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  • 31 Days to Find $1000

31 Days to Find $1000

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you sign-up for services or make a purchase after clicking on a link below, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Also, I am not a financial advisor. I'm a blogger who LOVES to share how I manage the finances for my household.

October 31, By Kristia 19 Comments

31 Days to Find $1000 400X400

 

Do you have a large bill due? Have you figured out how you’ll pay for Christmas? Are you trying to build an emergency fund? I bet you could use $1000 right about NOW.

$1000 is a lot of money, but yet, it’s not that hard to find–you just have to know where to look.

In 2013, I participated in The Nester’s 31 Days event and my challenge was to find $1000.  Mondays thru Saturdays in October, I offered ideas to help you find $1000 too. And on Sundays, we met here to catch our breath and let everyone know how we were finding our cash.

To be honest, I think I was delirious when I convinced myself to take on this challenge. I’ve never written every single day before, but I laid out my ideas on a calendar the last week of September, reviewed them with my husband to get his feedback, and then I just dove into October. There were 5 days that I just couldn’t get a post up due to my in real life busyness. The month is over and now I can get back to some other topics.

How we found $1000 in 31 Days?

If you followed along, it was certainly possible for you to find a full $1000 from all of my ideas. Most of my tips were things that I have actually done in the past–but unfortunately that money didn’t flow in October–like the $150 when I cashed in some old gold jewelry or the $200 my husband earned from teaching private swimming lessons or the $150 we made at our yard sale this past summer or the $55 we saved per month when we cancelled cable. Right there is $555.

In the month of October we found almost $600.

  • $250 Bank of America cash rewards
  • $80 from the sale of the Wii
  • $50 returns
  • $57 from cashing in loose change.
  • $55 from our yard sale.
  • $75 from reducing our spending and declaring October a “needs” only month.
  • $25 from our lower electric bill due to our Low Heat Challenge.

October was a success in many ways. We got rid of clutter by selling some stuff and returning unused purchases, we were able to reduce our spending by $100 during the month by being more deliberate with our money, and I met some new blogging friends who were also participating in the challenge. Not too bad!

So how did you do? Were you able to find $1000? Did you follow some of my tips to reach your goal? I would LOVE to hear about your success in October, so please let us know in the comments.

The 31 Days Recap:

  • Day 1: Make October a “Needs” Only Month
  • Day 2: Have a Yard Sale
  • Day 3: Sell Your Big Stuff on Craigslist
  • Day 4: Find a Seasonal Part-Time Retail Job
  • Day 5: Return Unused Purchases
  • Day 6: Found Cash Update
  • Day 7: Make Money from Your Skills
  • Day 8: Sell Your Unused Video Games
  • Day 9: Plan a Low Heat Challenge
  • Day 10: Sell Your Gold Jewelry for Cash
  • Day 11: Cancel Your Cable TV
  • Day 12: How to Get a FREE Gym Membership
  • Day 13: Update #2
  • Day 14: Reduce Your Grocery Spending without Sacrificing Quality
  • Day 15: Skip the AM Drive-Thru and Eat Breakfast at Home
  • Day 16: Shop Thrift or Consignment Stores
  • Day 17: Find FREE or Low Cost Family Entertainment
  • Day 18: I had a yard sale and didn’t have much time to get online.
  • Day 19: I was out of town and offline.
  • Day 20: I ran a half marathon and offline
  • Day 21: Playing catch up from being out of town for 2 days. Loads of laundry to do.
  • Day 22: FINALLY…a new post: Do-It-Yourself and SAVE!
  • Day 23: Brown-Bag Your Lunch & SAVE!
  • Day 24: Cash In Your Loose Change
  • Day 25: Rethink Your Christmas Spending
  • Day 26: crazy day spent offline.
  • Day 27: Update #3 How much we found so far.
  • Day 28: Are You Paying Too Much?
  • Day 29: Eat Dinner at Home & SAVE!
  • Day 30: Increase Your Income

Check out my 31 Days to Find $1000 Pinterest board where I’ll be updating daily.

Filed Under: 31 Days to Find $1000

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Comments

  1. KG says

    November 2, at 5:57 pm

    I love this challenge and will adopt it this month..
    I might even blog about it!!
    Let’s see! !

    Visiting from #SitsSharefest

    Keep it Touched,
    KG
    http://www.kgstyleblogs.com
    KG recently posted…Happy Halloween Friends!My Profile

    Reply
  2. Wendy @ Wensend says

    November 3, at 12:44 pm

    Thanks for sharing! Stopping by from #SITSsharefest and I liked your blog. Keep up the good work. I’ll try to stop by more often 🙂
    Wendy @ Wensend recently posted…MONTHLY WRAP-UP | October 2013My Profile

    Reply
  3. Ruth @ Living Well Spending Less says

    November 4, at 2:11 pm

    This is such a great list. I especially love cashing in loose change and yard sales. People may be surprised by how much money they get from both. Thanks for sharing this list and linking up to Thrifty Thursday.
    Ruth @ Living Well Spending Less recently posted…DiY Liquid Hand Soap {Handmade Holidays}My Profile

    Reply
  4. Wendy Bottrell says

    January 9, at 10:47 am

    Great idea! We have been on a reducing, reusing, require only mode for the last couple of years. It is very liberating not to spend any time in the malls! Thanks for the great ideas.
    Wendy Bottrell recently posted…Drink Water Daily – How To Be Healthy Living TipsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Kristia Ludwick says

      January 9, at 1:28 pm

      Hi Wendy! Liberating is a perfect description. I had to go to the mall over the holidays to pick up a couple of gift cards and if I don’t have to go back until this December, I will be perfectly happy with that. Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply
  5. Kim says

    January 9, at 1:20 pm

    Great ideas! It’s always nice to find ways to save/keep more of your money. Excited to see more of your ideas!
    Kim recently posted…Perfect Wheat BreadMy Profile

    Reply
    • Kristia Ludwick says

      January 9, at 1:26 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Kim! And for the kind words.

      Reply
  6. Heather @ My Overflowing Cup says

    September 19, at 4:43 pm

    I love this! Thanks for all of the great reading material, Kristia!

    Reply
    • Kristia says

      September 20, at 8:31 am

      Heather, You’re welcome!

      Reply
  7. Shanna says

    January 1, at 11:50 am

    Excellent information. I just discovered your blog. Great ideas!Happy New Year!
    Shanna recently posted…Where Does the Time Go?My Profile

    Reply
    • Kristia says

      January 1, at 7:45 pm

      Welcome, Shanna! Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.

      Reply
  8. Nancy says

    December 24, at 3:57 pm

    I just love your newsletter! It is the very best one that I have ever seen on saving money! Keep them coming! Nancy in Virginia

    Reply
    • Kristia says

      December 31, at 9:14 am

      Thanks fort the kind words, Nancy! Happy New Year!

      Reply
  9. Joshua Holt says

    January 11, at 1:14 pm

    Great article and great ideas. I like the perspective of “finding” money. Lots of creative angles on using what you already have at your disposal to put together a chunk of cash.

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    November 3, at 12:25 pm

    […] a whole lot of time to check out any other series.  That said, I really loved looking over this 31 Days to Find $1000  from Family Balance Sheet. She had some really great ideas for finding cash in unexpected places. […]

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    March 26, at 12:03 am

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    September 19, at 6:01 am

    […] October, I ran a very successful series called 31 Days to Find $1000. In total, I found $1155 from my ideas. Today, you have 96 days to find the money you need, so head […]

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