Best way to make money in a craptastic market?

[SunnyRabbiera]

Well I am facing some really hard times here like everyone else in this crappy economy, my jobs are beginning to cut back my hours and I really need some extra money to put food on the table.
I already have two jobs, and taking another is not an option as this job economy is at its worst.
I am at my wits end, I am becoming more depressive and I am seriously considering suicide.
My mental state is at a all time low, I have all the therapy and medication in the world but I feel so friggin helpless.

[pwnst*r]

suicide? please tell me you don't have children.

[SunnyRabbiera]

suicide? please tell me you don't have children.

Yeh, I do... Thats my main reason not to do it, look I do have mental treatments going on here but reality has crushed me pretty hard.

[Sporkman]

What do you do for a living?

BTW I should point out that if you are really struggling psychologically, you should seek out professional counseling. I know you are strapped for cash but it would be money well spent.

[pwnst*r]

well, that's a totally selfish act, imo. i'm very proud, but even if i had to hit up my parents or other family to help me out, i'd do it in that situation.

there's always a way out. have you cut all the costs you can? assuming that you have broadband, do you NEED it? etc.

[RiceMonster]

I really don't intend to be a jerk, but I really don't think asking for advice about serious personal issues on an online forum is the best idea. Perhaps you should talk to someone close to you, a therapist, or anyone who can help you.

[bodyharvester]

there are online support forums for people who suffer from suicidal feelings www.suicideforum.com (http://www.suicideforum.com)

this one is my suggestion, nothing professional, just ordinary people like you

hope it helps

EDIT: what the guy below me said too +1

[cptrohn]

Dude, things always look darkest just before the dawn!!

DO NOT give up.... just keep on plugging away and things will get better!!

My industry is dead right now, I went from making very good money to barely being able to make it as well, but you just have to remember that just because one door closes it doesn't mean that there will never be another one that opens. There is always hope.

[SunnyRabbiera]

I am just calling out a little and venting, I am just starting to think that its all hopeless.

[chucky chuckaluck]

if it were me, and i still felt this way after therapy and were strapped for cash, i'd switch therapists (at least, to someone cheaper) or drop it entirely. you don't have to feel good now. you just have to find some solutions to your problems. if things pick up, then you can do something about the way you feel.

[cptrohn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogaLWgE4kUI


Good song to listen too when things look dark..

[cptrohn]

Suicide=long term solution to a short term problem.......

[spoons]

SunnyRaberia, don't consider suicide an option. You sound like a good person, and there's not enough of those kind of people in this world. Your children need a good rolemodel and don't leave them. Perhaps you can ask your partner if they can do more work to bring in more money. Also perhaps you can ask a family member to lend you the cash until the situation improves.

[Sealbhach]

One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah Ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukkot) which gives you six months to find it." "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring.

On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile.

That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: gimel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimel), zayin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zayin), yud (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodh), which began the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" -- "This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.

from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_too_shall_pass)
.

[pwnst*r]

please leave religion out of this.

[ticopelp]

Flame war in 3...2...

[bodyharvester]

1...

nah, i dont think there will be a flame war

[Sporkman]

Evangelists are like hackers: they tend to attack poorly configured or otherwise compromised machines. :)

[cariboo]

Please keep religion out of this thread or it will be closed.

[HappinessNow]

Well I am facing some really hard times here like everyone else in this crappy economy, my jobs are beginning to cut back my hours and I really need some extra money to put food on the table.
I already have two jobs, and taking another is not an option as this job economy is at its worst.
I am at my wits end, I am becoming more depressive and I am seriously considering suicide.
My mental state is at a all time low, I have all the therapy and medication in the world but I feel so friggin helpless.

Reading your post is most heart breaking, and I hope that something good comes your way and brings joy back to you and your loved ones.

Be strong.

[koenn]

@OP
suicide is not an option. It's not going to get you money, it's not going to put food on the table, and it's not going to turn the economy around. If you're feeling helpless you probably want to do something, anything, but suicide would be a bad choice.

Probably the best thing to do, is to see how (or whether) you can cut your expenses. And look around for friends and relatives who might be able to help you out a bit. That's what most people do in times like these. There's not much else you can do - unless you want to consider stuff like robbery, prostitution, drug trafficking, ... but I would not recommend that.

Other than winning the lottery (and no, buying a lot of lottery tickets does not increase your chances significantly, it just means less money left for important stuff), there are no silver bullets. Or ... I happen to have gotten this email this week from a nice woman in Liberia that has a small fortune to transfer and promises me 15% if I help ...


It'll pass. But untill it does, yeah, it sucks.

[Jesus_Valdez]

Suicide=long term solution to a short term problem.......
sounds like a deal to me!!

But on the serious part, if you are under therapy there is not much that some guy on the internet could say or do better, nevertheless, I recomend work out, even something like walking for a while can help.

Also, sell stuff, people always buy stuff that they don't need.

[LowSky]

look for free clinic care, if you are really feeling like things are bad turn to family, especially if kids are involved. get well first.

if you need help, then look to see if there are any programs in your area to help the needy. If you know what you need then look for it.

If you need food, first check if you qualify for assistance, with the local or federal government.

Second, I know it was said to leave religion out of it, but many churches and such have programs to help the community. check you local place of wrship to see if they have anything to help. Even if you're not of that faith, many places will help regardless. Their missions are often to help first.

Its a bad time for jobs, and its not getting better, even with economic recovery. many employers will not hire right now to actually help post profits, even if they are short handed.

Best is to save and pinch where you can, dont buy things like soda, bottled water and candy. try to find coupons or store brands for less. many manufacturer have coupons online to print out. rice and pasta are cheap, skip the meat if you can. load up on spices to create new flavors.
Look into thing to cut cost, go with less hair cuts, or do it yourself, turn off the cell phone or switch to a cheaper plan/prepaid. if you have a cell phone get rid of the house phone. get rid of the cable subsription, or lessen it.
Explain things to your kids, that the belts need to tighten, they might have some ideas.

[Sporkman]

Look into thing to cut cost, go with less hair cuts, or do it yourself, turn off the cell phone or switch to a cheaper plan/prepaid. if you have a cell phone get rid of the house phone. get rid of the cable subsription, or lessen it.
Explain things to your kids, that the belts need to tighten, they might have some ideas.

And, absolutely go with free open-source software instead of the pricey proprietary stuff! :D

[mr-woof]

It might be an idea to make a spreadsheet with all your incomings/outgoings on, at least you should be able to work out if you can cut any corners, costs etc

[Firestem4]

Dude, things always look darkest just before the dawn!!

DO NOT give up.... just keep on plugging away and things will get better!!

My industry is dead right now, I went from making very good money to barely being able to make it as well, but you just have to remember that just because one door closes it doesn't mean that there will never be another one that opens. There is always hope.


+1. My dad's industry (Electrical Engineering/Architectual) completely tanked the past 2 years. I have no idea how my family and i have managed to get by..Every day we don't know what can happen. We also take care of two young ones.

But the industry looks to be improving by Q4 of this year..Not much but something..The economy will turn around. It will just take a little.

My sister has helped provide us with some food from a Church donation. We never asked or even knew about it, but she brought us food from the donation when we had literally nothing in our pantry or money to buy it. There are a lot of helpful and giving people out there. You just have to seek them out.

I had recently been searching for a job for over a year and I finally got a steady job in an economy where no one is hiring. They are hiring but you just have to keep at it.

Please consider your family, they are there for you and will always be willing to listen.

[stderr]

Aside - please ignore if you like ( I'm not a doctor, nor a therapist (although I know one well), but I feel obliged to mention that I do a lot of reading, and based on that, I do not think highly of anti-depressants. I don't want to go into great detail which may add further confusion, but just to say, if I were you, take them only if you want to and you feel they're having a positive effect. If you think they do, then that's fine - don't worry about it :) )

You can only do as much as you can do, and it sounds like you're pretty much there already. Past doing your best, in whatever little time you may find you have available every now and then, try and find something that makes you happy. Often it's the simplest things that actually bring some moments of real happiness. For me, I often like to immerse myself in code or in books to get away from things.

When I'm pissed off, sitting quietly, closing my eyes, slowing down my breathing, relaxing each portion of my body, and letting my mind wonder and reflect over positive things can help (mentally throw away any negative thoughts you may have for the time being - you don't need them during your periods of relaxation). Just breathing really slowly and really deeply for a while often helps by itself.

Plus you've got kids - which is great - and whilst things aren't ideal, I'd be willing to bet you're a darn good parent & proud of your kids. They will be another way for you to relax, take your mind off your concerns, and get back to yourself.

Find what makes you happy. Normally, whatever it is won't cost anything. And try to cherish the positives that do come each day; they may seem small & insignificant in the bigger picture, but for most of us it's the small daily positives that keep us upbeat. As simple as the weather being OK; as somebody holding open a door. As crap & pathetic as it sounds, trying to adopt a positive outlook really can make you more positive by itself :) I'm a good example of a hypocrite here. I know what I should be doing, but generally don't do it myself. But when I do, it tends to work.

As for the money, you're doing your best, and nobody can ask any more of you. Not even yourself.

[dragos240]

This reminds me of cow queen. Please don't be like cow queen!

[HappinessNow]

This reminds me of cow queen. Please don't be like cow queen!

Cow Queen?

[ElSlunko]

Stick it out man. We'd rather have you on the forums in the future talking about how bad "those days sucked" than not.

[dragos240]

Cow Queen?

She was a great poster on a forum I went on every day. She made a post saying that she was going to be put in some therapy of some sort and said she would rather die than go to it. On saturday, a few days, she overdosed on her anti-depressants, luckily, our forum traced her IP and notified the local authorities just in time, she almost died.

If you want, here is her blog:
http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?autocom=blog&blogid=754

[utnubuuser]

What are the thriftiest around you doing to make ends meet?

[mamamia88]

invest in stocks that you know the company won't go out of business. like gm they will get through it and their stock will go back up

[Moop]

Everyday that you press on in spite of how you feel makes you a hero to your family. Do your best even though it all feels like crap right now. Hold your head high.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

[lisati]

Like someone else pointed out, you have something to look forward to: getting on a forum somewhere and being able to say, "Boy, that was tough! But I made it!"

Mrs Lisati & myself (and no doubt other forum contributors too) have both had our crap days - having something positive to hang on to sure helps!

As someone else pointed out, "This will pass".

[scrooge_74]

There is always a way out, I being doing magic to raise two kids for the past 15 years, one day I have good job then wife has none, next year is the other way around.

If you ask for a way out it will come.

In the mean time, sit down with what you earn and what you expend. Take a step back and take an objective look at things, and cut down on stuff. Then go for a 30 mins walk to clear your mind.

pills or suicides are not the way out, they just create more problems to those around you

[perbiu]

In business, if you cant increase your income, you have to cut down your expenses. List your daily expenses and find out what is eating down your monthly income.

The TV must GO!.

[toupeiro]

1. Don't let pride stop you from taking charity, especially with children. Get food stamps, heck even consider a shelter to provide food if you have to. There are ways to keep your family fed in the most dire of times, if you are willing to accept the help thats there. Loaves of bread, ramen noodles, potatoes, and broths can go a very long way. Food stamp programs, and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children under 5) will make sure your children get the right nutritional foods available to you.

2. Do not do anything like taking your own life. All that does is destroy everyone else suffering along with you. Friends? Family? surely there is someone or somewhere you can go to to talk. Hell man, I dont even know you but IM me. I'm just a stranger but I'll listen if it saves your children from losing a parent.

3. I went through a year where I lost my job one day, my vehicle the next due to an accident, a few months later, my girlfriend at the time, one of my best friends to cancer, my aunt to more cancer, and another friend to a drug overdose. I had to live back with my parents because I couldn't afford to live and I didn't find another job for a year. It was one of the lowest, hardest points of my life. But, it got better. It always gets better, and it makes you stronger, because as broken down as you get, you learn to build yourself back up even better than before.

All the best.

-T.

[I-75]

Suicide means permanently shutting the door for good. Which means no second chances, no talking it over, plus you would never know the outcome and even if you knew the outcome...you could not change it after the door is shut. It accomplishes nothing, except hurt those around you who love you.

There are many options, refinance, selling non needed items on E-bay, family support (financial and otherwise). And no you are not alone and there are many out there who are in worse shape. Some answers include moving in with relatives on a temporary basis, or have them move in with you, relocating to another part of the country (some area are worse off than others).

Take advantage of bad situations by seeking employment in those fields like the foreclosure industry, plant closings, auctions. I was reading how this guy was out of work until he offered his services to maintain houses and property that were in foreclosure. It was cheaper for the banks to pay him to maintain properties than to let the property fall to ruin.

Auctions...people are going to plant closings and buying various items for pennies on the dollar and reselling them at profit or even as scrap.

Become a financial counselor, helping others getting through rough financial times is good therapy for oneself along with a sense of satisfaction that you done some good.

Help out in food kitchens (for free), there are others who are really homeless and cannot afford food. No it won't pay the bills, but there is a rewarding sense of satisfaction that you done some good.

[Irihapeti]

I can't offer any useful comments about work and money, but I do know quite a bit about depression from personal experience. Here are some of the things that I've found helpful.


Each day, preferably before you get up, think of three things you are looking forward to - even little things.

Each evening, think of three things that you are grateful for. Again, they can be even small things.

Do some exercise. Fifteen minutes of brisk walking can make a difference to your mood for several hours.

Have as little to do as possible with the moan-and-groan crowd. Choose positive companions. OK, you may be stuck with your workmates, but you can have choices in other areas.


I've also learned that not all forms of therapy are helpful for depressed people. The sort that get you to express your feelings or spend a lot of time looking at your past can be counterproductive. The most useful ones are those that get you to change your thinking and learn problem-solving skills, such as solution-focused and cognitive-behavioural therapy.

Hang in there. As others have said, it does pass.

[pwnst*r]

She was a great poster on a forum I went on every day. She made a post saying that she was going to be put in some therapy of some sort and said she would rather die than go to it. On saturday, a few days, she overdosed on her anti-depressants, luckily, our forum traced her IP and notified the local authorities just in time, she almost died.

If you want, here is her blog:
http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?autocom=blog&blogid=754

no blog, only a log in prompt.

[inobe]

Well I am facing some really hard times here like everyone else in this crappy economy, my jobs are beginning to cut back my hours and I really need some extra money to put food on the table.
I already have two jobs, and taking another is not an option as this job economy is at its worst.
I am at my wits end, I am becoming more depressive and I am seriously considering suicide.
My mental state is at a all time low, I have all the therapy and medication in the world but I feel so friggin helpless.

i don't know you but i do see you a lot in the help sections and you do great giving some of the best advice i have seen, you also seem to be very nice and kind.

the best advise i can give is start printing out flyers and post them at places business like supermarkets, for example computer repairs.

don't charge outrageous prices, this will keep them coming back steadily and maintain job security.

i did this in the past and was overwhelmed with customers.

use what you have and make something from it and never give up.

there is always a way out.

[ukripper]

Think about people who don't even get food for 3 days and are still living in Africa. Surely they do think there is some purpose of living for them in this world.

Just grow thick skin. Suicide is for cowards and not for a wise man/woman!

[dmizer]

I am closing this.

I think most of us (myself most certainly included) have felt the pinch recently. Regarding that, there's some good advice already given here. If you'd like more financial advice, please feel free to open another thread or look for a financial support forum.

Regarding suicide, the following is the best advice I think a forum community can provide.

there are online support forums for people who suffer from suicidal feelings www.suicideforum.com (http://www.suicideforum.com)

this one is my suggestion, nothing professional, just ordinary people like you

hope it helps

EDIT: what the guy below me said too +1

If you need personal attention from any of the staff, please feel free to PM any one of us.

Thank you, and please take care.