How to Raise Money for the Down Payment on an Apartment
- 1). Create categories on your spreadsheet of all your typical monthly purchases. Categories may include food, travel, clothing, hygiene, medicine, restaurants, telephone, Internet, credit cards, media (such as movies or books) and current rent.
- 2). Enter every purchase onto the spreadsheet in its correct category and keep all the receipts for referring back to at the end of the month. If you make a purchase that does not fit into your current categories, create a new category for that purchase.
- 3). Look back over the list at the end of the month and prioritize purchases. There are some purchases that are unavoidable, such as utility bills and rent. Some purchases, such as texting options on a cell phone are not necessary, but rather a convenience. If you will not necessarily miss these items for a few months, consider getting rid of them. Finally, purchases such as alcohol, cigarettes, eating out at restaurants and renting or purchasing movies are luxuries. Cut these completely out of your budget until after you have successfully raised your necessary funds.
- 1). Go through your closets, drawers and kitchen cabinets and pull out any items that are not regularly used and any clothes that were not worn in the past year.
- 2). Log onto eBay and set up a seller account.
- 3). Auction your items to raise additional funds. Be sure and list the accurate shipping prices to avoid losing any money.
- 4). Have a garage sale and post a sign saying "Raising Funds for Apartment, Everything Must Go." Get rid of every possible item, keeping in mind that even pennies on the dollar are getting you one-step closer to your new apartment.
- 1). Obtain a weekend job. If you are already working a regular job, consider finding a weekend job as well to bring in extra funds. Retailers especially are looking for weekend employees during busy times of the year, such as "Black Friday" and the Christmas season.
- 2). Help your neighbors. Go around door to door and offer your services with regard to common household repairs and yard work. More often then not, there will be some people in the neighborhood that simply do not have time to paint their house or mow their lawn and they are willing to pay a reasonable fee for the service.
- 3). Baby-sit for friends and relatives. According to Sitters.com, the going rate for a babysitter ranges from $5 to $15 dollars an hour.