What I did to monetise my free time and why?

Reader says...

I have been an avid reader of your blog and have also been to your meetup session last week.

Thank you for what you have doing and helping people in providing financial literacy.

I read that you used to work 3 jobs when you were starting out, for 7 days a week.

May i know what jobs were you doing at that time?

I have been working in a mid sized firm for a few years but my income is still not where i would like it to be and would like to take more jobs to supplement my income.

Spending wise i am disciplined but there's only so much i can save with a small income base.

Thank you.

Cheers,

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AK says...

Welcome to my blog. :)

I had a full time job but my evenings and weekends were free.

So, I found jobs that occupied me on some evenings and on weekends.

I was teaching students taking enrichment classes at night and I was also a private tutor on weekends.

These paid more on a per hour basis than my full time job. ;)





If we have free time, we can either think of monetising it or using it for enjoyment.

When we choose to monetise it, not only do we make more money but we also have less time to spend money.

It brings making money and saving money to another level. ;p

Gambatte! :)






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When we monetise our free time, to be quite pragmatic, it should be doing something that pays more on a per hour basis. 

Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule.

For some, they might do something they enjoy and yet be paid to do it in their free time even if it doesn't pay well. 






Being paid to do something we enjoy doing doesn't sound like a bad thing, does it?

Want to achieve financial freedom sooner than later? 

Monetising our free time will definitely help.

Then, what is the next step?






That is another topic and here is a hint as to why it is important:

The best insurance in life.












Related posts:
1. A young father of two says money not enough.
2. How my student went from zero to hero?
3. Is it wrong to be idealistic and live the good life?

An exchange of emails with AK on REITs.

Hi Ak,

I've been a religious reader of your blog since 2015 and after doing some reading up to get myself more knowledge of investing for income, I'm ready to put some money to work.

As this is my first time, I'm limiting my self to $10,000 and split 50/50 between 2 REITs (AA REIT and MCT) for dividend income, and as I learn more I can invest more. I would welcome your thoughts on this. Appreciate it.


Regards,
E



Hi E,

I am not sure what to say but splitting your funds between 2 REITs avoids putting all your eggs in one basket. Seems like a prudent move. :)

Best wishes,
AK

Hi AK,

Thanks for taking time to reply. I'm sure you get a lot of emails like this.

One time I'm unclear is that how do you account for the increase/decrease in stock pricing over time to calculate your yield on your investment? Currently all yields are based on current market price.


Regards,
E




Hi E,

It depends on what we are trying to do.

If we are looking at REITs as fixed income, then, yield based on cost (i.e. like a FD) is OK.

If we look at REITs like real estate investments, then, we want to look at yield based on market prices. Then, we know when we might want to sell some.

Best wishes,
AK

Hi AK,

So deciding when to enter the market will determine your costs. I've read on the subject of on buying and sell ex-dividend dates. So correct me if I'm wrong, if you trust in the business, the best time to enter would be right after ex-dividend date as normally stock price will drop by the same amount as the dividend?

Thank you for your insight.

Regards,
E




Hi E,

I don't do that.
If an investment is a good long term income generator and if I am holding for the long term for income, as long as I pay what I feel is a fair price or better than fair price, it is good enough for me.

Best wishes,
AK


Related post:
A chit chat session with AK on REITs.