Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

 

The government is finally open. This whole ordeal has taught me a lot and helped me relearn some things that apparently I had forgotten. I’ve watched the government mismanage money my entire life, so I’m not sure why I would be surprised by the recent shutdown. The part that really got me was that this was my money they were mismanaging. I mean, I guess it’s always our money, but this time it was literally my family’s paycheck.

A job is suppose to do basically one thing. You work for them, they pay you. That’s the agreement. So when my husband was required to work and yet not get paid for almost six weeks, I feel that the basic agreement was not upheld. So if the government is not going to pay their employees in a timely fashion for services rendered, what in the world would make me think that they are going to take care of me in a time of crisis?

At any moment, the president or a group of Congress may decide to do away with Medicare, or food stamps, or whatever is left of Social Security. The government has their fingers in all sorts of programs you may benefit from. If a government job or program is the only income your household receives, I think it’s time you get a side hustle.

So what is a side hustle? It’s basically a means to earn some extra cash in your free time. I had five jobs in 2018, four of which I would consider to be side-hustles. I coach gymnastics about 20 hours a week — that’s my “day” job. My side gigs include teaching a fitness class for a home school group, writing an article for the paper every week, manual labor for my friend’s business, and I’ve been a Scentsy consultant for over seven years.

Not sure what you could do to earn some extra income? I have a friend who lives in a larger town and she donates plasma. (I’m not sure why they say donate since they pay you for it). You could watch your friend’s child one day a week. Get a paper route. Mow some yards. Pick up a few shifts waiting tables. Heck, pick up a few shifts anywhere, doing anything. Deliver pizza. Uber.

The thing with a side hustle is this. You are not too good to do a job. I don’t care how much education you have. I don’t care how old you are. If you think you’re too good for a job, I’ll let you in on a little secret. You’re not. You might make $10, or you might make $100. Money is money, and it all spends the same. If you want to become financially self-reliant, you’ll need to put in some work.

Going that long without our primary source of income was not easy. Having extra food in our cupboards and some cash tucked away made it easier. Having friends and family there to the rescue (perhaps my article next week) made it easier. The ability to work more and make more when we needed it not only made it easier, but it helped me feel less vulnerable.

I know that as long as my husband works for the government, there is a chance every January that we could be without a paycheck. I’ve always known this. We have never actually experienced anything like this though. We’ve never had to go this long.

What happens in the future if he gets sick or injured? Would we be ready to handle a natural disaster? What if he loses his job? What happens if he dies? These were the thoughts that kept circling my mind. These past two months were a great reminder for me that I need to up my game. I need to do better at budgeting, planning and saving. We need to become more financially self-reliant.

This shutdown has lit a fire within me that hopefully won’t soon burn out. We as a society spend so much time watching TV and just existing. If we are relying on anyone besides ourselves, I think it’s time we woke up and took responsibility for our finances. Heber J. Grant declared, “Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant.”

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams.