Raising your income to invest

[Amanda Reynolds]

I'm fairly new to REI and I want to jump start my REI Business. Currently, my husband and I are struggling financially on a very low income for our big family of 6, I know the obvious answer is to increase my income so I can invest in my business. Here is were I get stuck... my kids are all fairly young I have one that isn't even in school yet, so I'm at home, trying to avoid the cost of childcare which is very expensive in my state, I do odd jobs to try adding to our cash-flow; I am always running into road blocks, not knowing what to do with my little one. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could generate cash-flow without putting my kid in childcare?

[Michael Seeker]

Originally posted by @Amanda Reynolds:

I know the obvious  answer is to increase my income

I think the obvious answer should be to reduce your expenses.  Many people don't live within their means and then say they can't afford to do X, Y or Z.

Have you called around to see if you can reduce how much you spend on car insurance and/or home insurance?

Do you have cable/satellite that you spend a hefty chunk of change on each month?  You can't tell me that you NEED cable...

How about a ridiculous cell phone bill?

How many meals a day are home cooked vs. eaten out or pre-made from the store?

These are just a couple ideas.  If you focus on bringing in more money then more likely than not you'll find a way to spend the extra $ before you save up enough to invest in real estate (or anything else for that matter).  If you first focus on how to live on less money than you make, then when you make more you'll be better equipped to handle it and get out of the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.