When Should You Look For A Second Job?

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Hello there, everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Halloween. My children have always enjoyed dressing up as characters, but they have lost interest in new ways of doing things since the pandemic. They do not enjoy walking through malls or driving through school parking lots to be handed candy bags. We got TGFGJr, the Fortnite character’s “Beef Boss” mask. My daughter wore a rainbow wig and tail to look like my little pony, and it came with a shirt and tie. We only paid $14 for them because we had them the day after Halloween. I simply enjoy having more for a reasonable price, if not for free. Who doesn’t like it?

Anyways, guess what happened last week? I’m now part of the HomeDepot “Orange” Family.

Studies has shown In 2019, 13 million Americans worked multiple jobs, according to the Census Bureau. With the outbreak of the pandemic, the rise of online commerce altered these figures.

I applied for a part-time job, not expecting to hear back so quickly. When applying for major large retailers, I’ve found that you rarely get a response other than an email confirming your application. I started getting feedback to fill out online questionnaires within a week this time. I couldn’t say I wasn’t prepared, but not that quickly.

Why Did I Decide To Take On Another Job:

Too Much Free Time, Consider Trading It

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately watching Netflix after the kids and The Wife have gone to bed. When I could have done something more productive, I became far too comfortable and made it an Me-time every night.

I have not altered my behavior. I continue to stick to the same budget – those who have read my posts know I’m a big budgeter, go to the gym two times a week, devote at least two hours on weekdays to the kids, and work on my side businesses on weekends.

Time Is One Thing We Can Never Get Back

That is to say, instead of laying on the couch watching episode after episode, I get to trade that same amount of time for $15 per hour, which comes to $248 weekly after tax.

Need To Pay Debt Faster

At least in America, there are no limits to how much money one can make. If you don’t make any changes to your current job, having a consistent paycheck should help you significantly reduce your debt. Unlike most side-hustles depending how good you are, that’s the amount of money you’ll make. That is the only advantage.

For example, my largest debt right now is a $9,635.50 outstanding balance on my student loans. I had planned to begin paying $250 per month in January, which would have taken 38 months to complete. With the extra money, I’ll be able to increase my payment to $500. It will now take me about 19 months. That’s the attraction of sticking to a budget regardless of circumstances

Develop New Skills

Working at Home Depot as an Associate will allow me to learn more about their products. Our next goal is to buy a house, hopefully next year, and I know that having that knowledge will come in handy if not sooner than later.

Do I think of myself as a handyman? Both yes and no. To put it another way, I am not a handyman, but I will complete the task.

How to Find a Part-Time Job

Finding a second job that fits your schedule is not always easy, especially if you have other obligations outside of work. Finding a second job, however, is possible with proper planning.

Before accepting something from afar, start looking in your immediate area. When I’m tired, anything closer to home makes the commute easier. Businesses usually post a banner at the main entrance stating that they are hiring; however, you only have a few options: either apply on their websites or go into the office and ask the hiring manager. You’ll be surprised to learn that this strategy is still effective.

To avoid any potential conflicts of interest, don’t apply for jobs that require the same skills as your current job. For example, during the day, I work as an IT Analyst and at night, I work as a retail employee.

With this in mind, don’t lie when you’re being interviewed and start agreeing with everything the hiring manager says. Make your situation as clear as possible, including what you can and cannot do.

Oh Yeah! these damn Taxes

Reminder: ALWAYS ADJUST YOUR W4 FORM TO INFORM BIG BRO THAT YOU HAVE EXTRA INCOME.

When I used to work for Uber, I made the mistake of not adjusting my taxes because I thought it wouldn’t make a big difference. When tax season rolled around, I learned that lesson the hard way by owing the IRS nearly $5,000. They’ll want to know if your tax bracket remains the same with your second job. To better understand how much you should pay in taxes, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.

You can make the changes from either job, but to keep things simple, it’s best to make the allowances changes at your highest-paying job and nothing at your lower-paying job.

Conclusion

There are many other reasons why someone should consider working a second job, at least temporarily. These are my motivating factors for working part-time. Better yet, compound interest works in your favor if you’re young. You have plenty of time to pay off debt and invest, and you should get started right away.

If you can relate without breaking any of your regular job’s rules and still have that energy, I say GO FOR IT!

Do you have a second job? I’d like to hear from you. If so, what was your motivation, and how long do you intend to work there?

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