Burnt

I do something similar to what Tate does. I have a budget set up so that what I earn Turking pays off a bill a week. For me, it's my electric (~$150/month), car insurance (~$60/month), and internet (~$45/month). The "extra" money we get left over from Turking is later then used to pay for something else (we've been doing a lot of little reno projects around the house - three months ago we had to completely redo our toilet for over $700 which was paid for via Turking).

If I can't afford a "bill" that week, I will swap that money to go to something else "required" (like a partial bill or something) and use the saved money elsewhere. For me, knowing there is a goal and knowing that I am basically earning free money is what helps me get through the day.

Last month, I paid for propane for our house (heating) ~$340 from Turking. When I can save the pennies and pay off something bill like that, it matters to me. Now, I don't have to worry about a huge propane bill and how to budget for it. I've been doing this for a few years, so before Turking it would be a mad rush to save up the money around Thanksgiving/Christmas...which is an awful time to try to save money.

I also schedule my Turking time, and work from certain hours a day on certain days. We treat this like a real job, and it helped me get into a groove. Before, I would do it off/on and would make barely anything (mostly because I figured I could "just do it tomorrow" and procrastinate). Now, I make sure it's my focus because...it really is like a job, paying bills, etc.

/r/mturk Thread