The vast majority of American wage and salary workers today fall into the middle class. That means an annual income of somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000-before deductions for social security, federal and state (and sometimes city) income tax, Medicare, health insurance (if you’re lucky enough to be offered it), and a 401K plan. The federal minimum wage is still stuck at an amazingly low $5.15 per hour, providing half a million minimum-wage workers with less than $12,000 a year.

One Way Out
Given these figures, it is not difficult to see why one in 17 Americans, or about 7.5 million, work two or more jobs. It’s called “moonlighting.” Sounds romantic, doesn’t it?

Minimum-wage earners moonlight just so they can pay the rent and put food on the table. Middle-income workers cite different reasons, such as

• to attain a higher standard of living

• to pay off debt

• to save for a home

• to save for the future-their children’s education, their own retirement

Some moonlighters’ extra jobs are part-time, but others work two full-time jobs, or three part-time jobs or some other combination. Obviously, it can be pretty stressful. Moonlighters don’t see their families much, because they average 75 hours a week at work. It’s an especially sad situation for single parents.

More Disturbing Statistics
According to an August, 2006, report on CNN Money.com, “…most workers have not seen wage gains keep pace with inflation during the current economic expansion.” And the New York Times reported that while the median hourly wage for American workers has declined 2% since 2003, while prices have increased 4%. Prescription drug costs alone have soared out of control: Americans pay the highest prices in the world. Although corporate profits keep climbing, their employees’ shares of those profits-in the form of increased wages-is declining.

Meanwhile, the median price of a home in the US is $208,000, shutting out the possibility of homeownership for millions of hardworking people. That leaves rentals, and they too are going up in price. Added to the woes of the middle class is the tendency to rely more and more on credit, driving many into depths of debt that seem inescapable.

If you’re a average-income worker still hoping to move up in your company, you may want to keep in mind that in the past ten years, there have been 9.7 million job cuts. You know all about it-downsizing, outsourcing, not replacing people who leave and expecting the ones left to pick up the slack. Most of the time, you’ll have no clue that a layoff is about to happen. There’s always unemployment-but in most states it replaces only about half of your lost income, and to make matters worse, you’ll have to pay income tax on it come April 15th.

A Better Way
Spending 75 hours a week watching the minutes creep by on a clock at work isn’t appealing to anyone. But what if you could work in the comfort of your own home? Picture this: You have dinner with your family, and then, while everyone is watching TV or doing their homework, you’re close by on your laptop-making the extra money you need. You can even take your job with you when you travel.

While this may sound “too good to be true,” the Internet has made it possible for millions of people to supplement their incomes and beat the economy at its own game. You may need to put in as little as five hours a week to replace the income you’d make from a grueling 35 hours of moonlighting time at some dead-end second job. And you can put those hours in when and where you want to and deduct many of your expenses on your income tax return. You may become so successful at your “second” job that you’ll be able to ditch the first one and work at home full time.

Before you even think about taking a second job away from home, consider the advantages of being your own boss…of being able to go to bed at a reasonable hour…of not having to deal with yet another boss and set of corporate rules.

Do it for yourself.
A home-based business could change your life. It costs nothing to explore the possibility. Just fill in the form on the main page for free information.

Throughout history, wise men and women have commented on money. Which one do you agree with?

“Money alone sets the world in motion.” Publius Syrus, 42 BC

• “Remember that time is money.” Benjamin Franklin, 1748

• “How pleasant it is to have money!” Arthur Hugh Clough, early 19th century writer

“Money is the root of all evil” is perhaps the most famous adage. Unfortunately, it’s a misquote. The actual words come from Timothy 6:10: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” If you think about those two added words, the original meaning changes. In fact, 8 verses later in Timothy, the rich are encouraged to use their wealth “that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute.”

I can’t help but think of all the good works and “readiness to distribute” exemplified by people like Bill and Melinda Gates, who in 2004 gave $3 billion to their foundation, and there are Oprah’s numerous charities, like her Angel Network. There are the Rockefellers, who have been giving money to charity for decades, and Ted Turner, who seems more obsessed with giving money away than making it and says philanthropy is “better than sex.” In 2005, Slate.com’s list of 60 most generous donors totaled $4.3 billion-with the smallest donations at $20 million and the largest at over $400 million.

Who benefits from all this philanthropy? All kinds of people and places and programs. McDonald’s heiress Joan Kroc earmarked her donation to the Salvation Army for construction of more centers where the indigent could find food and a place to sleep. The Gates Foundation is organized around fighting killer diseases around the world. Many benefactors give money to universities for scholarships and to fund research that benefits countless people. Others give to environmental and animal welfare organizations.

Of course, the average person is no slouch when it comes to giving, either. Donations to the Red Cross flood in whenever there is a disaster: 9/11, the tsunami in Indonesia and Hurricane Katrina are just a few examples of when ordinary people showed their generosity. The average American gives a little over $400 a year to various charities, and that doesn’t count money given to religious organizations or the value of personal property they donate.

Of course, there are plenty of immensely wealthy people who are complete misers. They won’t give anyone a dime. You’ve probably seen Dickens’s A Christmas Carol a dozen times. Scrooge woke up just in time, but there are plenty of Scrooges out there who never will. Loving money just for the sake of being rich, and refusing to share your wealth with others, that may indeed be a teensy bit on the evil side.

I’m reminded of a boss I once had. Born into a wealthy family, he was a multi-millionaire at 26. My desk was right outside his office, and I have to admit I eavesdropped on his phone conversations. It wasn’t hard to do when he’d call up a friend and shout heartily into the phone “Hey Mark! Let’s go to Switzerland this weekend for some skiing!” I asked him once what it felt like to be rich. He explained it like this:

“The only thing having money does is free you from worrying about money.”

The only thing? I was struggling to make ends meet at the time, and freedom from worrying about money seemed like it would be the most wonderful thing in the world. It wasn’t that I wanted to go out on a shopping rampage. I just wanted to be able to pay the rent and eat something other than spaghetti for dinner. Of course, being without money was something he’d never experienced.

But let’s get back to our quotes. I like them all. Having money is indeed pleasant. Not having it is decidedly unpleasant, especially when the bills roll in. And, to rephrase Publius Syrus, money does make the world go ’round. My favorite of the three quotes is Ben Franklin’s, though: Remember, time is money.

You exchange the 8 or 10 hours a day you spend at work for money. The time doesn’t belong to you; it belongs to your boss. The company decided how much money your time was worth when you were hired. It may be a lot; it may be insultingly small. Either way, what would it feel like to control both your time and your money? If you work 2,000 hours a year (fifty 40-hour weeks) at $18 an hour, your gross income is $36,000. Suppose you could average twice that hourly wage. You could either get 1,000 hours of your time back, or you could still work 2,000 hours and make $72,000!

What if you didn’t have to spend an hour or two commuting every work day? That’s 500 hours a year in traffic, burning up gas and feeling frustrated. If you spent that 500 hours at home, averaging $36 an hour, you could add another $18,000 to your income. Now you’d be at $90,000!

Of course, this is just an illustration of how true Benjamin Franklin’s quote is. He understood that a person should be able to decide what their own time is worth. It also illustrates the wisdom of considering a home-based business where you are in control of time and you decide how much it’s worth.

Interested in finding out more about the home-based business that is allowing me to have both financial freedom AND the freedom of TIME? Just fill out the form on the main page to receive free information.