Main Street Finance

Spending is the New Saving

By admin

First things first—let me admit that I didn’t come up with this idea on my own. No, like most ideas, the catalyst was reading something else, somewhere else. This one happened to be in the form of a NY Times Article that helped me see the light. It’s a great article, and maybe I am a bit biased, but I think it would be better on Main St than Wall St any day so I am referencing it here!

We’ve all been reading since the recession began about all of the things we can do to save money. I’ve read them all from, “cancel your cell phone” to “stop drinking Starbucks” to “downsize your home”, and while these are all legitimate things to do, (except cutting out caffeine. That’s out of the equation for me) if you haven’t done them by now, let’s be honest, you’re probably not going to do them. We’re three and a half years deep into this recession, if you count December 2007 as the starting point, and by now, you’re probably doing everything you can, or at least everything you are willing to do in order to tighten the proverbial belt and save a couple of dollars.

Here is what I’m getting at. We all get paid to do something, or at least we have all at one point gotten paid for a skill we have. This is because someone, somewhere, sometime, said that your time and therefore your skill set is worth a certain amount of money. This is called monetization—turning something without actual, tangible value into something that generates revenue. In this example, you took your time which inherently has no dollar-value, and applied a value to it based on your skill set and sold it—probably 40 hours of it every week, to your employer.

So here’s a new idea, do it again.

It’s actually quite simple. Your employer is not the only person who values your time and your skill set. So, take a look at the different skills you have and see if you can turn one of them into a little extra cash. It doesn’t have to be what you do at your regular job, it could be anything. Still remember that high-school calculus? Think about becoming a math tutor. Have some experience with a hammer? Try moonlighting as a handyman. There are tons of examples of things you can do—just get out there and do them!

I know, I know, you’re thinking that you don’t have a skill that you can monetize outside of your work-related skill, but I beg to differ. You’re reading this blog, so you have at least a working knowledge of the English language. Take that skill and work as an ESL tutor. People all over the world are clamoring to learn English, and there is probably someone in your neighborhood who could benefit from a smart tutor like yourself!

If you’re looking for ideas, leave a comment below; maybe you can get some help from other readers on what they have done to make some extra cash.

Who wants to stop spending anyway? My belt is tight enough!

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