Rais Quick Cash
Many separated men and women find they need to raise extra cash because their spouse left them in a financial lurch. Others want to move on with their lives, perhaps physically moving households. Still others want to build a financial cushion.
In fact, if for no other reason than to boost your savings, reading the following tips could help build that emergency fund everyone should have. Financial planners encourage people to stash away six to eight months of living expenses in a money market fund. If you lose your job, or if your estranged spouse loses his and falls behind in support payments, you have money to fall back upon. Peruse the following list to raise quick cash:
1. Hold a yard or garage sale. Refrain from selling treasured heirlooms, antiques, or personal belongings that your estranged spouse may claim later. Concentrate on items that have little significant or sentimental value, or those belonging to you or your children. If you don’t want the bother of a sale, take the items to an auction house or flea market dealer.
2. Toys and no-longer-needed baby items are sure bets for clearing clutter and raising cash. List popular items in your local advertising supplement where anyone can place a free ad for things $25 or less. It doesn’t sound like major cash, but if you consider all the baby items you may have in the attic or basement, old bikes, outdated software, games, or videotapes, you’d be surprised how quickly you amass a few hundred dollars.
3. Return never-worn clothing or unwrapped items to stores for full credit, a cash refund, or an even exchange. Of course, this means clothing with the tags on, appliances and toys never used, books never read, or compact discs never taken out of the shrink-wrap. Again, you’d be surprised how much money is returned to you. If no cash equivalent is available, take a store credit to purchase items you or your children do need. It’s like going on a shopping spree without spending any money. Or, take the credit and shop ahead for birthday or holiday gifts.
4. Ask for refunds for products that didn’t live up to the manufacturer’s promise, or services poorly rendered. No one likes a constant complainer, but if you don’t speak up, you don’t allow others to produce a better product or service. So if a restaurant meal isn’t satisfactory, call the manager. If an item has a money-back guarantee, save the package details.
5. Refinance your existing mortgage if you can obtain a new mortgage at least one percentage point below your existing rate. Of course, if the mortgage is jointly held, this might not be possible until a divorce is final.