Will work for money!

[SamIam]

OK, I'm really strapped for cash and right now all I have is my SSDI and the part time motel job (14 pathetic hours/week). My monthly income is so small that if I put it all in cash, I could easily stick it all up a rat's ass.

I have been to Colorado Voc Rehab, tried to get on the Ticket to Work Program, etc.,etc. Everyone is understaffed due to state budget cuts and it's next to impossible to get help from them.

So here's some of my thoughts:

1) Sign up to deliver phone books in Durango in June - temp fix - that job lasts about a week.

2) Put up notices on bulletin boards and the paper that I am available as a sort of Jill of all trades: I can care for people's gardens, pet sit, clean houses, prepare meals for the elderly, even tutor kids 1st grade through 8th to help them get their study skills up over the summer, since I have a college degree and have worked with school-age children before.

3) Take a seasonal job as a gardener or whatever up in wealthy Telluride. The average pay for seasonal work there is $13.00/hr and they give a bonus if you last out the season. They even provide a shuttle for workers who live in Cortez. But this is a temp fix, also. Gardening jobs will vanish in September, and it may adversely impact my SSDI which I would need to get through the winter.

4) Begging. Stand on a busy street corner with a sign which reads "NEED WORK BAD!" I doubt if that would get me a job, but I suppose people would give me spare change. Unfortunately/fortunately, I'd be far to embarrassed to do this.

Any other brain storming ideas?

Help!

[lookout123]

For the last 2 months I've made kept some cash flowing in by buying and selling things from backpage and craigslist. For instance this week I spotted someone selling 2 handguns for a price lower than what I knew they'd normally go for. I bought them, cleaned them, packaged them with some ammo and sold them for a roughly 10% profit.

Obviously that doesn't always work or I would be looking for a real job, but the opportunity is there.

The same concept works using the Freesource network. People list things they want you to come take. It is free but you have to go get it. If you put in the work you can find some things others would find valuable and turn a small profit. Last month I picked up a kid's bedroom set, cleaned it, took it to the consignment store and now I have a couple hundred dollars more than I started with.

[Undertoad]

After about 1-2 hours of online training, you can be a ChaCha guide.

Chacha: people TXT any question to 242242, and within about 5 minutes, get a TXT answer back from a real human being who has researched it on the web.

As a paid guide, you can be one of the many human beings, answering questions. It's a legitimate job, not some sort of scam. These folks have worked out a whole structure for trained guides to answer questions for money.

I did it for a while, and I did manage to accumulate better than minimum wage, especially during high-volume periods late at night. You have to be an ace googler and fast typist or at least copy-pasteist. Takes a while to get used to the whole thing, and to learn the various Chacha rules. But it's one way to make extra money in the off-hours, with just a browser and a good internet connection.

[HungLikeJesus]

I have a friend who's been having some luck gold panning. I imagine there are a lot of streams and creeks near you, and now that you have a truck and some camping gear you could make a weekend of it.

[Undertoad]

If you know a small business that needs a website, you can make a sales commission selling it to them, and taking the pictures for it.

[monster]

Originally Posted by lookout123

For the last 2 months I've made kept some cash flowing in by buying and selling things from backpage and craigslist..

I do this with hockey gear and skates -actually, haven't sold for a while now, but need to do that. charity resale shops here are very good for underpriced bargains.

Have you looked for jobs on craigslist?

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by monster

I do this with hockey gear and skates -actually, haven't sold for a while now, but need to do that. charity resale shops here are very good for underpriced bargains.

Have you looked for jobs on craigslist?

I think they're kind of expensive and Mrs L might get mad if I got one.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

After about 1-2 hours of online training, you can be a ChaCha guide.

Chacha: people TXT any question to 242242, and within about 5 minutes, get a TXT answer back from a real human being who has researched it on the web.

As a paid guide, you can be one of the many human beings, answering questions. It's a legitimate job, not some sort of scam. These folks have worked out a whole structure for trained guides to answer questions for money.

I did it for a while, and I did manage to accumulate better than minimum wage, especially during high-volume periods late at night. You have to be an ace googler and fast typist or at least copy-pasteist. Takes a while to get used to the whole thing, and to learn the various Chacha rules. But it's one way to make extra money in the off-hours, with just a browser and a good internet connection.

I saw that advertised on Craigslist recently and assumed it was a scam

[monster]

Originally Posted by lookout123

I think they're kind of expensive and Mrs L might get mad if I got one.

you've lost me. But I have a nosebleed right now so my mind's not wholly on it. Got one what?

[lookout123]

Hookers advertise their services on Craigslist. I'm well aware that isn't the kind of "job" you were talking about though, just being dumb.

I've looked at craigslist for jobs and picked up a couple weeks' work roofing.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by SamIam

OK, I'm really strapped for cash and right now all I have is my SSDI and the part time motel job (14 pathetic hours/week). My monthly income is so small that if I put it all in cash, I could easily stick it all up a rat's ass.
...
Any other brain storming ideas?

Get it in coins, so you won't be tempted to do that anymore.

[Big Sarge]

I used to make good money selling on Ebay. You could pick up some Native American items and sell those. Always good money trading in those

[Undertoad]

Chacha gets advertised on Craigslist because they give people a decent referral bonus for every guide they sign up. Craigslist posters can't say it's Chacha in their posts, or people will go directly to Chacha and bypass them.

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

After about 1-2 hours of online training, you can be a ChaCha guide.

Chacha: people TXT any question to 242242, and within about 5 minutes, get a TXT answer back from a real human being who has researched it on the web.

As a paid guide, you can be one of the many human beings, answering questions. It's a legitimate job, not some sort of scam. These folks have worked out a whole structure for trained guides to answer questions for money.

I did it for a while, and I did manage to accumulate better than minimum wage, especially during high-volume periods late at night. You have to be an ace googler and fast typist or at least copy-pasteist. Takes a while to get used to the whole thing, and to learn the various Chacha rules. But it's one way to make extra money in the off-hours, with just a browser and a good internet connection.

Thanks, UT! I looked at the site, and it could just possibly work for me. My friends tell me I'm a great Internet researcher, plus I'm a night owl available for any extra night work. My typing isn't great, but I do nice cuts and pastes if I do say so myself.

I wonder about my Internet connection after what my computer did to the Cellar.

Anyhow, I'll sign up and let you know how it goes!

To Lookout et al - I simply don't have the money - literally - to invest in objects to re-sell. I lack the eye, too. Probably I could do it with books, but no one here has any books to speak of and the online outfits seem very well aware of the value of their volumes.

To HLJ, people pan for gold around here, too; but I've never heard of anyone finding much. Maybe there's more in your part of Colorado.

Thanks to all for your replies!

[monster]

Let me know how the chacha thing goes, SIA