Alright, sorry for the click baity title. I’ll never forget the time I clicked a Barefoot Investor link that said something like “how this woman came up with $72,000 in 7 days” – and it was basically that he’d got her a lump sum refund from some kind of scheme she’d enrolled in. Bloody fantastic news for her, good on ya gal, but actionable tips that the everyday spender can implement? Not exactly.

So, while not every single one of these will help you get cashed up within the hour, I hope you’ll be able to have at stab at one or two and get some dolla in your hot little hands.

1. Finally make that complaint

Look, as an ex-hospitality worker, I ain’t into complaining for the sake of complaining. BUT I do believe in speaking up if something isn’t right – especially when you’re dealing with big companies.

If you’ve been meaning to email about your ripped jeans or follow up on that random charge from a hotel you’ve stayed at, get onto it. Chances are you could land yourself a refund, store credit, or perhaps a free meal or ride share.

Fun fact – tv provider Foxtel actually has a set compensation scheme for customers who experience outages. We recently had 2 weeks of pixelated TV viewing, and were compensated $8 per week for the disruption. Just this week I got $10 back from Uber for a complaint about the fact I paid for the ‘comfort’ upgrade, selected ‘quiet’, yet got stuck with a driver who insisted on barking his aggressive views on the Coronavirus at me for the entire journey. 

2. Get a refund on unused subscriptions

If you’re subscribed to services like Audible, Adobe Creative Cloud, LinkedIn Premium, etc, and you haven’t used it in months, you could be eligible for a refund. A newsletter subscriber emailed me this morning to let me know she’d got $100 back from Audible within minutes of reading my tip of the week – and you can, too! 

My ‘Get Me A Refund’ Guide is half price at $3.50 and can earn you bucketloads in refunds you’ve forgotten to ask for!

3. List something on Facebook Marketplace

Something that sells really quickly is old phones. I kept my old handset in my bedside drawer for months on end, but lemme tell ya – you probably won’t ever use it again. Plus, all that time just sitting there uncharged makes it hella slow. If you’re not hoarding iPhones of yesteryear, how about appliances in your kitchen? Did you buy a Nutribullet with hopes of being the next Kayla Itsines but failed to make anything since a spinach-y mess on day 1? Perhaps an ice cream maker that still didn’t stop you nipping out for a late night McFlurry?

This is your reminder to list that bad boy and get some fresh notes in your back pocket. 

4. Try and get a lower rate on your home loan

Okay, okay, I know this one sounds a bit like crap you can’t be arsed with, but recently our broker (Alistair Jordan by the way, if you’re lookin’ for a recommendation), scored us a customer loyalty type rate on our home loan, which saved us $500 a year. A quick phone call and he was on the case – kerrrrrching! 

5. Live chat with your mobile phone provider/energy provider and ask for a discount

Again, sounds like a load of hassle, but with live chat you can ask for a cheeky discount from the comfort of your couch during the ad breaks of Love Island. Sometimes you’ll get a discount right off the bat of asking, but if not, try saying you’d like to cancel – they have full systems in place to retain customers. 

You can always change your mind if they do call your bluff, but often saying you’ll leave can get you a free month, or more. If you can’t get cold hard cash in your account, see if you can get something extra, like more data or an upgrade to the next service tier. 

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Want more money tips, budget plans and spending strategies to make 2020 your best money year yet? Grab my “Be Better With Money” eBook now.

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How to make $100 in under an hour