More Monthly Income is Needed

I find myself in the usual dilemma of when more monthly income is needed. Everyone reading this blog knows what that’s like!

Due to life circumstances, I’m scrounging around for an extra $500/month.

I’m lucky to have a part-time job, but there’s really no opportunity to make extra money at work unless someone is sick or on vacation.

I’m covering a maternity leave, so assuming the woman is returning to work in November, my meager income will run out in a few months.

This post about more monthly income is needed took me awhile to write. When I began writing this post, i was ready to post it on May 25, 2021. I decided to wait a bit before hitting the publish button. Keep reading to find out why!

MONEY MAP

In my post, Figuring Out Your Money, I talked about creating a money map. It’s about simplifying money.

Incoming and outgoing.

Money comes in. Money goes out.

Part of the exercise mentioned in this post is creating a chart, a money map.

Figuring out our goals and figuring out how to get there. Identifying money gaps and finding a bridge to cross them. A money map is constantly evolving and changing as needs change.

Once again I’m in the position of grabbing a piece of paper and juggling my money map.

Goal: get an extra $500/month.

For now.

Adjust it in November. I might need a whole lot more monthly income then if I’m out of work.

Here’s an example of the money map I’m working on, but I don’t have dollar amounts penned in.

I was re-evaluating my money map a few nights ago, and to fund my goals, I’ll need another $1200/month.

REALITY CHECK

Something I like to point out because it really bugs me about the finance writers who are making six figures, paid off mortgage, spent $50,000 cash for the latest car, and take nice vacations. They’re giving advice to low income earners who are struggling to pay the rent and other bills.

Their advice is well-meaning but out of touch for many of us.

Reality check!

Advice for us to quit our designer coffee habit, when most of us rarely hit places like Starbucks. Telling us to pack lunches to work instead of eating out? Eating lunch out is a luxury most of us can’t even afford in the first place!

What about the ever-popular advice to rent out an extra room?

Reality check!

Many of us don’t own houses or have an extra room to rent out. If we’re renters, there’s probably something in the lease about whether or not we can have roommates. If we’re renters, we’re probably renting very basic housing on what we can afford. Extra room? Ha ha. That’s so funny I forgot to laugh!

What about put in extra hours at work?

Reality check!

Many of us are unemployed and looking for work. Those of us with jobs don’t always have an opportunity to work extra hours or overtime.

MAKE AN EXTRA $500/MONTH

After plugging in how to make an extra $500/month, I found a few websites offering up suggestions how to make it happen.

25 Realistic Ways to Make an Extra $500 this Month

101 Ways to Make an Extra $500 a Month While Keeping Your Full Time Job

25 Ways To Make an Extra $500 a Month

41 Easy Ways to Make an Extra $500 a Month

24 Ways to Make $500 Fast that Don’t Include Taking Out a Payday Loan

50 Ways to Make Extra Money This Month

THE USUAL SUSPECTS WHEN MORE MONTHLY INCOME IS NEEDED

The usual suspects come up in these type of articles.

And sure there’s good advice in there. Tips you might not have thought about, so articles like these are worth a look.

But I’d say if people are qualified, have the skills, or have a car to drive for Uber, Lyft, Instacart, etc, they have probably already put these side gigs into action.

Blogger
Photographer
Dog walker
Dog sitter
Babysitter
Driver
Deliver food
Rent out room
Tutor
Personal trainer
Write articles
Write ebooks
Sell artwork
Create a course
Take surveys
Mystery shop
Computer repairs/lessons
Design T-shirts/coffee mugs
Ask for a raise
Work overtime
Cook/Bake
Bartender
Become a DJ
Website designer
Bookkeeper
Rent your RV
Freelance on Fiverr/TaskRabbit
Mow lawns
Shovel snow
Clean pools
Clean houses

I’ve tried a lot of things on this list when more monthly income is needed. Side gigs. Many pans in the fire. Most of the time it’s a couple of bucks here and there, not getting anywhere close to the extra $500/month I need to raise.

I’m talking reliable, consistent income that I can count on each month.

WHAT SHOULD I DO WHEN MORE MONTHLY INCOME IS NEEDED?

According to my money map, I need to come up with at least another $500 a month, though $1200 or more will be better to meet more financial goals.

Right now the simplest options are to find another part-time job or to find a good paying full time job.

Yeah – how many of us wish we could have one of those!

I’m hearing two things when it comes to job opportunities due to the pandemic.

As many of us know firsthand, many jobs were lost due to the pandemic. Sadly, many of them were customer service, low paying type of jobs. We take what we can get because we don’t have the education or skills for better paying jobs.

I’m also hearing news reports that there are a lot of jobs available, like this NBC story: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/there-are-now-more-jobs-available-pandemic-so-why-aren-n1263669

Global News reports a workplace resignation boom might be looming.

People aren’t returning to the workforce for a number of reasons. Fear of getting coronavirus is right up there. Also a lot of people have had their priorities change. A health scare does that. And Covid-19 is a worldwide health scare. People have more important things they want to do with their lives, and are finding ways to work from home or maybe start their own business.

I’m hoping I can swoop in on one of those jobs where the employee isn’t planning to return to the office!

I HAVE GOOD NEWS!

As part of my quest for more monthly income, I’ve applied to a few jobs over the past couple of months. I had two interviews in May, 2021, and the second one went quite well.

I did a lot of preparation for the interview because it seems like a fantastic opportunity for me, checking off many things on my list of a dream employer.

Good news! I got the job and will start in a couple of weeks!

Happy dance time!