Earning money from multiple sources is easier than ever these days, thanks to the internet, and many people are doing that in various ways. It’s entirely possible to supplement your main job with some extra activities that you do from home, or even work completely remotely, juggling multiple jobs and clients in order to maximize your earning potential. The sky is the limit! And while this kind of situation can be very attractive, it’s not without its potential problems. The biggest one is keeping track of all your finances efficiently when you have money coming in from so many different sources.
Always Have the Big Picture Available
The first important thing to do is to ensure that you always have a general overview of your current financial situation through some means. There are various tools that can help you with that, but even a well-designed Excel sheet can often be enough to get a good idea of how things are right now. In fact, spreadsheets can be an excellent visual planning tool for getting a better overview of your finances, and a good one can often be fine-tuned and tweaked in various ways to make it work even better for your specific situation.
Use Your Phone to Its Full Potential
You’re probably carrying a smartphone in your pocket at all times, and it’s unfortunate to see so many people wasting the huge potential those devices have for helping them stay organized. There is a lot your phone can do for you to improve the overview of your financial situation, and it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with its features in this regard as soon as possible.
Install mobile banking apps to keep your accounts in check on the go, download some apps for coupons and discounts, and use mobile budget trackers that link to all your different accounts. If you set this upright, it will run pretty much automatically, with no intervention necessary on your part.
Sort Out Tax Issues in Advance
Earning money from multiple sources can bring some problems to the table which people usually don’t anticipate. Tax issues are one big example, and they’re something you should not underestimate. There is a lot that can potentially go wrong when you’re getting money from different places, and you should do your best to ensure that you’ll be prepared for filling out your tax return properly.
It’s best to talk to an accountant in advance if you’re not sure about your approach. Otherwise, you might end up having to pay significant fines once you submit your first return. Dealing with an audit on top of that is never a fun prospect either.
Be Careful with Spending
This is something everyone should keep in mind in general, but people who’re earning money from multiple sources are particularly susceptible to some kinds of spending problems. For example, knowing that you’ve got some money lined up for the next few days/weeks can be a very reassuring feeling, and it can lead you to some mistakes, such as spending money before you actually have it. While this is fine once or twice in an emergency, it’s definitely not something that you should allow to turn into a habit. Keep track of your spending habits just as much as you’re tracking your income because you might discover some surprising patterns there.
All in all, earning from multiple sources can be a great, positive change to your life, but it can also bring about a variety of problems that you will want to anticipate and prepare for. Otherwise, it will do you more harm than good in the long run.
