I currently have four(ish) sources of income. Two jobs and two extra sources are helping me on this financial journey. I know not everyone could work the way I do. I do not have any children or major obligations, so my time is my own. Right now, I’m trying to optimize it as much as I can to push toward financial freedom.
- Full-time job. I have a full-time job with great benefits. I currently make $58,862 annually. Additionally, the opportunity to work overtime occasionally arises (thus the “four-ish” sources of income. The overtime is not usually in my department, but it is income that shows in my main paycheck. It is also not consistent. Last year there was quite a bit of overtime available to me, and I made an extra $25,549 before taxes. My current salary is a bit of an increase from last year, where I made about $52,321 before overtime, and I am working on calculating how to add that into my savings.
- Part-time job. In addition to my full-time job, I have been working a part-time job for years. I average 16 to 24 hours a week and make an average of $20,000 a year, but to me, this job is currently GOLD. It’s a fairly easy job, and most of my time is spent driving around and listening to podcasts (no, it’s not Uber). I have spent the last six months absorbing every real estate podcast I could, and more recently, financial freedom ones. On my lunch breaks, I read. The knowledge I have gained while getting paid to work cannot be compared to the income I have made working my full-time job. While I ultimately have plans to try to leave this job in the next year or two, I plan to continue to take advantage of the opportunity I have been given and use the time to continue to learn and grow.
- Plasma donation. I have also taken on plasma donation as a way to earn a bit of extra income. I have donated blood since I was 18, and it was recently brought to my attention that due to the low impact giving blood has on my body, I could be a good candidate for plasma donation. Each donation center pays different amounts, and there are sometimes bonuses. If the center is busy, I don’t always have time to donate. Additionally, you can only donate twice a week. I did not donate consistently last year and made $1,255. My goal for this year is to make around $3,000 donating.
- MTurk. The last way I earn additional income is MTurk, or Amazon Mechanical Turk. On this site, requesters put up HITs or Human Intelligence Tasks. These vary across a broad range of tasks, but I prefer to take the surveys. Timewise, not all of them are “worth it,” as in it’s not worth taking a 15 minute survey for 50 cents. But some of them are worth the short time, and I try to earn $40 to $50 extra a month. This might seem trivial to some, and many would consider it a waste of time, but I usually take these surveys on work breaks or while donating plasma, so it’s a little extra bit of money that didn’t take up much of my valuable time.
Everyone has different situations. I know I’m lucky in this journey, because I can spend my free time how I desire. Even still, none of these income sources are likely to put me into financial freedom. I plan on using these little bits to contribute to my loan repayment, my investments, and my budding real estate business in the hopes that they will grow far beyond the miniscule amounts they appear.
And now I challenge you. What little bit can you do? There are so many opportunities to earn additional income. If you are like me and you find yourself with similar goals, I encourage you to search for your own methods. Is there online work you can do or a small part-time gig at a coffee shop near your house? Don’t sit around and wait, explore and take action. Your dollars can’t start earning until you do.
