Living On A Wish And A Prayer

Living on no income isn't easy!  I know because I have been doing it for about 6 months now!  Here are a few things I do to supplement my "no income".  As time has passed, these things have become more reliable, and I am just getting to the point of thinking that perhaps I will be able to just meet my bills each month.  I hope these tips are helpful to you. 

The very first thing to do when you find yourself without income is to go through all your stuff and decide what you can do without.  Then sell it!  Have a yard sale, take it to a flea market, list it in the free ads in your local paper, list it on Craigs List, and put up fliers.  Get as much money together as you can for your extraneous stuff, and then hang onto it so you will have it for bills, food, and other necessities.

If you do well at this, and you have the space for storage, you may want to collect things to resell.  You can do this by visiting garage sales and picking things up cheaply that you believe you can resell for a profit or watching for items listed for free that you think you could resell. 

I have a booth at a local mini-mall where I resell collectibles.  It doesn't make a lot of money, but it buys a few groceries, and I only have to devote a couple of hours a week to it. 

You would be surprised at how much you can make by selling your books on Amazon.com! I have been doing that for several years, and I make a bit of money doing it. Again, not a lot, but it helps out. The key to selling on Amazon is to be very thorough and honest in your book descriptions and then provide excellent customer service. In that way you will build up your ratings, and you will be able to charge a little more for your books. Start out with extra books that you have around the house. If you do well at it, you may want to branch out and look for books at yard and garage sales and thrift stores. Selling on Amazon is easy. Just go to Amazon.com and click on SELL MY STUFF. Then follow the instructions! There are lots of tutorials to help you, and their customer service is excellent. The only drawback with Amazon is that it takes a while to get started.

I am also fortunate that we have a wonderful store locally called Recycled Books & Records. They buy second hand books for fairly decent prices, and it has gotten me out of a financial pinch a few times. Check around and see if there are stores like this in your area where you might be able to sell your extra books for quick cash.

Lots of people make quite a bit of cash picking up cans.  I don't do this aggressively, but you can bet if I see a can on the ground, I pick it up and take it home to add to my collection.  When I get a big garbage bag full, I can make about $8.  That's some gas or pet food or a few groceries. Check your local phone book or the internet to find recycling centers that pay near you. 

Early every morning and four evenings a week, I spend a little time talking with Chinese students in China! It's lots of fun, and I get paid for it, too! If I get lots of calls, it can add up to about $10 an hour. The pay is $2.70 guaranteed for 1/2 hour committed shift if I don't get a call OR $2.70 per call if I do. This bit is a little confusing, but it works out alright. Each call takes about 15 minutes, and the call volume is usually pretty steady.

To do this, you need to have a very good command of the English language and be good at constructively helping people learn. Most of the Chinese students who call have fairly good English knowledge, but they need help with practice. It is necessary to give them instant feedback and written feedback. Lots of training and support are provided.

If you are interested in this, just go to idapted.com to learn more.

You can use your talent for writing in a lot of ways. If you are looking at this article, you know about Hub Pages! Here, you can earn income through Google Ad Sense and Amazon Associates. Amazon Associates is also a good way to earn a bit of cash by setting up your own Amazon Stores or by adding links to Amazon products to your own website or blog. Be sure to research it if you become an Amazon Associate through Hub Pages. There's more to it than just linking to Amazon through Hub.

Amazon also has a service called Mechanical Turk. Through Mechanical Turk, you can do little jobs that computers can't do. You find things, categorize things, label things, and lots of other little tasks called HITs. These pay anywhere from nothing to $7 each. I do a lot of rewriting of sentences through Mechanical Turk. I also do some ghost writing. By doing this consistently, every day, I usually make $10 or $15 a day. If you are interested in doing this, go to: https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome

Another great way to make some money with your writing is through Associated Content. AC pays upfront payments on some content submissions and performance payments. I make a wee bit of money doing this, but I think in the long run, it will pay off. People who have been doing it for a long time, have a large body of work, and have developed a large readership are actually paying their rent with AC.

If you want to check it out, go to: http://www.associatedcontent.com/

My friend, Amber Seber, is an accomplished Associated Content producer, and she has written a good series of articles on living poor. I couldn't possibly outdo the information she has provided.  Here is a link to her AC home page: 

And here is a list of her specific articles that may be of interest to you:

The Basic Tenets Of Being Poor

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1165875/the_basic_tenets_of_being_poor.html?cat=7

How To Get Stuff For Free

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1132751/how_to_get_stuff_for_free_part_of_how.html?cat=7

Poor Skill: How To Get Every Last Bit Out Of A Tube Or Container

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1232344/poor_skill_how_to_get_every_last_bit.html?cat=7

Last Resorts To Make Money When You Are Desperate

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1252862/last_resorts_to_make_money_when_you.html?cat=3