by Ronni Dee

Created on: January 28, 2009

The two biggest bills that I have for any given month are the house payment and the car payment. Late last year I decided to sit down and try to figure a way out of the slump we had found ourselves in. After looking over the bills and our income I divided what was necessary, what was unnecessary, and what was most important.

I discontinued the Blockbuster and Game Fly subscriptions, immediately cutting $40 a month out of the expenses. But that wasn't going to cover anything when it came to the bills.

I decided to get a part time job. I shopped the classifieds and the local online job boards for a few weeks. I didn't want to travel more than ten miles for a part time job, and I wanted to work a full eight-hour shift on the days I worked as opposed to more days at four to six hours.

I finally found a position nine miles from my home. Seven miles of the trip was highway therefore there would be little stop and go activity to eat up my gasoline.

The pay rate was not clear until I was hired. Although it is higher than minimum wage, it wasn't very exciting. After my first paycheck it became clear that I did the right thing.

I work two to three days each week, and am paid twice per month. My take home pay after taxes is anywhere from $220 to $350 for a two week period. Of course there is a give and take on working late to cover a shift, or being ill and not making it in.

So, now I have a minimum of $440 extra in a month. Normally I average about $600 due to being paid twice a month rather than biweekly. I sometimes get a four-day paycheck, other times I get a six-day.

$525 in a month covers my car payment and my house payment. $440 covers my car payment, two credit card payments, my car insurance, my phone bill, my Internet, and my gas expense for driving back and forth to work.

I am able to pay double my minimum credit card payments because I work part time. I am happy to say that my total credit card debt is under $500 and I expect to be free of credit card debt in just a few months. This would not be possible if it weren't for my part time job.

As you can see working just two days a week puts a huge dent in our monthly expenses and my credit card debt. I work third shift so my time with my family is often unaffected by my decision to leave the home for work.

My second part time job, although I hate to even refer to it as that, is freelance writing. I enjoy writing and I really do not think of it as a job. The income I bring in monthly varies greatly with freelancing. That extra income covers the household entertainment expenses for the month no matter what I bring in.

Everyone needs some form of entertainment. All income and expenses aside, a person cannot go through life without having any kind of entertainment. Whether it is a trip to a museum, a movie, or even a cable television subscription, everyone needs and should have some form of entertainment.

With my outside part time job and my freelance writing I cover half of our household bills most months, monetarily speaking. Freelancing allows us the freedoms of less financial strain when it comes to entertaining ourselves.

I choose to pay more household bills with my part time income but for a person who can easily cover their household expenses and just needs that small boost to pay off some credit cards, or possibly a loan, a day or two a week at a part time job could be the perfect ticket.

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