Funny thing about having a game plan for paying down debt: the closer I get to approximating the final payoff date, the slower time seems to pass. In other words, now that my wife and I have finessed our budget and eliminated the days of "please God, I hope our paychecks clear before the check bounces", I'm finding things to be a little ... well, boring.

Since boredom breeds all sorts of bad behavior, I've been searching for ways to generate extra income to pass the time. My long term plan is to eventually head back to college to get my B.S. in accounting (I currently have a B.S. in business management). Until the consumer debt is gone and my kids are old enough to be in school, however, my education will have to wait.

For the short term, I believe this leaves me two options. First, I can get a part-time job. Since we both work full-time, that would mean I'd have to tilt the childcare balance her way. Thankfully, my wife is on board with the idea. The second option, to my knowledge, would be to create some passive income streams.

The part-time job challenge is easy to solve. With the accounting career in mind, I plan on becoming an H&R Block tax preparer beginning next year. The way I figure it, the pay isn't bad for part-time, the hours are flexible, and I don't think it would look too embarrassing to add to my resume. Training begins in the fall, and should be free (or mostly free) as long as I commit to doing some work for them.

The income stream option, on the other hand, is a bit of a mystery to me. I understand that the basic concept is to set up programs or investments that require little maintenance to operate. The most common income stream is playing the part of an affiliate, where you are compensated generating traffic. I have no experience doing any of this, however, so I'm completely open to any suggestions.