Frugal Expat

An expat's journey in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Archive for the category “Extra Income”

27 Jan 2012

A Week of Hiatus

I have not posted for almost a week now because I am actually preoccupied with my new business. I am still at the start up phase. Well, it is not really a phenomenal one but I am keen on doing it.

I believe in our company’s mission which is to educate people and to help them secure their retirement and family security.

I am fromPhilippineswhere we thought that the only option to have a better life is to work abroad while leaving behind our love ones. Unfortunately, most of us are not financially literate. We are always confused between assets and liabilities.

So what happens, we put our hard earned money into investments which we think are assets but actually liability in real sense. More so, our generosity to our families is endless.

Hence it is quite a common scenario that Filipinos who work abroad ends up with limited funds for their old age. The sad part, these limited funds usually end up in hospital bills and medication.

Anyway, I will post more about my business at the later stage. It is for those who are keen on the following:-

  • Education about personal finance
  • Wants to increase their cash flow or have an extra income
  • Learn about better investment options
  • Keen to secure their finances for their future
Posted by Frugal Xpat in Extra Income, Finances, freelance writing, Investments | Leave a Comment
21 Aug 2011
3 Comments

Online Jobs for Real…

Photo Credit: www.onlineworkindia.com

Working online has kept me busy for the last one week. I took up writing gigs again to keep my sanity. (LOL!)

Right now, I am somehow in a transition period from being a working individual to a home based person. I usually took short vacations only. The longest I can remember was three weeks and that period was packed with travel plans.

As I am expecting, I am not fit to travel except for short trips only. So to keep me occupied for the next few weeks, I started scouring the internet for online jobs. I used to work as part time online writer before but I totally stopped earlier this year because of the workload in my full time job.

Now, I am just glad to write again. I actually find it very therapeutic. Anyway, I sent my applications to potential online employers and recently I started receiving some feedbacks. Honestly, I was overwhelmed to realize how lucrative the offers are. If you are working at home, then it is really a decent package considering that you do not have expenses for transportation, lunch and office uniforms.

Earlier I was not convinced in working online as a full time job and relying on it as a bread-and-butter until my sister worked as an online based HR Officer. Seeing her for the last two weeks working and functioning as a typical HR Officer (but based online) amazed me. The only drawback is she works in the evening because her employer is based in the US.

Anyway, it has always been my plan to join the bandwagon of web workers and now that I have a better grasp of it, I wish to take that big career leap soon.

Posted by Frugal Xpat in Extra Income, Finances, freelance writing and tagged , , ,
03 Aug 2011

Saddened to Decline Online Gigs

Photo Credit: www.atxinvestormasterminds.com

Last week I was so engrossed applying for online writing jobs. I wanted to augment my income to shell out more cash hoping to increase my investment funds. Days later I started to receive feedbacks and interviews along with some requirements or trial tests.

As much as I wanted to land online gigs, I was caught up for the last few days with my office work and travel plans. There were the handovers, reports and so on in the office that I needed to complete before my leave.

And with my travel schedule next week, my spare time was consumed on shopping and attending some documents that had to be processed in our embassy. Also, as it is Ramadan most offices are open only until 2pm.

Basically everything was a rush.

Anyway, I am sad that I emailed them back today to turn down the potential online gig offers. I miscalculated the demand of my office work and the upcoming travel schedule. I am hoping that by mid of August once I am settled then I will source out again potential online gigs.

 

Posted by Frugal Xpat in Extra Income, Finances, freelance writing | Leave a Comment
11 Sep 2010
1 Comment

Lazy Long Weekend…

I wish this is my long lazy afternoon..

I had been looking forward to this weekend, a 3-days consecutive off, because of Eid Al-Fitr. Somehow my things-to-do-list has already been clearly written in my mind days in advance.     

And here I am on the second day of Eid holiday, struggling to complete one sentence and not making any progress in my writing projects.   

I fret for each minute that passes because I know I could have written and finished at least one of my writing assigments. Unfortunately, it seems my mind is stubborn and uncooperative.. I find it difficult to write.   

As a result, I have been wasting my time since morning watching documentary movies and surfing the net.   

Sigh.. I really cannot afford to continue doing like this today and tomorrow. After this Eid break, I will be busy again and for sure I will not have an ample time to write again.   

I must be productive during this long weekend. I have to..

Posted by Frugal Xpat in Extra Income, Life in Abu Dhabi, Public Holidays
04 Sep 2010
7 Comments

Online Extra Income

There is no such as job security nowadays here. As much as the management wants to keep their staff, the business is just really bad that the only way to survive is to let go some employees

This is the reason that I am always on a look out to find means to augment my income. So, I was very excited when I learned another online job opportunity here.

For me, it is really important to have diverse source of income streams because companies now cannot guarantee any job security.  Sad reality but true..

Posted by Frugal Xpat in Extra Income
02 Sep 2010

Part Time Writing Jobs

I always dream of pursuing a writing career unfortunately I am not in the liberty to give up my current daytime job, my bread & butter, because of financial commitments.

So, I pursue my dream career as a part time. Honestly, it is not easy to juggle a demanding daytime job and meeting the deadlines of my writing projects but still I cannot simply give up my ultimate dream career.

I do not allow my present predicament to deter my commitment to be a fulltime writer.  

Right now, I am happy earning from my part time writing jobs in which a big portion of it goes to sending off a friend of mine to college. Lately, I found a good source of writing jobs here that offer lucrative pay. I hope that it will continue as it greatly contributes to my extra income.

Posted by Frugal Xpat in Extra Income, freelance writing | Leave a Comment
27 Dec 2009
10 Comments

Culminating 2009 with a Smile

Have you tried ‘Googling’ your name? I do sometimes and I found out two things today. (Sorry to be out of the subject matter as I can’t resist to blog about this incident…)

First, I was surprised to see the article, which I submitted earlier this year, was published. In fact, I had no clue at all that it was accepted and published. It is entitled ‘Catching Up With the Relics of Bygone Eras‘ for Valley Scene Magazine.

Secondly, I found out that my article ‘Bangkok Sightseeing Vacation – Frugal Tips‘ in EzineArticles was used by another blogger without proper credits. I felt my copyrights were violated because the blogger didn’t include at all the author’s name and resource box. The EzineArticles allows anyone to publish and to reprint articles however there are terms and conditions that you need to abide.

Anyway, I hope the blogger will realize that it is unethical to use the articles without the author’s proper credits.

As for the recap of my writing pursuit in 2009, I would say that it has been very prolific year in terms of honing my skills and learning the ropes of freelance business. 2009 was a challenging but profitable year for me and my sacrifices really paid off.

This is the reason that I am culminating year 2009 with a smile and a deep sense of accomplishment.

I am excited to welcome 2010 and I hope to land more lucrative projects next year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Posted by cyramilesvaldez in Extra Income, freelance writing and tagged ,
05 Dec 2009
21 Comments

Supplementing My Income through Freelance Writing

Photo Credit: www.persistenceunlimited.com

I am always busy to the extent that I limit to a certain time I spend chatting with my Mum. Honestly, I sometimes feel guilty about it because she waits everyday so we can chat together. I know she understands it.

On weekends I sleep late and spend more of my time working in the laptop. This is the only time that I can really wrap up things to meet my project deadlines. The weekdays are generally spent in my full time job and sometimes I still work at home after office though this greatly depends on my day’s workload at the office. If I am really exhausted, I simply spend an hour of research and cope with the writing workloads in wee hours of the morning. It means I get up between 3am to 4am though I always try to be up by three o’clock

I am oftentimes confronted by friends for such abnormal routine and lifestyle. Fortunately, I love every minute I spend in my freelance writing gigs even it means shorter period of sleep. I have never been so passionate and dedicated in life except for my writing.

Beating the deadlines is always a BIG challenge especially if you have a fulltime job.

Anyway, I am happy to have extra income by doing the thing I love most. The fact that I am able to give a full financial support to a college student out from my writing gigs makes it more rewarding.
There is an ocean of available jobs for freelance writers. With such options, the only constraint is the time to allot for writing. I am currently working as freelance writer in one of the local company based in Philippines. There are two things I like writing for this company. There is always constant flow of assignments, in fact there is no shortage at all, and lastly their online system. We have a cyber office (really cool!) where we can interact with my virtual colleagues and bosses. They also have very effective payment method. I am earning while honing my writing skills. If you are interested, let me know (but this opportunity applies for Filipinos only!).

I prefer my other projects to remain private.. Sorry folks, I can’t blog about it!

Posted by cyramilesvaldez in Extra Income and tagged , ,
16 Oct 2009
35 Comments

Surviving the Tough Economy: Extra Source of Income

Money..MoneyWith the rising cost of living and the shrinking value of our salary, it is just apt to start living frugally at the same time scouring opportunities for extra source of income.

My pursuit for extra income was a heaven sent, a referral from a friend. Luckily, it is a part time job that I love to do.

It is a local company that hires part time mystery shoppers. Wish it is a real shopping activity. LOL! Service oriented companies such as banks, mobile shops, restaurants, hotels and occasional government sectors hire consultants to gauge their employee’s level of service and product knowledge.

So you go to the your assigned shop or office, pretend to be a potential customer, ask the staff with series of questions and once your mystery shopping is completed, fill up the report and that’s it! You will be paid afterwards.

In my case I started in July and so far, I completed 5 assignments. There was a bit constraint of the timings in my part. Most of the available assignments have the regular office working hours which is similar to mine. Basically, I can hit only shops in the mall because it is open after my work or banks because it is open on Saturdays.

It is an interesting job but deep inside I felt somehow bad for fooling the staff in front of me. You give them hard time by asking tough thorough questions, trying to extract as much information and in return, they do (most of them) their best to please you as a customer.

Anyway, the payment is not much really though it is not bad too rather than wasting your time.

I personally admire the level of professionalism of this mystery shopper company. They are prompt in replying to your queries and in rating your reports. The specifications for each mystery shopping job are very clear and specific. You will need a sharp memory though because there is detailed information that you need to remember while mystery shopping and this info will be asked in the report.

Also, it is an internet based job. Once you become a member, you will be given log-in details and you can check available assignments and complete the reports online.

The company has very limited time frame though you can choose according to the options given in the site. Some assignments need to be complied within the next two days while others will give you 3-5 days.

If you are a neophyte, you are allowed to take one assignment only then after that, you can take more.

It is an ideal part time job but here is the hitch! The payment process takes time. You can only request for payment a month after the completion of your assignment and the company process the payment every first week of the month only.

So, it will likely take 45-60 days before you receive your payment.

If you are interested to be a part time mystery shopper, PM me and I’ll send you the details!

Cheers!

Posted by cyramilesvaldez in Extra Income, Finances and tagged , ,

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