Part of generating extra income isn't really generating extra income. Sound confusing? It's not, really.
Part of that issue is to learn to live within your means, even below it. Live a more frugal lifestyle. Being frugal doesn't mean being miserly or doing without a lot of things. It means making the most of what you have already, only making purchases that are absolutely necessary, and setting your priorities so that you aren't going broke before you receive your next paycheck.
For me personally, part of it is means not eating out as much. I can mimic almost any restaurant dish right here at home, and for a lot less money even if you include the energy required to prepare the dish. As long as I keep ingredients on hand, I can cook just about anything!
I find that by doing this, not only do I save money ($20 for one meal at a restaurant vs $20 for enough groceries to make several meals at home), but I enjoy the challenge and the result. Keeping a basic supply of ingredients in the pantry is a must. I didn't go out and buy a lot of stuff to stock the pantry because I've had a home for a long time. I simply re-stock from time to time if I'm running low on something.
I keep a nice supply of whole canned tomatoes, canned fish, rice, various pastas, seasonings and spices, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and a variety of canned vegetables on hand all the time. I make my own hot beverage mixes and my own baking mixes. If I never bought meat again, I could still survive quite nicely on just this short list of pantry items.
In the next post, I'll go into more detail about what pantry items I have on hand continually.
