Please give me ideas on what to do to earn extra money

[jc0481]

Of course it has to be all legal. I have a 15 month old son now and I need to provide for him. Also I want my wife to stay home. Also get out of debt.

I don't care if I have to learn something new. I'm all for it. Right now I have a job with a decent income. But if I got laid off I would have to go to staffing agencies. Don't get me started on staffing agencies. I HATE them.

I hate having so much dependency on this job. My wife works too. She is a childcare teacher.

I was just at the pawn shop looking for stuff to sell to them. I made small talk with the employee there. He makes extra profit reselling guns. Also my co-worker is a mechanic. He flips cars and gets pretty good money from it.

I would love to sell on Ebay and my wife loves it too. We sold a few items through Ebay months ago. It was the first time we ever sold items on Ebay. It was quick and painless. Just communicated with the buyer through Ebay and email.

My wife's best friend's brother does Ebay as a full time job. He is well off! He just bought his house with cash. No mortgage! My wife's best friend told me when her brother wasn't home and expecting people to come by. She was handed a few $10,000 checks!

I asked him to teach me everything he knows to sell on Ebay. Unfortunately he doesn't want to teach me.
Anyone know of a good website or book to sell on Ebay? I wouldn't even know what to sell or what price I should put down.

I'm also going to school in August for Computer Science. Don't know zilch about computer programming. So I'll be starting Udacity and Code Academy very soon to get a head start.

Please help someone. I don't want to be that guy that goes back to staffing agencies and my new job is to clean up after the construction crew or working dead end warehouse jobs.

Thanks for reading.

 

[palmerc2]

Reading between the lines it seems like you're grasping at straws, scared, and perhaps paranoid that things aren't exactly going to plan.

The cold hard truth is there aren't many jobs available. Businesses are being taxed more, and millions have lost their unemployment so now theres more demand than supply then ever before.

I personally haven't heard of anyone making money on eBay anymore, I know some folks who squeak by. Others who've made a fortune buying collectibles from an uninformed seller at a yard sale, knowing their value, and selling for tons of cash....but you really have to have a lot of knowledge. Plus antiques are becoming more rare as they're constantly being shopped by savvy designers.

Flipping cars is an option but take into consideration that if you transfer x amount of titles in your name per year, you're considered a dealership and get taxed heavily. Check with your state.

Perhaps as help, read the book by Dave Ramsey called The Total Money Makeover LINK. The underlying theme in the book is don't feel too proud to deliver pizzas a couple days a week to get out of debt.

Also listen to his radio program, he's a wealth of knowledge with finances.


Trust me, there's millions out there in the same situation you're in. I see it all over.

 

[Southern Dad]

You could always take a paper route or two. They are always looking for delivery people. Generally they are contractor positions and the delivery would be late at night when you child is sound asleep. Most newspapers have two types of routes; Single Copy - which is delivery to stores and vending racks; and Home Delivery - which is delivery to homes. If your car gets good mpg, you can make good money doing it.

 

[jeremysteele]

The cold hard truth is there aren't many jobs available.

At least in the US - There are plenty jobs available, if you know where to look. There are millions of opportunities out there just waiting for people.

What there is - is a lack of people actively looking for jobs. And no - "filling out apps" doesn't count. I mean actively looking - like going into businesses and talking to the owners, getting contacts, etc. Hardly anyone does that nowadays - and hence the reason for high unemployment. Nowadays people sit on their butts surfing career builder or monster when they should be out talking to the companies.

Another sad point is many people essentially sabotage their chances with crappy resumes, bad interviewing skills, and ridiculously-annoying attitudes. Nowadays interviews usually go like: "I'm perfect give me a job I got a degree oh wait my cell phone is ringing I gotta answer it oh wait now I gotta play angry birds. Cool when it payday do I get the job??". Then they complain about not finding jobs when you tell them to get the heck out of there.

Or even worse: you ask for a PDF resume and they send a DOC. May seem like a little mistake - but it shows the prospect can't read directions.

Of course it has to be all legal. I have a 15 month old son now and I need to provide for him. Also I want my wife to stay home. Also get out of debt.

I don't care if I have to learn something new. I'm all for it. Right now I have a job with a decent income. But if I got laid off I would have to go to staffing agencies. Don't get me started on staffing agencies. I HATE them.

...

I asked him to teach me everything he knows to sell on Ebay. Unfortunately he doesn't want to teach me.
Anyone know of a good website or book to sell on Ebay? I wouldn't even know what to sell or what price I should put down.

Hate to bring it up - but what does your wife want? You may want her to stay home but she may want to work (even part time).

Only reason I bring it up: one of my friends just went through that with his wife (he does quite well, didn't want her to work, but she did). Suffice it to say it ended in a divorce. Just hope you guys are 100% on the same page about that subject - it is on the same level of "should we have kids" or "where should we live?".

Also remember: you can't be superman and do everything (family support, school, work, etc). People who try doing that will eventually crack from the stress and jump off a bridge. No joke.

And yeah - I can't blame you about staffing agencies - they are some of the most manipulative lying SoBs on the planet.

Going back to school is a good goal - albeit a long-term one. Just remember a degree does not guarantee a job. Also depending on your curriculum - computer science is generally a lot more than "programming" (it includes hardware, networking, circuitry, software, mathematics (calculus especially!), etc).

On the ebay subject - very few people who start "ebay businesses" have a clue how it works when they start. One thing to keep in mind is many of them will pick a niche they are interested in and have some knowledge of (like trading cards, computers, etc). From there they will expand out.

Don't get impressed by "$10,000 checks" either. For all you know that could have been their only income for 7 weeks. A lot of people are also great at looking "well off" when they are really up to their ears in debt. And no - "mortgage free" is not debt free.

And as palmerc2 said - successful ebay businesses are far and few between these days.

 

[BenTrovato]

Network marketing is probably the best/easiest way to create wealth in the US right now, especially if you are going to put your time and effort into something that you want a financial gain from.

Other than that - my advice is follow your passion. If you have a passion about something that you can share with the world, follow that and the money can only follow you.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Don't want to turn this into a women's rights thing, but many mothers would love to stay home and bring up there children rather than pay someone else to do it, my wife being one. My daughter is now 12 and my wife is around pre school and after school.
She does buy and sell on eBay but doesn't make any money at it. She just reduces her expenses.
We live mortgage and debt free and have been for years. Our secret? We live within our means. When we want something we save up for it rather than borrow money to buy it. Neither of us have ever had a debt except our mortgage. Now that's gone, the money we used to pay it off with every month goes into our tax free savings.
To the OP. think more about reducing your living costs than taking a second job etc. no point having a family if you never see them.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well, from a female perspective, while some women may wish to stay at home engaged in caring duties & responsibilities, quite a number of others do not, and may prefer to work either full or part-time.

My concern is with the verb used by the OP, when he wrote that he 'wants' his wife 'to stay home'. What does she 'want', or what are her preferences and thoughts on the matter?

Reading recent opinion polls, and surveys, on such topics, I note that while a large - and relatively consistent - number of men seem to like the idea that their partners remain at home, a growing number of women seem to indicate a preference for a return to the labour market, even if it is in a part time capacity.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Personally speaking I'd love to be a stay at home dad, but my wife has never earned anywhere near what I have. Also she wants to stay home.

 

[mr99]

Subscribed for good Input

 

[mobilehaathi]

Well, from a female perspective, while some women may wish to stay at home engaged in caring duties & responsibilities, quite a number of others do not, and may prefer to work either full or part-time.

My concern is with the verb used by the OP, when he wrote that he 'wants' his wife 'to stay home'. What does she 'want', or what are her preferences and thoughts on the matter?

Reading recent opinion polls, and surveys, on such topics, I note that while a large - and relatively consistent - number of men seem to like the idea that their partners remain at home, a growing number of women seem to indicate a preference for a return to the labour market, even if it is in a part time capacity.

What is this!? Concern for what women might want? Are you trying to undermine male power?

 

[Shrink]

What is this!? Concern for what women might want? Are you trying to undermine male power?

Ooohhhh...you're in trouble now!

 

[OneMike]

To the op programming is a good way to go and the good thing is you can do a ton of freelance work which pays good and gives you experience / portfolio.

 

[vulcanvillalta]

Write a short story, publish it on Kindle Direct Publishing, and charge 99 cents or something, and market it like crazy.

Buy wholesale lots of stuff and resell individually on ebay, or amazon, or flea markets. People will always buy junk.

Pick up a better job, or a second job to bring in a little more income. I kept my crap job for a long time after I got my "adult" job just for some extra cash.