Supplementing your income

I'm a giving guy. So yes, if it'll help you make rent, I'm all for it!

 

gambling? plasma?

seriously?

the free-lance market isn't easy to get into, but once you're in, you can make real money.

think specialization. there's a magazine for every imaginable topic. what do you know a lot about? doesn't have to be sports.

I think I got $100 for my first magazine piece back in the day, but it opened up doors for me that remain open.

be persistent. work at it. it'll be a hell of a lot more rewarding than working in a car wash or working as a waiter or whatever

 

It may not be for everybody, but I have found a fairly consistent stream of supplemental income through temp jobs. I've been on my current part-time assignment for three months and brings in an extra $150 a week.

 

Poker? Really?

Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't steer someone into a hobby/money-making endeavor that is on dubious legal standing, at best. Poker is gambling, and carries monetary risk tied to chance. Don't let anybody tell you different. Instead of sitting in your PJs on a laptop trying to "beat the $1-2 game" and possibly flushing your savings account down the drain, go out and find a second job and/or do some freelance work. Pay off your debts. Don't buy on credit, pay cash. Save, save and save some more. And when you build a little cushion, bump up your 401(k) contribution (you DO have one set up, right?). Drop the annual max in a Roth IRA. Stay out of debt. And then save some more.

That's my advice.

 

"This lemonade tastes funny."

 

Yeah, yeah. I do all that. We're very saving conscious and fiscally responsible. Which means on a journalist's salary as well as my wife's teacher salary, there's not a lot left over. I feel bad even starting this thread, in a way, because I think there's a feeling that scraping by is a badge of honor for people who do what we do, and aspiring to more income is somehow wrong or a betrayal.

 

Lemme just throw this out there, too, about 401(k) -- do whatever it takes to get started, even if you think you cannot afford it. I waited until I was 29 or so to start because there was always something else we needed the money for -- college loans, credit card bills, wedding, kids, etc. -- and I definitely regret it.

If the company is matching at any level, it's free money. You have to find a way to take it from them, even if you can only withhold 1% of your income.

The deductions are pre-tax, so it's not like you're losing that entire 1%.

It compounds, you know the deal. Those seven years I wasn't contributing, ugh.

I was struggling for years, always thinking the next raise was the one that was going to put us in a position where we could afford to dive in, but that raise never really came until a couple years after we started the 401(k). Once we started withholding, though, we found it was actually rather easy to nudge it up to the full percentage the company was willing to half-match on.

I had to leave the company, then leave another company, to get raised to the level I should've been moved up to. But that's another story.

 

Here is another idea -- why not start your own blog since we are being told they are kicking newspapers asses in getting ad revenue.......

 

Alright, just found someone to test this ignore function on.

 

I hear ya. I've just always found that the easiest way to make more money was to spend less.

 

Seriously, caddying is the way to go. Sure, you have to suck up to rich folk, but if there's a decent club near you, it's easy money, and you get to play Mondays.
I caddy Friday, Sat. and Sunday and at 85-100 a day, it's a nice way to make a quick buck.
Plus, I enjoy it. I have a regular loop, I learn more about the game and I've parlayed it into some great opportunities - I had an offer to caddy for a Nationwide player which I declined once I got a full-time journo gig; and there's a possibility of caddying for a PGA pro if needed.

 

I can't believe no one has suggested this, but you could always deliver the paper.