To those people out there who are down on their luck!

[digginhistory09]

I have noticed a bunch of people saying how they were getting laid off from work, Having a tough time with bills, And just plain having a hell of a time trying to keep afloat in today's economy. I have to tell you... I too was in this same situation last fall. I had all but given up hope when I decided to try something new. I had seen tons of people posting on craigslist looking for handouts. Asking for strangers to give them money for free or loans or to just plain buy them things. Heck we just had a lady on our craigslist last week asking for someone to "Someone please buy my kids a swimming pool" Her had explained how her kids really want a pool and she cant afford one so she is hoping someone out there would buy her one so her kids didnt have to sweat in the summer this year. Can you imagine... People are losing their homes, out of work, and here is this lady saying he problem is her kids sweating....Sheesh... Makes me want to buy her a pool. Those poor neglected kids...How dare she not have a pool for them!


I decided to share with everyone here how I fixed my situation. Now I am sure this wont work for everyone...but if it helps one person than typing all of this was worth it! Sorry in advance for this long post! Here is what I did.....





I made some adjustments in the way I lived my everyday life and it seemed to get me back on track so I can afford to purchase some things for my MD and get out detecting more. First off I can tell you....While the hopes of someone coming to your rescue and helping is nice. Look at the economy...Most people are in the same boat as you and I. There for they are not going to help others out like they may have previously. So the only one you can count on is your self... Here is a list of things I have been doing to offset my poorness...

1. I placed a advertisement on craigslist in the wanted section explaining my situation as out of work, broke, with a family to feed. In my ad I listed the things I am able to do for people in exchange for a fair days wage.
Here is a copy of what my ad says... If you know how to do some or all of these things just modify my ad to fit your situation.

"Out of work married father of 3 is desperately seeking work. I am trying to sell everything I own of value to raise this money and so far this has not really started helping my cause. I am sure however stuff will sell....What I am looking for here is someone who needs just about any kind of work done that they can pay me either a fair wage or just plain something for. I am experienced in most phases of construction, Auto repair,Computer repair,Sales,Any manual labor,I will do just about anything to make a buck. If I do not know how to do something I will either find out how to, or I am a quick study. I am not asking for handouts here people...I simply need to raise money to help with my bills. If you have ANYTHING you need done please do not hesitate to contact me. I am very honest/reliable. I can provide character references if needed. Give me a shot! I am not sure if this will work but I owe it to my children to try anything and everything to ensure a roof over their heads. With this economy it seems things just keep getting tougher and tougher. I am open to just about anything. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am sure I will get plenty of emails from people telling me to just get a job..Well obviously this is what I have been trying to do however I can not ask my current landlord to let me stay here until I earn enough money to pay my bills. So I am hoping I can make it happen faster by reaching out to my community. I am no deadbeat dad or lazy person. I am just a honest man who has fallen on hard times. Help me get on my feet and I will forever be in your debt! Again...Auto repair,Computer repair and maintenance,Carpentry,Plumbing,Electrical,Yard work,Just about anything. There is not much I can not do! "

The next thing I would suggest to help you with your situation is... (this may seem strange to some people)
In my town we have a town dump. At our dump (we live in a middle class to upper middle class community) people seem to throw out some very nice things. So the guys at the dump take the nicer things that either still work or are too nice to toss out and they put them in a pile called the gold pile. I will hit my dump 3 or 4 times a day to browse the free gold pile. I have found things from gold jewelry to custom tandem bicycles to computers,TVs,Air conditioners and so on. I then clean them up and list them for sale on craigslist. Now something to remember is don't get greedy! These are items you got for free so do not try to rake people over the coals. Just put the items up there for sale at a really great price. For instance the tandem bike I got cost 6500$ New. It needed some work and I listed it for sale without a price. The first person who emailed me offered me 550$ for it....Now I know it was worth more however being as I got it for free....I said sure thing!!! I have found that no matter what it is your selling....You will get a fair price and still be able to pass along a great bargain to people. This should help greatly with your bills. I was selling everything from bikes to car seats for babies.


The 3rd suggestion I can offer you again involves the dump to some degree. There is at our dump a pile where all the metal gets dumped. I would go browse the metal pile and pull out the copper,stainless steel,brass,aluminum,cast aluminum,coated wire, cast iron,batteries ect. And I would load it in my car (Make sure to get permission from the dump guys) They usually wont mind as they toss it all in the same bin and sell it for Tin prices. (The town thinks it is too much work to separate)
This again should gain you a nice bonus at the end of the week. Just remember those guys at the dump...After the first week.....go buy them lunch or a case of beer.

I also grab any piece of metal I see near the dumpsters at my apartment complex. Right now there is metal everywhere because the prices dropped way down from where they were over the summer. However they are starting to creep back up! If you see a dumpster near someones house (roll off dumpster) Chances are they are doing work or cleaning out to move. Stop and ask permission and grab any metal.... bring it home... sort it.... and scrap it. I am telling you all my secrets and I can assure you these things will help you out.

My last suggestion is...... Take any job offered to you from your craigslist post. If people don't have tons of money to offer you...Just remember that they are more than likely in the same position as you. Yet they are still willing to give you something for helping them out. You will find this from most of the people you meet. I raked a 2 acre yard and bagged all the leaves for an older woman last fall. She only had 30 dollars but I told her...I am just happy to help. Giving back to those who help you out in your time of need is a must! Don't go into it with the impression you can cherry pick the jobs and only take those that pay a bunch. It is those people who cant afford to pay you a bunch for the work they need done who will talk you up to all their friends! I had people posting replies to my ad on craigslist recommending me and praising how well I treated them and the work I had done.
Also make sure you give something back to someone else in your position. Donate to the salvation army,boyscouts...something to help with the Karma. I have found this is a powerful thing and it is something to take seriously.


I am sorry for the long post. I am just trying to offer you some suggestions to help you with your situation. Handouts are helpful...But you should know by now... The only person you can really count on to help you in times of need is yourself. You can make it happen! Your the only one who can.


Good luck friend. I hope god willing that everything turns around for you in the near future. Please keep us updated if you decide to try my suggestions. I know first hand that they work. I was 3400$ behind in my rent, 2000 on electric and on my other bills combined around 1750$ behind. I am now current on everything. I did this with Sweat,Determination and help from a group of really great people. I will tell you though... I had a few people who just wanted to give me cash to help out. I decided....I cant take a penny from ANYONE who I am not doing something in return for. It is not the easiest thing to overcome debt and I can honestly say... I worked 15 or 17 hours a day making sure I had enough money to feel my family and pay the bills. In the end....I was able to afford a new Explorer SE and have paid my bills all current. Combine that with the respect from my family from working so hard to make sure we did not lose everything....And the fact my kids can go to the refrigerator and grab a snack when they want it....And not much else matters!

 

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[scrounger d detector collector]

GREAT POST but,u will find most folk who want handouts aint willing to work much or very hard. i cant say but dont u think it might have been a good idea to actually save some money and not buy the expensive new detector right away ? if it really is that close on keepin the fam fed,u might actually try to save for the future. no one saves anymore its all spend what i got plus anything i can borrow. im not trying to be negative.u worked really hard.

 

[desertfox]

D, my hats off to you! It is so easy for people to just give up or to just ask for a hand out instead of a hand up. You my friend have every right to be Proud, very Proud. Thanks for sharing your story and giving others the way to help themselves also.

HH

Desertfox
(Paul)

 

[digginhistory09]

GREAT POST but,u will find most folk who want handouts aint willing to work much or very hard. i cant say but dont u think it might have been a good idea to actually save some money and not buy the expensive new detector right away ? if it really is that close on keepin the fam fed,u might actually try to save for the future. no one saves anymore its all spend what i got plus anything i can borrow. im not trying to be negative.u worked really hard.

I was going to buy a cheaper machine however I lucked into a insane deal on a used SE with a sunray,stock coil, 15in coil, headphones and a carry bag. I cant tell you exactly what I paid for it... But I can assure you. I could not have purchased a new Fisher F4 for less. I made a deal with the seller to do some work in exchange for a chunk of the price....I only laid out 300 dollars. And since I had my issues last fall...I have had a few things fall into place that had been pending for a few years. Thanks for the reply to my post. And yes I agree... The people looking for handouts generally are lazy. I am hoping maybe this post will wake a few of them up.

 

[Dirty WhiteBoy]

That was a great post and I bet you helped more people than you will ever know! Sounds like you did the right thing by you and your family! Good job, My hat is off to you! Thanks for helping people!

 

[MD Dog]

 

[deepskyal]

You sound like someone that was raised with good ethics. Modern technology has opened up doors for people and created tools, such as what you mentioned, to get by when they need to.

Networking works too.

Back during the recession of 1980, I too feel upon hard times. Through the church, I was steered to a group of job networkers. We met once a week, discussed opportunities and called companies. Although I did find a job paying much less than what I had earned, it was enough to pay the bills.

Some people let pride get in the way of responsibility. Not me. I found a lousy, crapy job...worked it til I found a little better job...then an even better job. Seems employers are more apt to hire someone that appears to be trying than someone that walks around with an attitude of selfworth.

When times get tough...it's time to humble yourself and do what needs to be done.

Al

 

[MD Dog]

Taking care of business and not waiting for messiah Hussein to come to the rescue. Can you get more politically incorrect ?

 

[digginhistory09]

Thanks for the great replies. I have to say....If your easily embarrassed or if you are too proud to be seen digging through the garbage than maybe my advice is not the most sound for you. It takes a certain type of person to go rooting through the trash and to not let life beat you down. There are so many things, Legal things! That are out there for us to take advantage of right now. I used to sit back feeling sorry for myself. Wishing something would change. Then one day it dawned on me. Nothing in life is free. If we are not breaking our back to make it happen....Then we may as well not even try.

 

[jb7487]

I like this post and I agree with many of its sentiments.

As someone who has tried to hire help on many occasions I can tell you that it is very frustrating at best. It is so hard to find someone who will just SHOW UP when they say they will (if at all). I can't tell you how many times I've thought about starting a landscape, roofing, or other type of service business based on the principal of showing up on time. I am a firm believer that if you show up and do a good job you will be a success. Too many people these days end up in situations without jobs and they just want a handout or can't get themselves out of bed to even do a task that they can get paid for. They sit around whining about finding work but when you give them an opportunity they don't bother even trying.

So my hat's off to you for following through and making life better for yourself instead of relying on handouts from others. I'm not saying that it isn't ok to get a handout now and then. But most people asking for handouts are able bodied and could easily provide for themselves by just trying. I'm convinced that for most jobs simply showing up consistently and trying your best is enough to help you climb the corporate ladder to success. Unfortunately, in this economy, getting the chance to just "show up" is harder than it used to be. Employers can be more choosy and jobs are much more scarce.

But most people want to blame everyone else for their problems. They can't honestly look into the mirror and recognize their own faults. "My boss is an ass". "I hate my job because it's boring". "I'm not getting paid as much as Jimmy". "I must have been fired because I'm <insert race or gender>". Most of the time, the real issue is with the individual. Not with the job, race, or boss. But it's easier to blame everyone else than to look deep into your own faults.

One final issue is the idea that, in general, people really can't evaluate themselves effectively. There is a paper called "Unskilled and unaware of it" (Google for it) that talks about this phenomenon. The idea is that if people were capable of evaluating their faults then they would also typically correct them thus making them better. But since people can't tell that they aren't doing a good job then they are blissfully unaware of their own incompetance. They are amazed when they are fired for doing a crappy job because they think they are doing an excellent job. So they blame the boss or assume that it must be some personal/race/gender issue (and sometimes it really is). But the reality is that people often don't really know that they aren't doing a good job because if they did they would improve their performance.

 

[itmaiden]

There are a ton of people in my area doing just as you did. The competition at garage sales, craigslist freebies, for scrap metal etc is tremendous. The one thing I noticed it is getting people to start communicating with each other again. All the glitz of the entertainment industry and technology brought such a superficial soceity that everyone was taking everything for granted.

The "alleged financial crisis" (globalization at it's best) has brought many back to reality. But let's look at it a different way.

Real economies started by just this very type of thing. People offering services, people bartering goods and services back and forth, and people becoming creative in ways to make income.

The worse thing about it all is the reality that people have become too dependent on grocery stores, utility companies, and frivolous lifestyles.

Take my neighbor for instance. He is in the same temporary living boat I am in. While he is at a temporary residence, he is planting every square inch of the yard in herbs and garden vegetables. He works it hard as well as working hard cooking at a restaurant.

My dream is almost total independence from the very social offerings many are dependent on. I just have to learn how to make toilet paper or get a bidet ! Solar and hydroelectric power from my own property, well water, growing my own fruits and veggies and owning enough personal livestock to keep the freezer stocked well.
I can live without the puter, the tv, and cell phones. No big deal. And for a car....horse and buggies. The Amish do it, and so can we.

How many TH's on this board have a yard, but spend hundreds every year on fresh produce ? How many know how to can or freeze if they buy in bulk? You know it is better to shop the farmers market for price and for the fact that it keeps you out of the grocery store.
Go to the grocery store and they have the "bakery, deli, ice cream dept" and so forth, and we buy a lot of convenience items.

When I look back over this last year, most of my funds have gone to groceries and gasoline and car insurance. Now I am a woman, but I can tell you that I am shocked how many clothes and shoes and handbags women in our area own. Look in my closet and it is very basic.

I was at a garage sale the other day and I thought it was an estate sale. There were enough clothes, shoes etc all from the same woman to stock a retail store. After inquiring I found out she was getting rid of some of her things ! Gosh, hate to think what was still in the house considering what was out in the carport and porch.

Yea, we in America do need a "wake-up" call as to how we spend and manage our money ,and every other asset, and the liabilities we create.

What amazes me though, as a country rich in goods and services and people, that when a community is having an economic crisis, that fellow Americans tend to be critical and selfish rather than helpful.

Give us a Tsunami, an earthquake, or other overseas crisis, and we send $millions to $billions along with goods to help out.
Have a crisis in our own country and the cold shoulders are everywhere. It is jealousy, backbiting, selfishness, feeling like someone else is getting a privilege you are not getting etc.

Do we truly have a "United" states ?

itmaiden