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July 19, 2009
CARONDALE - It's ironic that of the two jobs Deborah Bouton works to make ends meet, one of those endeavors is specifically tailored to help people lower their cost of living by as much as 40 percent.
"You've got to think along lines of sustainability," Bouton said about doing with less and making the dollar stretch further during these current tough times.
She works 20 hours weekly at Town Square Market, which is owned by her sister, Rene Cook.
Bouton undertakes a variety of duties from running the cash register to taking inventory to tidying up the store.
Her other job is a self-run business, Environmental Harmonies, that is basically a consulting service designed to help people improve their quality of life through cost affective tips that touch upon food, fuel, health care, utilities, phone, home and finances.
Through the last year, as the economy has tumbled to new depths, Bouton has seen an increase in her consulting business. People who request her services and are strapped for cash are allowed to barter.
"People in Southern Illinois are willing to do bartering. In the last two months, my business has changed," she said, noting she will expand her consulting services by teaching a class at John A. Logan College this fall with a green living theme.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 5 percent of the U.S. workforce works more than one job. And it's likely higher than that, said Nick Theodore who teaches urban economic development at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In an interview with American Public Media, which produces and distributes public radio programming, Theodore said many people get paid off the books, on the side, picking up other jobs, odd jobs and other types of work that aren't recorded.
"The pressures that households are facing are not confined just to the working poor," Theodore said in his interview, noting most second-job holders are doing so out of necessity, which has been more and more the last eight to 10 years.
Closer to home, Kathy Dollins, who heads Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs at Man-Tra-Con job training services in Marion, said that in her visits with career specialists she hears more and more people getting second jobs, even those people studying and training for medically related services such as nursing, radiology and occupational therapy.
Bouton said she is not so sure getting a second job is the answer for these tough economic times. She emphasizes raising a level of awareness in doing a makeover of the home and business. There are many ways to cut down costs by analyzing purchasing, life style and usage.
For example, if people use compact fluorescent bulbs for their home lighting, they will save a few dollars per month in their electricity bills.
"People will say, 'It's not that much.' But if you take all of those 'It's not that much,' and add them up, it's a lot," Bouton said.
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