How do you make money?

[mom2meiko]

OK - I can't believe I am posting this but like many people, my husband and I are seriously struggling with our finances these days. We are way behind on our mortgage and I am terrified that we may lose our home!

We're looking at what we can do to get some money quickly to pay off what we owe and have only come up with a couple of ideas...

1. He listed his car for sale - we will drop down to a one car family for a while. It's so less than ideal but not really sure what other option we have.

2. We're considering selling some of our art work but not sure how much of a market there may be for that at this time. Same with some of my grandparents antiques - I'm sure they would be horrified by the thought, but again, what other option do we have?

3. We're dipping into our retirement funds... He already dipped into his and can't do so again until his "loan" is paid back. I am looking into dipping into mine now... Not sure how much $$ is available, and we hate to do it but again, what other option do we have?

So my question is this - what other ways have you come up with to make some good money fast?

 

[Liberty Belle]

Is your Disney trip paid for? I guess you can't cancel that?

Other than selling things (including plasma) or getting extra jobs, I'm not sure what else you could do.

 

[gillenkl]

Your ticker says you have a disney trip in 2 months - can you cancel and get your money back? If you can't pay your mortgage - unless this trip is free, you may want to cancel.

 

[Lisa_M]

Do you work? If not, you should try to find a job. Any job. Maybe if you know some elderly people you could do odd jobs for them, like run errands, go grocery shopping and stuff.

I also agree on cancelling the Disney trip. There will always be time for a trip later when the finances are under control again.

 

[samshane]

About 1 1/2 yrs ago, things were tight for us so I went and got a part-time job which was exactly what we needed (I am also a freelance editor - but the pay from that was so sporadic, it was hard to do anything). The schedule works out perfectly with my kids as well. I know you are looking for something fast... that's my only idea. I agree with the others as well about your trip. Just something to consider if it is not paid for already.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I also agree about cancelling. I think at 2 months out you wouldn't lose any money, if it is paid for. I am not one of those kind of people that likes to tell people what to do..I am also not a fanatic that stats one should not go to WDW unless they have no debt and 10 years of emergency money saved BUT...I couldn't go and enjoy myself if I though my house could be in forclosure when we returned.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Cancel your Disney trip.

I just can't wrap my head around someone stating ".....seriously struggling with our finances.....way behind on our mortgage.....terrified that we may lose our home!" yet they have a Disney trip ticker.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

OK - I can't believe I am posting this but like many people, my husband and I are seriously struggling with our finances these days. We are way behind on our mortgage and I am terrified that we may lose our home!

We're looking at what we can do to get some money quickly to pay off what we owe and have only come up with a couple of ideas...

1. He listed his car for sale - we will drop down to a one car family for a while. It's so less than ideal but not really sure what other option we have.

2. We're considering selling some of our art work but not sure how much of a market there may be for that at this time. Same with some of my grandparents antiques - I'm sure they would be horrified by the thought, but again, what other option do we have?

3. We're dipping into our retirement funds... He already dipped into his and can't do so again until his "loan" is paid back. I am looking into dipping into mine now... Not sure how much $$ is available, and we hate to do it but again, what other option do we have?

So my question is this - what other ways have you come up with to make some good money fast?

I agree with the others...cancel the vacation and put any money from it towards your immediate needs.

And if those previous DVC stays were because you own DVC, sell your ownership to help pay the mortgage. You'll get out from under the maintenance fees as well.

 

[all4themouse]

Where there is a will there is a way.... Some people Love him others hate him it worked for us daveramsey.com it is a LIFE changing deal be careful what you do and how you do it but it is worth a look. Good Luck........

 

[Mathfailure]

Earning more, and spending less, are the options.

But as someone who just recently moved from MA, the housing costs there are outlandish. Do you need to give up your home? I know that is a huge step, but if it going to be impossible to catch up and stay current, better to deal with it soon rather than when all your assets are diminished and you have nothing to start over with.

 

[MrsGoofyMitchell]

Can you look into getting your mortgage remodified? We just got under the HAMP program with our lender and it knocked off $350 a month.

I got a job working part-time in retail. I also sell a lot of stuff on Craig's List and do surveys and mystery shopping. I cut coupons like crazy!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Cancel the disney trip
IF dvc, sell it
Cells, reduce or cancel
Magazines, newspapers, coffee, take outs, fast food: eliminate
Call your utility company for a "budget plan" if offered
If tv is Cable, call to reduce that as well
If lawn service, snow service, tree service, cancel
SHOP around for HO and Auto (geico was amazing for us, literally saved me OVER 1K a year!)
Eliminate vacations until DEBT is paid...
Try buying BULK and Sales then FREEZE ...plan menus to avoid stores and impulse buys
Go ROOM to room, see what you can sell, Use Craigslist (no fees, CASH transactions)
Best of Luck to you and Your Family!!!

 

[redrosesix]

Cancel the disney trip
IF dvc, sell it
Cells, reduce or cancel
Magazines, newspapers, coffee, take outs, fast food: eliminate
Call your utility company for a "budget plan" if offered
If tv is Cable, call to reduce that as well
If lawn service, snow service, tree service, cancel
SHOP around for HO and Auto (geico was amazing for us, literally saved me OVER 1K a year!)
Eliminate vacations until DEBT is paid...
Try buying BULK and Sales then FREEZE ...plan menus to avoid stores and impulse buys
Go ROOM to room, see what you can sell, Use Craigslist (no fees, CASH transactions)
Best of Luck to you and Your Family!!!

ITA with all of this, especially canceling the trip -- it's not like you couldn't go later when you can really afford it, it will still be there (and I really wouldn't enjoy a trip that I knew I couldn't afford)

The choice between dipping into retirement funds and selling family heirlooms? Money is replaceable, but you may always regret selling the antiques. If you really have to sell them, see if somebody else in your family wants them first -- no point in starting a feud.

 

[BelleWDW]

OK - I can't believe I am posting this but like many people, my husband and I are seriously struggling with our finances these days. We are way behind on our mortgage and I am terrified that we may lose our home!

We're looking at what we can do to get some money quickly to pay off what we owe and have only come up with a couple of ideas...

1. He listed his car for sale - we will drop down to a one car family for a while. It's so less than ideal but not really sure what other option we have.


So my question is this - what other ways have you come up with to make some good money fast?

Forget the art work and antiques-in this economy these things dont sell

Question-what has happened to change your situation? WHY are you not making your mortgage? Did you stop working when the baby came?

If YOU dont work-look into doing childcare for a couple kids from your home-or even after school care for kids whose mom works. Get a night job when your DH is home-like a cashier. Selling off a bunch of your stuff will NOT recoup several months mortgage payments-you need INCOME!

 

[bigmama67]

We just refinanced our auto loan, shaved off 1%, and stretched it out from 4 years to 5. Our payments are almost $100 less per month.

When we bought our house in August, we needed a second car. We were paying exorbitant rates to insure just one car because we had had some small accidents in the past two years. We went to an agent here in town and got extra homeowners', plus policies on BOTH cars, and saved almost $800 a year over what we had already been paying (who knows what it would have been with the minivan added).

I'm going to start clipping coupons like crazy next! We take movies out of the library; don't even use Netflix. I'm trying to explore other options too.

 

[tinkbyday]

I just cannot believe you are WAY behind in your mortgage and yet are planning a WDW trip - how on earth is that justified?

My advice - get your priorities in order and stop looking for a quick fix - based on the above, there is obviously a disconnect between need and want - start looking at that before selling family heirlooms.

 

[nunzia]

Try working form home..one legit deal. We used to have a large 1-800-flowers.com call center here. They closed our center as they now have all their workers working from home. There are several requirements, but it is legit. They are hiring now, especially for the holidays, so check out their website and looked for the employment button.With the holidays coming, I'm sure tons of places are hiring. There ARE jobs..just low paying hard working ones. Try retail. Locally we have a seasonable Hickory Farms store looking for help as they do every year, and alot of openings in other retail/food also.
I've had a second, part time job for 8 years and that pays for our trips..it's a retail entertainment store. You can also do a small business like Tastefully Simple. You have little kids, so I know daycare is an issue, but alot of jobs can be flexible and work around your schedule so you could work when your husband is home. I agree Dave Ramsey can be a good idea (I have tried twice to register at live like no one else and it keeps saying it is sendig a verification email but I never get it, and yes I've checked Spam).
Anyway, get real. If your mortgage is too high, get out before you go under and get something smaller and more affordable. Buy a clunker if you need to, eat cheaply. There are so many ways to make things work, it just takes work. I speak from experience.
Good luck to you..in the future you'll look back and see the hard times made you stronger.

 

[marlynnp]

Seriously?

I thought most kids learned this by the time they were 5 or 6. People make money by providing a product or service that others are willing to pay them for.

In other words, I get my butt out of bed 5 days a week and go to work. I do my job well and they give me money.

And now you are 'way behind' on your mortgage. Why have you waited this long to find out how to make money? If you can't make money than stop spending it.

And I need to ask - what's the status of your DVC? I bet that account is current, isn't it? You should have sold that as soon as you started having trouble - you've been paying (a loan, maybe) maintenance fees and spending money you didn't really have on a lot of trips.

 

[mb168]

Definitely cancel this trip and sell DVC. You are several months behind on a mortgage and you just booked this trip in August, so the problems were there when you booked the trip. This will be hard because you are taking another family with you with their 2 children so telling them you're going to have to cancel is going to be hard but your home is much more important.

In August you wrote that he had taken a second job to help pay for DVC, and this was 6 weeks after the birth of your third child. Before you made the reservations though you were talking about driving down from MA ahead of time because of the high cost of airfare and money was tight then and DH not being able to miss work to drive so he could fly down after you got there. Then in other posts you said "We had planned on dinners at Artist Point, Whispering Canyon, 1900 Park Fare (all 3 tried and true in our books) and California Grill (would be our 1st time). This had of course been planned when we expected to be staying at WL so we are trying to determine if there culinary experience will be worth the travel hassle. Again, decisions, decisions..." (the title of this thread seemed to be aptly named "The trip we have no business taking! Jan 2010") and another post referred to you first stop after arriving at MCO and before leaving headed back was going to be at Starbucks since there wasn't one at WDW. Then there is a mobility problem due to back pains that you've had for years that is going to require you to have surgery and you're going to have to rent an ECV in Disney.

Without knowing much more about your situation it would appear, and yes I'm making an assumption here and we all know what you get when you assume, that some poor money management decisions may have been made and you're possibly living a little above your means. Possibly some of this is due to the other medical issues like infertility treatments, but DVC, high end restaurants, $5 coffees at Sbux, etc all point to a pattern leading in a bad direction when there are other problems going on. Others here have asked about you getting a job but with 3 kids, one of them newborn, you probably wouldn't find a job that could even cover the extra cost for daycare/after school care that you could handle with back problems.

Tonight when you put the kids to bed you need to have a looooong talk with DH and decide where your future is headed if it stays on this track and what you can do to change this. I don't know how many VWL points you have but they are going in the upper $70's-80's/point so with the minimum of 150pts, I'm sure a quick injection of $11k would help things out but unless you fix the problem, you've only stopped the bleeding. I wish you the best and hope to see you in Disney soon when all this is cleared up, you are obviously a Disney freak like the rest of us, just don't let it be your downfall.

 

[mom2meiko]

thanks everyone! i really do appreciate the advice - even from those few of you who came across as a bit judgmental. i probably would be thinking the same thing - how can you do a disney vacation when you are afraid of losing your home!?!?! trust me, i get it and can't truly justify it except to say the disney trip is costing us nothing but food and since we are sharing a dvc with our friends, we can eat in more often than not. (we were going to cancel it but our bff's bought our airline tickets for us because they didn't want to go without us, we have left over passes from our last trip that we will use, the kids go for free, dd will share our meals, we won't need a car rental, etc.) we already know we won't be buying any extras during the trip - it will be the cheapest disney experience we've ever had.

we are both working full time and dh actually has a 2nd part time job as well that he took on when all of this began.

we both have work issued cells - we dropped our personal cells already. we have the basic cable package no movie channels, dvr, hd or anything like that.

we stopped our trash pickup ($40/month), carwash ($26/month), we've never had lawn and snow service, etc.

i have made 2 changes to increase my paycheck by claiming 1 instead 0 on my W-4 and i used to purchase an extra week of vacation for 2% of my salary and dropped that as well. (the vacation purchase change won't take effect immediately but it's in my near future.)

i think we have 3 things that have really put us over the edge...

1. we now have our dd in daycare 2 days a week. my father used to watch her for us but can only watch 1 of the kids and the baby is easier for him and would cost more for daycare. we don't have anyone else that can/will watch her for us when we work and we have modified our schedules as much as we can to only place her 2x a week. we also use the daycare at dh's work so we get a discount there too.

2. i had to have emergency dental work that wasn't covered by our insurance and that cost us quite a bit of money that we weren't ready for. i actually haven't finished that process because we can't afford the rest of it right now - hopefully i won't end up losing my tooth.

3. thnot exactly sure how it went down but basically dh either got bad advice or (more likely) misunderstood the advice given to him by a rep at our mortgage company. ultimately he ended up "missing" a mortgage payment because he thought he was told that would make them work with him to lower our monthly rate. (makes no sense to me but i wasn't involved at this point.) when he called after the "missed" payment it was an entirely different story than he had thought and they put us onto a repayment plan that is completely beyond what we can afford - about an extra $1000 per month! if we can manage to make the payments and get this taken care of, we should be back to normal payments and a far more managable money situation come feb. we just have to get by until then.