Multiple income source.

How many of you have more then one source of income? It seems if a person really wants to be somewhat on the wealthy side they have to have more then a 8 hour per day job. I'm in the type of business that I get to meet a lot of people. I do electrical service repair work for who ever needs a electrician. You can really tell who is gonna be your best paying customer by how many hot irons they have in the fire. If the customer just has basically one 40 hour a week job then he is kind of hesitant of how much he is gonna have to pay you. If he is the type of person who is running several business, then usually money is no problem.

Growing up my parents only had one job. Although they kept the bills paid up there wasn't enough left over to buy fancy boats, a cabin on the lake, a Hawaii trip every so often,,etc, etc. You could tell we wasn't rich by the vehicle we drove, the house we lived in, the clothes we wore.

I've spent the last 30 years of my adult life thinking I only need one good paying job. That's all my parents had and they done fine and it should be fine for me. But lately I've really been watching people and trying to figure out who has money, who thinks they have money, and who doesn't have money. For 30 years I've been one of those people who thought they had money.

I got aquainted with a pastor several years ago. At that time he was a young fellar about the same age as me. After a few years of pastoring he decided that maybe it wasn't his calling to be a pastor of a church. So he changed careers and is now the owner of several small business. He and his wife is on the go all the time, jumping from one place to another, checking on how things are going. They hire managers to run their small business. Financially, they are doing a whole lot better then when pastoring.

Today I worked for a Dairy Farmer. Changed out a main breaker in his panel box at the dairy barn. I've known him for a long time and kind of always suspicioned he was doing well financially, just kind of judging by all the quality of vehicles he owns. So I got to talking to him about the business and how things are going on. Come to find out the dairy barn isn't the only thing he has going. His wife owns a small grill which she runs. He not only milks twice a day but in between the milking he is checking his two other ranches out, and he always looking for cheap land to buy. He buys cheap land, cleans them up and resells them for a profit. Two cattle ranches, a dairy business, Realtor, and his wife operates a grill/resturaunt. All togethor they have about 4 ranch hands, and 7 waitresses working for them.

Doing good if you ask me. I wished I would have learned a lot earlier in my life to be a multiple business person.

[saramark]

sounds like a pretty stressful life. I do carpentry 2-3 days a week and raise meat birds for 4-5 months(about 1/2 hour a day work) and we pay the mortgage, all the bills are paid in advance, and I have a nice 4WD truck to drive around in. We have 3 kids and are not getting any "assistance" from the state or family.

I don't like stress, and I do love my family. That is more important to me, and as I set about to serve God in whatever way He shows me, He has always provided bountifully for me. Oh, yes we also tithe and support missions work, so we have enough left over to give. To me, it is weighing out whether you want money or a better life more. I have enough money, and plenty of time for hobbies, family, church, and lots of time to watch chickens peck around the yard.

Seems that this is the question. What are you wanting to invest in? Money? If so, you will be pretty busy and often stressed. I know a man who owns 7 McDonald's and makes a ton of money, but he and his wife, both in their 70's work about 60-70 hours weekly. I think they are so wrapped up in money, that they have no life outside of work. They probably think I am pitiful, poor, and miserable. I know, for our family, this is the life.

Just my thoughts.
Mark

[DenverGirlie]

Originally Posted by saramark

weighing out whether you want money or a better life more.

What a depressing view of money.


Money is a tool, just like anything else. Having more of it means one can do some things easier. A snowblower is a tool, it allows one to move snow faster and easier than using a shovel. However that snowblower costs a lot more money than the shovel.

Now having multiple streams of income does not necessarily mean one has to work themselves to death. For every money rich person that works 60+ hours a week, their is also a money rich person that works 20 hours a week.

[Callieslamb]

It seems to me that many supposedly "wealthy" people are actually living on credit. Did the people you mention pay cash for the wife's business or does she have payments to make on the buildings, equipment, etc? Do they pay cash for the ranches he buys to sell? Is running around totally busy all the time the best thing for a family - just so they can have money? Seems to me the better plan is to live on less than you make. Need less things and learn to sacrifice for the things you want. Do what you can for yourself.

Money isn't our goal. Having a stay-at-home mom was. DH actually has a great job. We have enough to live on a save for the future. We have no desire to be so busy we can't be a family. Most people I know with two jobs Or both spouses work or they own a business - don't have much of a family life. That week in Hawaii is the only week they get together.

I want to be productive and leave anything I own in better condition than when I received it. I want a great family life and relationships that will last. Everyone has different goals and we tend to seek after what we want.

[bill not in oh]

There are numerous advantages to having multiple income sources. Small businesses rarely provide consistent income, fluctuation occurs year to year, seasonally and often show long term trends with changing market conditions or internal management of the business(es). Incomes from multiple sources spread the risk connected with any business or job. People that aren't willing to work 200 - 300 hours per month should seek more passive ways to diversify their income. The prudent means to do this vary a great deal based on the individual's personal situation. There's are literally hundreds of things you can do to create multiple income sources - but it does boil down to how much time and/or money are you willing to commit because they will all take SOME time and/or money. A NEW THREAD!!

[pcdreams]

what I think is so ironic in this country is that we supposedly value family. yet we work 60-70-80 hrs a week.. Now how are you going to have any family time that way? Just another american double standard that irritates the sh** out of me.

Pure idiocy In my minds eye.

[saramark]

Denver, you are right that money is a tool. Unfortunately, I have $5-6k tied up in tools. Those tools, acquired over the years, paid for in cash, has allowed me to take more jobs that pay better. I am most stressed monthly with the payment on my truck. I should have spent less and paid cash, thus avoiding a payment, but I gave in to my foolish desires and bought a truck that cost 60% of my mortgage payment monthly. With full coverage insurance and payment, along with more expensive excise tax(Maine is high on taxes), my truck payment is just $100 monthly less than my mortgage, which includes property tax and insurance. I have my truck for sale and would be HAPPIER with a cash paid for truck that will do just as fine, just not look as pretty or have the extras that my current truck has.

A good friend thinks I must deal drugs or something. We do the same job, have the same mortgage, same number of kids, and charge the same rate per hour for work.
I work 15 hours a week, he works 60. I drive a 3 year old truck, and he drives the same model, same truck as me, but this year's model. We both have about the same BILLS, but I have much more money. My wife cooks instead of eating out 4-6 times weekly. We go camping, they rent a camper or hotel room. We spend time together as a family, they split up and go shopping, spending lots of money. My wife trims her own hair, his wife goes to the salon. He cannot understand how we have the money to live, eat, and survive, and is stressed all the time about bills, work, clients, etc. He is always late on his payments and has bad credit. Our credit score is 805 and I own an investment property, which is for sale.
Seems our way of life is paying off, and even though many people are happy chasing money, having to have every whim granted, we like our way and people are always asking how they can live like us. Funny thing is, when we tell them, they laugh and go about their merry way.
Our way of life is not for everyone, but it is perfect for us. I just wish people would think about the long term cost of having THINGS.

mark

[DenverGirlie]

Originally Posted by saramark

I own an investment property, which is for sale.

Would this not be your second stream of income then? Thus proving the OP's orginal point?

[chris30523]

Some people appear to have money and really have alot of debt. Some people appear to be happy and are not. It is quality of life not quantity of things to me. Things make some happy . It is whatever it takes for you to have the life you want to lead and be happy. I personally will always be trying to make money at some job or another. Not because I want what someone else has but because I like the challenge of making money. My DH likes to spend it so it works out well for us.

[saramark]

Thanks for the input Bill. Here, the only things we sell are the extra eggs and we raise broilers , double the amount we need. We sell half, and that makes the half we keep free. We only have time invested, and not alot of that. Best part is, my kids do most of the tending because they LOVE TO. I don't have to tell them to do their chores, they enjoy it, because most of the time, Daddy is out there with them, teaching them and making the work fun. It also helps that I just love chickens, they are entertaining, cute, and don't take up much space.

Next year, we add sheep to the mix, in with the broilers.

mark

[saramark]

Originally Posted by DenverGirlie

Would this not be your second stream of income then? Thus proving the OP's orginal point?

Actually, no. This investment income came from my 2 day work week. We purchased a house that was cheap, in terrible condition. We completely rebuilt it, working at our usual pace, no boss to tell us what color to paint, what tile to use. We made our own decisions and came and went as we pleased.

Carpentry is what I do for a living. Would be the same if I made widgets and then sold them. Same concept, I work when I want and am paid(just a little later, but alot more hourly) I won't be doing another one, either, as the market is bad and I learned from this project that it was too much stress. I would not do it again, and thus, I disagree with the OP original point.

I prefer the short work week, and being self employed means I take off whenever I want. Our clients are happy, and I am paid well for what I do.

mark

[Cygnet]

The thing is, credit isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes you have to take out a loan to make money.

I have a day job working for a large company and a moonlight job running a web site. I turn a reasonable profit on the ads on the web site. I just spent, on credit, close to four grand on some very complicated programming and widgets for the web site. Said programming will pay for itself in increased ad revenue, it will be paid off in a few months, and I've got enough frequent flyer miles on my credit card for an airline ticket now. It was not something I could wait and save up for, for a variety of factors. (And due to some homeowner disasters -- well went dry, etc. -- my savings was tapped out.)

Same thing with buying a restaurant on credit -- if it's a good investment you'll make money on it.

OTOH, buying luxuries on credit is stupid -- unless you're just using the credit card for the frequent flyer miles or extended warranty or consumer protection rules, which I do. (And then, normally, paid the cards off the same month, often as soon as I get home.)

Leva

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

It seems to me that many supposedly "wealthy" people are actually living on credit. Did the people you mention pay cash for the wife's business or does she have payments to make on the buildings, equipment, etc? Do they pay cash for the ranches he buys to sell? Is running around totally busy all the time the best thing for a family - just so they can have money? Seems to me the better plan is to live on less than you make. Need less things and learn to sacrifice for the things you want. Do what you can for yourself.

Money isn't our goal. Having a stay-at-home mom was. DH actually has a great job. We have enough to live on a save for the future. We have no desire to be so busy we can't be a family. Most people I know with two jobs Or both spouses work or they own a business - don't have much of a family life. That week in Hawaii is the only week they get together.

I want to be productive and leave anything I own in better condition than when I received it. I want a great family life and relationships that will last. Everyone has different goals and we tend to seek after what we want.

[MariaAZ]

I think is is a popular misconception that a person with multiple income streams has to work long hours. I am actually making close to the same amount of money today, working 25-30 hours/week as when I put in 40 hours/week at the job I lost almost 4 years ago. We currently have three sources of income; DH has a full-time job and I have a virtual assistant business and manage our rental properties. I manage our small collectibles business that is currently not showing a profit, and am looking into a few potential businesses to add.

We aren't rich, by far. It's taken almost 3 years for me to get back up to the income level I was at before. However, when I lost my job my entire income stream was lost too. Now, if one of my ventures slows down I have others to "pick up the slack."

As for cash versus credit; I feel that sometimes credit gets a bad rap. Our rental properties have mortgages attached to them, but the income we receive more than pays the expenses (including the entire mortgage payment) and leaves us with a bit of profit. In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with living on a cash-only basis, but there's also nothing wrong with judicious use of credit either, especially when it comes to real estate where the prices (at least in my city) are out of reach for most people to pay cash. The way one chooses to go depends on the goals and risk-tolerance of the people involved.

[bqz]

It seems if a person really wants to be somewhat on the wealthy side they have to have more then a 8 hour per day job.

R.H. I have one job and am very rich for I have found riches are not in what you have in life but who you have it with.
I have found two ways to be rich.
1)Get all you can get .
2)be happy with what you got.
I've seen both sides and to me happy is better than rich.Now I'm not trying to sound mean here and trust me I'm ok financially ,but if your out to get rich you'll never make it because you will always try to get more and at the end of the day you missed out on life because you were always working.
Not trying to be critical here just sharing what I have learned.

[pcdreams]

Originally Posted by MariaAZ

when it comes to real estate where the prices (at least in my city) are out of reach for most people to pay cash. .

This is a good point. Here a mortgage payment is roughly the same as rent. So why throw your money away on rent if you can own for the same?

We got luck when we bought our house. The mortgage is about half what everyone else in paying. And while I hate it here (city, rude people, no IT industry) it has been cheap rent for the past 9 yrs.

[pcdreams]

Originally Posted by bqz

R.H. I have one job and am very rich for I have found riches are not in what you have in life but who you have it with.
I have found two ways to be rich.
1)Get all you can get .
2)be happy with what you got.
I've seen both sides and to me happy is better than rich.Now I'm not trying to sound mean here and trust me I'm ok financially ,but if your out to get rich you'll never make it because you will always try to get more and at the end of the day you missed out on life because you were always working.
Not trying to be critical here just sharing what I have learned.

AMEN!!

[saramark]

Question about rental properties:
If your property is not rented, or you have to do repairs on it, does it still make you money?
I do work for a multiple property owner. He has 1 9-unit building and told me that taxes, payments, etc. are as much as 7 units rent. His properties are in better condition than others in the area, but are about 15-20% more monthly. Taking into account repairs, unforeseen expenses, time handling finances and interviewing tenants, yard work, etc. He spends quite a bit of time and money on this place. He will have it paid off in 20 years, but will he still be alive to see it? Will the rent keep coming in?

We considered becoming landlords on the property we have for sale. We would have to charge $1500 monthly for a 3 bed/2 bath 2900 sq ft house just to pay the bills. Accounting for basic repairs, additional insurance, chance of not having it rented 100% of the time, etc. We would have to charge $2000 monthly for this to work. I can't see that happening, but it is well within the price range of any other home. When it comes down to it, a renter pays all the landlords bills on the place, plus "rainy day insurance" plus a profit. Maybe a multi unit place would make more sense, but I just can't see how playing landlord is worth the cost. Again, too much stress for me, having to wonder who broke what this week, will it be rented, etc.

mark

[pcdreams]

Originally Posted by saramark

Again, too much stress for me, having to wonder who broke what this week, will it be rented, etc.

mark

That's why you are selective on who you rent to. Many place here are requiring first, second and last months rent. This weeds out a lot of trouble makers (unfortunatly it weeds out a lot of good folks who have rent $$ but not a nest egg).

Then theres always vacation or seasonal rentals. Paid up front so no hassles there.

[Dianol]

Originally Posted by Cygnet

OTOH, buying luxuries on credit is stupid -- unless you're just using the credit card for the frequent flyer miles or extended warranty or consumer protection rules, which I do. (And then, normally, paid the cards off the same month, often as soon as I get home.) Leva

BINGO! Cygnet is dead on target with this approach. I've always felt that (other than home; and cars when I was younger) that if you had to finance an unneccessary item to own it, then you really couldn't afford it. Also, if you have to finance a car for more than 3 years to get the note where you need it, then it's to much car....buy a cheaper car, or an older car. Finance furniture? forget it.....we could always sit on a wooden crate or hand me down furniture...and did when we were younger.

My DH and I are in our mid 50's now, and last year he needed a new truck. He found a modestly equipped full size truck and paid cash for it. A few weeks ago, we decided to sell my car, because we want to go into retirement with low mileage vehicles. (There's nothing wrong with the older car besides older.) Anyway, we found a RAV4 equipped how I wanted it, and paid cash. We both made plenty of sacrifices in our younger years to be able to do that.
Trust me when I say that we rarely went out to nice restaurants for dinner, we only bought used vehicles, took short vacations, and kept the thermostat low in winter, and high in summer to control costs. Often, it's not how much you make, but it's how you handle it.

I like the approach of more than one income stream...that makes good sense. Just like in the stock market. You never just buy one stock, which is why mutual funds are good choices to achieve diversity.

Everyone is making excellent points.

Di

[Michael W. Smith]

I'm thinking if you were to walk a day in the shoes of the people you think have "money", you might come to find out you were wrong! Those people with business' and properties are taking in money - selling things and providing a place to live. However what you don't see is the money they are paying out - their business' take money to run, their properties take money to keep updated. Then add in the fact that chances are those business' and properties were probably bought with credit - so they have monthly mortgages to pay.

In addition to that, those people with the boats, the Rv's, the big 4 wheelers - most of those are actually owned by the bank. Some of those big vacations are put on credit cards - where they make the minimum payment every month.

You can't judge a book by it's cover, and many times you come to discover that the people you thought had money actually don't, and the people you didn't think had money actually do!!!!!!!!!! It seems many people like to pretend they have money, while the ones who actually do, don't flaunt what they do have.