Millennials take advantage of new income opportunities

When H. Ross Perot was a paperboy, he noticed that, in between each customer, he walked by several homes that didn’t subscribe to his newspaper.

Knocking on a few doors, he soon had one of the largest routes in the circulation department by making better use of the footsteps he was already investing each day.

Flash forward a few years, and the same principle earned him a fortune — leasing out computer time that was otherwise going to waste.

That sort of creative thinking hasn’t gone by the wayside, according to a new Bankrate survey (http://bit.ly/2t3zVaK), that finds 44 million American adults claim to use their spare time — apart from a regular job — to generate more income.

And, lest baby boomers and Gen X’ers worry about the future, it’s millennials who are defying their “lazy and entitled” reputation.

The survey found millennials make a median of $200 monthly from their side jobs, and 25 percent of younger millennials make more than $500 a month.

Multi-level marketing companies are nothing new, but social media capabilities have breathed new life into them.

The same can be said for many other enterprises, from selling antiques on eBay, drop-shipping Chinese items on Amazon or tutoring online.

We know of one man who teaches English to Asians online every day, and another who assembles specialty decks of fantasy game cards for sale online.

Name a money-making opportunity, and there’s probably an app for that. There are apps for finding temporary jobs that match your special skills, and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse famously picks up extra bucks — and extra votes, he probably hopes — as an Uber driver.

Others are used to rent out RVs or spare rooms, like Airbnb, and still others earn referral fees by posting links to Amazon products or posting YouTube or Instagram photos.

Of course, every online “job” isn’t legitimate and there are plenty of offers that are actually scams or worse, so be very careful before paying any fees or giving out personal information.

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Many cell phone customers in Southwest Nebraska were without services much of Tuesday after a fiber-optic line was reportedly cut.

It was a somewhat shocking reminder of just how quickly we’ve all become dependent on our smartphones and their ability to deliver text message and information like weather and news at the press of a virtual button.

It makes one want to re-think that decision to drop a land line and consider options available should telecommunications be interrupted for an extended time.