Part-Time Jobs to Pay Down Debt

[wanttogetbetter10]

I have a lot of debt to pay off and I'm 27 years old. I have a full-time job that pays about $42K to $50K (pending commission). I'm interested in picking up a second, part-time job a couple nights a week and maybe one night over the weekend to get a leg up on paying off my debts.

So my question - have any of you done this before? I'm going to check out a couple of local restaurant / bars and see if a serving or bartending position is attractive.

I have been against doing this for some time - thinking I would continue my efforts to build an income stream with a couple blogs...but I want to attack the debt and therefore need to bring in cash now.

I'd be thrilled to make an extra $100-$150 per week. Any thoughts or suggestions outside of working at a local BW3's or something similar?

Thanks in advance for any input!

[littleroc02us]

Actually, I was in the same position about 5 years ago in my early 30's. I ended up delivering pizzas and made cash every night. It was a fun job and enjoyed driving around listening to the radio. I have paid off 50k in about 5 years and am debt free.

[wanttogetbetter10]

Originally Posted by littleroc02us

Actually, I was in the same position about 5 years ago in my early 30's. I ended up delivering pizzas and made cash every night. It was a fun job and enjoyed driving around listening to the radio. I have paid off 50k in about 5 years and am debt free.

I did do that in college and made solid money for the hours I put in. My only concern is putting the miles on my car. Something I won't rule out however. Thanks!

[jpg7n16]

Originally Posted by wanttogetbetter10

I did do that in college and made solid money for the hours I put in. My only concern is putting the miles on my car. Something I won't rule out however. Thanks!

If your car is nice enough that you're concerned about putting miles on it, you likely have an option of selling it to pay down a good chunk of debt while you downsize in car. (upgarde later)

Or option 2) buy a debt-begone-mobile! A cheap car you drive while delivering pizzas to eliminate debt. If it's a car you care about putting miles on, it's too nice. $500-1000 bucks. Only deliver pizzas in it. Sell it when your debt is gone. If it still runs, you might even be able to get back over 1/2 your money on the deal.

I've never done that, but it sounds like an awesome idea hah

[jIM_Ohio]

I have done this a couple times and if I knew then what I know now...

best jobs are ones which pay cash. If you can referee youth sports (like baseball or soccer games), its possible to make significant money.

For example soccer refereeing math looks like this:
one game U10 age is about $20 for a 75 minute game (cash)
one game U16 age is about $40 for a 90 minute game (cash)

If you can find a tournament, you will do so much better (less travel overhead, lots of games, usually free food) 8 U10 games in one day ($160) and then tournament has a second day, so another $80-$160 the second day (depending on if you do finals or not).

Clearing $240 cash in one weekend delivering pizzas would be more work
a good bartender would probably clear $240 cash in tips on one weekend I think (focus on places with clientèle which tip, not necessarily BW3). Country clubs need lots of summer help, as do other bar and grill type places- work in an upscale part of town to maximize tips.

[Eric80]

I'm glad that I was not the only one. I had the same experience some years ago. made some money, paid off some debt, but, the best thing is: I found that as long as I work hard, I can earn enough money to raise my family. not very rich, but i'm happy with it, what else you want?

good luck.

Originally Posted by littleroc02us

Actually, I was in the same position about 5 years ago in my early 30's. I ended up delivering pizzas and made cash every night. It was a fun job and enjoyed driving around listening to the radio. I have paid off 50k in about 5 years and am debt free.

[EconoMutt]

You may want to look at a local call center. They are always looking for help and are normally flexible. They may let you take calls from home also.

[MonkeyMama]

I've worked multiple jobs so that I would not have to borrow money in the first place. I would highly recommend it as far as getting out of debt.

The best way to find these type jobs is to ask around. I have had friends who do bartending, waiting for caterers, and stuff like that. Night/weekend type work which compliment a full-time job.

I'd also look at seasonal jobs in your area (amusement park? fair?). It is usually rough to fill all those spots on a temp basis, though I suppose in this economy there is more fierce competition.

Beyond that, what are your skills? Coaching was mentioned. I teach piano when I need extra money. (Way more profitable than a minimum wage job, though can be a lot more work to do something in that realm). I can always do bookeeping on the side, with my skills.

Babysitting?

I second the call center. My dh had a very flexible/part-time job at ATT for a while (customer service?)

[TheStreetCeo]

I've had great luck buying on Criagslist to resell on EBay. Pick some hot items on EBay and make a wanted post on Craigslist and you'll turn a profit. For example post a wanted sign on craigslist for Ipod touch 2gb paying cash $90. I get about 4 people a month alone that take that offer and then I resell them on EBay for $125. After EBay and Payapl fee's I clear about $27-$30 per Ipod Touch. Total time involved is minimal. Do that for three or four things and you uhave an easy $500 per month.

[maat55]

When I was in my intense mode, I cut my budget to the bone and began working more hours at my business.

It is easily worth it when you are getting ahead faster. My luxury for the week were 2 dollar personal finance books.

[buildmybudget]

To Maat's point, just remember if it's not a cash job you're only going to bring in $0.75 cents on every dollar you earn while every dollar you cut out of your budget is a full $1.00. I used to cook in restaurants through high school and college and don't ever want to go back. I think if you could find some kind of second job that utilizes some skills you can build upon, you would be helping yourself more over the long term. Good luck though--I think most people have been in this situation and it's really no fun.

[toenailzz]

I am doing this right now. I work a full-time job from 7.30-4.30 then head straight to a part-time job from 5-7. Both jobs are M-F. That's nice for having the regular weekend for relaxing, re-energizing, and doing laundry. On the other hand, it doesn't leave me very much free time during the week.

I wish that both of my jobs weren't sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Besides breaking the monotony, my body is suffering somewhat from so many hours spent sitting at uncomfortable desks and not being able to move around. So, if I did it again, I'd prefer to have a mix, one job that is up and moving around and another that is less active.

Speaking of which, when I was looking for my part-timer I got an offer with FedEx loading and unloading semi trailers. That would have been a great second job but the hours weren't quite right for my primary job. But that may be something you might look into. I've worked for UPS doing the same thing in the past. It was 2-3 hours a day and was fairly intense physical work, but I absolutely loved it. It required very little brain power so I could zone out, get lost in my own little world while getting a pretty decent 2 hour workout.

For my present situation, the only thing that really keeps me motivated is knowing that what I'm doing is temporary and that the payoff (getting all of my cc debt paid) will be worth the temporary sacrifice.

In fact, I've thought about quitting my full-time job when I'm paid off and getting a second part-time job instead of working one full-time job.

[Stuartthomas]

i had faced the same situation in the past...and i think home based jobs are the best solution to come out of the situation if you are just few bucks behind every month as like me..they are really helpful ..you will find a lot of work on the internet just look at that...

[bjl584]

I currently work a second job in retail on the weeekends. They are accomodating to my availability, and I pull in around $500 net extra a month in income. I was approached awhile back about bartending, but the bar is known for having a rough crowd. I would rather sell electronics on the weekends than to break up fights between drunk bar patrons.

[wanttogetbetter10]

Originally Posted by TheStreetCeo

I've had great luck buying on Criagslist to resell on EBay. Pick some hot items on EBay and make a wanted post on Craigslist and you'll turn a profit. For example post a wanted sign on craigslist for Ipod touch 2gb paying cash $90. I get about 4 people a month alone that take that offer and then I resell them on EBay for $125. After EBay and Payapl fee's I clear about $27-$30 per Ipod Touch. Total time involved is minimal. Do that for three or four things and you uhave an easy $500 per month.

Thanks for all of the great responses here - you've all given me plenty to think about. This is really interesting to me. I'll have to think about what other times could potentially work like that to turn small, but worthwhile profits.

I'm very intrigued.

[wanttogetbetter10]

Originally Posted by buildmybudget

To Maat's point, just remember if it's not a cash job you're only going to bring in $0.75 cents on every dollar you earn while every dollar you cut out of your budget is a full $1.00. I used to cook in restaurants through high school and college and don't ever want to go back. I think if you could find some kind of second job that utilizes some skills you can build upon, you would be helping yourself more over the long term. Good luck though--I think most people have been in this situation and it's really no fun.

Awesome point. I've been working on shifting my mentality - realizing that every dollar not spent is another dollar in the bank or paying off debt.