Out of money, low on options, and running out of time before the first
By sharone74
@sharone74 (4837)
United States
August 27, 2009 1:44pm CST
The economy has been in a slump for a while now, my boyfriend and I were concerned when it first started that we both working in sevice industries and would barely be able to hang in there if God was kind and we were creative. We also hoped that the economy would bounce back a lot faster than it is. Now here we are, neither of us has any work, he hangs walpaper and does leather work in adition to being an artist. I am a webmaster, website builder, and until the economy tanked and I failed a class a student. I have other skills, but where we live there are 100 applicants for every 10 jobs. We also have a large elderly community, many of whom took early retirement thinking that their sound investments would see them through the rest of their lives, then the economy went south and the stock market went with it so a lot of highly skilled highly qualified early retirers have thrown their hat back into the job market ring, making jobs even more scarce than before.
We even had the added benefit of some money that my bf inheritied with his mom coming in just when we needed it to, about 8 months ago. Now that money is exhausted, we have exhausted most of our resources, he's not making any money and has no work in the foreseeable future and I am just barely eaking out spending money from day to day, a little money for groceries and a couple of bills, and I don't have the money to pay off my school and complete the last 2 credits for my degree. I don't know what to do and I am scared. Is anyone else in the same situation or have you recently been in the same situation. Do you know of an online solution or something where I can make some good solid money fast without having to spend a bunch of money in an MLM or downlineing program? It is already clear that unless some major unexpected windfall hits us we will at the least be late with our rent and worst case scenario, we may be out on our a s s e s next month with nowhere to go and still few prospects.
2 people like this
5 responses
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
28 Aug 09
I'm sorry about your situation. There's unfortunately nothing much that you can do for lots of cash, unless you write lots of reviews for blogs and etc. But that would also take some time. I don't have that a big a solution, unless you take on writing jobs. That would also mean time. How about doing creating lots of blogs under a niche? Or you could try applying for those review sites like I've mentioned; I think PayPerPost and another one I can't remember..
@kb5000 (110)
• United States
28 Aug 09
she should try to invest online like etrade or put some money in a mutual fund. those are always good. also if you are into websites, flippa.com is a good website to buy website business. i am a webmaster, that is all i do to make money online. well, investing of course!
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
27 Aug 09
If you are any good at writing, you could try writing for Associated Content. You just write articles on whatever you want, or even calls for content and those are posted and you can be paid upfront through paypal for the articles and you can get paid for page views. I've been there for several years and I've always gotten paid. It's not a lot of money, you won't get rich but it helps.
If you have old books around your house you could try selling those books on Amazon. I've sold a lot of books on Amazon the past year and it's really helped me make quite a bit of money. It's helped me clear my shelves of clutter and make money in the process.
If you're a crafter you can sell items on Etsy. You probably could sell your web design services on there.
Also, you shouldn't be willing to ignore the market in your area. There has to be someone in the area that needs some kind of service that you can provide. Look around, what do people use and need? Work to make your services fit the people in your area.
@sharone74 (4837)
• United States
28 Aug 09
Thank you for the suggestion. I have b een writing for Associated Content for almost 2 years and I have been paid more than 40 times by them for my articles. In fact I submitted one today and am working on another one right now. You're right, it isn't a lot of money but it helps. With the money I made from Associated Content I bought 3 .info domains yesterday from Go Daddy who is having a domain sale right now on .info domains. Thank you for your reply to my discussion and have a great day.
@Bluepatch (2476)
• Trinidad And Tobago
28 Aug 09
Cook peanuts and sell them to bars.
Make lunches and go around selling them.
Get a car and transport people around.
Sell your paintings in England via courier where you'll get English pounds.
Open a small bar by buying drinks by the bottle till you sell it.
Babysitting.
Write a book ( long term plan, that would be )
Try photography. Take pictures and sell them or buy a developer and develop rolls of film for people.
Make bottles of jam or punch and sell them.
Do housesitting. When people go away look after their property.
Clean up private lots in the cemetary. I had a friend who did that.
Drink soup. Live on bread and something. And pray. God does help people provided you follow His rules.
I know. I've been unemployed more times than you.
@maezee (41985)
• United States
28 Aug 09
Wow, that must be a truly scary experience to go through. I haven't ever had to cut corners quite that much, although I recently had to wait until my next paycheck to go to the doctors for an ear infection (because my health insurance sucks! And it costed $75 just for a check-up and then another $30 for the medication), and waiting that long quite possibly put a hole in my ear drum (AKA an even more expensive medical issue!!). I know this probably has little to nothing to do with your own financial stresses..But I thought I would share mine.
You could bust your butt doing surveys on sites like Treasure Trooper, Opinion Outpost, Lightspeed Consumer Panel, Survey Savvy, etc - although this can sometimes be VERY time consuming and not very helpful (but it depends on how many surveys you qualify for and complete). You could most likely make an extra $20-$50 a month on Treasure Trooper just doing the daily surveys. That doesn't seem like that much, but it would probably take care of at least half of a bill you're in need of paying.
You could donate plasma, or eggs. I know that's kind of crazy sounding, but desperate times call for desperate measures, right? Usually your local blood bank will pay you like $30 (or more, I'm not sure - I've never done it!) for each pint of blood. And if you and your boyfriend did it once or twice a month..That could add up. Obviously it's not for people who are deathly afraid of needles (like me!!). Otherwise sometimes universities are conducting PAID studies that you could look into and participate. They usually compensate well, so I hear.
Something I've been doing also has been selling clothes at local consignment shops. I recently went through my closet - and more than half of my clothes are brand names that consignment shops like, and I've made about $40 so far on that in the past month. It might not seem like a huge amount, but better that than nothing. Plus - they were clothes I didn't really wear anyway. So if you have consignment shops nearby, you could try selling some of the clothes you don't wear to get a little extra cash. Likewise, used book stores usually buy books & dvds, and you could put some other things you may have laying around the house (that you don't use anymore) on Craigslist to see if anyone would like to buy it. It's worth a shot, anyway, right?
Those are the only suggestions I have. And none of them are "get-rich-quick" schemes and whatnot and even in combination, would probably only put a dent in your rent. But hey - I figured I would share what has helped me in the past. Good luck with your situation - I'm sure you will figure something out.
@bird123 (10658)
• United States
28 Aug 09
Making money Hmmm???? How about a pawn shop? Maybe sell something on ebay. Check out the local scrap yard. They pay for metals of all kind. Pick up aluminum cans. How about babysitting? School is starting back, fast food places always need help in the wintertime.How about tudoring kids in school? Sure there are lots of applicants for those jobs out there but someone will get hiredAPPLY! Get a list of the fortune 500 companies then apply at all of them. You might have to move but it could be a better place.Sometimes it's not the best person who wins but the person who tries the hardest and is the hungriest. You can't give up now!!! Even a car wash sign in from of your house ought to get something. I wish you the best!!!





