OK, I am putting it out there, I am a woman on a mission to earn an extra £500 a month!!!!
As some of you already know, my partner and I have been plagued by low wages and underemployment for years and it is killing us. After another big row about money during which my partner threatened to leave (I don't think he will but still, not good) we have come to the conclusion that if one or both of us could only earn an extra £500 a month (or at a push £400) on top of what we are already earning (currently I have a part time job and a business selling fashion jewellery and my partner works for a supermarket) it would make such a difference.
As I pay for treats and clearing debts, an extra £500 a month in my pocket would mean I could put half towards clearing debt, which would clear the debt a lot faster than we are doing now, we're not really clearing it at all at the moment, which would in turn take some of the pressure off us, and then we could use the other half for things like nights out, which I think are important, to stop us going completely crazy - these last few months, we have had zero money to spend on nights out and we have both been very miserable as a result!
Another £500 in my partner's pocket would mean we could start spending a little more on food and actually have some money left over for things like clothes and haircuts and shoes and birthday presents and works nights out and that kind of thing, and again, this would I think massively improve our sense of wellbeing and take a lot of the pressure off us.
It doesn't seem like a lot to ask for really and yet it seems so impossible to achieve, in our most recent bout of job hunting, we've both been looking for over a year now, but we are clever people and we should be able to do this!
The problem seems to be that every time one of us earns a little bit more money by either changing jobs (me) or by working more hours (my partner) it gets snatched right back by the government either in taxes or cuts to benefits, so every time you think you are starting to get somewhere you end up right back where you started only worse off really because now you are working longer hours but still not seeing the benefit.
But eventually you have to get to a point where they can't take any more off you (according to the cab this is when you get to a joint income of around £23k)
We are both people who were brought up to believe that if you work hard, you will be rewarded, right now it feels like we are working hard but not being rewarded at all for it but I suppose you just keep working hard in the hope that eventually you will be rewarded, if that makes any sense?!
In other news, after much wrangling with the council, we are now on the waiting list for housing, and to my surprise, despite all the scare stories, it does actually look like we might be in with a chance of actually being offered something, so that is a big weight off my mind. So anyone who is in the same situation as we are, struggling to afford the rent in private rented accommodation, definitely apply, and don't be put off by all the scare stories.
So, on with the job hunting! As long as it's something I can do which fits around my daughter's school hours (8-4 weekdays) I don't really care whether it's at home or outside the home, whether I have to give up or keep my current part time job, or even what it is really, if it can net me an extra £500 a month! Obviously nothing illegal or immoral! I'll be steering clear of mlms but I'm happy to work for commission only if I'm sure it will pay me the money I need to earn. So if anyone comes across anything, please pass it on!!!!
As some of you already know, my partner and I have been plagued by low wages and underemployment for years and it is killing us. After another big row about money during which my partner threatened to leave (I don't think he will but still, not good) we have come to the conclusion that if one or both of us could only earn an extra £500 a month (or at a push £400) on top of what we are already earning (currently I have a part time job and a business selling fashion jewellery and my partner works for a supermarket) it would make such a difference.
As I pay for treats and clearing debts, an extra £500 a month in my pocket would mean I could put half towards clearing debt, which would clear the debt a lot faster than we are doing now, we're not really clearing it at all at the moment, which would in turn take some of the pressure off us, and then we could use the other half for things like nights out, which I think are important, to stop us going completely crazy - these last few months, we have had zero money to spend on nights out and we have both been very miserable as a result!
Another £500 in my partner's pocket would mean we could start spending a little more on food and actually have some money left over for things like clothes and haircuts and shoes and birthday presents and works nights out and that kind of thing, and again, this would I think massively improve our sense of wellbeing and take a lot of the pressure off us.
It doesn't seem like a lot to ask for really and yet it seems so impossible to achieve, in our most recent bout of job hunting, we've both been looking for over a year now, but we are clever people and we should be able to do this!
The problem seems to be that every time one of us earns a little bit more money by either changing jobs (me) or by working more hours (my partner) it gets snatched right back by the government either in taxes or cuts to benefits, so every time you think you are starting to get somewhere you end up right back where you started only worse off really because now you are working longer hours but still not seeing the benefit.
But eventually you have to get to a point where they can't take any more off you (according to the cab this is when you get to a joint income of around £23k)
We are both people who were brought up to believe that if you work hard, you will be rewarded, right now it feels like we are working hard but not being rewarded at all for it but I suppose you just keep working hard in the hope that eventually you will be rewarded, if that makes any sense?!
In other news, after much wrangling with the council, we are now on the waiting list for housing, and to my surprise, despite all the scare stories, it does actually look like we might be in with a chance of actually being offered something, so that is a big weight off my mind. So anyone who is in the same situation as we are, struggling to afford the rent in private rented accommodation, definitely apply, and don't be put off by all the scare stories.
So, on with the job hunting! As long as it's something I can do which fits around my daughter's school hours (8-4 weekdays) I don't really care whether it's at home or outside the home, whether I have to give up or keep my current part time job, or even what it is really, if it can net me an extra £500 a month! Obviously nothing illegal or immoral! I'll be steering clear of mlms but I'm happy to work for commission only if I'm sure it will pay me the money I need to earn. So if anyone comes across anything, please pass it on!!!!
