Earth Finance

Many of us really enjoy our hobbies but they may cost us quite a bit of money. The amount that they actually cost will depend on the type of hobby we have. However, it can always be nice to have a bit of extra money so that we can spend more on them. Whether that is to buy books to learn about things, materials or equipment to do the hobby, more classes or things like this. What we need will very much depend on our specific hobby. However, these will all cost more money and we may not have that money or we may not be able to justify spending more money on our hobby. Therefore, what can we do that will enable us to afford to do it?

Monetise Your Hobby

It could be possible that you could find a way to make money form your hobby. There are different ways that you might be able to do this and they will depend on the type of hobby that you have. For example, if you make things, perhaps because you do art or crafts then you might be able to sell some of the things that you make. If you are skilled at something then you could teach others how to do it, perhaps by writing a book, website, blog or starting classes offline or online or making videos. There are lots of different things that you could try out. Even if you are a beginner you might still be able to provide valuable help to other beginners. It is a good way to get more money because you will still be doing what you enjoy and earning money at the same time. Hopefully you will find that it will take the fun out of your hobby. Some people might find the pressure to make money out of it means that it is not so much fun for them, but it is something that you will need to think about and consider what will be the case for you. You could always try it for a bit and then see whether you think it is working out well or not. It might that you find it makes the hobby even more fun, but of course, it could have the opposite effect and you could find that it will not be so good.

Spend Less Elsewhere

If you want more money to spend on your hobby, then you might have to spend less money elsewhere. It can be a case of prioritising your spending so that you are able to change the things you buy. It can therefore be good to check what sorts of things you are buying and how much you are paying for them. Compare prices on the things that you are buying and see whether you are paying too much for them. You may be able to change the places that you buy things from and pay less for them. This will enable you to be able to have more money without having to buy less things. You will also benefit if you can cut back on spending in certain areas and you will need to think about whether you are prepared to give up buying certain things so that you have more money for buying things relating to your hobby instead. Ask yourself whether you really want the items you are buying and that should help you.

Find Opportunities to Earn More

It can be worth thinking about whether you have opportunities to earn more money. You probably will not want to use your spare time to do this as it will take time away from when you would normally be enjoying your hobby. However, you might be able to try to get a pay rise for the work that you do or find a different job that pays more. It might be that case that you will have some time where you can do a bit extra work and earn money as well so it is good to have a think about it. You may spend time on social media, or watching TV and things like that where you might be able to be earning some more. It might be that you could do some fun things to earn online too, such as online surveys or free lotteries that you could do at the same time as watching TV which will bring in a very small amount of money, but could still help out.

If you have a mortgage then you may wonder whether it will be a good idea to repay it early. You may have heard about the advantages of doing so and feel that you would like to do this. There are lots of things that you can try which will make it easier for you to repay your mortgage early.

Check any Early Redemption Fees

The first thing to check is as to whether there are any early redemption fees. These are specific fees that some mortgage companies charge for you to repay the mortgage early. They will charge these if you want to make overpayments or if you want to change mortgage provider. These will vary between lenders and some will not charge them at all so you will need to check. You should be able to easily find out by contacting the customer services department. If the fee is very small it could be well worth paying as you will save money in interest payments if you repay it early. However, some will charge a significant amount of money, particularly if you are tied into a fixed rate mortgage. You might need to wait until you have got through that fixed rate period before it is worth repaying. However, you could put together a pot of money in a savings account towards repaying early, which you can use once it is worth you doing this.

Consider Remortgaging

It is worth checking to see whether you can save money by switching to a cheaper lender. You will probably find that if you do a price comparison, that there will be lenders that offer mortgages at a lower interest rate than you are paying. If you swap to them, you may find that you can save a significant amount of money on interest and you can use those savings to overpay your mortgage so that you pay it off earlier. Do check how much the monthly payments will be and make sure you fully calculate the total costs and compare that with the total costs of your current lenders to be sure that you will be benefitting from switching. Also check what the monthly repayments will be so that you can work out whether you will be able to afford them.

Pay a Little Extra Each Month

If you can pay a little bit of extra money each month towards your mortgage hen this will really add up. The more of the outstanding balance you pay off, the less interest you will be charged and this will free up more money to pay it off. This means that the more you pay off; the easier it will be to repay. It can start with just a very small amount so even if you are just paying a fiver or tenner extra to start with, this can help. Any money that you would normally have put into a savings account or spent on a treat at the end of the month, you can now use to be able to pay towards the mortgage instead. However, it can be wise to think about whether you are able to get some extra money to be able to do this. The more that you can accumulate the better, so think of ways to do this.

Find Ways to Get Extra Money

Getting some extra money might be easier than you think. Starting with spending, compare the prices on the things that you are buying to see whether you will be able to switch to different brands, suppliers, insurers and providers and save money. If you do this with everything that you buy, the savings can really add up and you could put all of this extra money towards repaying the mortgage. You could also think about whether you need everything that you buy and ask yourself this every time you buy an item so you do not buy things unnecessarily. It can also be worth having a think about whether you will be able to earn any extra money. This could be by selling things you own, renting out a room in your house, monetising your hobby, taking on a second job or doing some online work. There are lots of things that you can try out. It might seem a bit tricky, but it can be fun to try to get extra money and it can feel very rewarding when you accumulate a nice chunk of money that you will be able to put against the mortgage.

How to Afford Your Hobbies

How to Repay my Mortgage Early