Posted on 10/12/2008 8:59:55 PM PDT by bornred
An inflatable gorilla beckoned from the roof of Don Brown Chevrolet in St. Louis, servers doled out free bowls of pasta and a salesman urged potential customers to "come on up under the canopy and put your hands on" a new set of wheels.
But sitting across from a salesman in a quiet back room, Adrian Clark could see it would not be nearly that easy. This was the ninth or tenth dealership for Clark, a steamfitter looking for a car to commute to a new job. Every one offered a variation on the discouragement he was getting here: Without $1,000 for a downpayment, no loan.
...
"I think we're undergoing a fundamental shift from living on borrowed money to one where living within your means, saving and investing for the future, comes back into vogue," said Greg McBride, senior analyst at Bankrate.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at biz.yahoo.com ...
Alot of people love CRV’s. They’re really popular. Mine only has 60k miles on it.
I quite understand that; I want to start a B2B service business but I’m kinda light on the cash and I feel like I am generally spinning my wheels without making any progress.
Then you are not thinking properly. If what you want to do isou of reach, do something else that is in reach as a springboard to jump start what you want to do.
One must always be one's own worst critic- it could be that your desires are not well met- I was always a great singer, and figured I was going to be the next big thing... When it became evident that I was never going further than Saturday night at the honkytonk, I had to adjust my direction.
I’ve worked for many years, at the bottom of the economy. So I figure I’ve done plenty of grunt work, and I am not allergic to work.
As Dave Ramsey would say, I’m living like no one else. But he says if you’ll live like no one else, later you get to live like no one else, and I don’t see that happening.
To move to another town I would have to find new medical providers and make arrangements in advance - this would take a while - and since there aren’t any non-menial jobs I’m qualified for, a move would be on spec without any assurance of success - only of substantial cost. (Is there any place where an unskilled worker could make a good living?) Even a move would cost money and I don’t have that right now.
I admire the pioneers and the settlers who moved across continents on spec with only what they could carry, but I’m not sure how feasible that is today if you have no money.
I’m jealous. I had my first paper route when I was twelve - I was told that was the minimum age. When I was ten I started shoveling snow around town. I opened a bank account and started saving my money.
By the time I graduated high school (early 1970s) I had saved up more than $4K.
What did you do when you were old enough for a “real” job?
Um, I was referring to people who struggle to barely get by. I don’t think they walk on the moon or write great music.
But that’s an inspiring thought.
So your house cost less than $28K?
How much was your rent before you bought the house?
Well, I would certainly be interested in learning more about such a job. My first thought is that if it pays $40 an hour, either I’m not qualified (don’t have the right skills) or it might be illegal and/or immoral, or maybe it involves something extremely unpleasant. (I’ve seen the Dirty Jobs show on TV.)
Why not hang out your own shingle?
You may need a bond and a license, you will need insurance, but ANY janitorial business is worth $30-$65 an hour. Surely you could get a doctors office, a business or two close by, and next thing you know, you have enough money to get a little van and get busy... All this without losing your day job and compromising your position too much...
All for the cost of an Avery business card kit, an invoice book, and a couple hundred to start your insurance... (you need not invest in the insurance until you land a job and require the proof)
This does not solve your immediate problem, but aim somewhere in the middle. You cannot afford a new car, but don't buy a junk car you will have to spend a lot of money on just to get it to run. What I did when I was a student in the 1980s was look for a car that was five or six years old but did not have high miles. I found a car like that and paid $1500 cash for it and that was my only car for 7 years. I put a lot of miles on it and the most expensive repair was when I owned it a few years and I had to replace the clutch. It was a Japanese car, pretty reliable but the parts were expensive. Nowadays, I don't know, maybe you can find a used car in decent shape for $4000 that will be reliable? I would think you could get a loan of several thousand dollars. If you have a friend who is is a mechanic or at least has good sense about such things maybe he could help you look for a good used car. I don't need to tell you that a used car can look okay but it could have serious problems that you will have to check for.
Get training in something you have aptitude for and there is a market for. Of course, that takes time and money. There is such a thing as age discrimination. On the other hand, some employers might consider an older person to be more reliable.
see my post at #69 in response to your idea of trying to get janitorial shiftwork... If you know you are qualified as such, why would you d it for someone else instead of being your own boss, and putting the boss's share in your own pocket? It is the same work...
It depends somewhat on your abilities and physical condition. It also depends upon your residence- whether you can set up a shop for yourself... whether your location is good for a business.
I take it you are in your 50's, so extreme labor is probably out, but if your knees are still good, and your back is alright, painting and tilesetting are not too hard on you if you stay in remodeling/ reconstruction. Both are relatively cheap to get into, and pay very well.
Lawn maintenance is also very lucrative, and fairly cheap to start up. The equipment costs are expensive, but one can get by with used stuff, husband your money, and upgrade into industrial equipment as you go. If you cannot handle the ground work, hire a kid to run the trimmer and do the raking, and you just run the rider. This would require a shop space at your residence though, and a good mechanical ability.
Speaking of shop space, another good startup is small engine repair. If you lack the education, get a grant and go to school. This can be run out of a 2 car garage, requires an average mechanic's rollaway box, a few specialized tools, and commands $45-$95 per hour. This can easily expand into snowcat repair and performance, small tool repair and warranty, and air compressor repair too.
If you lack the shop space, another good one is Computer repair. This can be run out of a van and a bedroom. Again, if you lack the knowledge, get a grant and go to school. This can be done with thirty bucks worth of tools, a test-bench computer, and a laptop- all of which can probably be purchased out of the overhead in the school grant.
There are many ways to go... The main thing is to have the stones to DO IT for your self. There is way more money in it, and way more freedom. All you need to know is how to get from here to there.
see my post at #69 in response to your idea of trying to get janitorial shiftwork... If you know you are qualified as such, why would you d it for someone else instead of being your own boss, and putting the boss's share in your own pocket? It is the same work...
It depends somewhat on your abilities and physical condition. It also depends upon your residence- whether you can set up a shop for yourself... whether your location is good for a business.
I take it you are in your 50's, so extreme labor is probably out, but if your knees are still good, and your back is alright, painting and tilesetting are not too hard on you if you stay in remodeling/ reconstruction. Both are relatively cheap to get into, and pay very well.
Lawn maintenance is also very lucrative, and fairly cheap to start up. The equipment costs are expensive, but one can get by with used stuff, husband your money, and upgrade into industrial equipment as you go. If you cannot handle the ground work, hire a kid to run the trimmer and do the raking, and you just run the rider. This would require a shop space at your residence though, and a good mechanical ability.
Speaking of shop space, another good startup is small engine repair. If you lack the education, get a grant and go to school. This can be run out of a 2 car garage, requires an average mechanic's rollaway box, a few specialized tools, and commands $45-$95 per hour. This can easily expand into snowcat repair and performance, small tool repair and warranty, and air compressor repair too.
If you lack the shop space, another good one is Computer repair. This can be run out of a van and a bedroom. Again, if you lack the knowledge, get a grant and go to school. This can be done with thirty bucks worth of tools, a test-bench computer, and a laptop- all of which can probably be purchased out of the overhead in the school grant.
There are many ways to go... The main thing is to have the stones to DO IT for your self. There is way more money in it, and way more freedom. All you need to know is how to get from here to there.
The fact is the markets NEED people to buy on credit. Need. Not want, need. They created markets that live on credit. Companies and people paying their way with cash does them no good. They need their cut of every transaction and of every business and of every personal account. Without credit being involved in every transaction they cannot survive..and I hope they don’t.
...escape a menial dead-end job...etc..
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What are you considering menial?
If it puts a roof over your head and food in your belly it isn’t ‘menial’ and/or degrading.
I consider MENIAL/DEGRADING standing in line at a shelter to wait for the ‘free meal’.
I consider MENIAL/DEGRADING paying for food with food stamps (except of course in the direst short term circumstances).
I consider MENIAL/DEGRADING standing on the corner with a cup in the pouring rain...(although those ‘clowns’ can make a pretty good buck on occasion)
I consider MENIAL/DEGRADING applying for unemployment and or welfare (again except in the direst short term circumstances)
Get a lawn mower and mow grass. If you live in a neighborhood that this isn’t feasible, walk to an area that you can ‘work something out with a homeowner’, say use his lawnmower and do his for free and be allowed to do a couple in his neighborhood using his mower so you can earn a living. You just might hit on someone with the wherewithal to ‘stake you in business’ because he admires your spirit.
There is work out there just maybe NOT quite what you are used to or willing to do.
Having been on both sides of the coin, I really can’t see a person in a public service business hiring a person who can’t speak the language or can’t add/subtract etc if someone were WILLING and/or available to do the job etc...
Have you checked out what MacDonalds pays? with Insurance?
Not a world breaker but if YOU or your WIFE needs a 2nd job or supplemental income, plus they will work with you scheduling your shifts (as long as you are reliable)— it is a start.
Look around a local Walmart. Just who AREN’T they hiring?
We, collectively, have to get out of our mind that EVERYONE is CEO / 5 Mill p/a material.
I also, have been working since I was 14 and the only ‘handout’ I have EVER accepted or applied for was VA related...which I ‘paid’ for with about 10 years of my ‘productive’ life and am now drawing Social Security which I have also been paying into for almost 50 years
Dittos
I drove $200 junkers for ten years after college. They are great becuase I could usually get a couple of years out of them and I never had to lock them up or worry about them, and I saved a lot of money. The repairs, at worst, were like a car payment or two over the course of a year.
Had to get better wheels when I had young kids.
I drove $200 junkers for ten years after college. They are great becuase I could usually get a couple of years out of them and I never had to lock them up or worry about them, and I saved a lot of money. The repairs, at worst, were like a car payment or two over the course of a year.
Had to get better wheels when I had young kids.
Daves been saying this for years
“Cash is king and the paid off home mortgage is the status symbol of choice.”
I haven’t used Credit in years I do a novel thing...wait.
I save and wait.
We live in a microwave want it now society.
Buy a beater and keep on trading up as you save and you can get into a pretty nice car.
The unwillingness to answer that question is what kept a lot of people stuck in coal mining towns long after the mine jobs ended.
The answer, of course, is you leave and go where jobs are. After WW2, many people from the South moved north to take factory jobs. Nobody wanted to move from Tennessee to Michigan, but they did what they had to do.
I know people who went to work on the Alaskan Pipeline. That wasn't a commute for anyone.
Legal and illegal Mexican workers manage to pool resources (several using one house or car), live beneath their means, and manage to get a toe hold. I doubt they have cable TV or high-speed internet when they start. And you don't see them going through fast food drive throughs, either, when you can buy bulk beans and rice and one chicken a week to take care of a week's worth of food for $10-$15.
And of course, you can sell what you don't need to come up with the money to buy a car. If having a car is the number one priority, then treat it that way.
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