3 Ways to Find an Extra $400 a Month to Pay Off Debt

Most debt advice tells you to cut coffee and sell your old clothes. On one income, that is slow, and it barely moves a big balance. The faster way is to find real money and send it straight to the debt. Here are 3 ways most women never try. Together they can add up to about $400 a month, and you can start the first one today with one phone call.

1. Call and ask for a lower interest rate

This is the one almost nobody does, and it works. In a recent study, 76 out of 100 people who asked got a lower rate.

Call the number on the back of your card and say this:

“I have been a good customer and I always pay on time. My interest rate is high. I would like a lower rate so I can keep using this card.”

If the first person says no, hang up and call again. A different rep may say yes.

Here is why it is worth 10 minutes. Say you owe $5,000 at 22 percent. That is about $92 a month in interest. Get it down to 15 percent and you save around $30 a month. That is $30 that now pays down what you actually owe instead of the bank.

If they will not budge and your credit is decent, look at a 0 percent balance transfer card. You move the debt to a new card with no interest for 12 to 18 months. There is a 3 to 5 percent fee, so moving $5,000 costs about $150 to $250, but you can save much more if you pay it off before the 0 percent time ends.

2. Get paid for research studies

Not surveys that pay pennies. Real research studies, where companies pay you to share your opinion for 30 to 90 minutes.

Sign up on Respondent (respondent.io). One online focus group pays about $75 to $200. A one-on-one video interview pays $150 to $350. You do them from home, and you get paid on a Visa card a few days later.

You will not qualify for every study, so fill out your profile honestly and apply for several. Two studies a month can bring $150 to $400. That is far more than a $15-an-hour side job once you take out gas and time, and you can do it after the kids are in bed.

3. Call your internet company and ask for the retention team

Your internet bill is not a fixed price. New customers usually get a better deal than you do right now.

Call and ask for the “retention” or “loyalty” team. They can give discounts the regular reps cannot. Say this:

“I have been a customer for a few years and always pay on time. I see new customers getting lower prices. What can you do to keep me?”

Most people who do this save $20 to $40 a month, and the call takes about 15 minutes. Do the same with your phone bill, and get one competing quote before you call your car insurance. Together these can cut $50 or more a month, every month.

Put it together

Add it up: $30 from a lower rate, $250 from two studies, and $40 from your internet bill is about $320 to $400 in your first month. The rate cut and the bill savings then repeat on their own.

One rule: send every extra dollar to the debt with the highest interest rate first. That is where each dollar removes the most debt.

The free budget planner below has a simple tracker for this. You write down each bit of extra money and the rate on each debt, so you always know where to send it and can see the balance go down. Click the button below to download the free budget planner. It takes one tap, and it is completely free.