Why I Work Multiple Jobs

I live in Northern New Jersey. I was raised in a small town in Bergen County, NJ. Everything is super expensive here. You can’t live comfortably unless you’re making six figures. I’m lucky to be making five figures with three jobs. Yes, you read that correctly, I work THREE jobs. PLUS I’m trying to get a small side business going. And it’s not like I spend my money foolishly either. Actually, I hate spending money. I don’t buy anything unless I absolutely have to. My main bills are rent, car payment, car insurance, cell phone, PSE&G, water bill, and Netflix. Yes, I have Netflix. I have neither cable nor WiFi. I have unlimited data on my cell phone and use it has a hotspot to connect my cell phone to my iPad over Bluetooth. I’m not home enough to make good use of a cable plan, so if I feel like watching something, I look on Netflix. Everything in Northern Jersey is expensive; however, I’m reluctant to move out of state. All of the certifications I have are good only in New Jersey. It would be very time consuming and expensive for me to get certifications in another state. I cannot afford to not work. I wouldn’t be able to even afford my car payment if I wasn’t working. So I can’t take the time to get out of state certifications. So instead I stay in New Jersey and I struggle to make ends meet every month. At this point, I’m happy that I can get my bills paid.

I have a system for how I save for my bills every month. I have envelopes for each of my bills. On the outside of the envelope I write what the usual total is every month. Let’s take fuel for my vehicle for example. On the envelope I write “FUEL.” In the upper right corner of the envelope I write “$200/month.” Right below that I write “$50/paycheck.” I do this for all of my bills. Every week when I get paid from my security job, I take the money out of the bank and divvy it up and put it in the envelopes. If I’m able to put extra in, then that’s a huge plus. The quicker I’m able to fill the envelope for the month, the sooner I can pay the bill. You’re probably thinking yourself, “Well what about her other two jobs.” Let me explain.

My position as an instructor aide—I’m off for the summer from that. It will resume at the beginning of September. I only get one paycheck a month from the school, for the month prior. What I had been doing with that money was putting an extra week’s worth in the envelopes for whatever bills I could. I would also sometimes buy something new for myself, even if it’s just something new for my apartment (I recently moved but that can be saved for a different essay). Some of us work hard to make ends meet and we really hustle. We deserve to do something nice for ourselves every once in a while. Once the classes resume in September, I will be putting aside $500/month (in a completely separate bank account) because I’m going to start saving for a trip to Germany that I am planning for 2020. It’s not even going to go into envelopes. I’m having it go into a separate account so that it can just sit there until I’m ready to book my trip. I’ve already started going my research for planning the trip. I also know a few people in Germany who said they’d help me plan things. I’m 43 years old and have never been out of the country before, so I’m looking forward to the trip next year.

The other position that I have is with a police department. I get paid twice a month from them. I use that money to top off any bills that need to be topped off. I also use it to buy my crafting supplies. It’s important that I have a system for where all of my money goes to. It’s important that all of my bills get paid. It’s also important for me to do things that I enjoy.

The crafting that I’ve started doing is therapeutic for me. It’s fun and it also relaxes me. I’ve been making wood signs. I hope to make enough to start my own little sign business. I’d also like to get into a few craft fairs before the end of the year. Right now I’m trying to come up with a catchy name for my business. I also need to decide on pricing for the signs. I need to figure out how much I spend on average per sign. This way, I can come up with a fair price to charge, but also make a profit.

It’s expensive to live anywhere these days. It’s very expensive to live in Northern New Jersey. If you set a budget for yourself, have a plan, and don’t live above your means, then you’ll be ok. If there is something that you really want, get a second account and put money into it to save. It doesn’t even have to be an actual bank account. It can be something like PayPal or Venmo. Before you know it, you’ll be on track with your bills and you might even be able to save for that next big purchase that you want to make.