Saving Mom's Wallet

When I am in the field, I often get asked how I got into this business and some people even ask if it’s possible for them to get into it, too. This isn’t meant to be a definitive guide on how to succeed in the world of field inspections (and there are many different types of inspections to choose from). I have been an inspector since 2012. It hasn’t made me a millionaire, but in some of my better months working less than full-time I am able to pay my rent, car note, and groceries. I am able to set my own schedule and I don’t have to request days off when my child is sick or if I want a vacation. I figured that now would be a good time to share my own experience and possibly help someone else looking for this information. I won’t say that there’s a wealth of info out there now, but there is more than what I had when I first got started more than a decade ago. If you don’t want to read my entire spiel, then scroll to the bottom of the page for a few helpful links to help you get started....

You’ve worked hard. It took you roughly a year and a half to raise your credit score by 180 points. You only have two negative items left on your credit report, but the rest of your accounts are positive. You make sure to pay your bills on time every month, even if it is the minimum payment amount. Then, your heart skips a beat, your stomach turns, and you become nauseous. You receive a notice from your credit monitoring service alerting you to the fact that your new credit card has been posted to your credit report and your score has decreased by 160 points. Unfortunately, that’s a true story. It is my true story. None of my credit cards were maxed out. All my payments have been made on time. So, what happened? Well, to make note of the good news first, my score should go back up quickly. However, having one credit card that is still in collections hurts me because, although all my open credit is in good standing, I don’t have very much available credit since my limits are lo...

If you look through some of my older blog posts, you’ll see that my financial life hasn’t been ideal. The sporadic posts ought to be a clue to that. I’ve had success in working for myself, but when things got rough,  they got rough . It is tough when you want to go a different route from working a “regular” job. I went to college for four years but never graduated (that’s a post for another time) and with all of my experience in retail in some capacity, it hasn’t been easy trying to break into a new field. Unfortunately, retail isn’t the best-paying industry to be in, although you can work your way up the ladder. I’ve always had this desire to be independent. No risk, no reward, right? This is true, but with risk, there’s always the chance of setbacks. I’ve always kept a part-time job while I did a lot of independent work, but with Murphy’s Law, it felt like everything bad that could’ve happened, happened all within a short timeframe. My credit score dropped to 464. It was a...