Snowflaking

Snowflaking is something I came across while trying to figure out how to get out of debt.  I’m not sure who coined the term but it’s a take-off of Dave Ramsey’s snowball.  You take little bits of money you find, earn, frugally save and apply it to your debt.  This would be in addition to anything you’re currently paying on your debt snowball.  These little “flakes” are paid to the debt you are currently working on.  Don’t wait for the bill to be due, start making little payments once or twice a week.  There may be limits your particular institution has on the  number of payments you can make per month so check that before you start.

How do you come up with these little snowflakes?  It could be anything:

Side jobs such as:

Mowing lawns – do you have an elderly neighbor who can no long mow their lawn or a neighbor who just doesn’t have the time?  Offer to mow their lawn for a reasonable fee!

Babysitting – if you have a flexible schedule and you’re good 

with kids, start babysitting.

Online Surveys – you can make an extra few bucks by taking

online surveys.  I take surveys   on cashcrate.com.  For 10

minutes of time I can make a few bucks.  

You can also Sell your crap!  or Negotiate with the companies you do business with to lower your fees or rates.  

Donate!  Did you know you can donate plasma, sperm or eggs?  I know that it seems kind of radical but you can get paid for these donations!  

I went to college with a guy who did drug studies.  He would sacrifice a weekend night, stay at a facility and they would test anything from the rate at which a pill dissolves to how a medication affects a healthy individual.  He got paid pretty handsomely for being a human guinea pig…and he’s still alive(I know because we just became friends on Facebook).  

Apply the proceeds or savings towards your debt.  Every little bit counts.  If you come into money, find money, or make extra money apply it towards your debt right away instead of spending it on something frivolous.  No amount is too small!  If you find $10 on the ground, pay down $10 on your debt.  Keep track of your snowflakes; you’ll be amazed how much you will have paid at the end of the month!  Very motivational!  

I keep saying how these little snowflakes can be applied to your debt.  In reality, it can be applied to anything: debt, emergency fund, holiday fund, mortgage, etc.!  Just be sure to apply it in the order you would the debt snowball.

If you’re willing to get radical, you’ll have radical results.  Wow, that was straight out of an 80’s movie!