More Than Zero

Coming up with extra money is a challenge for anyone adopting (or trying to become a parent in any way.) I’m trying quite a few things right now with the goal always being to earn “more than zero”. Because as long as I’ve earned more than $0, I’m headed in the right direction.

Other advice sites are a joke, recommending home equity loans (in this economy?) and church fundraising dinners (not an option for many of us).

Here’s a quick rundown of what I’m doing:

Refinanced my car loan – This is the biggest one so far, shaving $100 a month off my payment.

Renegotiating student loan payments – This one’s a work in progress. I figure I’ll be paying them off the rest of my life anyway, so might as well save a few bucks for the cash flow each month.

Reexamined tax withholdings – I got a copy of my latest paystub and sat down with last year’s tax return and some tax calculators and determined that withholding only 1 on my W4 was overkill, so I’ve changed withholdings to 2 from now till the end of the year. Not sure how much that will give me every two weeks, but it will be more than $0, and that’s good.

Opened an eBay store – This one’s a shot in the dark, but I opened an eBay store featuring items for babies and pets. I’m following the old strategy of “buy low, sell high”. Not sure if I’ll make any money, but I shouldn’t lose any either. The commitment is only 30 days. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Ads on my blog – You probably noticed the ads on the left side of this blog. No fake clicks, please! But if you really see something that piques your interest, by all means, click to learn more. I earn a small amount of money every time an ad is clicked.

Exploring second jobs – My first night out with the canvassing job wasn’t anything to write home about, but the schedule is flexible and I did earn more than $0. I’ve also been in touch with local companies about one-day gigs and promo hosting for special events.

Keeping a Roommate – As fun as it would be to live alone and have that second bedroom to get ready, I have to be realistic that it could be two to three years before I’m placed with a child. And every year I have a roommate saves me $4,620 in mortgage payments.

If you have any ideas I haven’t mentioned here, please share them in the comments! Hopefully they can be of help to other prospective parents surfing the web for ideas.