6 Things to Do With Your Money if You’re Afraid of Getting Burned Out

Burnout has been a problem since before the pandemic — remember “work hard, play hard”? — but the work-from-home orders made it worse.

People were working harder, but with zero work/life balance or space separation and fewer ways to relax and release stress. Burnout was almost inevitable for some.

And if you were to quit your job as you bottomed-out mentally, your cash flow would come to a screeching halt — likely adding more stress to your already frazzled self.

So while we hope to never experience burnout, the possibility is very real — and making sure your finances will be able to handle the lack of income is super important. Here are the best ways to give your money a buffer while you give your mind and body a chance to heal.

1. Figure Out Your Bare-Bones Budget and Start Saving

If you’re burned out and quit your job (or take an unpaid leave), how long will it take you to recover? The answer is: You just don’t know. But a good rule of thumb is to have enough money stashed away for six months.

But don’t panic — it’s not six months of your usual expenses. It’s six months of covering your basic needs and giving you the freedom to chill out. Think of it as your mental health emergency fund.

So how much is that? It includes your essentials — groceries, rent, medical expenses, utilities and minimum debt payments — and ditches the things you can live without. You won’t need all of your subscriptions or a line item for clothing. Your mortgage company may have forbearance options, so that’s something you can take into consideration, too.

Once you’ve created this essentials-only monthly budget, multiply it by six. That’s what your savings goal should be. Hopefully it will give you enough time to relax, recharge and refocus your career if you ever need it.

2. Ask This Website to Help Pay Your Credit Card Bill This Month

Every month, you make payments toward your credit card debt. But you never seem to make a dent. It’s because of those sky-high interest rates — as much as 24% interest. It can feel impossible to get ahead.

But MoneyLion could help you find offers to cut your interest rate by 70% as soon as tomorrow.

Here’s how it works: MoneyLion can match you with new loan offers at a lower interest rate — as low as 5.20% APR*. That’s 70%* lower than the average credit card interest rate. And it’s the key to finally getting ahead.

You can use this new loan to pay off all your existing credit card debt, leaving you with one (cheaper) monthly payment that will help you get out of debt faster.

If you have a credit score of at least 620, you could get up to $100,000. With no collateral. And terms go up to 144 months.

Worried you won’t qualify? Take two minutes to check online and see if you could cut your credit card interest rate by 70%.

*Based on creditworthiness. Average credit card interest rate is 24.72% as of 8/14/24, according to Forbes Advisor’s weekly credit card rates report.

3. Copy This Strategy To Get a $526 Refund

Chances are you do some of your shopping online. Whether it’s pet food from Walmart, toilet paper on Target or even a flight home for Thanksgiving, you’re probably leaving money on the table.

A free website called Rakuten has the hookup with just about every online store you shop, which means it can give you a kickback every time you buy.

In fact, since Denver resident Colleen Rice started using Rakuten, it’s sent her checks in the mail totaling $526.44. For doing nothing. Seriously. Rice says she uses Rakuten for things she already has to buy, like rental cars and flights.

It takes less than 60 seconds to create a Rakuten account and start shopping. All you need is an email address, then you can immediately start shopping your go-to stores through the site.

Plus, if you use Rakuten to earn money back within the first 90 days of signing up, it’ll give you an extra $10 on the first check it sends you. Talk about money for nothing.

4. Get Paid $225/Month While Watching Movie Previews

If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.

It’s too good to be true, right?

But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.

No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.

Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.

Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.

5. Cut Your Bills Now to Help Save For Later

There are some bills you can cut down now, without having to sacrifice anything.

By slimming down these monthly payments, you can save more money immediately and have less to worry about if you ever need to take a break from the daily grind. A win-win.

Start with your car insurance. When’s the last time you even checked car insurance prices?

You should shop your options every six months or so — it could save you some serious money. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.

Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.

EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.

Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.

6. Find Out if You’re Overpaying

Think of all the times you’ve overpaid… and how much money you could have saved in your emergency fund, if someone had just told you before you swiped.

That’s exactly what this free service does.

Just add it to your browser for free, and before you check out, it’ll check other websites, including Walmart, eBay and others to see if your item is available for cheaper. Plus, you can get coupon codes, set up price-drop alerts and even see the item’s price history.

Let’s say you’re shopping for a new TV, and you assume you’ve found the best price. Here’s when you’ll get a pop up letting you know if that exact TV is available elsewhere for cheaper. If there are any available coupon codes, they’ll also automatically be applied to your order.

In the last year, this has saved people $160 million.

You can get started in just a few clicks to see if you’re overpaying online.

Capital One Shopping compensates us when you get the extension using the links provided.