Jana Says

Living life from cover to cover

Using your skills to find part-time income

by Jana 9 Comments

My little sister is a dancer. She’s been dancing for pretty much her whole life. It is something she loves and is extremely passionate about. In fact, she’s so passionate about it, it was her minor in college and she was on her school’s dance team for 3 years. Even now, she still takes classes to maintain her skills.

She’s been able to do something else with her love of dance. She’s been able to turn it into a part-time income. When she relocated after college, one of the first things she did was find a dance studio and now, she’s a teacher at that studio. She is also working on a business endeavor that will incorporate her love of dance into her current position at another part-time job (have I mentioned that my sister works full-time, has a part-time job, goes to grad school and has an active social life? Yeah, she’s awesome). For her, dance is a skill she’s been able to maintain and turn into a money making side gig.

There’s a lesson in my sister’s story: if you have a skill, it’s possible to use it and parlay it into a part-time (or even full-time) job. This is especially important if you’re looking for a way to increase your income for savings, debt repayment, or if you’re saving up for a ridiculous kitchen renovation.  It’s also a counterpoint to the argument “there are no jobs”. I agree; it’s way harder to find a job now than it was several years ago. So, as talented, skillful, creative people, I encourage you to go out and make your own job.

You might be wondering if I have any ideas or suggestions for skills or talents that can be turned into a part-time job. It just so happens that I do. Here are a few:

  • Music. If you can play an instrument or sing, you can have a part-time job. I had a friend in graduate school who taught piano lessons to supplement our meager stipend and my guitar teacher also had a day job. If you prefer not to give lessons, you can form a band and play various gigs. I have a friend who is a nurse by trade but is also the singer in a band. While the gigs may not make a fortune, people do buy their t-shirts and CDs and they do make money off of that. This is going to take some hustling and some self-promotion but it’s not impossible.
  • Education. If you are a teacher, you can offer your services as a tutor, either freelance or through a company. I believe there are also online tutoring sites. You can get a part-time job teaching religious classes (if that is in line with your beliefs, of course); my mom used to do this. For extra money, she taught Hebrew school classes at her temple. My only caution for tutoring through a company is to pay attention to how much the company charges the clients versus how much you get paid. If you’re getting screwed, you might want to think about branching out on your own.
  • Sports. There are opportunities abound for those graced with athletic ability. In my area, the school districts and sometimes even the local community colleges are always looking for coaches. I have a co-worker that umpires baseball games and a friend who is a soccer referee. My YMCA uses part-time staff to teach their group classes. My husband’s cousin was a lifeguard. Some of these options may involve a few dollars of investment in gear or certification, but the earning potential outweighs the upfront cost.
  • Art. I know several people who have been able to earn part-time income from their craftiness. One woman started a handmade purse business and another would make one of kind picture frames. They would sell their wares on Etsy or at craft shows or home shows, and were able to turn a profit. Other ways you can make money through your craftiness is to teach classes either at a local community center or YMCA or even at in-home parties. I’m sure there’s a market for kids’ birthday parties in there, too.
  • Cooking. If you have a talent for baking or cooking, you can sell homemade goods or start a birthday/wedding cake business. You can teach cooking classes.  Offer to cater small scale events. If you have a full-time job, this is a great place to start to drum up business.  And think creatively. Locally, there is a company that makes gourmet pet treats. It was a business that started in one of the owners’ kitchens. They peddled their goods and eventually landed an exclusive contract with the largest local pet store chain.

If you’re serious about any of these, make sure you do the research regarding business licenses, taxes, certifications—anything that may be potentially related to starting your own business (should you go that route). You don’t want to be faced with any problems that might crop up, wiping out all that you’ve saved.

I believe that even in the current economic climate (whatever that actually means), it’s possible to save money and get out of debt. I may be overly optimistic but I think that people need a dose of optimism. I look at it this way–even if you fail, you’ll still learn some lessons. And that’s not really failing.

What skills have you been able to use to create part-time income?

 

How do you get gazelle when you have nothing to sell?

by Jana 31 Comments

When my husband and I were paying off our debt, we followed Dave Ramsey’s plan. For us, it was the simplest and easiest not only to understand but to follow. His plan worked in our life on almost every level. We bought into the idea of the baby steps, the debt snowball and even getting gazelle intense. Except our gazelle intensity wasn’t so much that of a true gazelle, but more of a hungover gazelle. We still moved fast but you could tell there was something a little sluggish about us.

Part of the reason we were a little slow was that we tried to save and pay down debt at the same time. This is really hard to do, but for us it was a necessity. We are in our thirties and are substantially behind in our savings. We had some ground to cover and if it meant throwing $100 or so every month to savings instead of towards debt, then so be it. Truth be told, it was a stupid decision and I don’t recommend it. Focus on one thing at a time. Follow the order of the baby steps. They’re listed that way for a reason.

Another reason we were a little slow is due to the fact that we didn’t have many every day expenses to cut.  When we decide that we’re going to get all gazelle in paying off debt, one of the first places we go is to our daily vices and habits. Those small changes add up to big debt snowflakes. However, my husband and I were already packing our lunches every day, we didn’t drink coffee, we didn’t smoke, we didn’t gamble (for the record, we still don’t) and we used the library or Netflix for almost everything else (for the record, we still do). If we bought from iTunes, it was from a gift card. We needed high-speed Internet for our part-time jobs, so cutting that wasn’t even on the table.  There were some days I wished for a habit just so I would have something to cut back on and somewhere to find extra money. Those were dark days.

The third reason is that we didn’t have much to sell. Some people are excellent at selling their things. I am not one of those people. For starters, I always forget about our neighborhood garage sale and I don’t have enough initiative to hold my own. Second, I’m too lazy to get organized enough to participate (this would also imply that I am organized). Third, we just don’t have a lot to get rid of. Yes, there’s baby clothes and toys and a treadmill that I’d be happy to let go of but other than that, there’s not that much. I never thought that for the amount we have to sell, it was worth it.  So we never bothered to sell anything. I’m not sure that our debt repayment suffered and it was a lot slower than it needed to be.

That’s probably the biggest sticking point for me. When you start reading Dave’s book (we never took his class), he recommends that you sell whatever you can in order to build your $1K emergency fund.  While there are other ways he suggests, this is the most common because it’s the easiest. When we took a look around and realized that short of selling the dogs, we had nothing, we felt hopeless. We seriously didn’t know where to start. How do you get gazelle when you have nothing to sell? Or you have no habits to break?

The quick answer? You don’t. The long answer? You do whatever you can and cut wherever you can to make up for the fact that you have nothing to sell. You don’t bother to dwell on it and you move on. If you focus on what you can’t do, you forget about the things you can do. That’s a huge hindrance and deterrent. If you’ve already developed the motivation to knock out  your debt, the last thing you need is to focus on what’s holding you back from getting started. Find one place to cut or cash in your change jar. Use that extra money and just get started. You’ll be surprised at how quickly it starts to roll once you finally push go.

As for us, we eventually both landed part-time jobs which more than made up for the lack of anything to sell. On the bright side, it made us realize that we’re not packrats or hoarders.  It also made us realize that when we move, packing is going to be pretty easy. That was good to learn. But if you’re like we were, and you have nothing to sell or any habits to get rid of to kick off your gazelle intensity, don’t worry. You’ll find somewhere to come up with the extra money. In the meantime, you can hang out in the lounge with the rest of us hungover gazelles.  We may be slow, but we’re fun!

Financial checklists

by Jana 34 Comments

I am a fan of lists. I keep lists for everything—to-dos, grocery shopping, gifts, blog post topics, bills. You name it; I probably have a list for it somewhere. In fact, I love lists so much that the other day my 5-year-old comes out of the bathroom and says “Mommy, we’re out of soap. Put it on your list”. It’s so rampant that even my 5-year-old knows about them.

List are necessary

I must have lists. Normally, I have the attention span of a gnat. One minute, I’ll be happily working on a blog post and then I’ll decide that I need to take a look at my Google reader which leads me to another blog which leads me to the news and so on and so on. You know the board game, Candyland? How you can get all the way to the top and then pull a card that puts you back down at the bottom? My brain follows that same type of nonsensical path to get to the end goal of completing whatever task I’ve been distracted from.  Lists bring me back to my starting point. They keep me focused and on target.

My lists also highlight where I’m succeeding and where I’m failing. For instance, if I have a to-do list that involves writing, laundry, cooking, grading papers and running errands, I’m will most likely cross off everything except laundry. So my to-do list for the next day will also have laundry. This pattern will probably repeat for about 4 days until I finally get around to the laundry. I will find every excuse not to do laundry. That is an area where I fail.  If it were not for my list (and the mountains range of laundry populating my basement), it would be hard for me to realize this is an area of weakness.

The financial lists

I use the same concept for tracking my finances. I use lists to keep me on target and focused. To do so, I maintain separate lists for all different parts of my finances. For instance, when I was in debt, I had a list of my debts. I keep lists of my savings account, including how much is in each account. I keep lists of my bills, and a separate list of which bills get paid on each payday. The amount of lists that I can generate to keep track of my finances is endless.

I also keep a list of the general aspects of my financial life. This list is a little different.  Let me try to explain.There are certain things that every financially responsible person should have.  To determine if I have those, I ask myself the question “Do I have _______?” Then I have a checklist for the blank. The checklist looks like this:

  • A budget
  • An emergency fund of 3-6 months’ salary (I prefer salary to expenses)
  • My most recent credit report
  • Homeowner’s insurance
  • Car insurance
  • Life insurance
  • A will
  • Retirement savings
  • College savings for my daughter

Having a list of these financial necessities forces me to look at where I’m succeeding and where I’m coming up short. I used this checklist to determine some of my financial goals for 2012 and it also serves as a reminder that I really, really need to get certain things done.

If you’re interested in creating your own financial checklist, I suggest that you start simply. Ask yourself, what should I have in my financial life? Then make a list of those things. Your list doesn’t have to look like mine. You may not have kids or your kids are grown, so college savings won’t be on your list. Maybe you’re planning on having a baby; you could add “baby fund” to your list. Maybe you aren’t as afraid of death as I am so you put “burial plot” on your list. Other items to add could include:

  • Pet insurance
  • A proper business license
  • A financial advisor
  • New car savings
The amount of items to add is infinite. Your list can and should include anything you think is important to you and your financial health. This is not a one size fits all approach. 

Maintaining the lists

I update my lists about every 6 months, or as necessary. It’s important to me to give myself enough time to work on achieving my tasks and goals without giving myself too much time. Too much time means I won’t get them done; too little time means I’ll berate myself for not getting it done sooner. This is not a healthy relationship so when I’m establishing deadlines, I try to find a happy medium.

Not every item needs regular review. For some of the items, once they’re checked off, it’s just a matter or reviewing the policy or document yearly to make sure that they’re still accurate or appropriate (and yes, “reviewing the document” does go on my list).

I typically keep my lists in my all-purpose notebook (cooks have all-purpose flour, I have an all-purpse notebook). I’ve tried to maintain my lists electronically. The only time this worked was when I was tracking my debt repayment because I’m terrible at math. For the rest, there is just something satisfying about putting a checkmark or crossing something off with a pen that isn’t captured when I do it on my phone.

Now that the new year is upon us, it’s a great time to get your finances organized (if they’re not already). Lists are a great tool to help.

What does your list look like?

Reader Question: Am I doing the right things to get out of debt and save for a family?

by Jana 5 Comments

One of my favorite parts of blogging is my readers. I’m so appreciative and grateful for all of your comments and engagement on Daily Money Shot. It’s what keeps me wanting to do better.  I especially enjoy hearing from my readers via email.

Last week, one of my readers, Krista, contacted me asking for help. She desperately wants to pay off debt and start having kids. I encourage both of these! However, in her email, she stated that she was unsure if she was doing the right things to get on track to pay off her debt by the time she’s 30 and to start planning for a family. After analyzing her situation based on the information she provided, my unprofessional opinion is that she is doing the right things. With a little tweaking, I think both of her dreams can come true.

The facts

Krista brings many positives to the table. First, she’s young–she’s only 25. This means that by getting things under control now, she’ll have a long, happy debt free future. Second, she has the motivation to get out of debt. Motivation is essential. Without motivation, her goals will fall flat. Third, she is already aware of her debt. I firmly believe that the first action step towards paying off debt is to know exactly how much debt you have. She’s already added it up! She knows what she’s in for. Fourth, and most importantly, she has goals–to be debt free, to have children, to save money. Establishing goals is key. You need to know what you’re working towards. Haphazardly paying off debt or saving without a purpose gives you the latitude to be lazy.

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Managing December birthdays

by Jana 21 Comments

My daughter was born in December. (In fact, her 5th birthday is next week and I have a very special Money Tune Tuesday planned in honor of her birthday.)

When most people hear that, their first comment is “Wow. That’s awful! What do you do? Do you just combine her birthday with Christmas?” The answer is a resounding no (for the record, we also don’t combine it with Hanukkah, which we also celebrate.  And also, thanks for telling me that my daughter’s birthday is awful. While I understand what you mean, it is still rude).

When we found out that I was pregnant and that my due date was December 23, we immediately began a conversation about how we were going to handle her birthday among the other holidays. We agreed that she would never have a birthday present under the tree, she would never get a birthday present after lighting the menorah nor would she get a holiday present at her birthday party.  It was (and still is) extremely important to my husband and I that we recognize the importance of our daughter’s birthday.

We also realized that our budget was going to take a huge hit every December. To combat that, we had lengthy discussion about how we could plan and budget for both without going bankrupt. Since we knew it was important to make them separate and distinct, we had to plan very carefully. And, as all of these events happen every December, there’s no reason for surprise.

So what do we do to financially plan for the onslaught of holidays as well as keep her birthday separate? We follow these steps:

Separating her birthday

  1. Plan her birthday party at least 2 weeks before Christmas. This way, there’s a clear distinction between her birthday and Christmas.   As she gets older, we will probably do something small with just her close friends and then do a larger party in June.
  2. Let our families know that we will not be combining her birthday with the other holidays. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, well meaning family friends—they all like to give gifts and like so many others, like to combine them. This obviously does not mesh with our desire to separate them. By telling them our preference, we eliminate those problems. However, should her birthday fall during Hanukkah (which is does every other year), we are fine with giving her a birthday present and a Hanukkah present on the same day. As long as they are wrapped in different paper or there is some way to distinguish one from the other.
  3. Make the day all about her. Every year, on her actual birthday, one or both of us will take the day off of work and let her do whatever she wants (we don’t send her to school if her birthday falls on a weekday). We let her pick what we’re having for dinner and we make sure there’s a cake or cupcakes just for our family.  This is also when she gets her card and gift from us.

Financially planning

  1. Have a specific budget for each. We have a very specific price limit for each event. Her birthday party usually takes up most of the birthday budget but we still get her a small gift.
  2. We maximize our Dependent Care account. We contribute the maximum amount allowable every year and, because of the way we structure the payments combined with the cost of daycare, we have a huge surplus every December. That money helps offset the cost of her birthday party as well as buying last minute Hanukkah and Christmas gifts.
  3. We shop as early as possible. I can’t stand Black Friday. I can’t stand the stores at holiday time. People are pushy, rude and generally unpleasant. By getting the shopping done as early as possible (or online), I don’t have to deal with the crowds.  That way, by the time her birthday and the holidays come around, I have everything on hand. And I get the added bonus of spending my weekends at home instead of battling a crazy person for a parking spot.

To most people, it would just seem easier, financially and logistically, to include her birthday with Christmas (and, in my house, Hanukkah). However, I believe that her birthday is special, and should be treated as separate and distinct from other holidays in that month. Even if it means spending extra money.  By planning for it, it’s not an extra burden and my daughter never feels that her birthday has been overshadowed by something else.

Do you have a December baby? Are you a December baby? How do you feel about separating birthdays from Christmas and Hanukkah?

 

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