The goal: Make some extra multiple of $1000 in a year.
- Divide 1000 by whatever time frame you choose. (i.e. $1000/50wks = $20/wk)
- Earn that much extra in a time frame by pursuing any and every option you see fit.
- Keep records to watch your progress.
- Challenge yourself and multiply that amount by 2,3,4 or add a 0 to the end.
The number is arbitrary (oh, the power of numbers). But the goal is to set up some time period to measure your progress towards a goal. I chose weekly because if I can make $20 extra a week it adds up to a grand. You could measure your progress monthly and set up an 83.33 project, or daily and set up a 2.73 project… it doesn’t really matter. Just pick your time frame and calculate a tangible number with which you’ll work to supplement whatever income you already have.
Clearly the goal is to supplement whatever income base you already have with some extra money. But what happens with this type of project is you create an incentive to do all the things you’ve been meaning to do in a different light. For example, it’s easy to cash in 20 bucks by starting a garden and selling the extra at a local farmer’s market or selling your textbooks on amazon.com or tutoring some kid. Freelance projects provide a boundless set of possibilities.
The most important part of this is keeping track of your extra income. I personally use Mint.com and will sing its glories for all eternity to come. But first off, it’s free. Second, it’s sexy. Third, it’s pretty effing easy to watch the flow of all your money. The blog BrokeGradStudent has a pretty compelling argument for using Mint.com to track your finances [here].
The real beauty of this goal is that you become attuned to your finances, your marketable skills, your valuable junk, and most importantly yourself. The real change this project potentially affords is not in the added income, but comes as this project allows you to pursue and explore more fruitful pursuits (measured in personal gratification or monetary standards).
Then challenge yourself. Start with baby steps. Multiply your goal by two, or three. If you can do that, slap a zero on the end. Tack on the a similar project of saving $20 a week and save a grand over the course of a year. See what happens, make this project your own, and run with it.