WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER?

As I sit here at my parents house for the weekend, unemployed and enjoying the benefit of their hardwork for the past forty years I contemplate what I have to offer.  What can I do, make, or provide that has monetary value?  In these times of financial uncertainty it can’t hurt to have more than one income stream.  Even if I were working full time, I’d gladly take an extra couple hundred bucks a month.

            So here it is; A list I’ve compiled for anyone looking to boost or create an income in some conventional and maybe some unconventional ways.

1.    Sublet a room.

For those already living in an apartment the size of a closet this may not be an option, but for those who have a spare bedroom and are looking to generate some extra cash, rent is awesome when you’re on the receiving end.  If you’re not crazy about having an extra person in your living equation at all times, list your space on airbnb.com or roomorama.com and set availbility  as you chose.

      If you are one of those NYC closet dwellers and you’re headed to the country for the week or weekend, you can list your space for $50/day and make some fast cash while you’re gone.  It’s cheaper than a hotel for your visitors and you get a quick income boost for that small effort. Everybody wins.

2.    Sell your crap.

How many clothes do you have that you’ve barely worn?  Did you just move in with someone and find you now have doubles of everything?  Do you have stacks and stacks of books you’ve already read lying around your house?  Before sending it all to the trash see if you can sell it.  If it’s in great condition list it on ebay, craigslist, amazon, even facebook.  Set up a garage sale.  Anything you can’t sell, donate and enjoy a small tax deduction.

3.    Babysit

If you have nothing to do for the weekend, keep your eye out for babysitting gigs.  Babysitters in metropolitan areas make an average of $15-$20/hour.  In other word four hours of reading The Hunger Games while little Johnny sleeps can get you sixty bucks.  Check out sittercity.com for jobs in your area- they also list tutoring and housekeeping gigs.

4.    Make your hobbies work for you.

If you love photography, try selling your images on stock photo sites.  If you love shopping, sign up to by a mystery shopper.  If you love crafts, sell your work or take custom orders (etsy.com). Best of all, since it’s already your hobby, you’ll love what you’re doing.

5.    Register for focus groups.

If you fit the criteria, you can make anywhere from $50-$100 in an hour or two, just for offering your opinion.  To find focus groups for which you may qualify, check out findfocusgroups.com

6.    Sell your hair.

Definitely not the most convetional way of earning extra income but it’s too easy and profitable not to list.  Your hair can get you anywhere from $300 to $900 on sites like hairwork.com.  On that note you can also sell your sperm or eggs for a pretty penny, but there’s a lot more to consider when selling your “reproductables”.

7.    Use the Internet.

There are a multitude of sites that allow you to list your services for the world to purchase.  Here are a few that you may not be familiar with.

-       Fiverr.com:  Fill in the blank.  I will _______ for $5.  Then list your service.  People list everything from video editing to dancing around in spandex while singing happy birthday.

-       Gigbucks.com: Similar concept to Fiverr, but gigs can range from $5-$100.

-       Vayable.com:  Offer your expertise or an insider’s guide to your hometown.  You can list anything from guiding a hike through the Catskills to bar hopping through your favorite spots in the east village.

-       Taskarmy.com: List your service and set your price.

These are just suggestions.  Take a moment to brainstorm.  What do you have to offer?  What service, skill, or thing do you have that you can trade for money?  You may stumble upon something that you really love doing, and you’ll be getting paid.  Just remember not to blow all that extra money on more crap that you’ll eventually have to sell ;)

“When you know better you do better” – Maya Angelou

I own a few shares of Whole Foods (WFM), which took a bit of a plunge this week after being up since I bought them back in March.  Trying to understand the price dip I decided to read some recent articles on the company’s projected performance.  About two sentences in, I felt like I was reading another language.  And to be fair, I was.  In the world of finance and investments there is an entirely separate set of vocabulary.   Unfortunately, my 13 years in the public school system did little, or rather, nothing to prepare me when it comes to banking and investments.  So it’s up to me to fill in those gaps.

             After reading some preliminary materials (Suzie Orman, Investing for Dummies, etc) I feel I have a bit of a foundation and certainly an awareness of my finances and financial goals.  But where do I go from there?  It’s like I’m building my own curriculum without any guidance or expertise.

            Fortunately, the Internet offers a wealth of information on anything and everything.  And while I’m not sure how to approach it all and put it into practice without being completely overwhelmed, I’m eager to delve into it.  Education is essential. When it comes to finance, it’s up to the individual to lay the foundation and build from there.  You can’t do algebra if you don’t know basic arithmetic.  Similarly, your money won’t work for you if you don’t understand the basic vocabulary.

            So I’ve been searching for a curriculum.  A program that will take me through financial concepts, basic and advanced, in plain English.  Fortunately, I was just introduced to one called Khan Academy.  Khan Academy is a free website that covers a range of topics in a youTube lecture format.  They have an entire section devoted to Finance and Economics that covers everything from basic banking to venture capital to the implications of the financial crisis.  The videos average around ten minutes.  With one of those videos a day, I can quickly establish an understanding of an otherwise perplexing language of finance and investments. 

The more I learn and understand how it all works, the better chances I have of making my money work for me.  It’s about working smarter rather than harder.  By constantly learning, expanding the vocabulary, mastering the concepts, reading the current literature in the form of the Wall Street Journal or other financial publications, I’m setting myself up for success. It’s like approaching any kind of work.  If you want to excel, you need to educate.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of people forego the self education and throw their paychecks into a low yielding checking account and buy houses with mortgages they can’t afford and throw money away leasing cars because they don’t know any better.  Handling money is possibly the most practical and necessary skill to be taught and it’s completely passed over in the educational system. But if we take on the responsibility to educate ourselves, we can not only avoid financial pitfalls, but prosper both intellectually and fiscally.

Start now.  www.khanacademy.org   

YOUR money YOUR responsibility.

Double check EVERYTHING!

The amount of mistakes made on everything from paychecks to credit scores is astounding.  No one has better intentions for your money than you.  The retailers and government can only gain from a mistake and if you don’t care enough to check and rectify it, you’re the one who loses.

In the past six months I’ve had at least five errors on my credit card.  Not only that, but after calling the companies that overcharged me I had to follow up again with at least two of them to get the errors fixed.  It happens all the time on purchases of all sizes.  I once made a $1,000 purchase on my credit card and was accidentally charged twice.  Can you imagine losing $1,000 just because you didn’t double check your credit card statement.  You may be thinking, well I’d notce a $1,000 difference.  But you may not notice $5 or $10 and those can add up fast costing you hundreds.  More importantly, if there’s a $10 charge on your card that you didn’t authorize, by noticing it right away you may save yourself thousands in fraudulent charges by calling your card company immediately and reporting it. 

Check your account statements everyday.  With online access it’s so simple.  It’s part of my daily routine.  Gmail and Facebook… then Chase then Charles Schwab..  Not only do you ensure everything is in order, but you get a snapshot of your spending when it’s all on the screen in front of you.  I’m a spreadsheet kind of gal so I crossreference my spreadsheet with my statements and make sure all charges are accounted for.

The mistakes are not limited to retailers and credit card companies.  Double check your pay check or pay stubs each week.  Make sure all the hours including overtime have been accounted for, and speak up if something is wrong.  Again, it’s only you who can lose.  I recently had an incident with my employer.  I had $50 each week deducted from my paycheck  to pay off my union membership initiation fee.  The day I paid off my membership I contacted both the union and my employer to make sure that $50 would stop being deducted.  Low and behold, the next week the $50 was deducted despite taking every precaution.  Don’t assume anything is or will be taken care of – even if you’ve covered all of your bases.  Your paycheck is just one of a hundred or thousand to your employer, but to you it’s your livelihood.  If you want it all , it’s up to you to keep track of it.

Finally, be sure to check up on all three of your credit reports once a year.  In a 2009 study by the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups they found that 79 percent of all credit reports contained some type of error- and 25 percent contained errors serious enough that individuals were denied credit.  Your credit reports affect the interest rates on your loans and credit cards, what you pay for insurance, even  your potential for future employment.  In other words, a mistake unchecked can cost you thousands.  Here’s a link to the Federal Trade Commission which explains how to check each score for free once a year and report any errors.

 http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm

You are the greatest beneficiary of your money.  Be responsible with it and for it.