How to survive while living unemployed, poor, or broke in America.

By: Eileen Stoecklin

How to survive, while living unemployed, poor, or broke in America

PUBLISHED BY:

Paintjug publishing company

paintjug@yahoo.com

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Copyright © 2013 by Eileen Stoecklin

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License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

Introduction

You being broke, poor, or unemployed is not your fault, or maybe it is. Which ever it is, it doesn’t matter. Here’s where  you are right now. This booklet is not about helping you find a job, getting a better job, or getting a raise at  your current job. This book is about how to survive while being broke, laid off, unemployed, or short on cash. Along with finding happiness and joy while your at it.

I will give you tips on how to make money quickly, how to find free entertainment, how to find resources in your area for basic necessities, and even tips on doing everyday things cheaper.

I hope you find the idea’s in this booklet helpful in your poverty stricken state. I’ve tried and tested most of them, and the ones I haven’t tried fist hand, I know someone who has. Good luck.

Eileen Stoecklin

How to make some quick cash

Have a garage or yard sale, even in the winter.

Several years ago in the middle of a Michigan winter, my husband and me were both unemployed at the same time, and broke. So broke that we didn’t have enough money for gas to look for a job.

The idea came to me to have an indoor yard sale. On a Thursday night we dug out all of our unwanted items and priced them using masking tape. We made a sign out of cardboard that simply said “Indoor sale”. We put the sign out in the snow bank in the front of our house, with an arrow on the sign pointing to our front door.   From Friday morning to Sunday night we made a whopping $538.00.

Another time during the summer an emergency took all of our money and savings. One day we ended up with no money, food, or enough gas for my husband to get  home from work. To make things worse, we had a check bounce at the bank. Adding to that we had another check due to come in at anytime.

I decided to have a yard sale. While my son was carrying the first two items we were going to sell out to the driveway, someone stopped and purchased them before he could even get them set up on the table. From there we found several other items we could sell.

By 3:00 p.m. I left for the bank while my son attended the sale. By then I had  already made enough money to cover the check that bounced, the bounce fee, and put enough money in the bank to cover the check that was due to come in. I also put extra money in the bank so my husband could get some gas to make it home from work. On my way home, I stopped and purchased $40.00 worth of groceries.

At the end of the weekend, I ended up making $382.00. My son also made $30.00 off items he didn’t want, and I even paid him for watching the sale while I was out.

Sell unwanted items on Craigslist

For several years, every time I cleaned my  basement, there was that extra laminate flooring stacked in the corner collecting cobwebs and dust. I thought about throwing it away, but instead I took 5 minutes to post an add on Craigslist. I priced the flooring out at $75.00. Within two days someone picked up the flooring and handed me $75.00. My son sold his PlayStation on Craigslist and made $250.00.

Pawn or sell jewelry

As awful as this sounds, last January when I couldn’t cover my entire mortgage payment for the month, I sold my wedding ring.  I was short $95.00 toward the mortgage, so I drove to the nearest jewelry store that bought and sold jewelry, and sold my  $2,500 ring for $125.00 leaving me with a few bucks left over. It was horrible at the time, but within a few months I forgot about the ring. Now over a year later, I wear a thin silver wedding band that cost $15.00 at target, and I still have a house that’s up to date on payments.

Give blood for cash

I’ll admit I couldn’t do that one, but my husband has a few times. Search the internet for blood banks in your area. I know for sure in my area I.D. is required to sell your blood. The last time I heard, the going rate in my area was $30.00. Plus you’ll be helping to save someone’s life.

It takes approximately  1 ½ to 2 hours to give blood.

Sell your clothes to a consignment shop

I’ve never done this, but my younger sister does it all the time. She makes as much as $20.00 off her her nicer clothes. She drops the clothes off  at a consignment  shop in her area, and when an item sells the owner of the store calls her to come pick up her profit. She has also sold furniture and other household items on consignment.

Ebay

Yes, ebay. With a little bit of effort you can create an account and place items for sale on that site.

I like to paint pictures, so instead of letting my art sit around and collect dust I listed some of it on ebay,  and so far have sold 3 pieces.

Also, my dad gave my son a collection of comic books that we kept in a box in the closet for over ten years. When my son was old enough, he himself listed one of the books on ebay and it sold for $250.00. It was the first addition of Iron Man.

Using your talents to make money

Give music lessons

These past few years my son has been learning how to play the piano.  When he was in-between jobs and complaining because he was broke all the time, I suggested he place an add on Craigslist to teach piano lessons. He did that, and within the first day had a few calls. He charges the going rate for our area, which is $15.00 per lesson, which is  a half hour long.  He included a extra twist in his endeavors, which is, he also gives mobile piano lessons. He has a portable digital piano which makes it easy to carry it around town.

Become a tutor

If your good at math, English, history or any other subject, there are always kids or people in your area that need help. When I was younger and wanted to go back to school to get my high school diploma, I hired an English tutor. She was retired and did tutoring on the side for extra cash. By the way, I did end up finishing school and got my diploma. She charge me $10.00 per half hour and that was over 20 years ago.

Handy man or Handy woman work

If you are the Jack or Jill of all trades or just a few of the trades, or even one of the trades, put flyers up around town, or adds on Craigslist to sell your services.  I’ve been doing this for years. I’m a woman who loves and is excellent at remodeling houses. I’ve been hired to paint, do yard work, light plumbing, electrical, trim work, and also drywall repair. I charge $15.00 to $20.00 per hour depending on the work. I’ve made as much as $1000.00 on a job to as little as $100.00. Also, my husband’s a roofer, he puts adds on Craigslist to do roof repairs and does them on the weekends when he’s not at his regular job.

`                                                    Graphic design

I myself am not experienced at graphic design, but I do know a few people who are. They put adds on craigslist and hang flyers around town. They design everything from book covers, posters, to business cards.

Design t-shirts and more

My son and I have just recently discovered Zazzle. It’s a website where you can design your own t-shirts coffee mugs and more. It is entirely free to upload the design. When someone purchases your designed item, you get a cut of the profit. It does not cost anything to do this. Since my son and I  are artists we are working on designs to upload. Go to zazzle.com for more info.

Write

I’m sure you knew this was coming. Yes I have written 2 novels, plus this booklet and sell them on Amazon. There are other sites you can sell your writing on as well as Amazon.

Can you make money at writing? I do. I’ve had the two novels up for sale for about 3 years and make at least a little bit of money every month and sometimes a lot of money.

I am also working on putting my books on audio and other audio content. It’s something I just starting looking into and working on, so I don’t have a lot  of info. If you want to find more info, go to audible.com. Amazon owns that site and from there you will find how to upload audio and also tips on how to create it.

You can also try Barnes and Noble’s site, as well as ITunes,  to sell online content.

If you don’t have the patience to write a novel, you can try writing short stories or even how to books or survival guides.

Temporary or even full-time employment

If you need to work today, try calling Labor Ready. Several companies my husband has worked for, used Labor Ready when they were short staff. Labor Ready offers all kinds of different jobs, from construction, to retail, to hospitably and more. Several times the Labor Ready workers became full-time employees at the companies my husband worked for.

Kelly Services, also offers temporary employment that may turn into a full-time position. A friend of mine was unemployed and has a bachelors degree in accounting. She got a temp job through Kelly services that turned into full-time job.

Where to get free food

Getting free food requires some effort, but the pay off is great.

Apply for government food benefits or as some call them food stamps or a bridge card. Some of you already have food benefits, and some of you wish you had the benefits but think you don’t qualify. Apply, the effort is worth the pay off if you qualify for benefits.

In the old days you used to have to drive down to your nearest DHS office, fill out a booklet of forms and sit in an over crowded office waiting for your name to be called. You would then be interviewed by a case worker. You would have to wait several days, to receive a letter in the mail stating whether you were eligible  to receive the benefits or not.

Not so today. Go online and search the web for “How to apply for food stamps online”. Be sure to include the state you live in. Once you find the site, sit at your desk, couch, or wherever and fill out the online forms, then submit them.

I’ve done this off and on several times in my life. When times are tough, the tough find a way. This past January 2013 when my husband had a blip in his unemployment benefits we were pretty broke. I work but didn’t make enough to support our family of three.

One morning I sat at my computer and filled out the online forms to receive food benefits and within 2 days a state case worker called me. She interviewed me over the phone. I had to fax her copies of the information she asked for. She told me right then, over the phone that I was approved. Within 2 more days a food benefit card came in the mail that had $320.00 worth of food benefits on it. The next month my husband got his unemployment re-instated so we no longer receive the food benefits but it helped a great deal for that month.

Food banks

To find food banks in your area, call the Salvation Army, look in the phone book, search online for food banks near you, and ask the poor. The poor always know where to find free food. Call the food bank and ask when the next free food giveaway is. I think some food banks require I.D. and verification of income.

Getting food from churches or food drives

If you need food today, Search your phone book for churches. Starting from the first church on the list, call every single one of them and ask if they give out free food.              They may have food already on hand to give you.

With food drives, I usually find out about them from the schools or my neighbor. Her kids are still in school.  Once a month her kids come home with a flyer that has a list of dates, times, and places where there are food drives in my area.  You might also try your local city office to find information on food drives in your area.

Getting free food from these places requires effort. You do have to stand in a long line, along with a lot of other people that need free food. The food drives work on a first come first serve basis. I’ve been to more than a few.  If the food runs out before you get to the front of the line you get nothing.  That has never happened to me.

Go fishing or hunting

Fishing

Don’t knock it until you try it. When my husband and me were younger, at times we were so poor we used to fish for food.  There was always a near by lake where we could go sit on the shore and cast in a line.  At the time it was fun. We used to take our catch of the day home, clean the fish and that evening we would have fresh baked or deep fried fish. If we had enough change we would pick up a few lose potatoes from the grocery store or even a box of macaroni and cheese to go with our fish.  And on really good day, if we had enough money we would buy a lemon or some tarter sauce.

I tried ice-fishing once and never did it again. My husband on the other hand loves ice-fishing. Just a few days ago he went ice-fishing and brought home a bucket full of fish. He cleaned them and put them in the freezer.

Also when we were younger,  one summer we didn’t want to be held down by full-time jobs. So we made some flyers up to mow lawns. We took them around town and within a few days we had 1 or 2 lawn jobs for everyday of the week.  We made enough money to support ourselves with basic shelter, utilities, and still had some money left over.  After mowing lawns for the day, we packed a lunch and fished the rest of the day away. When I got tired of sitting in the boat, I would lay on the seat and read what ever book or magazine I brought along. On weekends we would spend our time in northern Michigan. We stayed at cabins on Lake Huron, went garage sailing, watched TV., and walked the beach looking for shells or drift wood.  The next year it was back to the grind and back to full-time employment.

Hunting

My husband also hunts. I don’t, it’s not really my thing. We ourselves do not eat venison, or any other wild game, we just don’t like it. But when my husband got a few deer  this past season, we gave them to a couple of really poor families  that we know.

You can also hunt for squirrels. My brother-in-law loves to eat squirrel stew. Again, not our thing but you might like it.

By the way, as long as you own a gun or a bow you can hunt for free on Government land in your area. Check with your local D.N.R to find out where and when. Hunting does require a license. You can get one at Walmart, Kmart, or any of those kinds of stores in your area. My husband paid around $14.00 for his hunting license this year.  You also need a license to fish.

Soup kitchens

Also, if you or your family needs to eat now, search out your local soup kitchens. These places offer top notch breakfast, lunch, and dinners. I have never had to eat at a soup kitchen, but I used to volunteer at one. We served things like fried chicken, spaghetti, pot roast, baked chicken and more. Plus we always served dessert, and a drink to go along with the meal. The facilities are clean and the food is fresh.

Free help with basic necessities

One winter in-between jobs, the school that my son attended sent an letter home with him stating that until he got the proper winter wear to be able to go outside at recess,  he was not allowed back.

I was mortified. I didn’t have an extra dime to my name, let alone enough money to buy him a winter coat and boots. I remembered several years earlier I received some help from a local Catholic church  with food until I got my first pay check. So with no other way of getting these winter items, I took the letter I received from the school down to the local Catholic church. After explaining  my situation to them, they gave me a Kmart gift card worth 40.00. Not only did I get the coat, boots and gloves that he needed, I was also able to purchase some new socks and underwear for him.

That same Catholic church helped us at times with food, and help me pay my heat bill a few times. Especially when the money I had set aside to pay our heat bill, went towards buying a new water heater when mine rusted out and leaked all over the basement floor.

It’s better to prove your situation. When I asked the people at the church  for help toward paying my heat bill after my water heater broke, I brought them my receipt for the water heater I purchased. Also another time, I brought and showed them a money order I had made out to the utility company  to cover some of the shut off notice. They gladly helped me with the rest.

They did not ask anything in return, but I offered to do something, anything around the church to show them my gratitude. After begging, they let me go outside and water all of the flowers and plants around the church.

Most places will not help you until you get a shut off notice, or are already in shut off status. P.S. I am not a Catholic, that is not required to get help from them.

Seek out charity organizations in your area. There’s lot of help out there with free clothing,  food and even household items. Call all the churches in your area and find out what their charity programs are. Call the salvation army and find out where you can find free clothing giveaway’s  in your area, along with other items. Call your city government offices, they will more than likely be able to tell you were local charity organizations are.

The state of? Weatherization program

If you are poor, broke or living close to or below the poverty level, you many be eligible to receive free weatherization help. What this means is, your state has set aside a certain amount of funds to help poor families update window’s, furnaces, insulation and more.

The reason for this help, is to help curb the cost of high heating bills for poor families. If you have an inefficient furnace, or old windows a lot of your money is literally going out the window. Or you may not be able to afford  your heating bills.

Years ago when I was dirt poor, a neighbor of mine told me about this program. I simply looked up the number in the phone book, (now you can look it up on the web) I called the organization, and a few days later went to an interview.

I was eligible to receive the free help. What they did for me was install a free brand new furnace. Yes you read that correctly, the state of Michigan purchased a new furnace and had it installed for me. The one I had was over 50 years old and my heat bill was through the roof. They also updated my windows and did a lot of caulking around doors. My heat bill went from $160.00 per month down to $65.00 per month. $160.00 does not sound like a lot in today’s utility cost , but 17 years ago that was a lot of money.

Log onto the internet and search for  your states website. Then while on the site look for a link to it’s  Weatherization Program. I just did the search for Michigan and was directed to Michigan.gov’s  web site and found the weatherization program there.

Also search that same site for job postings, and charity programs, or any other kind of government help.

Do not let them F…you over

Fight, Fight, Fight

Insurance companies

I have nothing good to say about them. But, we all have to have car insurance, and some of us have to have house insurance. After being with my insurance provider for over ten years I could no longer afford the monthly insurance bill. It seemed like my insurance bill was going up all the time, even though I’ve  never made a claim on my policy.

I simply called my insurance agent and told him I could not afford the bill anymore, and either he would find a way to reduce the bill, or I would take my business elsewhere.

He asked me how long it had been since I had my insurance credit score checked? I didn’t know what that was. He told me that when people sign up for an insurance policy the company runs an initial insurance credit score check on them. It’s different from a normal credit score. He offered to run a new one for me. A day later he called me and told me, according to my score my car insurance would drop $44.00 per month and my house insurance would drop by $16.00 per month.

I was happy and and outraged at the same time. Why hadn’t he offered to do this for me yearly? Why was it that I had to call and complain about my bill being to high before he even suggested it? Now that I know about the insurance credit score, I will be asking that he check it every year.

Cell phone companies

Cell phone company contracts are one of the worst kinds of contracts to be in, and I’m in one with Sprint. Since my bill was over $90.00 per month, I wanted to leave Sprint and get a cell phone through Metro PCS. I checked the prices and found Metro PCS would be $45.00 a month cheaper.  The problem was, I was stuck in a contract with Sprint and didn’t want to damage my credit if I terminated it early.

After paying the $90.00 per month for another year, I had finally had it. I called Sprint and this is exactly what I said to them. “Give me one good reason why I should keep paying you $90.00 a month, to get the same service that Metro PCS will give me for $45.00 per month.” The customer representative told me that I was in a contract and if I terminated early I would be charge $250.00. I told him I didn’t care anymore. I would gladly pay the fee by sending them $10.00 per month towards it, while getting a cell phone through Metro PCS. I added that I would still be saving me $35.00 per month.

He put me on hold to talk to a manager, he came back and offered me the same service I was already getting for $55.00 a month. I excepted. Also when it came time for me to get another phone, I was charge a $60.00 fee just for signing a new contract. I called Sprint and told them they had 5 minutes to remove that fee or I was going to hang up, go get a phone through Metro PCS and would come back home, call them back and cancel my service. The $60.00 fee was taken off while I was on the phone with him. I’m still with Sprint and still paying the $55.00 per month for my cell phone service.

Cable and Internet

I’m constantly messing with my cable provider. I simply call them and tell them the bill is to high and unless they bring the bill down I will have to cancel. As of right now I’m getting basic cable and the lowest speed of internet for $60.00 per month total. They do try and up the bill little by little as time goes by, but I just call again and threaten them. My bill is always reduced

One great thing about capitalism is, there is a lot of competition out there between companies, and they are doing everything they can to get your business over the next guy.  You have the ball in your court. You have the right to pick and choose which company you want to do business with. Just make sure you let the company you end up with, “Know that you know that”.

Heat and utilities

There is absolutely nothing you can do to get these bills reduced by asking the companies. Believe me I’ve tried. But there are other things you can do. I am on a budget plan with my gas company and pay a certain amount every month. Call your gas or electric provider and inquire about a budget plan.

Medical bills and your state Attorney General

Last year my son was covered by state issued health care that also covered dental. We were sure to find a dentist that would take that coverage. However when he went to the appointment he asked the receptionist if there would be a charge of any kind. She assured him that their services would be entirely covered by his insurance. We were pretty shocked when we he received a bill in the mail for $85.00. The bill stated that it was for an x-ray.

I wrote a letter to the dentist and told him about my sons inquiry before getting the work done. I  also stated that if he did not dismiss the bill I was going to write to my Attorney General and lodge a complaint against him. I also added that I was going to lodge a complaint against him to the state medical license board. The bill was dismissed, along with an apology.

If you want to dispute a bill, or something on your credit report that is not being removed even though it does not belong to you, write your Attorney General and lodge a complaint.  Your Attorney General is like having your own personnel attorney. That is why we have state Attorney Generals. To find out who your Attorney General is, go online and search for the name of the Attorney General for your state. There you will find the persons website.  On the web site it will give you the exact information you need to lodge a complaint. They will do all the work for you. The attorney general’s office staff, sends a letter to the company your complaining about, stating your complaint. Usually that’s as far as it goes.

The companies do not want the hassle of disputing a bill. Especially a  small one.  It takes a little effort to write a letter but the pay off is huge. Also, when my son got a job driving cars for a detail car cleaning shop, at the end of the week the owner tried to pay him only $20.00 for a weeks worth of work. He told my son he was paying him by piece work, and that he only paid $1.00 per car.

What I did was take a typed letter to his office  and left it taped to his office door. In the letter I asked him if he had ever had someone lodge a complaint against him, with the state Attorney General’s office, the I.R.S, or the state of Michigan’s labor board. In the letter I typed out a list of all these places, along with their phone numbers and addresses, to let him know I meant business. 15 minutes later he brought my son a check for $180.00.

More tips

Beauty

To get my hair cut I go to the nearest Cosmetology school and pay less than half of what it would normally cost. They also give very inexpensive manicures and and also inexpensive acrylic nails. The students always do a professional job. Not to mention they need to have completed several hours of cosmetology work in order to get licensed by the state, so you  would also be helping out a student.               Another useful tip to try. If  your uninsured, look for a dental school near you and get your teeth cleaned and x-rayed for free.

Taxes

A couple of  years ago, I took a tax class to learn how to do my own taxes. I ended up working for the company I took the class from for that season. I was shocked at how much people, especially poor people pay to have their taxes done. The company I worked for charged anywhere from $200.00 to $350.00 to do someone’s taxes. Since then I have learned that you can go online and do your own taxes, both Federal and State for as little as $20.00.

Please try this. It is so easy. You do not have to know anything about taxes to do your taxes online. The software provided by the company you choose, walks you through the entire process. It even catches mistakes. This is how I’ve done my taxes every year since I worked for that company. Don’t be afraid to try this. You can actually do your taxes for free, you only have to pay when you are finished and ready to submit. That way if you’re leery you can check it out first before you buy. But you will! I’m certain of it! Just as if you went some where to get your taxes done, you get a your refund within 10 to 15 days.

To find the right tax company for your needs log onto the irs.gov web site. There you will find a  link that will direct you to a list of companies. I suspect that if the I.R.S trusts these companies to do business with, you should too.

Free entertainment

Movies and books

When my husband was laid off last year and was tired of sitting around the house, I suggested that we go to the library. He laughed at me. “Why would I go to the library when I don’t read” he said.

I suggested to him that he might find some books on gardening. He always has a vegetable and flower garden in our yard every year. Out of sheer boredom he went with me. Not only did he get a stack of books on gardening, but discovered that he could borrow free movies from the library. Yep, free movies.

Now a few times a month we go to the library and get free movies and books to read. The problem is, I created a monster. My husband has learned so much about gardening that he now starts seeds indoors in the winter. As I am writing this, my husband is planting more seeds in little containers and they are all over the house in every available window space we have!

Getting back to movies, me and my neighbor swap movies about twice a year. She lets me borrow hers and she borrows mine. Also every one in my family has signed up for Netflix’s free month worth of movies. We simply canceled our membership when the month was up. Now they are offering us another free month just to try and get our business.

The arts

Where I live, in the city next to mine, every second Friday of every month the art galleries have an art walk.  The main gallery puts on a show of art, live music along with free food and alcohol. Yes you read that correctly. Free music, free food, alcohol, and the privilege to walk around an look at local artist’s works. There are 5 more galleries in the city that also host the same kind of entertainment. People come out and walk from gallery to gallery, hence the name Art Walk.

Also, I just found out that the Flint Institute Of Art’s  gallery is free every Saturday and is paid for by the company Target. That’s pretty cool. Me and my family can spend a day at an art gallery for free.

Music

Also in my area, The Flint Institute Of Music is constantly holding free concerts featuring different kinds of musicians. This month on February 8, 2013 they are holding a free concert to hear live music of Beethoven, to Broadway to the Blues. It’s totally free and it’s something different to try and could be enjoyable.

Other free fun

I live near Frankenmuth Michigan. Every winter the city of Frankenmuth hosts a free ice sculptor show.  There’s also several free festivals in my area. Another cool thing is, in a little city next to mine, all summer long they have free movies in the park. Every summer kids from all different ages sit in the grass at night and watch free movies on a huge screen.  To find this information in your area do an internet search of “free things to do in your area”. That’s how I find this information. I visit a website called Genesee county fun. Check out your county on the web to find free entertainment.

Meet new people

I was talking to my older sister on the phone a few weeks ago. I asked her what she was up to. She told me that not long ago she had an epiphany. She said one night while watching TV,  she realized that she was sitting around watching other people live their lives.  She was tired of wasting her life away on TV alone.

What she did was search out different things to do in her area. She found a group of people from all walks of life that meet every weekend and do different things together. It’s free to join.  Sometimes the activities cost money other times there  free. She did not know a single person when she joined, but now has about 40 new friends.

One of the members got free tickets to a comedy club for all the members in the group. Another time, a member got free movie passes for all the members to  a matinee at the moves. Different members at different times, hold card parties at their house, plus movie night and more.  My sister hosted a pool party at the bar where she plays on a pool league.

Be frugal with food

Freeze left overs. Even if it’s a little bit. That little bit might make a good lunch for someone someday.

Start a garden. I mentioned earlier that my husband has a vegetable garden every summer. He purchases seed packs for as little as a dollar and plants them indoors in the winter and re-plants the plants outside in the summer. During the end of summer, we eat fresh broccoli, corn, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, and more. We even cut off some of the the eyes to store bought potato’s  and simply planted them in the ground. A few months later we had fresh picked potato’s in our stew! We will be doing that again this year.

We have a small yard, so a small garden. It’s about 12’ x 12’. We also plant containers of vegetables on our deck. During the harvest we are always busting with vegetables, to many really. So what we do is take some of the vegetables, cut them up, blanch them and put them in the freezer. This past summer, we froze green beans, tomatoes and corn. It’s now February and we are still enjoying the taste of fresh vegetables. One seed pack of green beans, costing only a dollar yielded the equivalent of 50, 16 ounce cans of green beans.  Same with tomatoes and corn.

Sign up for membership with companies online

I not only love Hungry Howie’s pizza but also live across the street from one. I love them so much I went online and signed up for a membership to their email list. I wanted to get their coupons. The first email they sent me was a free order of Howie bread, with a purchase of a Howie bread. Even better than that, on the week of my birthday they sent me a coupon for a free medium one topping pizza. No purchase necessary.  I’ve done that with several other companies and enjoy their complementary free stuff just for signing up!

If you like a product that you purchase on a regular basis, email the company and let them know. Sometimes, just for you taking the time to give the company a complement, they send you coupons In the mail or through your email.

Banking

I bank with Case. So does my mom. A few years ago she asked me if I paid my bills online. I had heard of online bill paying,  but was leery of doing it. After being tired of paying for the high cost of stamps and checks, I went to Chase’s online banking website and signed up. It has been over three years since I started paying my bills online. I have not purchased a book of checks since that time and still have 5 books of checks sitting in my drawer. The only time I purchase stamps, is at Christmas time.

You can pay anyone through online banking, even a personal individual. When I owed my friend some money that lives over an hour away from me, I added her name to my online bill paying list and sent her the money through Chase.

This cost me nothing. Chase is the one that either mails the payment out through the mail or makes a direct deposit to the company I am paying.

You can also pay some of your bills over the phone at no extra charge. This is how I pay my Sprint bill every month.

Mortgage payments

If you are having a hard time paying your mortgage payments, call your mortgage company. They may be able to help you in some way. Don’t be afraid to ask. My girlfriend’s daughter did this. Her mortgage company let her skip a month of payments. It gave her an extra 30 days to get back on her feet.

Also find out if your mortgage company will except by-weekly payments. I used to pay my mortgage that way on a regular basis. The reason I did it, was due to the pay schedules my husband and I were on. Plus it was a way to make sure I would not spend the money before the monthly bill was due. Also, it helped to curb owing such a huge amount at one time.

Just to mention, I pay my car insurance monthly. It’s really hard for me and my family to save such a huge chunk of money to pay our insurance bill twice a year. I’m  charged an extra $3.00  per month to pay this way, but it’s worth it to me.

Try new things

One night I didn’t have much money but wanted pizza for dinner. All I could afford was 1 medium pizza. That 1 pizza would have to feed 4 people since my son had a friend over. While I was thinking about it, I was watching a cooking show on TV.   The chief was making onion rings. I checked my cupboards and found that I had all the stuff to make a huge batch of onion rings. I did order that pizza and along with it made a huge batch of onion rings. We ate more of the onion rings than the pizza, it was a hit!

Also, my local grocery store always sells the store brand boxes of cake mix for $1.00. My husband loves to bake these cakes and bakes us one, once a week. When we have the money we spring for frosting. If not we sprinkle sugar on top of the cake for extra sweetness.

To much time on  your hands

Learn something new

My husband is now on unemployment. Because of it we don’t have extra money after paying our bills. Since we are not able to go out much, I took up learning how to play the piano. My son purchased a piano keyboard at a garage sale a few years ago. He ended up taking piano lessons at a local collage. We bought him a really nice digital piano for Christmas a couple of years ago. The new piano is the one I play on. When he’s not around to teach me how to play, I watch youtube videos to learn. We gave the old keyboard to my neighbors daughter who also wanted to learn how to play.

Also I clean houses for a living. One of my clients is over 60 years old and took up knitting. Every time I go to her house she has knitted something beautiful. I think that’s great! At 60 years old she learned something new.

Another cool thing to try is, my mom takes her old clothes cuts them up and turns them into beautiful quilts. She didn’t start quilting until she was retired. We still have the first quilt she made for my son over 15 years ago.

Inexpensive ways to freshen  up your house

Toilet seats

Since I’m a housekeeper and see the insides of different peoples houses, I’m always amazed and grossed out by how old and disgusting their toilet seats are. Over the years toilet seats get stained, chipped and discolored. You can purchase a new toilet seat for as little as $5.00 and it takes about ten minutes to put one on.

Electrical outlets

Over the years electrical outlets get dirty, stained or no longer work properly. To fix this change them all out. Yep you read that right. A plug or switch cost as little as .47 cents and the cover plate as little as .19 cents. Once every few years I switch out my electrical outlets. All you need is the outlet and a pair of pliers, or needle nose pliers. It takes about 10 minutes to change one. Always shut off the power to the outlet before starting. If you do not have enough confidence on your own to change out a plug, or you don’t know how, find a youtube video to teach you how. It’s easy. I’m a woman and am the one who does all the electrical work in our house.

Freshen up grout

When the grout to my tile gets old and stained, I simply go to my near by home improvement store and purchase two,  $10.00 bottles  of grout refresh. It took me about 1 ½ hours to refresh the tile in my shower. And About and hour to do my entire kitchen floor. Grout refresh is like paint for grout. My tile always looks brand new!

Paint

If you can’t afford paint, but have several half-full used cans of left over paint, mix them together to give you a full gallon. I’ve come up with some nice shades of beige an grays.

Artwork

Cut out nice pictures from magazines, use beautiful post cards, or pictures from books and frame them. You can get cheap frames from Walmart or you can look for them at garage sales.

Furniture

To fix scratches on furniture take a permanent marker in a similar color to your furniture’s finish and fill them in with the marker. Then polish.

If you can’t afford new furniture search craigslist in the free items department. People are constantly giving away all kinds of free stuff, from furniture, to electronics, to appliances and more.

You can also look for furniture at garage sales. Don’t over look the old worn out pieces. Many times I’ve bought old dressers, desks, and bed frames from garage sales and simply sanded them down and either painted them or varnished them.

Two summers ago,  I bought an old antique sewing machine. I didn’t want the machine, what I wanted was the desk that it was in. I simply took out the machine, sanded down the desk and painted it black. Then I added new knobs to the desk’s drawers. I paid $5.00 for the desk, $6.00 for the paint, and $4.00 for the knobs.

Look in the trash

People are always throwing away all kinds of useful things. I found a huge solid oak desk in in someone’s trash right out on the side of he road.   There was nothing wrong with it, it only needed to be re-varnished. With a little sanding, and fresh coat of varnish it looks brand new. Also all of my dressers, makeup desk, coffee tables, bed frames and more either came from a garage sale or the trash.

Freshen up window blinds

Just this past week, while dusting my window blinds, I noticed how yellow the cords and strings were. I tried to bleach them back to white with no luck. To fix this,  instead of buying new ones, I took some white paint along with a small craft brush and painted the cords. They look brand new!

Make your own pillow cases

If you have a sewing machine, purchase inexpensive material from Walmart  and make your own pillow cases. I get material for as little as a $1.00  a yard there. It takes 2 yards to make 2 standard pillow cases. I love looking around for pretty material and the results of making your own cases is awesome.

Other helpful tips

Pesticides

A few years ago our house was being invaded by huge black ants. We tried caulking every possible hole that we could find, to prevent the ants from coming in. It didn’t work. We then tried over the counter pesticides to rid us of the ants, but still had no luck. In fact they got worse.

We could not afford to have a pesticide company come out and spray. Just about every company wanted to charge me over $200.00 for a treatment.

A client of mine told me to use Borax. It’s a product you can find in the laundry isle of your grocery store. It cost about $6.00 a box.

Make a small bowl out of aluminum foil about the size of the palm of your hand. Pour some borax in the bowl along with some plain white sugar. Mix it together with a tooth pick. Set the bowl near the spot where the ants are coming in.  That’s all  you need to do. How this works is, the first ant that eats the sugar and Borax mix, not only ingests the Borax but gets it on it’s tentacles.  He then takes it back to the nest and infects the rest of the ants. Borax is poisonous to ants. I tried this and within one day the ants disappeared.

Salting icy side walks and porches

If you can’t afford rock salt, or don’t have any one hand, use common table salt. It works just as good if not better. Even if I can afford rock salt, I still use table salt on my porch. Rock salt is very chunky. I’m always afraid someone will trip on the rock salt instead of slipping on the ice.

Cleaning products

Cleaning products can be very expensive. If your out of furniture polish and can’t afford some, put a few drops of vegetable oil on a cloth and buff out your furniture. Why buy expensive bathroom cleaners when you can mix a few capfuls of bleach with some water in a spray bottle. When I empty a bottle of a cleaning product, I rinse out the bottle thoroughly and use that for my bleach mixture.

If you run out of dish soap, use shampoo to wash your dishes.

Last but not least

If your depressed because you are poor, laid off or unemployed don’t go it alone. Get help. If you don’t have insurance call your local mental health clinic. They can tell you where you can get free counseling. I know about this first hand. Our family is uninsured. We have had to look for many free medical services and have found them. Also look for  free support groups in your area.  You can sometimes find information to these groups at your local library, or by doing a internet search. Sometimes you can even find these groups online. No one is exempt from the effects of poverty, you are not alone.

Try going back to church or finding a new church. That way you can talk to a pastor if needed or other church members. You can even become a member of online church and talk to people that way.

There is a website I visit often called spirituality.com. Every Tuesday they have an hour long live chat, with a spiritual leader. The chat  gives you uplifting ideas and thoughts to solve all kinds of everyday problems. To be a member of the site costs money, but the chats are free.

And finally

I hope all these or even some of these tips helped  you.

If you have any comments or suggestions or even creative ideas of your own on how to survive while being broke, poor, or unemployed, I would love to hear them. You can email me at

paintjug@yahoo.com

Table of Contents

How to Survive While Living Unemployed, Poor, or Broke in America