I need advice on how to use my money for a cheap place to live

[GaiaGoddess]

This is not an idea to get you into a house right away with only $12,000, but maybe you could think about looking for a situation such as my brother found. He and his spouse managed an apartment complex in return for an apartment. With no rent, they were able to save for a house faster from their regular jobs. The apartment management was in addition to other paid work. They saved for at least 13 years (figuring from my oldest niece's age) and I'm sure they waited till they had a large portion of the price set aside, though they did take a home loan as well.

How can I manage an apartment when i'm only home a few days every other month? You have to live there. If you're talking about doing this after I'm not at my job anymore, well I already thought of that, lol (Yes I pretty much have looked into every option), but if you read the job description you have to do snow removal and groundskeeping. That is why only men do it, or couples (and then the wife will do office work). I'd love to do that if i had a husband! In fact if i had a husband I would probably do workcamping with an RV, that's where you live in campgrounds for free for working there while you're staying there, but most of them only take couples so the man can do the man work and the woman can do the stuff like housekeeping, office work, etc.

[Baby_nurse]

An excuse is when you make up a LIE not to do something. I don't lie. I guess it's a matter of perspective, you guys think they're excuses because you're on the outside looking in. I see them as obstacles because it's happening to ME and i've been dealing with them for years.

noun
ikˈskyo͞os/
1.
a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense.

[GaiaGoddess]

noun
ikˈskyo͞os/
1.
a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense.

To justify a fault or offense? I'm still not seeing how this is what i'm doing. I've always heard someone use the word "excuse" when somebody is making something up. Otherwise it's just a reason.

rea·son
ˈrēzən/Submit
noun
1.
a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event.

[doingitallwrong]

Could you send me links to these? I almost don't believe they exist, lol

Just Google "online therapy", I got about 97 million hits (not an exaggeration!). Quite frankly, I don't feel like taking the time to list several just so that you'll come back with excuses as to why they won't work for you.

I wanted to take the Matador U classes which are for travel writing, travel photography & travel videography. Since I love to travel, write, take pictures & video, that stuff is all up my alley. The class is only $750 for all 3. The problem is, I can't do this while I have this job because I don't have enough free time and you only have a year to complete the assignments. But when I am done here, it's something I want to do. They also help you find jobs.

Hm. In the mean time, go to freelancewriting.com to find jobs you can get right now without any specialized classes. For many of them you don't need to be an expert, you just need to be able to research (and as you've said, you've got that covered).

My main issue with this is, my vehicle is all I have in life right now and it's the most important thing to me. I cant live in it (it's not a big van) but to me it symbolizes freedom and independence. Without my vehicle I would wither and die. It's my only means of escape. It's my only true friend.

As gently as possible, this would be something to discuss with a therapist. Your vehicle is just a thing. I do understand forming an attachment to a vehicle -- I still haven't gotten over selling mine three years ago, I absolutely loved that car -- but letting it dictate your life and hold you back from opportunities goes beyond just loving a car. A van you own free and clear would be just as representative of freedom and independence, and just as capable of helping you escape.

As far as your belongings, a storage space would surely cost less than you're paying for hotel rooms each month, until you're able to build a house.

But i am open to buying land to put a mobile home on it. I am pretty sure the land you saw didnt have any trees on it and the grass was probably dead, right?

No, since it's summer the parcels were actually mostly green and many were nicely wooded. Also, I didn't realize it earlier, but was looking for my own purposes and on craigslist you can find a used RV, camper, fifth wheel, etc. for as little as $500. (Of course most of those will be in rough condition, but often that's related to mobility and if you're just going to park it, not as much of an issue.) For $5000-6000 you can actually get a pretty nice set-up.

ETA: Actually in ND/MN you could probably find some deals on ice shanties or hunting blinds. Some are little more than glorified tents, but some are quite elaborate, similar to an RV or tiny house.

[hamchan]

Yeah that's what I was looking for and couldn't find any.

I just Googled "email counseling" and there were dozens at least at varying price points.

[GaiaGoddess]

Just Google "online therapy", I got about 97 million hits (not an exaggeration!). Quite frankly, I don't feel like taking the time to list several just so that you'll come back with excuses as to why they won't work for you.

I HAVE googled it, many times over the years. Yes 97 million hits will come up but out of those, how many will let you get free therapy through emails? I don't have the time to look any more either, I already tried as much as I could.

Hm. In the mean time, go to freelancewriting.com to find jobs you can get right now without any specialized classes. For many of them you don't need to be an expert, you just need to be able to research (and as you've said, you've got that covered).

I checked into that site, as well as some others. I even asked people about every site and tried to figure out which was the best one, and the general consensus about all of them is that none of them are that good, they're all aimed at people who are ok with making ten cents for an article that takes you a whole day to write. Those sites are aimed at amateurs. Not that i'm not an amateur, but i know there are better ways to make money easier than flocking to the most visited freelance writing sites that everyone else and their little brother are getting on.

As gently as possible, this would be something to discuss with a therapist. Your vehicle is just a thing. I do understand forming an attachment to a vehicle -- I still haven't gotten over selling mine three years ago, I absolutely loved that car -- but letting it dictate your life and hold you back from opportunities goes beyond just loving a car. A van you own free and clear would be just as representative of freedom and independence, and just as capable of helping you escape.

Well for one, if you wanted to take a cross country road trip, would you pick something that gets good gas mileage or something you have to spend twice as much on gas filling up twice as often? I have thought about buying a Class C, I just don't like the idea of my home also being my vehicle. That is why I almost bought a travel trailer, because if something needs repairing on your car, your entire house isn't in the shop.

As far as your belongings, a storage space would surely cost less than you're paying for hotel rooms each month, until you're able to build a house.

I want my stuff within reaching distance. I even bring a lot of books with me when I travel, I keep some at work and some at home. I HATE that I don't have access to all of them all the time. I know it seems like i'm slamming all your ideas, but remember, I too had all these ideas at one point or another (some of them more than once) and I am not going to settle on an option that isn't better than any of the other ones. I want more pros than cons, basically.

No, since it's summer the parcels were actually mostly green and many were nicely wooded. Also, I didn't realize it earlier, but was looking for my own purposes and on craigslist you can find a used RV, camper, fifth wheel, etc. for as little as $500. (Of course most of those will be in rough condition, but often that's related to mobility and if you're just going to park it, not as much of an issue.) For $5000-6000 you can actually get a pretty nice set-up.

ETA: Actually in ND/MN you could probably find some deals on ice shanties or hunting blinds. Some are little more than glorified tents, but some are quite elaborate, similar to an RV or tiny house.

I should have clarified, yes I want to live cheaply but I don't want to feel homeless, lol I DO want a little bit of modern "luxury", I wouldn't go any lower than a mobile home or travel trailer though. I had a plan to buy a travel trailer and have a friend tow it to a campground for me (since I couldn't) and then I realized that would only work for half the year, since campgrounds close in the winter. This is the coldest part of the country, and i'm chilly even when it's 60 degrees outside...i'm going to need something a little more efficient than a hunting shack.

[GaiaGoddess]

I just Googled "email counseling" and there were dozens at least at varying price points.

Wow none of these pages showed up when I was searching before. I found one that is about $200 for 5 emails. I think i'll do that one.

[Eagle]

My estimates are based on actual numbers, if it varies I used the average. But just to humor you, i'll do it.

Expenses from the last month:

TOTAL; $1433

Expenses from the previous month; (was at work the full month)

TOTAL; $309

And the previous month;

TOTAL; $1629

so if you total up the 3 months and average it out it comes to about $1100! I have been saying it's about $1200 a month. And these are the numbers directly from my checking account. Happy now?

Thanks for the info. Yes, it does seem like if you base it on two months you are off work and a full month you are at work it average out to $1100.

However, if you were to get the month prior to $1629 you'd probably be spending $300-400. Meaning if you were to take the average of the 4 month period it would come out to be

$1433 + $309 + $1629 + 400 = $3771

$3771 / 4 = $942.75 a month

In that 4 month period you spent $3771 and made roughly $4500 * 2 = $9000. So my point remains that you should be able to save a lot more than $1k a month.

[BuckyBadger]

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bull**** story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.”
― Jordan Belfort

There are reasons and there are excuses. What you have are a couple of reasons and a boatload of excuses. Other words you should look into the definitions of are "compromise," "sacrifice," and "reality."

I had a shorter list of requirements when we bought our last house than you do - and our budget was 36 times yours.

You CAN NOT have everything that you want. You want to stay in a certain place. You want to have your books with you. You want some luxury. You want space. You want this. You want that. YOU CAN'T GET EVERYTHING YOU WANT WITHOUT AN EDUCATION AND ON A MINIMUM WAGE JOB WITH THE HOURS THAT YOU HAVE. So stop sitting there wanting all these things and maybe focus on getting up and actually getting something that is in the realm of possibility.

Visit the library. ("But I want my own books near me and available at all times." Wah.) Buy a Kindle/Nook/eReader. ("But I like physical books, to look at the photos, they don't have all the books I want, etc etc etc." Boo hoo hoo.) This is what I expect your "reasons" will be for needing your books near you.

Saying that the reason you can't live in a small space is because you have a ton of books that you want at an arm's reach IS AN EXCUSE.

You can't just say "I don't like that, I won't do that" to everything. You've been doing that so far and how's that working out for you? Not so great, huh?

Wake up.

You need to realize that you can't have everything you want. You can have SOME of those things, but not all of them. So pick ONE and make it happen. Stop writing pages about what you can't do because of this and because of that and actually do something productive. Do something outside of your comfort zone.

This thread is 7 pages of people giving you excellent ideas and you saying, "I've thought of that and here are all the reasons that I can't do it."

There is no magical way for you to be able to afford a nice big place near your family for $12k. There just isn't. So start thinking about what you CAN achieve and start working toward that.

Those sites are aimed at amateurs. Not that i'm not an amateur, but i know there are better ways to make money easier than flocking to the most visited freelance writing sites that everyone else and their little brother are getting on.

Okay. So go out and make some of that easy money. What's the delay?

How can I manage an apartment when i'm only home a few days every other month? You have to live there. If you're talking about doing this after I'm not at my job anymore, well I already thought of that, lol (Yes I pretty much have looked into every option), but if you read the job description you have to do snow removal and groundskeeping. That is why only men do it, or couples (and then the wife will do office work).

EXCUSES! You can't run a snow blower and toss out rock salt? You can't weed? Seriously?



I think we're all trying to be nice but this is ridiculous. It's like talking to a wall. You need to wake up and face reality. Make sacrifices. Make compromises. Stop thinking about all the reasons you can't do something and start DOING SOMETHING TO IMPROVE YOUR SITUATION.

I'm sorry to be so blunt, but this thread is insane. There has not been one iota of movement on the OP's part. It's pointless.

[doingitallwrong]

none of them are that good, they're all aimed at people who are ok with making ten cents for an article that takes you a whole day to write.

You're clearly talking to the wrong people. Some sites are very poorly paid, certainly, others not so much. One site for which I write pays $15-25 for a 250-450 word article, which should take at most an hour to write. If you write well for that site, you can get (as I have) assignments that pay $200 per article, for 500-750 words, which take about two hours because you need to quote a professional in that field (you can do the 'interview' via email). Another site for which I write pays per page view, so it really depends on the popularity of your subject, but even the niche topic for which I write generates around $10/month in income, and I haven't written anything there in several months. (The person who was writing about "Twilight" made thousands of dollars a month for the several years that the books and movies all the buzz. Those topics are harder to get, of course!) Articles on that site are 150-250 words, so should take maybe 1/2 an hour. (I've gotten some $15 articles from that gig as well, which are local interest "top five" topics and take maybe an hour and a half, which includes research.)

Not everyone is successful, of course. You need to be able to write well from the start, you need to be able to follow a certain style book (depends on the site), and you need to be able to a) make changes if your editor asks for them and b) accept changes your editor makes without asking (this, too, depends on the site). I certainly wouldn't say I've been successful, but I always intended it to be a side job and not a full-time income, and still I managed to clear $3600 one year (before the $200 assignments were available, even) by working a couple of hours on Fridays. Averages out to about $36/hour, which isn't too shabby, IMO.

I am not going to settle on an option that isn't better than any of the other ones. I want more pros than cons, basically.

OK, but you do understand all of these suggestions are TEMPORARY, right? Something to get you out of your current situation, which you say is untenable, while you work toward your perfect situation, if such a thing exists? It seems almost any option is better than what you have now, from what you've said. You like your job but don't know how long it will last. You hate ND. You hate staying with your mom when you're off work. Why not go for something that has more pros than your current situation and get yourself in a better mental state (by not dreading your two weeks off work)?

Or, why not stay with friends or other family during the two weeks instead of with your mom? If you're willing to stay in an area you don't like and can't afford to be near them, the least they could do is let you crash with them for two weeks every other month.

Or stay at an inexpensive motel that offers weekly rates? Of course that would be more than you're currently spending on hotels, but as Eagle points out, you've got a lot of unaccounted-for income.

I wouldn't go any lower than a mobile home or travel trailer though. I had a plan to buy a travel trailer and have a friend tow it to a campground for me (since I couldn't) and then I realized that would only work for half the year, since campgrounds close in the winter.

So buy one and have a friend tow it to your own plot of land. At the prices I'm seeing you wouldn't even need to sell your car, $12,000 could get you land and a travel trailer.

This is the coldest part of the country, and i'm chilly even when it's 60 degrees outside...i'm going to need something a little more efficient than a hunting shack.

You've clearly not seen some of the top of the line hunting shacks. They're basically travel trailers but more wood-y on the interior rather than brass and carpet.

At any rate, I think I'm done here. There's clearly nothing anyone can suggest that you won't reject, so there's little point in continuing the discussion. I do wish you the best of luck, but am not very hopeful that anything about your situation will change until you do. Again, hopefully someone in the future who is willing to step outside of their comfort zone and make short-term sacrifices to improve their long-term situation will find this thread helpful.

[JulieAlbright]

Okay look. I'm just going to say one more thing and it is a conversation very similar to the one that I just had with my twenty-something son who is giving me a whole bunch of the things I see you typing here.

You are not that special.

You think you are disabled? Please. I wish you could meet my youngest son. He's severely autistic. Non-verbal. Marginally toilet trained and has the Developmental levels of approximately a three year old. He is disabled and will be his entire life. He will stay with his Father and Myself for as long as we are able to care for him, and then he will likely move to some sort of sheltered living/work environment. And shockingly, he is not even the most severely disabled student at his school. He can walk, he can run, he can laugh, he can feed himself and he does have limited means of communication and learning abilities.

You. Are. Not. Disabled. You drive. You work 84 hour a week shifts. You read. You write. Very well actually. You Surf the Internet and converse on message boards. Work days, nights or with people or without. Don't care. You have abilities and there are jobs you can do which will pay.

You can want anything you want. Get an education to or not. Do whatever the heck you want. Surround yourself with books in your car. But if you want something better than what you have, then you are going to have to find a way to pay for it. With money. You want free Therapy by email that meets your specialized schedule? HA HA HA HA HA. Sorry but I have to say it. That therapist spent years in education and believe me, he/she also didn't love every second of school either. That therapist did it because he/she chose a career that they would enjoy AND allow them to be self-supporting.

But here, I took Psych 101 in college and I'll give you the free version, because you really do get what you pay for. Get the bleep over yourself and realize that all these things you complain are the same types of problems everybody else has - you are not that special.

What people here are telling you to do, there is a reason this is what "everybody else does." Because IT IS WHAT WORKS. Gain skills, become productive, earn money. From Warren Buffett to you. Because you are not all that special that the world is going to make a special set of accommodations for you. Oh Gaiai wants this? Well, maybe we should all just chip in and give it to her because she likes to be awake at night and finds social interaction difficult, oh and she has a physical need to stay in a hotel room every couple of night or she's just going to collapse in a puddle of delicate goo from the stress.

Please. Give me a break here. You're telling us that you get in your car and drive to a completely different State to work 84 hour a week shifts cooking. The lady who does that is NOT the weak, tremulous helpless victim you are trying to claim to be. That takes guts. That takes courage. That takes motivation. The woman who does that is not incompetent and helpless.

So here is the choice. Go get what you want. Or not. You can just park yourself here on the internet message boards telling people why their suggestions just can't work in your terribly unique and difficult life, and then look around next year and discover --- hey, now you're 42 years old and life is still just as bad.

It's up to you because you are only hurting yourself here.

I think I can see why life at your Mom's house is …. likely contentious.

[bjl584]

I'm thinking OP is a troll. Apparently it has worked. Look at the time of her posts. They are all over the place. Afternoons, nights, overnight, early morning. Anyone working 84 hours a week wouldn't have completely open internet access.

Sad thing is, there are actually people out there that think like this. Hopefully they will stumble upon this thread and learn something from it.

[Eagle]

Or this could simply be her 2 week time off time?

[bjl584]

Or this could simply be her 2 week time off time?

Maybe. But I'd be using my two week off time to make my life better. Not wasting it complaining to people on the internet that every idea they suggest won't work.

[hamchan]

My husband is legally blind. He cannot drive a car, or read regular sized print even with his glasses. He also has stage fpur kidney disease, severe anemia, and has had two serious bone infections in the last four years. I mentioned him not being able tp.do maany kinds of work because of his physical limitations once. He asked me what I meant. I said, well that automatically rules out anything where you would need to drive, ride a bike, operate heeavy equipment, many jobs that are highly physical, any job requiring a lot of eye for detail, any job where you have to read handwriting, etc. He said he never thought about it that way. He said he only thought in terms of what he could do.

Getting an education with a learning disability was not an easy thing to do. I accepted that it would be harder for me, and I chose my career path carefully with this in mind. When it's something you really want,you find a way.

Making drasti changes all at once works for some people. For me, for it to work, I have to it more gradually and allow myself more time to get used to new things.