Hello and welcome to Mastering the Side Jam!

Feel free to settle in, get comfy and take a look around.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa, or a caramel swirl latte, or a nice big glass of cabernet.

My hope is that you’ll find this site to be interesting,  helpful and maybe a little entertaining.

So What’s a Side Jam?

A Side Jam is a way to make extra money on the side, whether it’s online or otherwise.

Have you ever found yourself in a financial bind, knowing a huge bill was coming up?

Or maybe you had to pay for some unexpected expense, which then left you short at the end of the month?

Yeah, me too.

In fact, this has happened so many times, I finally decided enough was enough.

I started Googling “how to make extra money on the side”, “how to make money online”, “legitimate ways to make extra cash”, things like that.

And I happened to stumble upon some personal finance blogs that focused on money-making gigs and side hustles.

 

What You’ll Find Here

Well, since I’ve been experimenting with ways to make extra money, I thought maybe other people would benefit from what I’ve learned.

How to reduce debt, increase savings, pay off student (or parent) loans, stop using & pay off credit cards, prepare for retirement, and continue to pay all of the regular bills that come in on a daily basis.

• Check out my MAKE MONEY ONLINE page – This is where you’ll find Resources & Reviews on the different ways I’ve found to make extra money on the side. You’ll find details on what I’ve tried, how much money I’ve made and what successes (or challenges) I’ve had with each one.

• The BLOG section includes stories on things I’ve encountered on my journey. Sometimes they’re about debt, or blogging, or even some family stuff. But I always try to incorporate a little bit of humor in my posts as well.

• And then there’s my DEBT JOURNEY section — which gets into all the details of my monthly debt payments, expenses, and purchases that maybe weren’t the smartest choices but seemed okay at the time. This section is more about my accountability, but feel free to pop on over if you need a chuckle. 🙂

What’s in a Name?

Mastering the Side Jam – An Experiment in Being Financially Responsible.

Full disclosure:  I have not fully mastered any of this.

The point of using that word is to show a conscious effort to learn, modify and improve my financial situation.

Nobody is perfect (no matter what you read on the internet.) There is always an amount of trial & error required to improve anyone’s situation, whether it’s financial, personal or professional.

An experiment in being financially responsible — You’ll need to excuse my dry humor (or at least get used to it.) My entire life has been based on “spend now, worry about it later”. So delving into this new mindset is quite different than what I’ve been used to.

And as for the “Side Jam” references?

I wanted this blog to convey lots of energy and life — showing ways for everyone to improvise and take chances.

In order to succeed financially, you need a fair amount of give and take — to strike a balance, lend a voice of reason and live in harmony with both wants and needs.

Instead of a hustle, it’s more of a dance.

Because let’s face it, money problems are not fun. So why not make it a fun process, pushing those worries into the past for good?

I’d rather dance my way through it, jamming to the beat of all the creative ways I can find to pay off the debt.

And once I’ve accomplished that goal, you better believe there will be one hell of a party … paid with cash, of course!

I'd rather dance my way through it, jamming to the beat of all the creative ways to pay off debt Click To Tweet

So this blog is all about my Side Jams.

Feel free to reach out with any feedback or comments.

And let me know if you have any Side Jams you’d like to share.

I’m learning as I go along, and look forward to having you join me on this journey.

Diana 🙂