How I Quit My Day Job

As a single mom in the 1980s and 1990s, I always struggled to pay the bills. At the time, I was a secretary making less than $30,000, but wanting to provide a decent lifestyle for my daughter and myself. I moonlighted, selling Avon to co-workers and friends. I had a whole cigar box full of coupons, sorted by category with little tab dividers. Back then, coupons either didn’t expire for months, years, or not at all. I spent hours clipping and sorting coupons. It seems like now, by the time I get around to clipping them, they’ve already expired!

I also learned a lot (sometimes the hard way) about credit cards. I’ve learned to live within my means. I became a college student in my 40s and earned an MBA. And boy, has all of that paid off. I’ve advanced in my career, saved a bunch of money, and am now retiring from my day job at 61 so I can focus all of my attention on my three small businesses (as an Avon Representative; my Etsy shop, Pamela Murphy Vintage; and as a freelance writer and copyeditor). I am my own boss. I can work in my pajamas, whatever hours I want.

Here are some of the strategies I’ve used to get here. Anyone can do these things. All it takes is determination and will power.

Pay yourself first!

Don’t say you can’t afford to put money away for retirement. You can’t afford not to! Those years slip away faster than you think. I used to think the same way, but a few years ago I adopted this strategy: Twice a year, in January and July, I increased my 401(K) contribution by $25 a pay. Because this money is pre-tax, it only impacted my net paycheck by about $17. I didn’t miss it. But that little bit extra going into my retirement plan every two weeks made a huge difference. My nest egg started to grow much faster than it would have if I had kept putting in the minimum amount. No matter how old or young you are now, start doing this and watch your retirement account grow by leaps and bounds. If you are not able to contribute more to your employer’s retirement plan, start a separate IRA.

And speaking of your employer’s plan, if they offer a match, be sure to take full advantage of it. IT’S FREE MONEY. Don’t leave it on the table.

Use credit cards wisely

Very wisely. You can actually have the credit card companies pay YOU to use them, but do not try this unless you have strong self-discipline! Otherwise, you’ll only get yourself in deeper. For this to work to your advantage, you must pay the bill in full every month. So, don’t buy stuff just to get the points or buy stuff you don’t need. Live within your means and pay the card off every month. Set the money aside when you make a purchase, so you’ll have it when the bill comes. I use Quicken for my finances, and this is super-easy to do with Quicken Savings Goals. The money is still in your account, but you don’t see it there because you “moved” it into the Savings Goal.

I have three cards that I use regularly – a Gap Visa, a Southwest Visa, and an Ebay Mastercard. Each one has its own perks:

•       I use the Gap Visa for all of my day-to-day expenses, like groceries, gas for the car, and the occasional lunch or dinner out. This gets me points that convert into “Gap Rewards,” which translates into FREE CLOTHES! Each month, I earn between $30 and $50, or sometimes more if I made a big purchase like a computer or home improvement project. I save these rewards up for a few months and then go on a shopping spree at the Tanger Outlets near my house, where there is a Gap, an Old Navy, and a Banana Republic. The rewards are good at all three.
• ·         I use the Southwest Visa for all my travel expenses. The points I earn go to free flights to Denver to visit my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. I first got the card when they were running a promotion where if you spent $6,000 in the first three months, you got 50,000 points. It wasn’t hard to do – I just used the card for everything for those three months. And paid it in full every month. A round trip from Pittsburgh to Denver is about 18,000 points, so that’s almost three free vacations. And the more I use it, the more points I get.
• ·         I use the Ebay Mastercard to pay my Etsy and Avon bills. The points on that one can be used for merchandise, gift cards, or cash back to your PayPal account. I just noticed I had over 10,000 points in there, so I researched what would be the best deal. Some gift cards cost more points than others, so look at all the retailers you frequent and find the best offer. I found that I could get $100 in Walmart or PetSmart gift cards for 10,000 points, while I would have only gotten $50 cash back to my PayPal account, so I got two $50 Walmart cards that I can use for groceries.

AWESOME!!! These were FREE!

 Remember, the key is to pay your whole balance every month, so you aren’t paying any interest. I get to use their money for free (temporarily), and so far this year I have earned $185. And it’s only March. See how that works?

Shop at thrift stores

Seriously, go to Goodwill. Go to the Salvation Army and St. Vincent DePaul. Hit the church rummage sale. You wouldn’t believe what you can find. I have two gorgeous leather jackets I got for $10 each at Goodwill. A chifforobe full of cashmere sweaters. Many, many years ago, back in the 80s, I bought a 1960s Scottish wool hand-woven coat at the Red, White and Blue Thrift Store in Pittsburgh. It was in beautiful fall colors of orange, rust, and green, with big buttons and a big round collar. I paid $10 for it. I wore that coat for 20 years and finally just grew tired of it, so I sold it in my Etsy shop for $60. Sometimes I still regret selling it though. It was a classic.

But it’s not only clothes – you can find great furniture and housewares there too. And if you have kids, you’d be crazy not to buy their clothes at thrift stores.

Use store apps

Target and Walmart are good examples. Target’s Cartwheel app has different deals on it every day, so you can check it while you’re in the store and maybe save a few bucks.

I love the Walmart Savings Catcher app. Scan in the bar code on your receipt, and they check all the other retailers and if anybody’s price is lower than theirs, they give you the difference back. Transfer it to a gift card, and use it whenever you want. You can also use the Walmart Pay app to pay with the gift card balance right from your phone. How cool is that? My balance right now is $48.92, and that’s just from the last few months. I like to save it up until I can get a whole buggy of groceries for free. And what is better than free money?

I hope you can use some of my ideas! Maybe you have some tricks of the trade that you use, too. I would love to hear about them!

Want to earn some extra money for yourself? Join my team! Visit www.startavon.com and use reference code pammymurphy.