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What kinda jobs is best to sustain this hobby
- Thread starter Chrisnj06
- Start date
I think thread is getting away from OP's intent. We all know it takes money to support this hobby - money that is not easily traceable if you have an SO. So it comes down to your personal situation. Doesn't seem most mongers want to share their source of income, whether job or self employed, I see almost no mention of industry or job etc. Maybe I am wrong but that's what I think OP was looking for. Me personally my career has been all over the place, I made good money sometimes but long periods where I made nada. The key is to be able to save CASH and even when I made 6 figures (which wasn't often or for long) that never helped me with this hobby because my SO is on all my bank accounts. So how do I do it? Well here are some of my strategies....
1. Everytime I get a monetary gift (not often these days, but it happens), I don't share it OR the full amount I received. This way I can put aside all or some of it into my "secret hobby slush fund"
2. When I work I often submit expense reports. Expense reports where I have worked were always issued as separate checks. While my SO takes note of my pay being deposited, she doesn't have time or bandwidth to track expenses being reimbursed. Sometimes for smaller expense reports I would deposit it to show I am "getting paid for expenses". Other times I would take that check to the issuing bank and cash, and add to the hobby fund.
3. When I am not working (which happens a fair amount these days) I am active on FB marketplace and other online for sale forums. I sell shit no one is using or looking for, and pocket the cash... right into the hobby fund. Sometimes it's $10, sometimes it's $100, it all depends what you got to sell. Most people have a ton of shit in the attic they can use to monetize with a little effort and build up the slush fund.
4. When I take cash from ATM, which my SO can track if she wishes (joint account), I usually put 20% into the secret fund. Very few SO has the time or effort to account for $20 out of a $100 withdraw. Typically I do withdraws 1x a week, and this strategy alone puts $80-$100 into my fund monthly.
5. I look for opportunities where I can earn cash for my labor while I am not working at a corp job. For example I see someone asking for lawn maintenance. I will tell my SO I have plans that day (errands, visiting a friend, helping a family member... whatever) then go do the job and pocket the money. I've earned $200 easily using this strategy in cash I can put into my fund.
6. I have also used the buy/resell strategy. Using some of my "slush fund" I will buy items I think I can re-sell for a profit. For example, recently I noticed Walmart had a deal on sunglasses and sneaker/shoes. I bought a bunch of pair of $20 sunglasses for $2, and I bought several pair of new deck shoes for $1. It doesn't take a lot of effort to flip low dollar merch if you make a little effort. $2 Sunglasses will sell all day for $5 (over 100% profit) and $1 shoes can also easily be sold for $5-$10 (500-1000% profit). Granted this strategy alone is a slow moving one but I'm always trying to replenish that fund.
I recognize a high paying job where you can hide income is obviously > than my strategies. But hopefully some of my strategies help mongers with < incomes. You may not be able to have high roller sessions 2x a week but if you are persistent like I am you can build up enough of a fund to monger most of the times that the mood strikes!
Good luck,
jim
1. Everytime I get a monetary gift (not often these days, but it happens), I don't share it OR the full amount I received. This way I can put aside all or some of it into my "secret hobby slush fund"
2. When I work I often submit expense reports. Expense reports where I have worked were always issued as separate checks. While my SO takes note of my pay being deposited, she doesn't have time or bandwidth to track expenses being reimbursed. Sometimes for smaller expense reports I would deposit it to show I am "getting paid for expenses". Other times I would take that check to the issuing bank and cash, and add to the hobby fund.
3. When I am not working (which happens a fair amount these days) I am active on FB marketplace and other online for sale forums. I sell shit no one is using or looking for, and pocket the cash... right into the hobby fund. Sometimes it's $10, sometimes it's $100, it all depends what you got to sell. Most people have a ton of shit in the attic they can use to monetize with a little effort and build up the slush fund.
4. When I take cash from ATM, which my SO can track if she wishes (joint account), I usually put 20% into the secret fund. Very few SO has the time or effort to account for $20 out of a $100 withdraw. Typically I do withdraws 1x a week, and this strategy alone puts $80-$100 into my fund monthly.
5. I look for opportunities where I can earn cash for my labor while I am not working at a corp job. For example I see someone asking for lawn maintenance. I will tell my SO I have plans that day (errands, visiting a friend, helping a family member... whatever) then go do the job and pocket the money. I've earned $200 easily using this strategy in cash I can put into my fund.
6. I have also used the buy/resell strategy. Using some of my "slush fund" I will buy items I think I can re-sell for a profit. For example, recently I noticed Walmart had a deal on sunglasses and sneaker/shoes. I bought a bunch of pair of $20 sunglasses for $2, and I bought several pair of new deck shoes for $1. It doesn't take a lot of effort to flip low dollar merch if you make a little effort. $2 Sunglasses will sell all day for $5 (over 100% profit) and $1 shoes can also easily be sold for $5-$10 (500-1000% profit). Granted this strategy alone is a slow moving one but I'm always trying to replenish that fund.
I recognize a high paying job where you can hide income is obviously > than my strategies. But hopefully some of my strategies help mongers with < incomes. You may not be able to have high roller sessions 2x a week but if you are persistent like I am you can build up enough of a fund to monger most of the times that the mood strikes!
Good luck,
jim
I golf with my friends often. During the winter months, we play indoor golf. We only play nine holes and they tell their wives that we are playing 18 or even 36 holes so that’s plenty of time for my friends to monger.
They pay for my golf and food and drinks by using their card and I pay for their mongering. We don’t care what the price difference is.
My friends all go back home happy.
Or many of us go gambling to Atlantic City. Two years ago, the host gave each of us a bottle of Louis XIII as a gift. I bought the bottles from my friends. So they have money to monger with their wives not knowing.
They pay for my golf and food and drinks by using their card and I pay for their mongering. We don’t care what the price difference is.
My friends all go back home happy.
Or many of us go gambling to Atlantic City. Two years ago, the host gave each of us a bottle of Louis XIII as a gift. I bought the bottles from my friends. So they have money to monger with their wives not knowing.
Hahaha. That's pretty much the takeaway. I know some of my methods may be extreme or seem like way too much, I just want to share what I do in case it helps someone else enjoy the hobby. Unfortunately we aren't all business owners or have high paying jobs where we can hide as much income as we want (or are single and don't need to hide shit, which is obviously way less headache). If anyone else has other strategies to build their monger fund, I'd love to hear them!!!
Rather than Jim's multiple moving parts, I like to keep things simple and transparent. We're both on each other's accounts, and have all the passwords, etc. The transparency eliminates curiosity and suspicion.
SO and I agree to a "fun money" allowance for each of us per paycheck for the coming year when we do our taxes, & plan for major expenditures (home renovations, vacations, vehicles, etc.). Each month when we sit down and pay all the bills, we also deposit savings for the expenditures, and split the fun money amount. She spends hers on Amazon Prime, Starbucks and Yoga classes. You all can guess where I spend mine, but she thinks its the occasional happy hour,, night out with my buddies, and Quizzo.
She knows what I'm spending, and I know what she's spending. If we have financial needs that eliminate the fun money temporarily (since life happens), we both go without, and I need to man up and stop mongering until fun money is available again.
Again, the above is what works for us. For many, money discussions are equal to a power struggle. My SO saw it the same way initially, too, but eventually she realized she has as much agency over our money has I do.
SO and I agree to a "fun money" allowance for each of us per paycheck for the coming year when we do our taxes, & plan for major expenditures (home renovations, vacations, vehicles, etc.). Each month when we sit down and pay all the bills, we also deposit savings for the expenditures, and split the fun money amount. She spends hers on Amazon Prime, Starbucks and Yoga classes. You all can guess where I spend mine, but she thinks its the occasional happy hour,, night out with my buddies, and Quizzo.
She knows what I'm spending, and I know what she's spending. If we have financial needs that eliminate the fun money temporarily (since life happens), we both go without, and I need to man up and stop mongering until fun money is available again.
Again, the above is what works for us. For many, money discussions are equal to a power struggle. My SO saw it the same way initially, too, but eventually she realized she has as much agency over our money has I do.
I can't help but laugh about financial transparency when you are getting sessions behind her back LOL. Not breaking your stones it was just funny to me due to the irony.
I am glad your SO is as laid back about fun money, that makes things way easier. Sadly for me mine wants to know where anything more than a few dollars is going prob because she grew up poor as I grew up middle class. Early in our relationship it was way worse. She used to question every $20. One time I lost my job hadn't even got my last paycheck. I bought myself a $6 cheesesteak and she went crazy that I'm buying a sandwich when I don't have a job. Fucking annoying. Luckily it's not THAT bad anymore....
This hobby in the end is about cash. If you have a way to get cash without your SO asking questions, that rocks. For me I need to hide this shit and get money that she isn't aware of. I know there are plenty of single mongers that just don't want to deal with the BS of a relationship, but unless I was single, I would never be able to fund this hobby any other way. Luckily with some persistence it's possible. Hopefully one day I figure out an easy way to create residual cash income that I can hide that doesn't risk incarceration. If anyone knows one and wishes to share, DM me!
I am glad your SO is as laid back about fun money, that makes things way easier. Sadly for me mine wants to know where anything more than a few dollars is going prob because she grew up poor as I grew up middle class. Early in our relationship it was way worse. She used to question every $20. One time I lost my job hadn't even got my last paycheck. I bought myself a $6 cheesesteak and she went crazy that I'm buying a sandwich when I don't have a job. Fucking annoying. Luckily it's not THAT bad anymore....
This hobby in the end is about cash. If you have a way to get cash without your SO asking questions, that rocks. For me I need to hide this shit and get money that she isn't aware of. I know there are plenty of single mongers that just don't want to deal with the BS of a relationship, but unless I was single, I would never be able to fund this hobby any other way. Luckily with some persistence it's possible. Hopefully one day I figure out an easy way to create residual cash income that I can hide that doesn't risk incarceration. If anyone knows one and wishes to share, DM me!
I pay certain people cash for various things always. And it’s like a 2000 a month so I always have cash around the house. I spend enough that she can’t keep track of it as I often will just go to the ATM and get more cash when I wan to buy food at places that don’t take Apple Pay. I also go to legit massage places, facial etc that takes cash and cash tips so it’s all plausible things on why I always have cash and money going in and out of my acct.
Oh I don’t give her access to my acct anyway. Lmao but we all make enough money that we won’t notice that amount of money coming and going.
Oh I don’t give her access to my acct anyway. Lmao but we all make enough money that we won’t notice that amount of money coming and going.
If your job allows buy company stock payroll deduction. Take large withdrawals around Holidays, Birthdays and Anniversary. Buy a gift and move the excess a slush fund account t.
Setup a Cash App account transfer cash to Cash App account. Tell the Wife you are using this for gas in the cars don't fill all the way or transfer and extra 10-20. You can take the extra and buy bitcoin right in the App and Cash out at an ATM when you want. Get the debit card
Setup a Cash App account transfer cash to Cash App account. Tell the Wife you are using this for gas in the cars don't fill all the way or transfer and extra 10-20. You can take the extra and buy bitcoin right in the App and Cash out at an ATM when you want. Get the debit card
Here is a good way to sum it up. ALL of us should be putting cash away if we are married that is a secret stash. Even my friends that are not into this hobby do this. There are many ways - I applaud @Jim Hatez for is efforts! It's called survival. If you get to the divorce stage and everything is exposed you need the cash and It can't be in a bank account even if her name is not on it. Common sense. Even the single guys here should be doing the same thing. Nothing like disposable cash when you need it.
Trust me, the irony isn't lost on me.
She was the same way at first, esp. during the Great Recession when she was intermittently employed and I took a 25% pay cut for an extended period. However, once she knew the amounts we each had were equivalent, she stopped caring about what it was being spent on....even when it was only $20/week.
She was the same way at first, esp. during the Great Recession when she was intermittently employed and I took a 25% pay cut for an extended period. However, once she knew the amounts we each had were equivalent, she stopped caring about what it was being spent on....even when it was only $20/week.
