(ThyBlackMan.com) It can be hard enough these days to earn a living. Between the rising cost of a college education, the state of the economy making jobs scarce, and wages not going as far as they once did, finding a job is no guarantee, and it may not be enough to support you even if you find one. While finding and maintaining a job are hard enough, it becomes even harder when you don’t have a vehicle.
Whether you don’t have a car because you can’t afford it, it was taken away due to intoxicated driving, or you were in an accident and experienced a total loss of vehicle – it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that there are ways to earn a living, even if you don’t have a car at the moment.
Use Public Transit
Your first option, if it is available in your area, is to utilize public transportation. Grab yourself a bus, train, or subway ticket, and see where the local routes are. You may have to do some walking, and modifying of your schedule, but it will get the job done. If you plan on using these methods for a long period of time, most areas offer discounts, so take advantage of these. If you live in an area where public transit is not an option, or if it does not run near your work location, you’ll have to look into other options.
Carpooling
Like public transit, but on a much smaller scale, is sharing a ride with someone. If a coworker lives nearby, they may be willing to give you a ride to work until you are able to afford your own transportation. They will also be more likely to do this if you are willing to chip in on gas, so consider doing this. The person you carpool with does not even have to work in the same place as you, just somewhere nearby. You may feel like a burden asking someone else for a ride all of the time, but if you need to get to work, that person will understand.
Earn A Living From Home
Let’s say you’ve explored all of your options, and there is simply no way for you to work outside the home because you don’t have a way to get there. In this instance, you should look at opportunities that allow you to work from home. If the company you currently work for will allow you to do this, then you’re all set. For the rest of us, you’ll need to find something new.
Many people earn a living from home doing things like web design, writing, accounting, data entry, and sales. What you end up doing will depend on your skill set, and the equipment you have available to you at home (such as a computer). For more information on work from home opportunities, you can check out this guide.
Cut Costs
Finally, if you can’t find a way to increase your income while you’re without a car, then you need to find a way to decrease expenses. This will have the same net effect, and hopefully help you to get back to driving your own car sooner rather than later. To cut costs, you’ll need to examine your monthly budget, and see where some fat can be trimmed. You’ll likely need to make some sacrifices, but it will be worth it in the end. Look at things like your food and entertainment budget, and see where you can scale back. You can also do things like host a garage sale if you just need a quick influx of cash. Count up how much you are saving each month, and put that money towards getting a new car, or paying for your public transit.
Don’t Let A Car Stop You From Working
Just because you don’t have a car at the moment, doesn’t mean you can’t make some money. Your opportunities may be a little limited, and you may have to put in some extra hours if you are using other modes of transportation, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Explore what your options are, consider what work you would like to do, and chances are you’ll find that there are ways to do it, and to earn a living, despite not having a car.
Staff Writer; Charles Brown