How to Make More Money Each Month While Having a Full Time Job

How to Make More Money Each Month While Having a Full Time Job

21 Questions to better finances

People always say life is full of choices; but, no one ever mentions fear. ~ Aaliyah Dana Haughton

When it comes to investing for your retirement there are many choices (stocks, bonds, real estate, p2p lending…); however, it can be scary at first trying to figure out where to put your hard earn money (especially when the market is in turmoil…up one day down the next).

I was recently asked for ways to make more money when you are stuck at a full time job and then have to come home and take care of your children.

This is a tough one as there are many ways to answer this question based on your technical expertise, past experience, willingness to take risk, and how committed you are to putting in the extra effort to make money.

Below are few questions you need to first answer then you can start to improve your bottom line.

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How would you answer the following questions?

Do you use a credit card or cash for daily purchase such as coffee, gas, food, shopping? Answer: you should be using credit cards. It’s safer than using debit cards.



If you use credit card do you pay it off in full at least 15 days BEFORE the credit card statement arrives in your mailbox? Answer: This is obvious. YES you should pay it off before statement arrives.

Do you know approximately how much of your monthly gross income you spend monthly? Answer: the key is you should shoot to try and save 30 to 50% of your income



Do you have 6 months of income saved just in case you lose your job? How about $5,000 in saving for emergency car repairs? Answer: emergency funds are essential to help with unknown future. Think about the last recession; how long were people out of a job? 6 months or was it a few years?



Do you have a saving account and if so is it with one of your local banks or an online bank? Answer: you should have no loyalty to any bank since they really don’t have any for you. Shop around check out online banks



What percentage does the bank give you on your savings? 0.01%? Answer: the last time I check regular banks were paying close to ZERO. Your best bet is to checkout online banks such as www.allybank.com or www.capitalone360.com



Do you currently have a mortgage? If so how long before you pay it off? Are you only able to afford the minimum payments each month? Answer: the question is did you buy a big house to keep up with the Jones and now are both “house POOR and cash POOR”



Do you have a 401k, Roth IRA, IRA? Do you know what those are? If so how much do you have saved in these accounts? Answer: life doesn’t just stop at putting some money in your company’s 401k program. You need to be investing outside that into Roth IRA, IRA and other available investment vehicles whenever possible.



Life insurance? Do you have it? If so how long does it last? How much are you paying per month? How much is the pay out if you die? Who is the beneficiary listed on the policy? Why do you have life insurance do you actually need it (do you have kids, family, parents)? Answer: for me TERM LIFE insurance is the insurance of choice. It’s cheaper for your younger days. It last for a specific time. It has a specific purpose (i.e protect my family until my children are old enough to take care of themselves). The money saved from not spending too much on other forms of life insurance (i.e. whole live or variable life insurance) should be invested. If done right you will have made enough money from investing the difference that it covers the amount you would have gotten from the life insurance if you had died. You shouldn’t have to pay for life insurance “forever.”



How much money (a good estimate) do you have remaining at the end of the month after all bills? Answer: if you don’t even have a clue what this number is you need to take a hard look at your budget. Knowing where your money goes each month is vital towards your path to financial independence. Also, make sure you know how your spouse utilizes your finances (no need for a new designer handbag each month, no need for a new pair of Nike every few months…)



Do you still pay for Cable TV? Do you actually have time to watch all the shows you want or are you constantly DVRing and watching later? Do you know what Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, a digital ANTENNA, www.thedailyshow.cc.com/full-episodes/, www.cwtv.com, www.fox.com/full-episodes/ and Amazon prime are? Call the cable/Internet company say you are having problems with affording your monthly bills see if they can give you some type of deal. If they say no…. either cancel your service or try back later… eventually someone will say yes and give you a better rate Answer: haven’t paid for cable TV in over 7 years. Get most news on internet, digital antenna, watch TV shows when I want on Hulu, Netflix, or local TV websites and stream it all to my big screen TV in the living room using google chromecast



Have an extra room? Do you mind having roommates? Answer: renting out a spare room can help you pay for your house a lost sooner than 30 years. If you get say $500 a month for a spare room and use that money towards a $300,000 mortgage (@ a 4% interest rate) would save you $92,415 on the life of your loan and takes 12 years off your total loan schedule . Click here to check out Airbnb a service to rent out rooms or entire house to travelers from around the world.

Did you lease or buy your car? Answer: unless you are an oil tycoon Do not lease a car. Buy a car you can afford. The purpose of a car is to get you from point A to B. It is not meant to be a fashion statement every few year.



Do you have time to drive people around on the weekends? Answer: want to make a few extra cash each month try becoming a Uber or Lift driver on the weekends



Have you ever seen your credit report?? Answer: Get your credit report free at http://www.annualcreditreport.com (Make sure to save the report before you leave each site. You only get to look at it once per year). Also www.creditkarma.com provides free credit report and credit score (i.e FICO scores). Its always a good idea to keep an eye on your credit report; especially, with all the cyber hacking taking place . ( click here to see how to freeze your credit report )



Do you know exactly what you are paying for each month in regards to your car insurance? What is your deductible? Answer: You should always shop for better car insurance (watch out for cancellation fees especially in California). Compare your coverage options and see what’s out their…. Ask for discounts: good student discount, public servant discounts, active duty discounts, engineering discount, anti-theft device ……)



How much are you paying in interest on your credit cards? Answer: If you have credit card debt, call and ask to negotiate the APR down. Same idea as trying to get a discount on your cable bill



Does your other half know you are making improvements to your finance? Answer: Have a financial date with your partner; don’t let them ruin your plans get them on-board with your plans ASAP.



Are you paying a monthly or annual fee for your checking accounts, saving accounts, or credit card accounts? Answer: If so, it’s time to change your bank. Look for a free online checking account. Free is good….. Plus they pay much higher rates since they don’t have the same overhead as regular banks or credit unions. Checkout the rates at www.allybank.com n ote you get the same FDIC insurance coverage as a regular “brick and mortar bank.”



Is your monthly utility bill excessively high? Have you done an energy audit? Do you have any energy vampires? Answer: Check your local hardware store for a Kill-a-watt device to check energy consumption. Also, check with your utility company to see if they will do a free audit. Quite a few do, plus they also provide some discounts if you use their preferred company to fix the problems. also look into LED light bulbs….

