Have you overspent this month, and now you’re worried about how to survive the rest of the month? Is it keeping you awake at night and giving you anxiety? 

If you’re experiencing this and don’t know what to do, it’s crucial to make the most out of the small amount of money you have available at the moment and go into financial survival mode.

Here are some tips on what to do if you’re running out of cash:

Make Sure You Have Enough Food

Food is an essential item. So, the first step is to make sure you have enough food for some days before you get more money. It is totally possible to buy good food even without that much cash, you just need to be smart about it. 

A good way to do that is by using coupons or going to a salvage grocery store and saving up to 50% on your purchases. It’s also a good idea to stock up on some cheap but filling food such as beans, rice, eggs, ramen noodles, pasta, and frozen vegetables.

Prioritize Your Spending

Another thing you’ll have to take care of is bills. Since you most likely don’t have enough money to pay for all of them, you should choose the ones you’d like to pay with the cash you have left. It’s a good idea to prioritize those who might affect your health and security. For instance, rent, insurance, utilities, gas, electricity, and water.

Sell Some Used Stuff

When you’re short on cash, a good way to make quick money is to sell some used stuff online. Do you have some books, appliances, shoes, or clothes lying around your house that you don’t use anymore? There are many services you can use to sell stuff: eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace are the most known and easy to use. 

Find Temporary Work

If you have the time, getting a second stream of income is very useful when you’re low on cash. There are many ways you can do that, such as applying through recruitment agencies, job search websites, or dropping off your CV in person. You can also consider delivering food or being an Uber driver.

Ask Friends and Family

It’s certainly not easy to ask for money from friends and family members, but it’s an alternative to getting some quick cash if you have a good relationship with them. In order to increase the odds of them saying yes to your loan request, it’s advised to ask for as little as you can, and already have a payment plan to pay them back as soon as possible. Make sure you are going to pay them back.

Consider Taking a Loan

As a last resort, you can apply for a personal loan to give you a bit of relief. If you have good credit, you’ll probably get a better interest rate on the loan. On the other hand, if you don’t, it’s still possible to get a loan, but they might ask for collateral or a co-signer. It is crucial to make the payments on time and in full or you’ll end up in a huge amount of debt.

Create a Budget

Last but not least, you’ll need to trace a plan for you not to run out of money again, and know how you’re going to spend your income wisely from now on. This plan is known as a personal budget, and there are many options you can choose from. The most known one is the 50/30/20 budget, in which 50% goes to your needs, 30% to your wants, and 20% goes to savings.