Assistant
If you’re a freelancer and work from home, you could try to double your money by hiring an assistant or an agent. You’ll have to discuss any terms with an employment law consultancy, of course, but getting another person involved in what you’re doing can often end up netting you a lot of extra cash. Many freelancers are exceptionally good at what they do, but they’re not very good at marketing and finding new business. Often freelancers find that they spend up to 50 percent of their time just looking for new clients. Taking on a second person will help reduce your search time and mean that you can spend longer concentrating on making money and expanding your customer base. There are no plenty of opportunities to hire a virtual PA or agent who will go out and find work on your behalf – for a price, of course.
