extra work

52 Week Make Money Challenge Week Three Results

January 19, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 3 Comments

Week three of the 2014 make money challenge provided me the opportunity to earn some quick cash. I received an offer to house and pet sit for four days. In the past, I have refused these opportunities because it can be quite disruptive to my writing having to move my things there and back in such a short period of time. I’d much rather do these for a minimum of a week to two weeks, but this really is a good way to make extra money (and also save money) that doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. This is especially true for me since I spend the majority of my day on my computer and can work any place as long as I have an Internet connection.

One of the benefits of this job is that it’s a win-win for all involved. I charge the same amount as what it would cost to board a pet. If they have one pet, they break even. If they have more than one pet, they save money. For most pet owners, they would much rather have their pet at home than at a kennel while they’re gone. In addition, they have someone who is at their house which lessens the risk of theft. They also have someone there in case something unexpected happens. I’ve never advertised, but once I began doing it for friends and family, word quickly spread and now I have more opportunities than I can accept.

The price I charge depends on what the local animal boarding places charge, but I usually earn about $50 a day. This four-day stint put an extra $200 into my pocket which is well above the highest amount on the challenge chart, so that’s the one which gets crossed off.

In addition, I was also given some clothes that the people I was house sitting for no longer needed.

I will use some of these myself, but I’ll try to sell the ones that I don’t need. I’m not sure how much I can earn, but I think I can get at least a couple of dollars for each. If not, I can always donate them to charity. While accepting these is the opposite of decluttering which is one of my goals this year, I think that they’ll be pretty easy to get rid of at a garage sale.

Week 3 Total: $52.00

$1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10
$11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20
$21 $22 $23 $24 $25 $26 $27 $28 $29 $30
$31 $32 $33 $34 $35 $36 $37 $38 $39 $40
$41 $42 $43 $44 $45 $46 $47 $48 $49 $50
$51 $52

Goals for Week 4

I’m back to the same goal that I’ve had the last couple of weeks which is to get the items I own sorted and sold. I passed on doing that this week because I was pet sitting a couple of hours away from my place, which would have made it difficult to deliver anything that would have sold. While this goal ended up being delayed, I felt the other opportunity was worth it since it took less time and paid more. The decluttering and selling of my house is going to be a year-long project, so these early setbacks don’t have me too worried.

If you are participating in a money making challenge this year, how did this week go for you?

Other posts that are part of this challenge:

2014 Challenge Start
Week One
Week Two

Take a Job For The Discount and Other Perks: Strange Ways to Make and Save Money

June 16, 2011 By Jennifer Derrick 4 Comments

If you spend a ton of money at one store, you might want to think about taking a job at that store and using the employee discount to offset your spending. I have a friend who did this when he was remodeling his house. He took a job at a local home improvement store and was able to get his materials at forty percent off. Even though he spent most of his wages at the store, the job allowed him to renovate his home without taking out any loans or raiding his savings account.

Another woman I know makes money in her spare time with her crafting and sewing projects. She decided to take a part time job at a craft store so she could get her materials at a discount. This improved the profit margin of her craft venture since she was no longer paying full price for the materials. Any money left over from her job is plowed into her business in other ways.

In addition to the discount, a job at your favorite retailer or working with people who share your interests may reduce your other expenses. For example, the friend who was renovating his home met several skilled people at the home improvement place who were willing to provide some labor for him for free or at reduced rates because he was a friend. The crafty woman met several people who taught her new techniques and gave her ideas for expanding her business.

Even a job at a less specialized retailer can help you save money. Working at Wal-Mart or Target, for example, can save you money on everything from groceries to electronics. Restaurants not only provide discounts, many provide free meals if you’re on shift and some will let employees take home the leftover food or produce that can’t be saved at the end of the day. If you like what they serve, you can cut your grocery bill. If you have a family to feed and clothe, these savings can add up. Some stores, such as Disney, provide other perks like theme park tickets. If you’re planning a trip, that can save you a fortune.

Here are some things to consider if you want to take a job for the discount:

You’re most likely not going to make enough to live on: Taking a job for the discount works best if you have another source of income, say from a spouse, another job, or a business you run. Most part time retail (and many full time) jobs don’t pay enough to live on, even with the discount.

Consider what might eat up your savings: Is the commute long? Do you have to buy special clothes? Will you have to get childcare? A twenty percent discount on merchandise may not save you much if you’re driving an hour each way to get to the job or if you’re having to pay for daycare every day.

Are you disciplined? I know too many people who took retail jobs for the discount to help their families budgets and then proceeded to blow all of their wages and then some on stuff that they didn’t need. They loaded their houses with knick-knacks, Beanie Babies, and all sorts of things other than what they needed and took the job for in the first place. You have to be disciplined enough to buy what you need and can use and leave the rest.

Make sure the discount is enough: Some employers give as little as five percent. Others give as much as fifty percent. Five percent might not make the job worth it to you, but twenty might. If the discount is a make or break factor, know what you’ll get before you accept the job.

Think about what other benefits you might get: Will you meet people who share your interests? Can you further a business you own? Will you meet possible contacts? Can you find people who can help you with a project? Those things aren’t money, but they are perks that can save you money in unexpected ways.

Will you be paid enough to make it worthwhile? It’s rare that the discount will save you enough to make the job worthwhile on its own. Will you be paid enough otherwise to make it worth your time and sweat? If the pay isn’t enough, you have to ask yourself if the discount it really worth it.

Will you enjoy the work? If you’re not going to enjoy the work, don’t bother to take the job. You’ll likely end up quitting before you get to use any of your perks and that will leave a bad mark on your resume. There’s a big difference between shopping or eating somewhere and working there. Make sure you will enjoy the work.

Taking a job for the employee discount can save you some money. If it pays well, you may also make a little money, too, above what you plow back into the store. It’s hard work but if you find yourself spending all of your money at one retailer, you might want to consider just working there.

Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Review: Week 11

April 29, 2010 By Maggie Ellis 3 Comments

All of our other lessons up to this point have focused on saving money and paying off debt. But this week’s lesson was about making money. It makes sense. You need to make good money to pay off debt, build wealth, and plan for a secure financial future. That doesn’t have to mean hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, but you do need to make a wage that allows you to pay your bills and put some extra away.

While you could chase the “hot” careers and the “good” money, Dave advocates a different approach: Find work you love and that suits your personality. You may not make a fortune, but people who are happy with their work tend to make more money over time because they are committed to the job and are willing to work harder at it than someone who doesn’t care. Plus, you don’t want to spend forty years of your life completely miserable. Dave’s career coach of choice, Dan Miller, says that money alone will never be enough compensation for doing a job. You have to be happy, too. Those who work in their strengths and according to their tendencies, values, likes and dislikes have a better chance of finding fulfillment in their work and succeeding than those who fight their own personality everyday at work.

To that end, Dave recommends finding work that suits your personality style using the DISC profile. DISC stands for four different personality types:

D = Dominant: This person is bold and aggressive. They like to be the leader and in charge. They are task oriented and approach situations as problems that need to be solved.

I = Influencer: Dave calls these people the party looking for a place to happen. They are fun, people oriented, people-pleasers. They’re outgoing, impulsive, entertaining, and can lose focus.

S = Stable: These people are steady, loyal, calm, slow to act, concerned about pace, and tend to avoid conflict.

C = Complaint: These people love procedure and clearly defined steps. They are analytical, detail oriented, factual, rigid, serious, resistant to change, and logical.

Once you identify the type of personality you are, you need to seek out work that allows your personality type to shine through. You don’t want to be an Influencer stuck in an accounting job better suited for a Compliant person, for example. Similarly, you want to try to find an organization with people who are like you. While some differences are to be expected, if you are the only Stable person in a company full of Dominant people, you’re likely to get eaten for lunch. There are other types of personality assessments out there, so if you don’t feel like the DISC works for you, look into some others. The point is to know who you are and what you like in order to find out what you should be doing with your life.

After the DISC discussion, Dave spends some time talking about the basics of resumes, job hunting, and interviewing. He didn’t offer anything that hasn’t been written in hundreds of career guides over the years. Get yourself a copy of “What Color Is Your Parachute,” by Richard Nelson Bolles and you’ll have the same information and a lot more.

The lesson ended with a look at overtime and extra work. Dave points out that raising your income over the long term requires a good career track. Find meaningful work, get and keep good jobs, educate yourself, and build a long term career. However, if you just need to raise your income in the short term (to pay off debt), you’ll probably need a part time job or to work a lot of overtime hours at your current job. It’s probably not going to be much fun, either, but you have to make the sacrifice to win. It can help if you have a detailed plan so you can see that this cruddy job has an end date. Know how much you need to make and when it’s done, move on. You also have the option to start a home based business venture to make extra money. If you’re lucky, it might become your full time job. The point is to make enough money, pay off debt, and invest wisely so that you can quit the part time job and eventually get to a place where you don’t have to work so hard. Dave says that if you do his plan correctly, you should eventually reach a point where you only have to work when you want to.

In small group many people expressed dissatisfaction with their current occupations. Most don’t actively hate their jobs, but feel like there’s something better or more satisfying out there. Only two of the people in class have any real plan for dealing with that dissatisfaction, though. One is currently working retail (which he hates) while he pursues his Master’s in Library Science. Once he graduates, his dream job is to work in a university library. The other is currently working as a bank teller while she tries to launch a home-based cake decorating business. Both of these people are on their way to creating more meaningful work for themselves because they know what they want and are actively working to get it.

We talked about what type of work we would do if money were no object. A couple of people mentioned ideas like craft-type businesses or woodworking, and another mentioned gardening. These are the hobbies that they pursue and would love to do as a “real job,” but can’t figure out how to make them pay the bills. We talked about how part of the reason for becoming debt free is so that you can do the work you love, even if it pays less. When you have to pay a mountain of bills, you have to take a job that you might not love just to bring in money. But when your bills are few, you have a lot more freedom to do work you love and work on your own schedule. You don’t need as much money to live, so if the job doesn’t pay much you can still do it.

We also talked about trying to find work now that will prepare you for the dream job in the future. We brainstormed with the guy who wanted to do woodworking to try to find ways for him to start preparing for that now. He could do the woodworking as a side business for now. He could take a job at a place that makes furniture or cabinetry. He could go work at Home Depot in the lumber, contractor, or cabinetry departments. He could teach woodworking classes at the local community college. He could even go work in forestry to get a better sense of the types of wood available and the process of turning trees into workable wood products. Even a simple office job for another small business would expose him to the intricacies and legalities of running a small business. There are lots of ways he could be preparing to strike out on his own, and it’s the same for everyone else. Even if you can’t do your chosen job right now, you can find other types of work that prepare you for what you want to do. You just have to brainstorm and think about the skills you need to learn and how to get them.

Homework roundup: This week we had to do two things. First, we had to look at the DISC plan in the workbook to see if our current occupation fits our personality style. I think I’m a “C” type, or Compliant. I’m analytical, love detail, am logical and factual, and can seem rigid, serious and resistant to change; all hallmarks of the “C.” Not a flattering picture, but writing is well suited to my personality type. It’s the sort of job that requires a detail orientation and a love of facts. It also doesn’t offer a lot of drama or excitement, which is good for someone who doesn’t like change. I’m also not the most social person and writing is a pretty solitary activity. I’d say I’ve chosen my occupation well.

The second thing we had to do was to lay out a three year plan where we identify where we want to be professionally three years from now and then plan the steps needed to get there. Three years from now I’d like to be doing what I’m currently doing, although I’d like to be a novelist by then, too. The steps to get there are: 1) Finally finish the novel(s) that are rattling around in pieces on my hard drive, 2) Polish them to perfection, 3) Send them to agents and publishers and try to get them published. I could also take some courses in novel writing. My plan is pretty simple, but I’m lucky to be happy doing what I’m already doing. The novelist thing would be a nice add-on, but I really like where I am professionally. I could have really used this class about eight years ago, though. Then I would have had a much different plan because I hated where I was back then. A plan would have helped greatly at the time. As it was, I just sort of stumbled around until I hit on what I was meant to be doing. A plan would have helped and I can see the value in doing this exercise, particularly if you’re unhappy with your current occupation.

Finally, if you don’t have time to go to the course, consider buying the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University DVD Home Study Kit (9 Week Course) 2012 Release. It sells for under $200.00 on Amazon, which is a pretty good deal considering how comprehensive it is.

Next: Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Review: Week Twelve

This is a series of posts about what you will find in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course. You can find the previous posts here: week one — week two — week three — week four — week five — week six — week seven — week eight — week nine — week ten