How to Stockpile cash quickly, or 2nd jobs, or sleep schmeep

[nlmcp]

Just got off of two years of working second jobs. Worked retail for about 8-9 months. (at a 24 hour super store, not Walmart thank god) So I would work my regular job and then work 6pm to Midnight or 1am at the service desk and then weekends. The money came in great for groceries and gas but was only about $200 a week.
My other second jobs all had to do with my primary job which is a social worker. I was able to get paid quite well picking up extra work for a couple of neighboring counties who didn't want to hire full time people to cover some extra clients. I did that on weekends and was able to make about $300 a weekend (but it wasn't always steady some weekends there was no work)

Can you do any type of in home care? Some agencies need people who are willing to take care of elderly people in the evening but it doesn't allways pay well. Can you mix drinks? Bartenders can get good tips. Work at a staduim for sport events or concerts. Good luck it's great owning a house but the debt does get to be a hassle sometimes.

And yes it was unbearable....well the working retail was, I was always tired and was gaining weight due to snacking to stay awake. If you have kids, it may not be worth the extra hours if you can stand to pay down the debt a little at a time (I'm not sure how much the debt is) but if it's food we are talking about then working extra time is do able. I didn't mind working the extra social work hours on weekends because my evening were usual free then for family time.

[Shazzer]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Thank God my debt isn’t that horrible, only one credit card. Oh, yeah, and the house. But that’s fine, no problem. For my small debt, two months of ho’ing, I could probably knock it down. Going to the closing? Zero debt. After buying necessities for the house? Yow.

Oh, and yes, Naus, I’d like to decorate. You mean card tables and orange towels from the 70’s don’t do it for you? Screenplay? Hmmm…..

I like the jewelry-kiosk, Barnes and Noble (although, Sher, I would probably spend everything I made there…it would be very, very, dangerous for me. ) , modeling , wrapping gifts, and all the rest. Lots of good ideas.

It’s only me, single, no kids, so it shouldn’t be too bad to conquer. Keep stories coming, if you have them. But if not, thank you anyway!

And P.S. Joeguy, what a great comeback!

Yes, John, you can count the FORT. I can only imagine what all goes into this great place…...I may eventually have to sacrifice my 24 bucks for premium status..

[Stargazer]

Shazz-I know of a job that is fairly low stress and usually higher than minimum wage if you are willing to work nights. I used to work at a hotel and hotels are *always* looking for night auditors. They do the same as front desk clerks during the day (checking people in,etc),as well as close out the day's paperwork and start the next days paperwork. As you can imagine, not too many people check into hotels between 11pm and 5am, so theres usually plenty of down time to study, read, or balance your checkbook.

That being said, try not to do it for too long if you have kids. My mom worked two jobs one year to try to earn extra money for Christmas. We begged her not to do it again. She may have been able to buy us more stuff, but we would have rather had our normal, happy mom then the grouchy dragon she became for those three months.

Mollyrose-Since I started staying home, I've done secret shopping, too. You don't make much money but its fun and they reimburse you for your food and stuff. If anyone else wants to try it, the best company I've found was www.secretshopnet.com

[Shazzer]

No kiddies, Stargazer. That secret shopping thing sounds very interesting...and hmmm...surfing FORT all night while being PAID?

[QuinntheEskimo]

i officiate High School sports (football, wrestling and girls softball) in my free time... it's hardly work and it pays pretty well.

[firegirl]

There are also jobs like answering services for physicians and lawyers.

[G.G.]

The last 3 years are the first time that I haven't worked 2 jobs since I was in college and sometimes, I don't know what to do with myself!

The job I enjoyed the most was tax return preparation for H&R Block. I took their class, passed the test, and worked weeknights and Saturdays doing taxes. The pay wasn't bad, I learned a lot, and I didn't have to work EVERY weeknight...just a couple. I did it 3 years in a row and only stopped because I moved to Florida and all the H&R Blocks there required someone who was bilingual in Spanish and I am not.

The season usually starts right after New Year's and ends, of course, on April 15th. The class isn't expenive at all...and once you take the class and work for them, you don't have to take the class to work for them the next year, only pass the test.

One cool benefit is, you were allowed to do taxes and e-file for your immediate family members free of charge on Block's computers, as long as there wasn't a huge line waiting to be assisted.