I need your advice ladies on income in tough times
Okay so this is a bit serious, other than what I usually post. I just don't know where else to get an honest opinion without someone trying to sell me on something so I felt I could come here. Basically I am unable to work, extreme migraines - always there just a question of how bad, severe fatigue, and yes I have applied for state assistance. my roommate's income is not enough for our needs so I need to bring in some kind of funds over the measly couple hundred I do now through a simple job I now do from home on the pc but isn't enough to make much of a difference. So I am needing to know, what is something else that is legitimate and simple that I can do from home, without needing to invest anything (we have no savings, no credit cards, no spare funds at all), and also doesn't require a car (my roommate and I share a car and he drives that to his job). Mainly something I can do on the computer. I'm a great typist, writer, and good pc skills too. I'm not looking to get rich here, just like an extra 400-500 would help so very much. Can you gals (and guys too) offer any ideas for me? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!!!
I used to know someone who did resume formatting for students at the local colleges and charged them for the service. Not the most consistent, but gave him some extra income.
Have you tried Craigslist? I've seen postings for writers and editors.
There's also delivering newspapers -- weekly or daily that would take a little bit of time and provide some extra cash.
Is there any way for you to do any light cleaning for someone or take in a child, say before school? Some parents only need daycare for a couple of hours in the morning or afterschool.
If you have any graphic design talents, that's also a job that could be done from home. And so are some customer service jobs, I would think, and sales.
Thing is, not to be harsh, but I think a lot of people are looking for what you are in these times. So I think you'll really have to search and probably suss out a lot of bad ones, along with the good. Just comb everywhere - online, temp agency, papers, laundry mat - wherever might have a posting.
Good luck!!
Last edited by chickiegirl; 05-19-2009 at 12:22 PM.
A friend mentioned awhile back that she was wanting to do something similar and she came across the concept of being a "virtual assistant". I have no idea whether or not there is training involved, but when I googled the phrase it seems to be a legitimate thing. Also, I have heard of people who have jobs like hotel booking clerk and are able to do that from home.
I'm sorry about your migraines. I suffer them occasionally and when I get hit with a bad one, it's debilitating. So I can sympathise.
I would agree, I think computers would facilitate migraines. What about something that gets you out of the house? Dog walking? I know the dog walker company I use occasionally is hurting for people.
I have migraines, too and would not be able to sit in front of a computer typing when I have one. I need a dark room, with no noise and pain pills. But if you can tolerate a lot of typing ( I doubt this ) you could do secretarial work. typing resumes, and theme papers and such. You wouldn't even have to pick the work up as it would be picked up and brought to you.
I haven't read all the replies yet just because I am making lunch but just to say real fast that I keep my monitor dimmed so on a lesser pain migraine its bearable for a short while, and I could only think of using the pc as a tool to work from home unless you guys have other ideas so that's why I mentioned it. I'll reply again soon - thanks so much girls.
I would say medical transciptionist or try Hilton At home Reservations. Many women in my area do these things.
If you have a documented med. history with the migraines you may be able to file for disability. Have you tried altering your diet and trying supplements for your migraines?
I've been on disability for going on four years. On my really good days, I feel like I could be working, and on my bad days I feel like I've been hit by a truck. The real problem for me is that there are also days in the middle where I feel ok, but my brain isn't working. I don't drive (my depth perception and reaction time are not what they need to be - during some flares I would be an outright hazzard on the road).
None of this has to do with you, or what you've asked except to say that I've been searching for jobs I could do and income opportunities for at least three of those years. Like you, I thought that computer work from home would be ideal, if I could find work that wasn't extremely deadline sensitive.
I found though that legitimate home computer work is very hard to get, especially if the job doesn't require special training. There are a lot of people competing for those jobs, and so many companies farm that work out to foreigh countries or rely on temp services to provide those workers. A temp service may be the place to start, because you're able to list all of your skills and restrictions and the temp service helps find you work you can do. The biggest problem there is that if you have to turn down too many jobs, or find you can't complete a job on time, miss a deadline, or your performance isn't up to par because of a painful flare, the temp agency can become less likely to send you jobs because they perceive you as unreliable.
I had a little success selling crafts and odds and ends on ebay, but ebay has increased it's user fees and has crippled the small seller by not allowing sellers to give bad reviews to cusomers (I think you can't even give a neutral review), so while a customer can easily complain about you, you cannot complain about them (at least not without a major hassle, as I understand it).
If you're creative, you might consider etsy. I haven't built my store yet, but it's free and the costs for placing items in your store are very inexpensive (I think 30 cents for an add that is allowed to stay up for several months, as opposed to ebay that lasts two weeks and I always end up paying at least a $1 an ad. Because I haven't used it yet, I can't tell you what the income potential is on etsy, but there are a lot of very cool items for sale that were created with extremely cheap or free materials.
Kaplods - That is a very good suggestion, I didn't think of etsy because I myself am not very creative. I do believe strongly in Etsy though and try to buy various goods there.
I haven't read all the replies yet just because I am making lunch but just to say real fast that I keep my monitor dimmed so on a lesser pain migraine its bearable for a short while, and I could only think of using the pc as a tool to work from home unless you guys have other ideas so that's why I mentioned it. I'll reply again soon - thanks so much girls.
Honeybear, you bring up a good point. A lot of people don't realize that migraines can come in varying degrees. My migraines would seem to all come with a set amount of pain, and I would either have to deal with it over 3-4 days or I could have it all at once, over about 6 hours. The ones that lasted over days were somewhat bearable; I could usually continue working if I had my Imitrex (migraine medicine). I'm a programmer, so I'm at the computer all day. Sometimes I would have to go home for an afternoon. The other kind (6 hours) were what people typically think of when they think "migraine". Not wanting to move, needing ice, throwing up, basically almost unbearable. I definitely couldn't work during those. Thank goodness those were the exception for me.
This may not help you at all, but I thought I would mention it: I have only taken 2 migraine pills since January. Coincidently, that is the time when I gave up my 2 morning diet Cokes. I also gave up a lot of sugar and salty things like chips at that time, and I also gave up the pitchers of sweet tea that I would make on the weekend. So I don't know which thing it was that was contributing to the migraines, but it was something in that lineup because I have been feeling much, much better since January. If you are a long-time migraine sufferer, you may have already tried to identify your triggers, but I wanted to mention it because migraines are awful and I hate to see anyone suffer them.
If you weren't on a computer would you still have bad migraines? I was going to suggest opening up a small daycare that holds under 6 children. You can make a tidy living this way- there are some things you'd have to do like get training and child proof where you live- but my mother had a daycare for many years and made good money that way.
I do like the dog walking idea as well, again I don't know how bad your medical situation is.
I also agree have you tried applying for disability?
Adding to what windchime said- here is an article from webmd that says what foods are migraine triggers- maybe try cutting back? Particularly if you drink a lot of caffeine...
I need your advice ladies on income in tough times
