Frugality Magazine - Frugal Living Tips for Financial Freedom

5 Reasons Not To Get A Second Job

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If you’re heavily in debt – or have some serious savings goals – then it makes sense to try and earn as much income as you possibly can.

After all, the more you earn, the sooner you can reach your target.

Possibly the most obvious technique for earning more money is to take on a second job.

In that way you won’t have to give up your current job, but can instead turn your days off into extra cash.

It’s what thousands of people all around the world are doing every week.

Some years ago, when I was paying off my debt, I also seriously considered taking on a second job. Eventually, however, I decided against it.

This is the story of why I ultimately didn’t take on a second job. If you’re considering getting an extra job to help to make ends meet, hopefully there are a few things you can learn from my own experiences…

No Free Time

When it comes to part time, second jobs, most people find themselves working one or both of their weekly days off. This can create a working environment where you rarely, if ever, have a day off to yourself. Not only can this make fitting in the practicalities of life (dentist visits, car servicing etc.) rather more complex, but it also risks burning you out.

If all you do is work, work, work; 7 days a week, it can be very easy to become tired of your job; tired of life. Even when you’re paying off debt, I think most of us need to enjoy ourselves from time to time, just to make the process of debt repayment as manageable and acceptable as possible.

Having time to see friends, or walk in the countryside, or watch a good movie, can make the other compromises necessary for becoming debt free just that little bit more bearable. As a result, these little “fragments of freedom” can ultimately help you succeed at your financial goals.

Minimal Additional Income

One of the problems with second jobs is that they typically don’t pay very much on an hourly basis. Very few of us can land a highly-paid second job as a part-time lawyer or doctor. More likely the second jobs on offer involve working in shops, bars and the like.

They pay, on the whole, little more than minimum wage.

This means that even if you work every Saturday and every Sunday each month, you may well be rather disappointed with the wage packet you end up with.

Giving up all your weekends with friends and family in exchange for a few hundred dollars can be a depressing situation, and I’ve spoken to a large number of people who quit their second job within months of starting simply because the finances didn’t add up.

Try doing the math – working out what you’ll earn from a certain job when you consider the hours available, the hourly rate on offer and the tax you’ll have to pay (don’t forget about the tax!). Then ask yourself whether this is fair compensation for giving up all your time off.

For some people it will be; and if that’s you then good luck to you. For people struggling to make ends meet financially sometimes a second job really can be the solution to your needs. However for people who are considering the money from a second job as “bonus money” to put towards debt or savings, it may simply not be worthwhile.

This was a major factor in my personal decision-making process; on working out the math I decided that my free time was actually worth far more to me than the minimal wages I would have earned.

Lack of Flexibility

By their very definition, most jobs display a distinct lack of flexibility. You’re expected to work from Monday to Friday, 9 till 5, or whatever else. Part time, second jobs, often operate along similar lines; you’ll be expected to work the same shifts, the same days, each week. Without this rigidity it can be very difficult indeed for any employer to manage and staff their business.

And as with your normal job, if you need a certain day off you’ll likely need to request it – weeks in advance. That last-minute family barbeque? Sorry, your employer needs four weeks’ notice, so you can’t go. Those concert tickets you just got offered for next week? Can’t go.

Once again, for some people this won’t be a problem. After all, if you’re trying to pay off debt it’s likely that you won’t want to spend any unnecessary money. It’s likely that anything that prevents you from spending unnecessary money might actually be a benefit and will help to support your budgeting plans.

For other people, however, this pack of flexibility can really create problems, meaning that your entire week is controlled by other people. This lack of freedom and control over your time can be a difficult thing to bear for many people; myself included.

Less Passive Income Opportunities

Here’s the thing; while the automatic response from people looking to earn more money – at least on a short-term basis – is often to land a second job, it’s not necessarily the only way to earn extra money.

You can, for example, write a Kindle ebook or start a blog or complete surveys. Personally I’ve built hundreds of websites over the years, many of which continue to produce income to this day. Income, incidentally, when I’m not working. People find my website in the search engines, click one of the adverts on my site and I make money – rain or shine, whether I’m fast asleep or hanging out at a beach.

Of course this all sounds idyllic. And indeed once your various passive income streams start performing it certainly can be. I’ve taken many months off over the years, often in the summer, and simply enjoyed the income from my online activities while enjoying life to the maximum. It’s a wonderful situation to be in.

There is, however, another side to all this as you might expect. It takes considerable time and effort to learn what you’re doing and get those passive income streams up and running to begin with. Depending on your level of knowledge it might take months of effort before you see any kind of return on the time invested.

What this means is that building passive income streams can be difficult at the best of times; but it’s infinitely harder when you are working seven days a week and have no real free time. Even your evenings are likely to be taken up with household chores and so on just to keep your head above water. And if you haven’t, then you’re probably too tired to consider learning how to build a website or launch an ebook.

For people looking for short-term income, a second job will likely be best. It provides guaranteed income from the moment you start working, whilst passive income streams are far less predictable and can take far longer to actually turn a profit.

On the other hand, depending on what your plans for the future are, it might make sense to forgo the second job and instead look at passive income opportunities which, with a little luck and a lot of hard work, could help to provide financial stability for years into the future.

Less Pressure To Land A Pay Raise

The final point to consider when considering a second job is simply that you might feel less pressure to land a pay raise at your current position. If possible, this is a far more beneficial situation because you get to earn more money each month and you don’t have to give up your evenings or weekends.

Indeed, in my opinion, landing a pay raise at your current job is a much better idea than getting a second job if possible as it can not only increase your income but also make your working life a little more interesting.

As a final note I’m not necessarily saying that second jobs are inherently bad; just that you should carefully consider all the positives and negatives before you make an informed decision.

Have you ever had a second job? How did you cope? Are you considering getting a second job now? Please leave your experiences in the comments section below…

Want to earn more money? Many people consider getting a second job - but is this the right solution for you? Here are some sensible reasons why you *shouldn't* get a second job. #frugality

Richard

Sun-worshipper and obsessive frugality blogger. For loads more money-saving advice come and join us on Facebook.

12 comments

  • Unfortunately I had to get a second job when I was forced to purchase Obamacare and couldn’t make ends meet. This job ONLY covers my premium, I wind up having $28 dollars a month to either spend how I want or put into savings (most times it goes into savngs). I am looking into options to create income without having to be tied down to a full time and part time job. There are a lot of ideas on the internet on how to do this. Now to decide on which one (or two)!

    • Wow that sounds tough. The healthcare system here in the UK may not be as good as in the US but at least it’s free. I do feel for you guys and gals who have to pay *obscene* amounts of money for your healthcare.

      • I am fortunate to work as an interpreter as a “second job,” which means I earn more per hour than my full-time job when I do work and have a flexible schedule.

        The hardest part is ensuring that I only work a few hours per week so I can still have a life.

  • Debra Rodriguez says:

    I recently worked a second job. I decided to quit because what I was getting paid, the gas I was using to get there, the not spending time home it wasn’t worth it. Then why do I feel so bad about my decision to quit!?

  • ive been working 2 jobs for 2yrs now. And this weekend, i had a breakdown. I just dont want to do it any more. Im worn down. The money is needed, but its not worth the lvl of stress im dealing with. Its caused a major snag in my relationship because 7 days of 12hr graveyard shifts is not what a partner wants to deal with. So reading this helped me understand im not the only person that doesnt want to work this much.

  • I have a second job and although I love it…I am always tired. I mean…always exhausted I feel like I am in a haze or worse between a coma and being awake. The money is really good but I have no opportunity to sleep at all. I work from 8:00 am and with the second job I am done at 23:00pm. I am considering quitting the second or first job.

  • I used to work 80, 90, even 100 hours a week. I did this easily because I was able to work over night and actually sleep at that job. (Worked at a group home.) It was a miserable existence though.

    I would wake up at work, go to my other job, work all day, come home, chores, kids, wife, and then head back to the group home.

    I promised myself I would find a steady “good paying” job, working only 40 hours– which I did. It has been a dream having weekends off.

    Now, I’m in a situation where I want to buy a house, my wife wants a baby, and I have debt and student loans which will be increasing in a couple months. (Monthly payment increase because I deferred it so many times while working all those hours.)

    I’m freaking out, and another job on the weekends seems to be the only solution.

    I am making a promise to myself though–the pay needs to be significant enough, and my wife needs to fully support me with cleaning, and organizing friends to come by for dinners.

    Otherwise, my mental well-being just won’t be up for it.

  • Anonymous says:

    I worked 2 full time jobs for 4 months, made a budget, listed all my debts, checked the highest interest rates and started from the highest. All extra income after monthly bills went to the highest, after that was paid off I moved down the list of interest rates. I took $17,000 in debt off my shoulders in 4 months. It was tough working 85-92 hours a week, I felt like all I did was sleep in my spare time. My credit went up 46 points and I put my 2 weeks in on my second job and now I can enjoy my summer with just the one job and go back to school in the fall with no credit card debt, and my principal on my car bill came down so my payments are about $105 cheaper each month. I personally think it was worth the stress and grind for a few months to put me in a better spot to build my future.

    • That’s a really impressive and inspiring story! I don’t think there’s a wrong or a right answer here – it all depends on our personal situation. By the sounds of it though you made the right choice and you’re in a much stronger financial position now 🙂

  • I have been working a second job for 11 years. I love working with the people on the 2nd job so I do not mind going to work. It was the hustling to get from one job to the other and grabbing food in between time that started to get to me. Also, when I am off I occasionally received calls to work because someone called out. The pay was really good. My net was 1k to 1.5k a month so that was motivating me. However, my physical time is spent and feel it’s time to go.

  • I found your article today and today is the day I got hired for a 2nd job, I’ve been putting off a 2nd job for a few years now when I realized I’m financially against the wall, I’m kinda feeling like I made a mistake taking the job as they’re gonna give me around 30 hours a week more on top of my full-time job and I realized that’s a lot of hours and I’m already tired, worn out and burnt out from just having one and so many responsibilities outside work. I’ve been working on my own business, but I’ve been in this depressed place where when I get free time, I don’t wanna put any work into it, I wanna relax, watch youtube and sleep 12 hours. I’m at a crossroad of depression and needing money and it’s a terrible combo, I know I’m not alone. I enjoy my free time a lot and it’s valuable to me, it’s why I put off a 2nd job so long.