It is pretty clear that the best way to meet your financial goals or acquire the things you want is to increase income. One way to do that is to get a second job. However, there are lots of disadvantages to getting a second traditional job. Here we’ll discuss some of the pros, cons, and alternatives to getting a second to help you in your decision to increase your income.
Disadvantage Number One
A set schedule. Having to comply with the set schedule that your secondary employer is likely the single largest disadvantage to a second job. They may ask you to work more than you originally signed up for or they may ask you to flex time away from your day job towards them. Even in the event that that the second company can comply with your day job’s schedule, it may end with the result of you working 7 days a week every week, which could leave your physical and mental health lagging.
Disadvantage Number Two
Confusing taxes. One of the nice things about a traditional job is that the employer will draft taxes from each of your paychecks for you rather than you having to pay quarterly or monthly as self-employment would require. However, you should take this tax withholding with a grain of salt – each of your two employers will probably use a calculation to determine your taxes withheld independent to that one job. With that, your total taxes due for your total income could, in certain cases, exceed your withholdings which would leave you with a bill due to the IRS at the end of the year. No one wants that, so if you do go this route, pay attention to the paperwork you fill out on day 1!
What Are Some Alternatives To Getting A Second Job?
Let’s start by looking at your budget. You’ve probably already determined that your bottom line after subtracting expenses from your income is too little, or worse, negative. This is where many people jump straight to trying to increase income though getting a second job. However, you should take a deeper look at your budget. What expenses are present that you could eliminate or decrease? Are you spending too much on entertainment? Too much eating out? Have you shopped around for cheaper car insurance?
While decreasing expenses isn’t doable for everyone, it is often times more scalable and a better long-term fix to your budget sheet problem. Reducing expenses rather than increasing income will leave you with the same amount of free time you currently have rather than dedicating that to a second job. Your stress levels and mental capacity geared towards work will not be negatively impacted as they might be with two jobs.
The alternative that seems to solve the largest number of these pitfalls is to find a job that allows you to work for yourself. This is a bit of an open-ended answer because there are so many possibilities: driving for ridesharing, mowing lawns in your neighborhood, making and selling instructional videos, freelancing a certain skill of yours, and so on. With this option you simply have more freedom. You can choose your own hours, to some extent you can choose what type of work you do, and you can choose your rate of billing. Further, as your personal finances fluctuate you can scale back or scale up as you see fit without having to go though an employer.
