What are you willing to do to get money

[naturalwoman]

I have a question, now we all know "the joneses". what are some things that you can think of that they may do to get money or to have a lifestyle they can't afford.

do you have any stories of friends or family doing things to get money for stuff they can't afford?

what are some things that you might do to get money. think of anything, i want to hear the crazy and criminal stories as well, hypothetically, if you were crazy, what would you do to get money. how would you get it.

thanks family!

[Snoopy2645]

I would probably do anything I love money I mean it has crossed my mind if it was all gone tommorrow & I had to start from scratch & was homeless I have thought of different things I would do thier is no doubt I would collect cans & stuff.

Oh ya dh calls me a scammer because I do some strange things for money or to save money cant think of anything off hand but I got pretty good at it when I quit my ft job to be a sahm guess I do things so often now I dont think twice neither does he but I wouldnt call myself a scammer so I think its funny when he says it. Right now I demo on the weekends & it pays really well I know tons of people who would never do it so I guess its kinda a strange job for myself.

I also to save money didnt change my last name when I married because I can get alot of discounts just because of my last name & sometimes I save dh money too because of my name so guess he probably dont mind


Oh & I know a lady who is about 70 & she is a dishwasher at this grocery store by my house & she lives in the country club which is about the wealthiest area around!! I always have thought it was strange she did it but she loves money!!

[amberfocus]

I'd imagine that if they truly couldn't afford their lifestylle (as in actually living *above* their means, not merely *at* their means and breaking even), they would have live on healthy doses of credit, external economic support, and denial. They could also cash in their assets, if they have any.

My roommate gets by, not by earning extra money at a second job, but by aggressively bargain shopping. When he decides he wants something--and that something is always top-of-the-line and therefore *expensive*--he'll do tons of research to find that product at a bargain price (eBay, rebates, sales, etc.).

As for me? If I'm truly strapped for cash, I'm willing to "sell out", at least temporarily. That means leaving my job at an educational institution and going into industry (which pays much better).

I'm also willing to get a second part-time job--waitressing, private tutoring, temp clerical such as data-entry, freelance web design, etc.. Any marketable skill that I can sell, I'll sell for the highest bidder. Unlike my roommate, I find this empowering, not degrading. And ultimately, you make more money more reliably with a proper part-time job than doing those sporadic paid survey and focus group offerings, I'd think. Not that I wouldn't do those, as well, because I would. But it's a time vs. return issue, especially if I *need* that extra income for expenses and not just pocket change.

I guess selling my personal possessions and cutting expenses don't count, since you're asking about how I'd get the money to finance a lifestyle I can't afford, eh? I mean, I'd do stuff like turn the thermostat down, unplug electronics, and pee in the dark, if I have to. But it still wouldn't make sense if I just bought a plasma HDTV, but I'm unwilling to spend the electricity to watch it?

Sorry, nothing scintillatingly criminal here--although one of my friends keeps joking that I should become a stripper, because I can target a very specific set of fetishes. But I won't say what exactly here. (I do have a lot of respect for real strippers, though--that is one physically tough job, and you have to put up with some shockingly crappy clients.)

But what I won't do is depend on credit, or ask my parents for money. In the end, I know that I can rely on no one but myself.

I hope I never try to finance a lifestyle that I couldn't afford, but this is my hypothetical answer.

~mimi

[naturalwoman]

cool. it was fun to read. i was just thinking about someone i know and my mind got to wondering about how some things are being accomplished when i know that the story on the inside is not the story people get on the outside...got to wondering what they were willing to do for money to "look good".

[naturalwoman]

interesting story. i am not willing to work a second job right now. if it's something i can do from home, like web design, which i do, fine.....but i would hate to work 2 jobs for money. just wondering what people out there are willing to do.

[greedy4chips]

Set up a Meth lab in the basement or garage (my neighbors) and sell drugs to all those addicts! Low overhead high return with repeat customers. Afterall isn't that what makes a successful business.

Find vacant homes for sale in town and set up fake Ebay accts to sell high price items without delivering goods promised after accepting payment. After Ebay closes my city to sellers I will move on to the next city.

Criminals have it made even after they get caught they go to a free room and board apartment (very small) with cable TV and more sex than they can handle! LOL

This is a hypothetical post and does not represent the actual real life situation of myself or anyone I know.

[Broken Arrow]

Yeah, but I'd hate to be Bubba's girlfriend....

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by Snoopy2645

I also to save money didnt change my last name when I married because I can get alot of discounts just because of my last name & sometimes I save dh money too because of my name so guess he probably dont mind

How does using your maiden name save you money? Are you one of "those" Kennedys and stores just give you stuff? [Not that I expect you to out yourself here if you are.]

[funnyvalentine]

second job? try third....I own a catering company, which sounds like I make a lot of money but I don't. I write and perform weddings, and I mystery shop. I'm busy like all the time.....but it's all fun....

Originally Posted by naturalwoman

interesting story. i am not willing to work a second job right now. if it's something i can do from home, like web design, which i do, fine.....but i would hate to work 2 jobs for money. just wondering what people out there are willing to do.

[funnyvalentine]

I was wondering that too....

Originally Posted by vsjhoc

How does using your maiden name save you money? Are you one of "those" Kennedys and stores just give you stuff? [Not that I expect you to out yourself here if you are.]

[naturalwoman]

LOL. i like this. great ideas, hypothetically speaking. lol. its funny letting your imagination run wild.

[BCHGRL]

I probably read the same article you did in USA Today. It said that incomes are higher only because people are working more jobs, not because salaries have significantly increased.

I often talk about working 2 jobs, but I only did it once when I was 21. I couldn't survive on just one job at the time. I've seriously thought about starting a Professional Organizing business, but I have to get my master's first.

My husband works two jobs, but he is a firefighter and that is a normal practice because of their schedules. His part time job is another firefighting job. He is an EMT, so he thought about taking on a 3rd job as an EMT. He gets GI Bill, so he makes money by going to school too. His school cost $600 this semester, and he is bringing home $4,000 over the course of the semester.

My MIL's full time job is to work in a home for mentally challenged individuals. She also cleans houses. For his mom, it is not as much keeping up with the Jones' as much as it is making ends meet as a single mom of 5 (4 are now grown). She charges practically nothing and can't bring herself to raise her rates as much as we bother her to do it.

My dad is an electrician so he takes side jobs on the weekend. For years, he did work for family friends and relatives and would never charge them. He's only started charging in the past 5-10 years and I'm sure his rates aren't steep. My daddy is my hero - such a good guy!

We're not a keeping up with the Jones' type though. We're a own everything outright type.

[Bookie]

Most of "the Jonses" I know remind me of an image I ran across long ago:

"They float like swans across the placid waters of the lake, elegant, unruffled and serene.

"But down below the surface, they're paddling like HELL!"

[naturalwoman]

Originally Posted by Bookie

Most of "the Jonses" I know remind me of an image I ran across long ago:

"They float like swans across the placid waters of the lake, elegant, unruffled and serene.

"But down below the surface, they're paddling like HELL!"

NICE QUOTE!

[naturalwoman]

Originally Posted by BCHGRL

I probably read the same article you did in USA Today. It said that incomes are higher only because people are working more jobs, not because salaries have significantly increased.

I often talk about working 2 jobs, but I only did it once when I was 21. I couldn't survive on just one job at the time. I've seriously thought about starting a Professional Organizing business, but I have to get my master's first.

My husband works two jobs, but he is a firefighter and that is a normal practice because of their schedules. His part time job is another firefighting job. He is an EMT, so he thought about taking on a 3rd job as an EMT. He gets GI Bill, so he makes money by going to school too. His school cost $600 this semester, and he is bringing home $4,000 over the course of the semester.

My MIL's full time job is to work in a home for mentally challenged individuals. She also cleans houses. For his mom, it is not as much keeping up with the Jones' as much as it is making ends meet as a single mom of 5 (4 are now grown). She charges practically nothing and can't bring herself to raise her rates as much as we bother her to do it.

My dad is an electrician so he takes side jobs on the weekend. For years, he did work for family friends and relatives and would never charge them. He's only started charging in the past 5-10 years and I'm sure his rates aren't steep. My daddy is my hero - such a good guy!

We're not a keeping up with the Jones' type though. We're a own everything outright type.

what was the name of the article? didn't see article. oh never

[scrava]

hmmm, i'm not willing to work a 2nd job o/s of the home either. I do coupons, I try to limit our regular monthly expenses. I'm not willing to cancel cable or high speed internet. I do buy in bulk. I would be willingto house sit or pet sit or something. I do surveys. I use discount coupons at stores, circuit city, best buy, macys,etc. I have mystery shopped in the past but am only interested in restaurant shops now.

[naturalwoman]

Originally Posted by scrava

hmmm, i'm not willing to work a 2nd job o/s of the home either. I do coupons, I try to limit our regular monthly expenses. I'm not willing to cancel cable or high speed internet. I do buy in bulk. I would be willingto house sit or pet sit or something. I do surveys. I use discount coupons at stores, circuit city, best buy, macys,etc. I have mystery shopped in the past but am only interested in restaurant shops now.

i can get rid of cable, my 6 yr old would kill me thought, i don't watch much tv, but i need my high speed internet.

[PrincessPerky]

your 6 year old decides the cable?

I know a family that just doesn't pay the bills, if you are not threatenting to shut the service off, they don't seem to pay..seems back aswards to me....but no one asked.

she also refused to get rid of cable, it is her babysitter....

[naturalwoman]

Originally Posted by PrincessPerky

your 6 year old decides the cable?

I know a family that just doesn't pay the bills, if you are not threatenting to shut the service off, they don't seem to pay..seems back aswards to me....but no one asked.

she also refused to get rid of cable, it is her babysitter....

no she doesn't decide cable, but she does live here and that's the only thing she does get. i'm just saying if i lived alone, i could do w/o t.v period, of course, what 6 yr old could do w/o t.v. of course if i shut the cable off there is nothing she could do about it. my 6 yr old doesn't run the house, it was meant as a "joke".

[PrincessPerky]

k no offense intended, many people assume a kid should decide about the TV...even if the family can't pay the bills...