Make Money Without a Job

The Dr. Phil show recently had a couple on that didn’t have “jobs.” Dr. Phil was insistent that in order for people to live productive lives (particularly when children are involved) they have to have a real (i.e. regular) pay check.

I don’t regularly watch Dr. Phil, but the subject caught my attention. I walked away from the show realizing that society and I have very different ideas of what success is and what the “right” lifestyle is as well. We have lived several times in our married life without “real” jobs. This time around it was completely by choice and we are loving every minute of the new lifestyle that allows us to be together as a family, travel, and relax without having to ask for time off from the boss.

Most people think about their skills and talents as the things accomplished during the “real” job. If you want to break through society’s pattern about what is work, when you can work, and where you can work, you will have to think outside the box that society has built.

1. What do you enjoy? Gardening is a passion of mine. I recently found out that if I produce just $1000 worth of property on my land each year I can qualify as a small farm (which can mean huge benefits come tax time). I am in the process of determining which of my plants need to be divided and how many of the divisions can be sold (or given away). It may not make me rich by the end of the summer, but it will definitely qualify our land as a farm.

2. What are you good at? Do you have a talent for drama or music? Can you build anything if you can picture it in your head? Why not sell your services to friends and family. Word of mouth will do the rest.

3. Get rid of the stuff. All the things in your home that you aren’t using and that are just taking up space are making your life less enjoyable. Clear out your home (one room at a time) and get rid of everything that you don’t use or love. Forget who gave it to you and look at the item for what it is not who it’s from. Take the more valuable stuff to auction and sale the rest at a yard sale or flea market. What you get from the sale isn’t as important as the freedom you get from releasing it.

4. What do you want to do? If money were not an issue in your life, what would you be doing right now? Think outside the box and find ways to make that dream a reality AND get paid for it. If traveling is your desire then hone your writing skills, build up some clips and become a professional travel writer. In most cases, what you want to do is only a few steps away from being a reality.

Making money doesn’t have to be about clocking in and clocking out. You can make all the money you need by being a little creative, a lot daring, and extremely frugal. Look to your gifts and talents and likes to create income in places you never though income existed. Leave the “normal” world behind and walk the peculiar walk of free earners that are beginning to populate the world.