The little steps are important, but sometimes you need to dive in headfirst to instigate monumental change. We’re been working hard at our regular jobs, dabbling in ways to make extra money, and trying to cut expenses as much as possible. However, suddenly, it feels like we’ve reached a milestone in our journey. It’s not marked by a single accomplishment, but more so through sensing the all-encompassing shift that comes with adopting new priorities in life.
Work
Mr. Smith and I are not fans of our jobs. But while it’s easy to slack off and focus our efforts on side hustles, we’ve come to the realization that our current work will bring in the most amount of money. They will give us the cash that we need to pay off our debt. I’ve decided to put in some extra effort to move up the proverbial ladder – not for status but for the bigger paycheck. Mr. Smith is putting in extra hours at night or on the weekends. The more we can earn now, the more likely we will be able to semi-retire at the age of 40.
Side Hustles
Aside from increasing my productivity at work, I also recently landed my first freelance client. It feels like a really big step on our road to financial semi-independence. I don’t have a writing background, but like to think that my skills have really grown since starting this blog almost one year ago. The extra income is great, but this opportunity also will give me the experience necessary to obtain other freelance clients in the future. These side jobs are an important part of the plan for financial semi-independence.
I admit that it’s hard to stay consistent with blogging and was down to one post a week for awhile. I did better last week, posting twice and doing more social media networking, and saw increased traffic. This blog serves many purposes, but it would be nice if it could bring in some additional side-hustle income.
Have you joined Swagbucks yet? I make at least one dollar every day just from playing videos on my phone. There is a big Swagcode Extravaganza this Wednesday. They post special codes on social media during the day and all you need to do is enter them on the website or via the app, and you get free credits to use towards gift cards or PayPal.
Saving Money
I finally tried some of the hard cider we made with free crabapples. It fermented for about 5 weeks. I would describe it as a weak-flavored apple wine. I added some apple juice to it to add some flavor. It’s pretty good and has a kick to it. I plan to pick up some actual cider, which is thicker and has a stronger flavor, to add to the mix next weekend.
It’s starting to get cold, but we’re not turning on the heat yet. I love our wood-burning fireplace and Mr. Smith did an awesome job scavenging for free firewood.
We skipped out on the pumpkin patch this year. The kids haven’t said a word about it. Instead, we went to a free event where they got free little pumpkins. They are not big enough to carve, but honestly, who really ends up doing that anyways? We’ve been having plenty of fall fun with the kids. There is no need to buy pumpkins to cut up and let rot on our front porch.
Setbacks
We just received a fairly large electric bill. It is one area where we have apparently become too relaxed. For many other families, the increase would likely be thought of for a moment and then forgotten. For us, it was a major failure. We were upset about the increase and took time to discuss how to be better with electricity. We’re serious about our goals. We can’t carelessly leave lights on or phone chargers plugged into the wall. One small thing I’ve decided to do is charge my phones at work . . . it might make a little bit of a difference.
I’m so far behind on Halloween. It would have been much smarter and more frugal to plan everything out, taking advantage of sales and/or finding free materials to use in making costumes. I will still be attempting to make a couple of costumes this week, before the kindergarten parade on Friday. Well, I’ve always been a procrastinator, and I have Pinterest.
We’re making progress towards our goals and adopting a new habits that will help enable our eventual semi-independence. We’re very busy, but with purposeful pursuits. There is a lot of anticipation of the future, but we try to be conscious of the present as well. The secret to finding time for family and all of the hustling is to not waste any of your time. We don’t watch television. We don’t wander around shopping malls. Instead, each moment is an opportunity to do something meaningful, whether we use it to earn more money for our future or enjoy playing with our children.
What are your most recent accomplishments? How are you getting ahead?
Wow — no TV! That’s super impressive. We are definitely in the “all in at work” camp as well — BUT, it’s because know, like you do, that we’re not going to do this forever. We definitely have found that the promotions and pay increases we’ve received by working harder and with more dedication are getting us closer to our goals faster. So that’s worth it. Good luck getting your electricity bill back down!
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Thanks! I do have to admit that once in a while we watch something on the computer or rent a movie. But it’s a far cry from how we used to reflexively turn on the television when we got home every night or when we woke up on the weekends. It’s regretful to think about how much time we used to waste.
Are you planning to charge your work cell phone at work, or your personal phone? It’s one thing to occasionally top up a nearly dead phone so it doesn’t die on you before you get home, but consistently charging personal devices at the office (without balancing out that usage of the company’s electricity by charging your work phone at home) is no different really than sticking your hand in the till.
It’s both – a personal phone for which a receive a stipend to help pay for data. I’m using the phone for work, so it doesn’t seem improper to charge it with the company’s electricity. Good point though.
Congrats on the freelance work! I also just started some freelance medical writing and it feels great to have a side hustle.
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