It’s always too soon to quit.
– Norman Vincent Peale
No, the recession isn’t over. Yes, there is good news out there–and I LOVE sharing good news with my clients and friends, but over the weekend, I was reminded again about how often we can just *grasp* at every item of good news, and not recognize the underlying truth.
Saw this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_economy
… and indeed, it’s hopeful.
However, what the AP doesn’t acknowledge, in the writing, is that the good news being referenced is simply that the numbers were slightly better than what the “analysts” were expecting. In short, some (educated) guesses were wrong…the numbers were just “less bad” than they initially thought.
But still…bad. Unemployment is creeping towards 10% nationally, and we’ll have to wait for a few months to see what the third quarter numbers *really* were. Sure, I’ll still point to articles which can give you a shot in the arm of hope–because our mindset about these issues is often just as important as the underlying data.
Yet I refuse to be blind to reality.
Which, of course, is why we spend so much time around here to make sure that YOUR numbers are also rooted in reality–so you can make the best decisions possible for your family or your business.
And the real world for some of my clients, or their friends–times are tough. So, I thought I’d rip off some quick thoughts for you on finding additional sources of income.
It’s the subject of this week’s Personal Strategy Note…feel free to send your thoughts or questions!
“Real World” Personal Strategy
How To Find Additional Income
This economy certainly has a bunch of families looking for ways to “trim the fat”…well, to continue the metaphor, how about *adding* some “lean”?
You see, when trying to save money, eventually you’ll come to a point where you have cut as many expenses as you can and there are no additional steps you can take to free up money from your current income. The next step to saving more could be to look for other sources of income. These are a few common ways to make extra income with which I’ve seen many clients succeed.
* One of the most obvious has to be getting a second job. While this can eat into your free time, it’s an immediate way to bring in a dependable, set amount of income. You could try to make it more enjoyable by choosing something you’re interested in. For example, if you are an avid golfer, then work in a golf store. Not only will you enjoy the job more, you may have a discount that will benefit you as much as the pay check.
* When you invest in dividend paying stocks, you can receive 3-6% annually in dividends from some of the top financial and utility stocks.
* Rental property can be a great form of income, as long as it’s “cash flow positive”, meaning that the rent you bring in more than covers all the expenses. You don’t want your only hope of making money to be on the future value of the property. With the exception of the occasional real estate bubble, the actual appreciation on a house makes a terrible investment, believe it or not.
* Sell things around the house that you don’t use anymore. This could be done with a garage sale or online at www.Ebay.com, www.Kijiji.com or www.Craigslist.org. If you get comfortable with selling on these sites, you could even buy things at other garage sales that are undervalued and sell them online yourself. If you enjoy a certain hobby, like crafts or woodwork, you might be able to make something that you can then sell online.
* There are many opportunities to make money online if you like to write. You can either have your own blog or write on sites like www.HubPages.com or www.Suite101.com. Further, if you have other “freelance” skills, a great site to find work is www.elance.com.
While not all of these ideas will make a lot of money, even bringing in an extra $100 a month to invest and earn 7% will give you extra savings of around $117,000 in 30 years!
I hope this helps!
