With costs rising do you look for ways to make more?

[Beeman]

I hear many talk about the rising costs of everything, myself included. Just wondering if that drives you to make more or not? I've always looked for ways to make a few extra bucks no matter how employed I was at the time.

[Windy in Kansas]

I lean toward finding new ways to trim expenses instead of raising income. A higher income means Uncle Sam will probably get a larger share albeit at the same time it might also mean a tad more Social Security when that time comes.

[Up North Louie]

Looking to both cut costs and bring in more. That's the only way it can go for me. I am picking up odd work repairing computers [word of mouth, for cash] and looking to expand market produce.

Don

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by Beeman

I hear many talk about the rising costs of everything, myself included. Just wondering if that drives you to make more or not? I've always looked for ways to make a few extra bucks no matter how employed I was at the time.

I probably would if I had the time. Right now, we're working our behinds off trying to get the homestead up and running. We don't have enough hours in the day to do everything we need to do! I finally got the garden in Sunday and I still have to set my straw bales out for when the tomatoes are ready.

If I did have the time, I might try to do some work from home. I've got several good ideas brewing in my "someday" pot.

donsgal

[SFM in KY]

I think you're going to see more and more people trying to pick up odd jobs of any sort, off the books cash. I know in the last six months or so I've been seeing more and more notes tacked up on bulletin boards in all sorts of places with people offering yard work, housecleaning, fencing, computer work. Where there used to be 2 or 3 notices there are now 6 or 8.

[MelissaW]

I took on a second job this year (my regular one is only 20 hrs, so it's no big deal). My issue is, I want to put money away for my son's college expenses, plus contribute more to retirement, so I wanted a little extra income. Higher cost of living means less at the end of each pay to put away in savings. I don't need the liquid income, however, since we are pretty frugal to begin with.

[Mare Owner]

I'm working a little OT right now while it's available. As long as I have the time among other things, it doesn't make sense to pass it up.

[Farmerwilly2]

I work a full time and a part time. When I'm not working I'm home working. Gotta say that the last 5 years have been the best of my life. While this farm is farm from ready to call done, it shapes up a bit more every month. I'm living a dream.

[doulanobles]

We're leaning more on bartering in response to the current economy squeeze. That way, no taxes and we're supporting local commerce. I'm actually thinking of starting up a local bartering network...anyone else done that?

[fixer1958]

I do a little bartering here and there. Pickup up a little cash here and there for unused things mainly to cover feed costs.

Have been alot more aware and try to reuse stuff. If not get rid of it.
Nothing much goes to waste.

[longshadowfarms]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

I lean toward finding new ways to trim expenses instead of raising income. A higher income means Uncle Sam will probably get a larger share albeit at the same time it might also mean a tad more Social Security when that time comes.

Ditto.

[pcdreams]

Originally Posted by Beeman

I hear many talk about the rising costs of everything, myself included. Just wondering if that drives you to make more or not? I've always looked for ways to make a few extra bucks no matter how employed I was at the time.

actually no, I tend to try to cutback as much as possible. Not only on thing I buy now but on things like gas, utilities, etc.

In my mind the more time you're at work (ie away from home) the more of your life you're throwing away. Most people are giving away a substantial (50+ years) so they can spend the last 10-15.. doing what they want to do.. In my minds eye thats backward. Why wait till someday.... you may find someday never comes or that you're too used up and worn out when it finally does. Don't know about you but if I died or became disabled after years of slaving
away for someone else I'd be very bitter.. and if I was dead I'd be coming back to haunt someone's a**. Better do what you choose to do now, ain't no promise of tomorrow.

[Oldcountryboy]

Learn to live off the bare minumum and be more self reliant and there would be no need to have to work your butt off all the time for someone else. I consider raising a big garden, hunting and fishing for the freezer, my second job. I only need one paying job to pay the utilities.

My house may not look like much but it's paid for and I didn't have to morgage it for 20 - 30 years. When your eyes get too big is when you and your wife has to have a couple of jobs each to make ends meet.

[DJ in WA]

Okay, here's a question to go along with this.

Sure, prices of things go up, but don't wages also? I mean, a hundred years ago, weren't people making about a buck a day?

Maybe wages lag behind price increases, but it seems that in general, people are more affluent than they've ever been. Average house size has gone way up, more gadgets, cars, food, obesity, etc. Energy is apparently still cheap considering how we waste it.

[hotzcatz]

I'll go along with Oldcountryboy. Our house doesn't look like much but it's in a great location and it's just about paid for on one income in less than ten years. We live way below our means and are really comfortable because of it. Our cars don't look like much either, but we have some nice chickens!

DJ in WA, it just looks like folks are doing better, they are way more in debt to keep up the looks. And now the debt is crashing around their ears. Folks may have been getting more gadgets, cars and food, but that was last year. Around last Thanksgiving things started getting tighter and wages are not keeping up with inflation.

Yup, a hundred years ago if you made a buck a day you were a well off person. However, for that dollar you could buy a lot of stuff and you made most of your own stuff or it was provided locally so you didn't need to buy that much. The purchasing power of folk's incomes has gone down a lot in the past decades. There's folks who track the average income versus the average prices of things and from what the charts were looking like, we were collectively doing much better forty years ago.

With the rising costs we aren't really looking for ways to make more money, we are looking for ways to produce more of what we need. Gardens, chickens and pig hunting have done more for lowering our food bills than making more money. I am getting a bit of side money from running a small incubator. It only hatches out two dozen eggs a month, but half are chicks which sell for $5 each and the other half are ducklings which sell for $7 each. Most of that money goes for gardening supplies and other fun stuff.

[SFM in KY]

Originally Posted by DJ in WA

Okay, here's a question to go along with this.

Sure, prices of things go up, but don't wages also?

Maybe in some areas ... but the last couple of years it doesn't seem like wages are keeping up with fuel costs and the associated rise in costs of everything.

I know a number of people in this area who have gotten small raises, but I don't know of anyone who has gotten a raise that covers the doubled cost of getting to and from work.

[PhilJohnson]

Originally Posted by pcdreams

In my mind the more time you're at work (ie away from home) the more of your life you're throwing away. Most people are giving away a substantial (50+ years) so they can spend the last 10-15.. doing what they want to do.. In my minds eye thats backward. Why wait till someday.... you may find someday never comes or that you're too used up and worn out when it finally does. Don't know about you but if I died or became disabled after years of slaving
away for someone else I'd be very bitter.. and if I was dead I'd be coming back to haunt someone's a**. Better do what you choose to do now, ain't no promise of tomorrow.

My sentiments exactly. I work hard when I have to, but for the most part I have lots of free time. I spend a bit of it traveling around. It is so nice going somewhere and not having to worry about getting back to a job in a week. If I am somewhere I can spend a month there if I want. I work half the amount that my friends do yet I have much more money saved. I owe nothing to anybody, it is a nice feeling to have when I can quit a job and not have to worry about money or mortgage payments. One can live easily and comfortably today if they lower their expectations of what they want for material goods.

[mpillow]

Cutting back on "hobby" critters because of grain/hay prices.

Not driving truck much at all. Buying at liquidation and in bulk.

Barter. Barter. Barter. Save. Save. Save. Don't give Uncle Sam anything!

Pay off your debt!

Enlarging the garden again!

[Farmerwilly2]

I can't speak for the rest of ya'll but I don't work for someone else, I work for me and the Mrs. I don't figure the world owes me a thing. My truck is an 89' on its second engine, second tranny, and will have the door replaced as soon as I find one. The 89 Camry is waiting to have a driveshaft replaced and it goes back into service. My shed, the goat barn and the chicken house are all built from reclaimed and scavaged barns. The part time job (2-4) hrs. a day has taken the sting out of gas prices and this week won a sickle mower and a post hole auger to make life easier for us and to provide hay for the next season. It is also buying the fence wire to fence the place, posts to hang the fence, and general building supplies to use. The 'day' job? It pays the car note (8 more months) and utilities, insurance and groceries. It keeps the mortgage paid and the water flowing. So when I'm building a vaccum cleaner or pounding on a keyboard I figure I'm doing it for us just as much as when I'm plowing, mowing or splitting wood. I even enjoy the commute to work, it is my time to pray, think and plan. I'm a happy man.

[JV]

I think part of the answer to that question depends on how much you earn. If you earn minimum wage, you would naturally look for ways to reduce spending. If you make $50/hour, then you may want to look for ways to make more money rather than spend your time/energy reducing spending.