3 Tips to Help You Get by While Looking for a Home-Based Job
Whether you’re working as a temp or just waiting to apply for the right job, millions of Americans simply need to keep a roof over their heads until paychecks start rolling in again. Surviving between jobs comes down to discipline, cost-cutting and stretching what you do have to weather the storm. These three tips to help you get by while looking for a home-based job.
Make a Budget
A 2013 Gallup poll found that 67 percent of American households do not have a monthly household budget. The saying goes those who fail to plan, plan to fail, and that certainly rings true when it comes to getting by while unemployed.
First take a financial inventory. Write down all of your monthly bills to figure out what needs to be paid to maintain a minimal standard of living. Now go through everything and figure out how to reduce the monthly obligations. Consider placing a classified ad for a roommate to cut your rent payments. Lower your utility bills by unplugging all appliance and electronics when not in use. Cable or satellite television should either be eliminated completely or reduced to the least expensive package available.
Technology makes it easy to adhere to your new budget. Install a personal finance app like Mint.com or You Need A Budget on your smartphone. These apps enable you to digitally track all expenditures and warn you when you stray from your commitments. Both Mint and YNAB also recommend financial products based on the information you enter.
Generate Income
When employment is hard to come by, you’ll need to get creative to supplement your savings. Try these ideas:
Sell things you no longer need or use. Old clothing can be taken to consignment shops, while your old set of golf clubs can be sold on Craigslist.
Able-bodied individuals with a car can register for work on TaskRabbit. The mobile app matches you with people in your city who need odd-jobs done around their home or office. The more you’re willing to do (i.e., rake leaves, data entry, etc.), the more opportunities you’ll have.
Lyft is another money-making app. Register as a driver and you become part of a community that gives people rides for flat fares.
If you receive regular payments from an annuity or structured settlement, you may be able to sell your future payments to a company like J.G. Wentworth for a lump sum of cash now.
Another option is to participate in clinical studies. Some pay upward of five figures for participants. But keep in mind, the more it pays, the more risk that is likely involved. Make sure to do thorough research.
Prepare for the Future
The one positive that comes from extended employment is a lot of free time. Enroll in courses at an online or local community college. Those enrolled at least half-time are eligible for both Pell grants and student loans. Virtually all medical-related careers, including home health aides, dental hygienists and sonographers, will be in high demand through 2020, according to the Labor Department. All of the aforementioned require only a two-year degree. Computer science and networking courses will also position you for high-demand jobs.
Prolonged unemployment is just another one of life’s great challenges that test your mettle. A positive attitude and commitment to a plan will maximize your chances of gainful employment sooner rather than later. When you use these three tips to help you get by while looking for a home-based job, you’ll soon find yourself armed and ready when you and that job finally meet.
Check out these other great articles about home based jobs as a work from home professional. Also check out our current job postings for mom professionals.