Part Time job?

[LinCella]

I was just hit with thousands of dollars in vet bills for my sweet dog, Frankie. Really put me in a hinky position and I feel the need to replace these funds.

Part time job? I loathe the idea of having to get up, dressed and being some place I HAVE to be. Not only that, but I can't get a PT job doing what I used to do (stupid pension rules) at $45 an hour and would now have to make $13-15 and hour. It's one of those things where I was at my job for 30 years, became a manager and never had to learn some basic computer programs. Excel? Nope. So even clerical appears out for me unless I take a class but I need to money now.

A loan is out of the question. Is it worth it to take a low paying job, up my income and have a different tax burden later?

Here I am at 10 a.m., still drinking my coffee and enjoying the morning. ARRRGGH!

 

[REWahoo]

...and I feel the need to replace these funds.

Will the vet allow you to set up a payment plan?

 

[Big_Hitter]

or you could try and unload some stuff on craigslist


I feel your pain; vet bills can be very expensive but I have no regrets paying them.

 

[LinCella]

Oh I have no regrets, never. I call my dog the Million Dollar Dog! My vet requires payment at the time of services. We are looking at more bills as well, coming up.

Sell my stuff is a great idea! I am going to move within the next year so I might as well unload now and make some cash. Thanks!

 

[Mulligan]

I was just hit with thousands of dollars in vet bills for my sweet dog, Frankie. Really put me in a hinky position and I feel the need to replace these funds.

Part time job? I loathe the idea of having to get up, dressed and being some place I HAVE to be. Not only that, but I can't get a PT job doing what I used to do (stupid pension rules) at $45 an hour and would now have to make $13-15 and hour. It's one of those things where I was at my job for 30 years, became a manager and never had to learn some basic computer programs. Excel? Nope. So even clerical appears out for me unless I take a class but I need to money now.

A loan is out of the question. Is it worth it to take a low paying job, up my income and have a different tax burden later?

Here I am at 10 a.m., still drinking my coffee and enjoying the morning. ARRRGGH!

Hey maybe we shared the same secretary who did all that stuff for us! Im exactly in same boat skill wise and have done some lower pay stuff just to fund my Roth. But it is getting tougher to justify so this year was probably my swan song. I get pushed into 28% fed, and also pay 6% state, 8% SS, Med, and a few extra dollars more would lose me a 2k state tax credit. Throw in gas and if I took a 10k job, I would net probably around $3500. But still if you need the money, or just as importantly you spend too much time worrying maybe knocking out the PT is worth it in the long run. If I am worrier, I would feel compelled to do something about it just so I wouldnt worry.
Unless of course if all it would accomplish is for you to find something else to worry about then maybe I wouldnt take the PT job

 

[LinCella]

I'm just thinking at $15 an hour, gas, my "free" time, my taxes...I'd have to work full-time at that rate to make a dent in my bills. I just dropped my application off at a local bookstore (a chain) and I was so nauseous doing it I knew I really can't stomach the idea of working after 1 1/2 years of blissful retirement.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I was just hit with thousands of dollars in vet bills for my sweet dog, Frankie. Really put me in a hinky position and I feel the need to replace these funds.

Part time job? I loathe the idea of having to get up, dressed and being some place I HAVE to be. Not only that, but I can't get a PT job doing what I used to do (stupid pension rules) at $45 an hour and would now have to make $13-15 and hour. It's one of those things where I was at my job for 30 years, became a manager and never had to learn some basic computer programs. Excel? Nope. So even clerical appears out for me unless I take a class but I need to money now.

A loan is out of the question. Is it worth it to take a low paying job, up my income and have a different tax burden later?

Here I am at 10 a.m., still drinking my coffee and enjoying the morning. ARRRGGH!

If you do not want a regular job and just need to make a little extra money you could do odds and ends things like these from home and on your own time:

How I Made Money In 2014 - Doctor Of Credit
Beermoney: Online Money-making
PhD Student Pays Tuition With Rebates - Business Insider
What I Got Free in the Mail Today *Please keep OT Chat posts limited** - Page 406 - Slickdeals.net

There are lots of sites with ideas like reddit, flytertalk, fatwallet, slick deals.

 

[LinCella]

Thanks, Daylate!

 

[RunningBum]

You aren't being very clear about your situation. On one hand you are indicating that you don't have the money to come up with the bill payment, but on the other hand you are asking if taking a job is worth it, as if you have a choice. Which one is it? And how prepared are you for other unexpected expenses that may come up?

If it's just a matter of not feeling good about having this extra expense now but you can actually afford it, you can probably make up for it by planning on a little smaller next house in a couple years, or hanging onto your car a couple more years before replacing. Or go out to eat once less per month until you make up the difference.

If it's really a burden, you'd better take a hard look at your retirement planning and see if you can really afford to stay retired. The longer you stay out of the workforce, the worse it will be to reenter. I question whether you made a realistic budget if this unexpected expense is causing such angst. A good budget should have some protection against such events.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Thanks, Daylate!

You are welcome. I forgot to add niche web sites or blogs with Adsense and affiliate programs.

Also your own personal thrift can make as much or more than a part-time job sometimes because the money is in effect tax free. Grocery Outlet has a "what you saved" tally that is pretty accurate compared to shopping at full retail places like Safeway. The other day I spent $50 and saved $60 for an hour's worth of grocery shopping. I have to grocery shop anyway, so it is worth it to me to drive a few extra miles to save $60 in after tax money.

 

[marko]

If it's really a burden, you'd better take a hard look at your retirement planning and see if you can really afford to stay retired.

I was thinking the same thing. OP is not clear on whether "several thousand dollars in vet bills" is $6K or $25K. If it's in the $6K range and that blows your RE plans, I'd probably reassess the whole thing.

 

[LinCella]

Thanks for your responses!

 

[youbet]

I was thinking the same thing. OP is not clear on whether "several thousand dollars in vet bills" is $6K or $25K. If it's in the $6K range and that blows your RE plans, I'd probably reassess the whole thing.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing too.........

OP, why do you say "I feel the need to replace these funds?" Is your retirement that close to the belt that a few unplanned kilobux of current expense is making you concerned you'll be running out of money decades down the road?

To me, unless you have a prime opportunity for easy, lucrative employment, you ought to consider either doing nothing to offset the expense or perhaps looking to find some area in the budget where you could offset the expense with minor reductions over the next few years.

 

[LinCella]

I have a pension of $70k annually plus 2% COLA and paid medical. I got into some debt after I retired. I am not buying a house with my savings, but I do need it to buy-in to a limited equity co-op in the near future. So I charged the vet bill adding to my other debt.

Yes, I know it's stupid, believe me I have kicked my own butt about it so no need for you to do it. I applied for a PT job at the City where I used to work and I hope that works out, if not, I will work on my budget while still adding to the savings plan.

 

[Mulligan]

My pension is a bit more but I imagine we budget similarly. I would just treat it as a monthly payment. I finance certain purchases just like I did while working and continue to save monthly. Maybe you could tweak the budget a bit and treat it as part of your expenses?
This may sound a bit odd, but if I were you and made the decision to work part-time to pay it off, I would pay the expenses out of your current stash and fully fund your Roth with the part time work. Make a little lemonade out of a lemon situation. This way you can get a little permanent tax free relief from future invested money. You, I am sure are in the 25% tax bracket plus state if any.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[LinCella]

Thanks, Mulligan. My current stash is going to be used for a buy-in for a co-op in the near future.

Working on a new budget now!

 

[Mrs.LC]

You might be surprised how easy it will be to come up with $1000 work of stuff to sell. Great thing is that likely you will never miss any of it. Craigslist, E bay, and Facebook online sale groups are your friends!

 

[RunningBum]

Good luck moving forward. Sounds like you're getting yourself back on track.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

A decent solution for you might be something like Lionbridge. I have a friend who does that and the starting $ is about $14 an hour...and you work from home. It's not a hookey deal, it's legit. The one negative is that you would be a contractor (1099), so you would most likely have to pay self-employment tax. Just a thought...