Money Making March: The Challenge

Living within your means is crucial to surviving financially but there is only so much you can do to cut back so this month I want you to join me in a money making challenge.

Continue to be frugal, get your budget sorted now if you haven't got one, while reviewing what you do plus the time spent doing it then switch your focus to be more about increasing your income at the same time.

Sometimes we get so caught up in being frugal and saving every cent, we don't realise our time could be better spent to improve our finances.

​Check out the challenge this month, tips to make money, save time and energy, maximise your finances etc.

Read through reduce expenses or make more money, which is more important?​

Ways To Make Money

For some ideas on how to make more money or things to focus on this month, first think about your personal goals, interests, talents, resources, energy levels, available time etc. How can you use those to make money?

Next, check if you are eligible for any free money or vouchers here.

If you don't have much mental energy, online surveys can be something you do while watching TV, waiting at school pick up etc. Octopus Group is Australia and New Zealand's highest paying online survey site and they now offer $45 to $120 for market research too.

I've reviewed many online survey sites and have how much you can make, tips to make more and which ones to avoid in this article.

Read 19 ways I've made money from home and how I work from home and remotely for ideas to make money and tips to make it work around the kids.

We are moving to Perth soon so I am focused on selling off a lot of what we have. Read my tips for how I have done this and made a regular income from reselling.

You can make money from odd jobs on platforms such as Airtasker, I share my tips and experience in this article.

If you enjoy writing, learn how to become a freelance writer and start pitching articles this month.

​What can you do to make money when you're totally broke?​

Find all the articles on ways to make money here.

How to Increase Your Income Long Term

Making money quickly or doing a challenge to get a quick boost is good. Increasing your income over the long term is even better.

Read how to double your income for some ideas to help you increase your wage, get a better job, invest in yourself etc.

If you've used the tips in this month's challenge to find more time (there are 18 tips here), consider how you use it. You could split it between ways to make money to help your income now and doing things to increase your income long term.

How can you increase your income long-term?

Ask for a raise, apply for a promotion or look to see if you would earn more with another company for the same role.
Upskill or change careers to something that pays more, even if it means studying for a while.
Have a financial plan, learn about investing, maximise your tax deductions and any other benefits. Even though you might not see any benefit right now, compound interest is a wonderful thing when it comes to your money working for you.
Invest in yourself through education such as reading these 10 books that improved my finances (links to another site I own).
Learn how to create content that generates income over time e.g. ebooks and published print books. Do them once, market them well and generate income from sales and royalties. Sell things on Etsy.

Get Your $125 Bonus From ING

If you are a new customer of ING you can get $125 for opening an everyday account with them by doing the following steps:

1. ​Open an everyday account, put the promo code CNW116 in the promo box (you must use the code to get the $125 bonus), and complete all the steps below in the first month.
2. Deposit $1,000 into the account such as your income or Centrelink payments
3. Make 5 settled transactions
4. Open a Savings Maximiser (current interest rate is 5.5%)
5. Deposit any amount into the Savings Maximiser

Then you get your $125 the following month when the promotion is running. Promotion periods vary. The current promotion runs until 31 March 2025.

Our Meal Plan

We paused meal kits for a while as we were fishing a fair bit and travelling so meal kits didn't work. For the next few weeks we are rotating the discounts again. As an example, with the Marley Spoon discount we get, it was only around $120 for 6 meals for 4 people and saved me a few hours meal planning, doing a shopping list and the groceries.

Yes, I still have to get a few things for breakfast and lunch but those are the same every week so it is extremely quick to do the shop and get it delivered. I do not have the energy to do a meal plan for us and the meal kits means my kids pick the meals and cook more instead of me.

​Get discounts on all the meal kits I use here.

What I Am Reading

​The New Rules is about becoming HER, as in the woman you want to be. It's generated some interesting discussions with my 16 year old daughter so far.

It wasn't a book I was originally interested in reading however it is quite insightful in our view and provides advice a little different to what has been pushed by men in business the past decade about successful lives.

Discounts For You!

We've updated the freebies section with cash bonuses, birthday freebies and other discounts available to you including meal kits, food, clothing and more.

The Thrifty Issue Community

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