10 Week Money Challenge

2025 will end in 10 weeks so what better time than now to do a money challenge?

I shared recently how to make and save an extra $5,000 by the end of the year but I want to really focus on everyone improving their finances since the cost of living in atrocious right now!

I am personally doing a challenge so thought I would invite you all to join me. Every day I will share a tip or what I am doing on Facebook and Instagram to improve my finances. Some of this will be quite different to the norm as I will be overseas (Tonga and Vanuatu), living as a local so implementing many of the things they do to live simply.

If you want to see more of our life there, not just the finance tips, follow @kylieleetravers on Instagram and Facebook instead. I will also be sharing things on TikTok and YouTube but there's nothing on those right now.

The end of the year has typically been a great time to boost income, clear out things you don't need and prep your life for the new year.

Maybe you have Christmas expenses, need to save for time off work, a car, house deposit or you know your kids need new devices for school in 2026.

Now is a great time to focus on your finances and make a push to end this year in better financial shape.

We prepared well for the end of this year knowing we'd be in countries with limited reception and had cultural obligations but we still want to see how much we can maximise our finances despite not having our usual resources.

I know how hard it can be to stay on track, keep motivated and doing all you can to achieve your financial goals, so why not join me in an end of year push to improve it all? Leave comments, ask questions, tell me what you are doing and how it is going etc so we can encourage each other.

Follow The Thrifty Issue Facebook and Instagram and Kylie Travers @kylieleetravers on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

Easy Money

We all need some money wins and there are some ways you can get money easily without going into debt or needing much effort.

$100 from ING with a few steps and paid the month after you complete it.

$15 INSTANTLY from UP Bank, which is backed by Bendigo. They are online only and fee free too. You can literally sign up, get the bonus and choose to never use them again if you want and still keep the money!

$30 from ubank with the code S7L6WF after you've made 5 completed transactions with the card.

Look for any bonuses, programs, vouchers and free money here. Each state has different programs and there are nationwide discounts or opportunities too.

Do odd jobs with Airtasker, check out my previous experiences and tips here.

Selling or reselling. I have sold most of our things already so this isn't something I am focusing on right now. Check out my tips plus my ebook on what, where, how, everything for making thousands reselling.

24 ways to make money in 2025 includes ideas that all pay over $25hr.

Online surveys and market research with Octopus Group. The online surveys pay a little over $16hr and now they are offering market research with gigs paying $45 to over $100hr.

Go on a money hunt if you haven't recently. Look for money in all your purses, under furniture, between lounge cushions, in the car etc. 11 ways to find money has some ideas.

Cash out everything - if you ever used Cash Rewards, it's closing so cash out now! Check Shopback to see if you have any available money to cash out (or sign up to get cash back when you shop if you haven't already joined). Go through all the reward programs you use and see if you have anything to cash out or collect.

As an example for cashing out, I have $150 in Octopus Group, BrasNThings sent me a voucher recently, as did Priceline, The Body Shop, Adore Beauty and a few others. I won't use them all but checking them and considering them for gifts I need to get others and items I need for our 3 months in the islands is saving me money.

Extra Income This Time of Year

From now until the end of the year there are other things you can look at doing if you have the time, energy and space.

Rent a room to a boarder, rent out your garage on Spacer or list a room (or your home) on Airbnb if you are travelling.

Offer babysitting, cleaning, gardening or other domestic tasks just for this time of year.

Get paid to put up other people's decorations e.g. Halloween, Christmas etc. 3 of the places we've lived in Australia go all out for both of those and yes, people pay others to set it up for them.

Collect and cash in cans.

Run some classes or special experiences for your area, tourists visiting etc. You can do this through Airbnb or local groups.

Apply for Christmas casual work.

Be open to opportunities. Check community noticeboards, let people know you are interested in extra cash and see what happens.

Our Meal Plan

We leave in a couple of weeks so are focused on using limited ingredients, using up what we have and not buying anything in bulk. Some of this is boring but here it is:

Sausage stir fry: flavoured sausages with vegetables and a stir fry sauce (we make our own usually from whatever we have on hand).
​San Choy Bau is a favourite and since it uses bean sprouts, we tend to do a few Asian inspired dishes.
Rice paper rolls with whatever fillings we want are great for the warmer days.
​Thai beef salad​
​Quesadillas​
Salmon or whatever fish we catch this week. Salmon is the most common for us but also bream, flathead and whiting depending where we fish.
Fried rice with whatever vegetables we have leftover

For frugal food ideas check out 20+ tips to reduce the cost of groceries plus how to reduce waste/what to do with scraps and leftovers.

What I Am Reading

Pathfinders: Extraordinary Stories of People Like You on the Quest for Financial Independence―And How to Join Them by JL Collins.

Many people aspire to financial independence and there is a huge international movement for a different lifestyle and how retirement looks. This book covers a variety of experiences, struggles and success from all sorts of people.

If financial independence is a goal for you, this is a great read.

Discounts For You!

Check out all the October discounts, special offers and freebies here.

The Thrifty Issue Community

For more and to connect with others check out The Thrifty Issue Facebook group, Facebook page, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.​