Posted on 10/13/2013 1:07:30 AM PDT by lee martell
I'd like to supplement my income by using the internet. I have gone to certain websites to read up or inquire about certain ways to produce income, but most the time, I am overwhelmed by the myriad of choices. There are some work at home sites where the numbers and combinations of choices are literally inexhaustible.
I like to read (and occasionally write) about social issues, some science, some psychology, religion, international commerce as with the EU, particular types of music and visual arts. I have also produced much creative writing. The subjects I just listed may be interesting to me, but likely too specialized to produce any regular flow of work until I establish some sort of brand. To profit from something I have originated, from what could be known as my own Brand or style, could be years in the making, and then only after I have settled on a technique of communication to strengthen and refine. That sounds too much like the life of an artiste, which is notoriously iffy, not what I realistically expect to profit from or even find right away.
I would settle for the boring data entry type online job if I could find a website or a small bunch of website that were known to outsource work to semi-professionals with unremarkable (but adequate) typing skills. I don't have Photoshop experience. I know I need it. I've tried taking computer classes before at evening classes for adults. I usually get so bored I can't stand being in the class for another nanosecond. I wait for the next coffee break, go straight to my car and drive off the school parking lot. I drive off, happy that as an adult, I can go if I damn well want to go. Still I do need to update my skills. My math needs sharpening as well. I like studying science, languages, food matters, behavior modification matters as well. These topics come into play during my work as a mental health caregiver. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Hopefully, I won't be sent to a website with bucket loads of free spam and cookies for all. I'm sure there's money to be safely made for most any type of person, even me. What has worked for some of you?
You can put it up for auction, with only minimal bids accepted.
Thank you for your kind advice.
I’ve been selling on eBay about 2 years. Sales are inconsistent and I am about ready to go to specialty shops to sell my creations, something I was doing 20-years ago.
I am an artist and create handpainted needlepoint canvasses with original designs. They ususally sell better in specialty needlepoint shops anyway.
I was getting by selling about $450 per month until the bottom fell out about three months ago. When you’re only pulling in $70 per month, EBT cards become ‘de riguer’. My nephew lives with me and he had a job until last week; he has been laid off for the third time this year. Unemployment in my area of the country is 25%.
The heavy stuff, like furniture, I’ve been able to move on either eBay or Craigslist. Dooney & Bourke handbags and, to a lesser extent, jewelry, has been selling on eBay. Right now I have a gently used D&B French-style wallet in bone AWL and British tan leather for sale — $0.99! No one has even been tempted. When I have a vintage item that is basically new without tags, I sell it at a premium and endure the catcalls and email messages telling me I know nothing.
I’m readying toys and Christmas ornaments to sell this month. Hoping to make enough to pay my insurance. The company which has provided our home insurance for decades has decided to cancel my home insurance. We still have auto insurance, though it is much higher than I remember paying 25 years ago. How very strange!
My father died last year, leaving a sizable debt which I have no way of paying. So at 61 years old with a formerly excellent credit rating which is now in the toilet, the company has cancelled the home insurance. But — the house is paid for and the property tax is not. We’re living here as we have no where else to go.
Life isn’t hard so much as a challenge. I know it will change, though I doubt it will return to its previous state where payments were not a struggle.
You are not personally obligated to pay a debt owed by your late father, even if you are executor. His estate such as it is bears the burden of the debt, and if it cannot be paid out of the estate then the debtor is out of luck. Do not assume a debt you do not owe and cannot afford.
LOL, it does sound that way. But I am not on a desert island. My house is over 3000sf, every square foot of it paid for too, and my favorite pastime is housekeeping. The trick is finding a place in America where you can live affordably, and I found it. :)
I have been to a lawyer.
What Bank of America did was six weeks after his death, they transferred my father’s credit card balance, WHICH HE HAD AN INSURANCE POLICY ON THROUGH THE BANK, to a new account and stuck my name on it thereby making it my debt.
The lawyer said because I was an approved user of said credit account (POA) due to my father being incompetent, BofA did what they did. It is legal in the State of Washington.
Check out Alpine Access.
It’s call center jobs where the employees work from home. When I was researching this they contracted out to Focus On The Family and other “real” organizations and companies, including some government departments. It was rated as 100% legitimate by companies who check out these things. When I was looking, around 2008-9, they offered benefits. Rules are/were strict about background noise in the home (kids crying, doorbells, etc.), the best computer/headset equipment, etc. Basically, you’re working a real job, but at home.
Now I notice that there’s a “Sykes” name added to the site. Not sure how things are now, but it looked great back when I was interested.
I sent you a private reply, SD, with some info on Soc Sec that may be helpful.
Etsy, and bonanza.com. Way to go!
Around here most garage sales aren’t even worth stopping at. Most of the items belong in the trash. CL has gone dead. Auctions are a joke with two or three people trying to stop someone they hate from getting stuff. Storage lockers (which I used to do very good at) have been ruined by TV shows. Everyone thinks every locker has a Picasso in it.
You are in no way obligated by your dead father’s debt(unless you co-signed something).
Go chapter 7 and tell BofA to pound sand.
I’ve done the Amazon Affiliate program, Cafepress, and ebay.
The first two I never made any more than a bit of pocket change. Ebay is the only place where I’ve been really able to supplement the income.
One thing I could advise is really honestly assess what are your strengths and limitations and look for opportunities to can make up for what you lack and can maximize your talents. For example, I like discovering and creating new products but I’m abysmal at selling/marketing/promotion. So any sites I’ve been on where I have to draw my *own* traffic have been a miserable failure. Ebay works well for non-sales oriented people because they bring the customer to you. You pay for that of course with higher fees, but everything’s a tradeoff.
If you know how to trade profitably, Ebay has always been a reliable way to make money for many people.
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Hasn’t been true for at least 10 years and it’s getting worse... unless you’re selling new sealed merchandise (in which case you will be killed by Chinese sellers who buy the same items for far less and get lower fees from eBay in addition to cheap cheap shipping from their postal system) you will quickly be targeted by the WANT IT FREE crowd that will file complaints and get refunds from eBay/PayPal every stinking time.
Being an authorized user does not give them the right to create a new account without your authorization and obligate you to pay... your attorney is a jackass.. Contact legal aid or just make them sue you and when you get to court all you have to claim is
1.) I did not create or authorize this account , the debt is not mine
2.) Show me the contract with my wet ink signature
Then sue the cr*p out of them for their illegal actions, identity theft.
;-)
My recent experiences this summer selling collectibles/antiques on eBay to a targeted market is the same as yours. People are not even opening listings to look. The few sales in the prior months earned reviews gloating over obtaining rare items for pennies.
eBay favors buyers over sellers. I used to shop for various items on eBay (new, in package sort of stuff). Last attempt, I ended up ordering from an online catalog. Easier and cheaper.
I have sold my collection items on eBay since 2008. Today’s situation is actually worse than the 2008-2009.
A warning about Etsy: manufacturers scan the site for ideas and then copy them using mass production. They then list on Etsy pretending to be a hand crafter. They can and do sell for less, ship quicker and will overwhelm the real hand crafter. Etsy only cares about their commission.
As a senior with property who is still working, I need occasional casual labor. I cannot find it. I live in an area w/low unemployment and anyone with transportation and skills can either find a job or get benefits. We are managing by ourselves, but cannot wait to sell out and downsize to a property needing less work.
A friend has had a vintage T-Bird for sale all summer. eBay and Craigslist were a bust. I think she was asking $5k, newly painted and detailed and in good repair with new tires.
$100/month for cigarettes????
What indigenous people’s private resort...I mean reservation do you live on?
I have friends who smoke and they tell me that it is over $7 a pack (Michigan) unless you want the flavorful experience of roots and grubs in a tube.
Well, I was understating it to 100/month, hoping no one would turn up to say that’s exorbitant.
Of course it’s impossible to say what the price is, it depends on how much a person smokes, not just the price per pack.
So a pack a day, which is not the rule, would come to 210/mo where you see the prices. Here in PA it’s around 5 a pack and everyone swears they don’t smoke a pack a day.
In any event the fed govt will soon put a stop to tobacco use. Just another aspect of obamacare to watch out for. You know those road signs that say, “DUI...you can’t afford it?” Pretty soon it’ll be “Smoking...you can’t afford it.”
Then it’ll be roots and grubs or nothing.
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