second job ? thinking of getting one

bjor1978

hi all,

in a bid to haul myself out of debt a little faster than currently planned i have been thinking about getting a second job.

my question to you is has anyone had any experience of part time jobs, which are the best etc.

i work a 9-5 mon-fri so would be willing to work evenings and maybe some hours on the weekend.

the most popular around are things like kleeneze, betterware etc. anyone got experience of these ? any other tips ?

all tips appreciated

best regards,
b

sfell

I am a teacher, so not same type of situation, but do work 8-5 at school. After that i do a bit of play-care in the evenings but mostly weekends. Also one of my colleages tutors which is quite good money. I know in manchester (where we live) they are always looking for office temps for weekend work.

:money: Hope this might give you a couple of ideas.

SnowyOwl_2

Hi there - I had two jobs for a period of around 3 - 4 years when interest rates where sky high a good few years ago. I had a 9-5 office job then worked on the tills in a certain swedish furniture store four evenings a week.

There were lots of pluses about being contracted by the part-time employers:

• certainty of getting paid
• knowing how much I would get paid
• holiday pay & sick pay
• knowing what hours I was going to do
• staff discount right away (though I believe in eg Sainsbury's the staff discount kicks in after a certain number of months so that is something you'd need to check if it were a deciding factor between jobs)

The downsides were:

• always exhausted - and therefore always disorganised....if you're going to do two jobs get your daily/weekly/monthly budget sorted out BEFORE you start. Have the money from the second job paid directly into some separate account rather than into your every day current account otherwise there's a chance it'll disappear down a black (or should that be red) hole!!
• social life went out the window
• obliged to work all but two bank holidays every year
• got totally and utterly sick of swedish furniture!!!
• the mad rush at sales/bank holidays was more stress than it was ever worth
• got too used to the money and found it v.hard to leave ... shoulda kept it separate!
• forget about telly, you'll never see it
• spent good money on rubbish/fast food as too disorganised and too damn tired to bring proper food with me (no time to go home and cook between jobs)
• occasionally difficult to get holiday approved for the same days from the two jobs (grrrr!!!)
• and finally - exhausted all the time...oh did I mention that one before?

If you're thinking of doing Kleeneze, Avon etc etc then have a good hunt around these boards for other peoples experiences (or start a new thread to ask specific questions - think there is a board specifically about employment/work). Some people have been v.successful at these, however the success stories seem to be outnumbered by those who found it a hard slog with unpredictable income - not to mention having to go out in the dark and the rain in winter.

Regards income tax of your 2nd job, if you go down the same route as I did that will be paid at "emergency rate" - my part-time employers assumed correctly that all my allowances would be used up in my full-time employment. You'd be paying 22% (or is it 23% these days?) on the full amount. I can't remember about NI deductions, but that is something you could ask at interview.

Hope that is helpful.

Eliza252

Hi, I have a full time 9-5 job and a part time job as well.
My part time job is with a catering agency, I work as a events staff at big events, on my own at private parties and various other functions. I can recommend this type of work if you decide to take on a part time job for the following reasons:
A. Its very flexible, if you have a heavy week at the office and dont think you can cope with any extra hours you dont have to do any
B. Its varied, the events are obviously different every time - its not difficult work but there is variation in terms of location etc - tends to be very important - cant think of anything worse than a long boring day at the office to have to go to another long boring evening at second job!
C. There are extra perks which could be helpful in your money saving endeavours - I often get left over food from the parties I work at (and sometimes even the odd bottle of wine ) which helps massively with grocery bill - plus you will usually get fed at shifts so extra savings there.
The down side as mentioned before is that it can be exhausting - I'm currently writing this in something of a zombie like state as didnt get back from work until 5am last night, but I'm spurred on by the idea of my debts shrinking faster every hour I work (I usually try and imagine a chu-ching till noise at every hour mark!)
2. I dont know where you live, but if you live somewhere remote this is obviously not going to help you much!
3. I dont know your age either but just to reassure you, you might feel like everyone else who works for a catering agency will be uni students etc but have found that that's not the case, many people like moi just trying to rake a few extra dimes in - and anyway, the more experience you have the more likely you are to be promoted!

hope that might have given you some ideas!!! any more questions let me know...

davidcampbell

Eliza252 wrote:

but I'm spurred on by the idea of my debts shrinking faster every hour I work (I usually try and imagine a chu-ching till noise at every hour mark!)

:rotfl:


i considered it a while back but didnt get round to doing anything about it. howevre its becoming more and more an idea im growing used to. im consider just pub work a few nights a week. every little helps and all that, although the kleeneze thing kinda tempts me too


DC

Eliza252

pub jobs are good if you dont want to feel like you've lost your social life! Always the chance that it'll be cash in hand as well, which would be conveniant (not that I advocate avoiding paying tax.. ahem... :cool: )

mrcow

I took a bar job as a second job when we were first struggling with our new mortgage. I found it a really good option, as it didn't interfere too much with other commitments (I was a young mum, so didn't have a social life anyway :rolleyes: ).

Advantages were that it was a regular income, I got plenty of exercise, had a laugh and the work was a no brainer.

Disadvantages were coming home smelling like an ashtray (which is why I finally quit) the occassional drunk, and never finishing a shift before 12pm.

If I had to get a second job again, I would try restaurant work - but only in a place where I get to keep all my tips

Moonbeam

I have three part time jobs of one kind or another...The two most flexible ones are Avon - particularly good for the cheap products you get for yourself - you need never buy another bottle of shampoo or moisturiser again - they do great ranges for men and women - and I buy a lot of presents for people from it to save on money throughout the year.

Another one which is great as I don't have to worry about self employed status is as class administrator at a local slimming club. This works well for me as I also get free classes and the pay is reasonable, though not astounding. Most classes run in the evening outside of working hours so this fits around my other job really well.

The slimming club I work for is Scottish Slimmers (Weight Management south of the border https://www.positive-eating.co.uk), but you could try others like Weight Watchers, Just 4 Weeks, Slimming World etc. :beer:

ceegee

Things like kleeneze, betterware and Avon might be a bit dispiriting if you don't do very well and people are always out when you go knocking on their doors.....very frustrating. I should think something like a pub or supermarket would be better as you will know exactly how much you will be earning. I have worked in a pub and a supermarket and always knew how much money I would be getting. I also did Avon.......taking account of what small sales I got and the frustration of repeatedly going back to people's houses when they weren't in meant that I was effectively working for about £1 per hour!!!

bjor1978

thanks to all - really appreciate your advice.

ill start hunting this weekend and see what happens !

lemongirl

one of the best things about getting a 2nd job is that it gives you less time to go shopping and thus spending.

I once had bad debts, cleared them all now thankfully, and in fact now have people oweing me money from lending some to them.

The relief you have earning more to clear those debts is fabulous. Makes it so worth it and it is so endearing knowing that you have done it.

A good 2nd job is somewhere that later perhaps offers some kind of perks or even a sharesave scheme are fantastic. i was once given £2k in shares from a 2nd job position I had. still have them to this day and they are doing well.

wanted to wish you Good Luck <hugs> as I've been there too and know how you are feeling.