Looking to Earn Extra Money?

CCCS Clients Offer Ideas for Second Jobs

ATLANTA, July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Katie Kozub of Cleveland, Ohio, earns
extra income by bartending two nights a week. The flexibility allows her to
spend time with family and she is able to pick the nights she works. Working
parties and special events earn Katie more money. "The time goes by fast, you
meet nice people, and it is a great way to earn extra money," said Kozub.
Kozub says each shift lasts three to five hours. "I earn a minimum of $120
extra, which is actually on the low end," she says. "The place is a nice bar
connected to a restaurant and catering room, and is about 1 mile from my
house. I have the option to work parties in the catering room, which brings
me anything from $150 to $300 extra."
As economic challenges continue to loom, consumers are seeing food, fuel,
and living expenses increase. Everything is on the rise -- everything except
incomes. "Salaries don't go as far as they used to for most families," said
Suzanne Boas, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of
Greater Atlanta. "Many are only a paycheck or two away from financial
disaster."
A second job can provide the income to make ends meet, jump start an
emergency savings account, help reduce or eliminate debt, or provide the
foundation for long-term goals, such as a child's college education or
retirement.
Clients of CCCS offer their second job ideas to help consumers:
-- Use your talents - Take in sewing projects, tutor local students in
math or other subjects, or use your love of cooking to make extra money. Offer
to cook for co-workers for a fee or find a local construction site and seek
permission to sell plates of food to employees. If you are an animal lover,
offer dog walking or pet sitting services in your neighborhood.
-- Love the outdoors? - Make up and distribute a flyer offering to mow
lawns in your neighborhood. If you are a sports lover, train to serve as an
umpire or official at youth sporting events in your community. One CCCS client
suggested stenciling house numbers on the curb for extra money. He suggests
putting out a flyer and asking people to hang the flyer on their door on the
day you will return. You can stencil even if they are not home and come back
and collect payment. At $10 per house, you can easily earn $100 or more on a
weekend morning.
-- Clean up at night and on the weekends - Many cleaning services have
flexible evening and weekend hours for people interested in cleaning office
buildings. If you prefer working for yourself, you might consider looking for
a few clients and striking out on your own.
-- Retail flexibility and more - Retail work offers lots of flexibility
for people who already have another job. You can look for work in
merchandising, where you restock shelves after normal hours. Many inventory
companies also use temporary and part time employees to conduct regular
inventories of grocery stores and other retail outlets.
-- Love to shop? - Use your love of shopping as a mystery shopper or as a
critic for movies, restaurants, or retail stores. One CCCS client recommended
www.reviewstream.com as a place to share, and get paid for your opinion.
Shoppers might also consider a second job at their favorite retailer. The
discounts for staff at many clothing and other retailers can be considerable.
Be careful that you don't spend your entire paycheck and more shopping for
things you don't really need.
-- Benefit from the barter system - If you pay gym fees, perhaps you can
get them waived by working a night or two a week at the front desk. Have lots
of pets? Working at a veterinary clinic might get you discounted services for
your furry friends.
-- Sell, sell, sell - Many clients offered stories about earning extra
money by selling items on Ebay. Some seek items at local yard sales and shops
to resell at a profit; others clean out items from their home. One family
sells their used clothes to earn money for new clothes.
-- Go Green - Recycling can earn you extra money and you don't have to go
dumpster diving to collect aluminum cans. Simply set up recycling boxes at
your office and collect cans to be taken to the local recycling plant.
-- Work at home programs - Many jobs can be done from the comfort of your
own home. Data entry, transcription services, billing, telemarketing, and data
collection are all jobs that offer flexible hours and provide opportunities to
earn extra income. When looking for jobs you can do from home, beware of
programs that require you to pay a fee - they are not likely legitimate. Talk
with friends and family members about opportunities they might know about for
you to do projects from home.
-- Seek seasonal work - Whether it's working for a tax preparer in the
spring or a retailer in November and December, seasonal work opportunities
abound. These provide great opportunities to earn extra money without making a
long term commitment to a second job.
-- Be creative - One client reported renting out driveway space to a
neighbor that had too many vehicles. Others run errands for local seniors and
provide babysitting services to families.
About CCCS
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta is a 501(c)3
nonprofit community-service agency that provides confidential budget
counseling, money management education, debt management programs, bankruptcy
counseling and education, and comprehensive housing counseling. The agency
serves nearly 400,000 consumers, who are primarily from low- and
moderate-income households, in all 50 states.
Consumers can speak to counselors in English and Spanish 24 hours a day,
365 days a year, by phone at 1-800-251-CCCS, and also access the agency's web
sites, www.cccsinc.org and www.cccsenespanol.org where live-chat counselors
are available around the clock. The agency's web site also provides free
interactive seminars and other online education courses through CredAbility U.
SOURCE Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta

Scott Scredon, +1-404-653-8833, Scott.Scredon@cccsinc.org