Financial problems popped up, I'm in trouble!

[WingingIt]

You've gotten tons of great advice and I'll try not to repeat any of it and just add new things.

You said Walmart is firing higher ups and hiring lower level - apply for a part time job. Our WM will work with you on your hours if they know you have another job. In fact, two of our door greeters here both have other jobs - one works at the county jail 3 nights a week and one does a newspaper route in the mornings.

To save money on food have vegetarian meals more - rice and beans are cheap, filling and have plenty of protein. Pancakes (and eggs

) are easy and cheap. Buy powdered milk and use that to do your cooking with. It's cheaper than regular milk and you can't tell once it's in a recipe and cooked that it was powered to start with.

Run an add on CL that you'll come do kids party pictures and provide all the pictures on a CD for $XXXX. You get some money and more experience and they have the hassle of printing the pictures out.

Sell anything you have and do not 100% need. Summer play equipment, Wii or Nintendo, riding lawnmower - those are nice things to have but you can do without them and make do with a cheaper push mower, etc.

Dollar stores are great places to buy cheap cleaning supplies and if you have a true "dollar' store you can even buy fresh produce there for $1.

Good luck.

 

[WriterofWords]

It really is hard right now no matter how hard you work on it. You've gotten great suggestions and I think one of the best ones is find a new job or a second job. Go apply for the food stamps, tell them you were recieving in your other state, they will take care of getting them stopped there and started where you are now.

 

[DuckyBoys]

Try a work at home job here:
http://www.onpointathome.com/advocacy/index.html

$12 hour at least 25 hours a week and you can work up to 40 if you want. Must be able to write well.

They are a legit WAH business no selling.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Quote:
Working from home is something I have been trying to do for awhile, and I liked the sound of this one, finally something legit! Except
I don't qualify because I have satellite internet.

They haven't gotten out here to the cornfields with the digital internet yet. And they probably won't for a few years yet. *Sigh* It was worth a try though.

 

[Big C]

Just to add to all the very good advise above if I could.

When we were younger we went thru the same as you are now. Lost jobs, lost our home, etc... as was in the early 80's. After all was said and done all we had was our family.

Which is what we relied on and got us thru the bad times. Now we still have our bad times (just another one recently) but we are in a much better position now. Learned a lot from when we used to work for others than ourselves.

We started our own business. Not to big just enough so that we would never have to work for anyone else ever again. It's completely different. Everything for your survival is up to you. Instead of working your butt off for someone else, you work your dawg azz off for your self.
It's much more satisfying and then there are the benefits of tax deductions (which you should look inot if you have to purchase equipement for your current job).

We have been blessed by making this decision years ago. It's a lot of hard work but its for you and not FOR someone else. We have been bless since our 80's debacle to have put 4 kids thru college. 1 is a mother who started her own business with one child, another is a mother with a part time job with one child, another is a nurse with 2 children the last is a part owner in his company and still in college at The University of Texas (we pay for his college).

In short in this time of economic uncertanty the only one you can rely on is your self. Work for cash since now cash is king. Will save you money.

One good thing about the current economic situation is that it should bring out the entreprenurial spirit in those who choose to do so. It's happened in every economic downturn before in America and has made us a better people.

 

[Schultz]

PM me tomorrow, right now I have to go to bed. I have read your story and I can tell you thet I have been there and done that. I have a lot of advice for you but I have to get DH up at 4am for work so it's way past my bedtime!

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Quote:
I will as soon as I get home from work tomorrow.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Quote:
Starting my own business is something I've considered too. Out of curiosity, what kind of business did you start? I've tried selling stuff, and other than photography, I really stink at selling. I've tried Avon, Melaleuca (stuff is wonderful but sooooooo expensive, and you have to buy a certain point amount each month in order to keep "selling" for the company

), and now we are with SMC, but I don't have the money to buy the stuff I need to sell. I did find something on craigslist tonight, someone is looking for a writer of short stories. I write some short stories as well as other stuff (wrote two children's books already), but haven't been published. I will look further into it tomorrow when I get home from work. Tonight I am going to bed cause I have a full day at work tomorrow. I tell you, I am so tired of this economy, and the fact that employers think nothing of taking advantage of their workers because they know there really isn't anywhere else for them to go. So many of my own customers are out of work it's sad. I'd really like to find something extra I can do from home, or find a way to start my own business. I like the idea that people suggested about offering my photography skills to others. Only problem is I dropped the camera the other day and jammed the lens. It was an accident. I was bumped by a big chicken and my right hand is already weak, and it fell, lens down. I am thinking that when my finances get a little more straightened out, I will look into getting a new, better one, on layaway. So that thought is not out, it's just on hold.

 

[HobokenChickenEmergency]

FYI--Google "dropshippers". You'll find a bunch that don't require you to buy things to sell. SMC is kind of a rip-off that way, because you're doing all the selling, AND you're paying them for the privilege.

Been there, done that.