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Sep 29, 2012    |       10 comments

Side Business

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During the summer I kept getting contacted by friends and family with questions about our real food plan.  After awhile I started brainstorming about how I might be able to turn this into some sort of exta income opportunity.  So, in late August I organized a “real food workshop” idea and had a great turn out.  I hadn’t shared about it on the blog because I wanted to see how it all went before I committed to it beyond this first try.

At the first workshop–on September 9–we made the very simple whole wheat tortillas from www.100daysofrealfood.com.  I rented the neighborhood clubhouse so everyone could have a lot of space and figured out the numbers so that I was sure to not lose any money in the process.  I charged each person a $10 fee to attend to cover the rental fee and everyone brought their own ingredients.  I envision this becoming a sort of support group to get people and keep people on the real food wagon.  I was amazed that the first workshop had 10 attendees!  Most participants are moms that work outside the home and we discussed a very long term goal of making it a sort of “supper club” where we each make multiples of the same meal and then we swap and all leave with different meals for the week.

As a sort of afterthought to the workshop idea, I did something pretty crazy for me.  At the last minute I decided to become a Pampered Chef consultant.  Over the years, I went to many a kitchen show and have a lot of great kitchen gadgets to show for it.  But, until the real food revolution hit my family, I wasn’t using a lot of those tools.  But, now that I cook so much I am getting so much use out of them AND know the importance of having the right kitchen tool!  I was kind of scared to share this b/c it did cost me $150 to sign up.  Well, I’m happy to report that as the month draws to a close, I have earned $450 with this adventure!  That’s commission and overage on the attendance fees only.  I also earned more gadgets and dollars to spend with PC.

What perfect timing for me to stumble into this workshop/Pampered Chef idea!  Actually, I was opening the new consultant kit when Steve said we needed to talk that day before he moved out.  I laughed later picturning myself as one of those consultants you read about that say “PC changed my life!  I was opening the starter kit when my husband informed me he was moving out!”  🙂  It has been a great distraction for sure but the VERY best part of this is that the kids–especially DD–are totally on board and excited.  In fact, DD has no fear and I even got an email from her teacher asking me to send in a catalog!  LOL!  And DD sat and watched all the teaching materials PC sends to new consultants and then one day asked if I had spoken to three new people about my business that day!  Talk about accountability!   When you come home to an 8-year-0ld checking on your progress, you really don’t want to disappoint!

So, we will see where this takes me and I’ll enjoy every step of the latest adventure!  Please don’t worry that I am too busy for this—keep in mind I am kid free every other week (after helping with transportation for M, T and W activities).  It’s a fun distraction that made me a lot more money this month that I was expecting.  I hope to reinvest just a small portion of the commission into the business and use the rest to pay off debt.  🙂

On the divorce front, there’s good news on what is owed in taxes for 2011.  Instead of close to $1500 it is actually only $935.  Since I had not heard anything from Steve on it I found the return on Turbo Tax (he had been working on it) and finished up what needed to be finished and snail mailed him the forms with a note asking that he sign and send me his half of taxes.  This snail mail communication is how Steve has to do this but given my history with dealing with my ex it just feels bizarre.  In hindsight, what a huge red flag it is that someone cannot get along with an ex.  That’s so telling about anyone I’ve decided–if they cannot be a civilized adult to the person they had children with, something just isn’t right.  That’s a great life lesson to take away from this and the lessons just keep coming to light.

 

Sep 28, 2012    |       28 comments

Snowflaking Giveaway II

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Last chance to enter!

I’d like to thank everyone who participated in the initial Debt Snowflake Giveaway, and congratulations to the nine winners (one person was randomly picked twice for different entries). Overall the reactions were positive and most felt that this giveaway would be worthwhile on an ongoing basis. With that in mind, we will continue with this twice a month through the end of the year at a minimum, and further if there is still interest from that point. Thus, we have another contest with ten prizes of $5 each to give away.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For those that aren’t familiar with snowflaking, it’s a concept that was created to compliment the debt snowball (it’s a way to arrange debt repayment to better your success with five common ways to do so depending on which works for your particular situation). Snowflaking was a concept created to add money to the debt snowball by earning small amounts of money in your spare time. Snowflaking doesn’t have to be exclusive to debt reduction, but also can be a great way to create an emergency fund or increase the funds in a bank account. The only limit that you have to snowflaking is your own imagination, and entering the above giveaway contest would be one simple way to do so.

One of the fun things about snowflaking is that it can end up being kind of weird the way you eventually settle into making money on a regular basis in your spare time. For example, for some reason, I’m good at finding coins (plus I tend to walk a lot more than most people) and thus add over $100 each year to my bank account from the dropped money I find.

I also lived in Japan for a number of years and became sort of an unofficial expert on pre WW2 antiques (I liked to rummage through the flea markets when I lived there) which has proven quite valuable back here in the US. Whenever I see a garage sale, I’ll stop to see if there are any hidden treasures, and I usually can count on several hundred dollars in profit each year from the finds that I make.

I have friends that make money gathering seaglass at the ocean while another who fashions soda cans into jewelry to make a little extra on the side. The options really are limited only by your creativity, and the extra money made can really add up over time. While entering this contest (and ones like this) is one way to snowflake, you should be able to come up with plenty that you enjoy to do when you have a bit of spare time.

If you are a blogger and would like to see your blog as one of the entries like those above in future giveaways, you can learn more here. It’s a great way to spread the word about snowflaking and give your readers a chance to win a little money.

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