Comments on: Reader Mailbag #93

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:41:18 +0000

I have had great experiences with Craigslist by being very patient, testing my search, setting up my search as an RSS feed in Google Reader, and modifying my saved search when I don’t like the results. I used lots of minus signs and words to eliminate recurring noise.

By: You Suck At Kijiji

You Suck At Kijiji — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:09:30 +0000

If you’re looking for a better-policed Craigslist, consider Kijiji. It’s so well-policed, the scammers and spammers complain about it.

Not to say it’s free of nutters and baloney — hell, I collect ‘em at http://www.yousuckatkijiji.com — but it’s like a grown-up Craigslist.

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:43:40 +0000

Reader Mailbag Question:
Hi Trent, I have really enjoyed your insights on The Simple Dollar, so I thought I would write in to get your perspective (and those of your readers) on my current situation. My husband and I made the decision that after we had our second child, I would transition to being a full-time parent. This would have many benefits: great quality time and quantity time with our children, a household manager to make sure everything is running smoothly, and less stress on the family as a whole. We have a strong social support system, and I truly love being a full-time mom to the girls which I was able to experience during maternity leave. Of course, it will have a financial impact as we both earn roughly the same amount. We are not quite able to spend less than he earns, but we have planned for this gap. We have been attacking our debt for a few years; we carry no credit card balances and both cars are paid off. We only have our mortgage and some student loans left. We have a healthy emergency fund, some retirement savings, great life insurance, and a fund to cover the “gap” for three to four years. I do earn some additional income which is very part-time, and I plan to gradually increase my efforts in this area. In addition, I noticed during my maternity leave that we are able to cut more costs when I am home (e.g. less convenience foods, less fuel purchases, etc.). I feel like we have thought about our decision from all angles and have covered the bases, but obviously I am no longer objective. I know financially this decision flies against some traditional wisdom (Dave Ramsey would probably say to keep going on the debt), but we can never get back this time when our children are little. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:11:45 +0000

Trent
My 10 month old daughter got hurt in her day care. They called us promptly and we went and picked her up. She had a bump right in the middle of her forehead (about the size of a quarter) with a minor scratch in the middle of the bump. Her teacher told that she might have fallen against the edge of a wall or another kid might have pushed her or something. The center manager said it happens all the time and expressed surprise saying that my daughter didn’t get hurt sooner. I found that to be odd. We called the doctor’s office and they said my daughter’s situation does not warrant a visit and she should be fine (and she is). The reason i write this is because of the way the manager talked to us and they weren’t apologetic at all. I felt that is kind of rude…What should i do in this situation?

Thanks for your time.

By: Kevin M

Kevin M — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:23:52 +0000

Perhaps Jana could look into getting a roommate or other shared living arrangement? (I think part of her question was cut off, since the part about discounts & rent is really unclear.) However, this is probably the best way for anyone to cut costs. I realize it’s hard to leave your home, but the decreased cost may be well worth it.

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:38:11 +0000

I live in Nevada. Nevada is the #1 state for identity theft and legislation has been enacted to deal with it. I said that to say this, I loaded the mechanical turk stuff. The mechanical turk amazon site is rife with quite obvious scam artists and identity theft sites. I found only a handful of stuff that I considered truly legitimate or practical. There were far too many quite obvious data mining sites. Both Amazon and Craigslist need to clean up their act.

By: J

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:13:31 +0000

Craigslist is like an online garage sale/thrift store. I can search the listings in 10 minutes if I’m looking for something. I can’t do that with garage sales or thrift stores, and I don’t have to spend hours physically going to them.

By: Sharon L

Sharon L — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:09:55 +0000

The 85% unemployment is people with disabilities who are NOT disabled under Social Security rules, by the way.

By: Sharon L

Sharon L — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:25:57 +0000

A lot of handicapped people including blind, wheel chair bound, deaf, find full or part time employment. America’s welfare benefits and SSI are generous and in a way, the amount of taxpayer dollars redistributed this way, from the productive, to the non productive, discourages those on welfare or SSI from getting a job.
————————–
deRuiter, you are quite wrong. On SSI you get either Medicare or Medicaid, and finding health care when the doctors are paid so little is almost a full-time job. The “subsidized housing” is not of high quality, and also seldom accessible for the “wheelchair bound.” (Try saying, “people who use wheelchairs,” please. Nobody is actually tied into the chair, as its function is to give mobility.)

Very few people with disabilities severe enough to be on SSI are working. That is why they are considered “disabled.” Across the overall disabled population, unemployment is a mere 85% because bigots (check your mirror!) refuse to hire defectives.

If you object to this “redistribution from the productive to the non-productive,” then what, exactly, do you suggest that we do instead? Execution?

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:04:03 +0000

It is possible that the person on SSI could work part time. SSI does give you that first $85./month free and then they deduct half of what you earn. BUT ON SSI YOU’RE GETTING FRRE HEALTH CARE as well as being elligible for food stamps, the subsidized housing you have, food pantry, etc. A lot of handicapped people including blind, wheel chair bound, deaf, find full or part time employment. America’s welfare benefits and SSI are generous and in a way, the amount of taxpayer dollars redistributed this way, from the productive, to the non productive, discourages those on welfare or SSI from getting a job.

By: sbt

sbt — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:51:57 +0000

FWIW, the amount of SSI income can vary depending on where you live. Nine states and the District of Columbia supplement SSI with state funds.

By: Jade

Jade — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:00:45 +0000

Speaking of Mechanical Turk, I’m in a position right now where it would be something worth doing. But I’m reluctant to do so because I’m still not quite clear on the tax implications of it.

Amazon’s website says you get a 1099-MISC, but they never tell you what box the income is reported in. Has anyone ever gotten a 1099-MISC from doing these jobs for Mechanical Turk? I suspect the income would be reported in box 7, but if it’s reported in box 3 then I’d have to find out exactly how it’s taxed and reported.

I’m curious because I have no issue with paying the Feds and State whatever they’re due. But if the income is being reported in box 7 on the 1099-MISC, I’m technically supposed to file a Schedule C. Filing that form could trigger a local tax issue as the IRS supposedly has a deal with my city to let the city know who is filing Schedule C’s in the city so the city can go collect business taxes. When the city gets involved, then you have to get a business license, 60 bucks a year whether you make any money or not. And the city government is so corrupt that I’m not giving them one red cent more than I have to.

No wonder the city has so many problems with no one wanting to do business here…

By: Jill

Jill — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:53:23 +0000

We operate on the six month rule for high mileage cars- take the amount of money you’d either spend on a monthly car payment or set aside to pay cash for a car, and multiply by six. If short term repair costs to keep the vehicle moving safely down the road are less than that, then it makes sense to repair. If repair costs are more than six months of purchase costs, then it’t time to buy another car- once you start the repair cycle for a modern vehicle that has gotten into the 125-150K mile range, things will increasingly and expensively go wrong, and that’s normally the point where the vehicle earns DNR status for us.

By: tentaculistic

tentaculistic — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:22:55 +0000

To Jana: you could check out the national Angel Food Ministries (.com) website, then you can find a local site. They provide food to feed a family of 4 for a week, for $30, which might mean that you could get 1 month’s food for 1 person.

You may also scatter throughout low-cost options like lentil or split-bean soup, red beans and rice, and pasta. Probably you’re already all over that, though.

Another option is to look into pet food banks – like food banks, but to help people with pet food. Love Your Pet Expo is one resource to find such a thing (http://loveyourpetexpo.com/petfoodhelp.html).

Best to you. Sorry you are having such a hard time!

By: Sunshine

Sunshine — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:13:34 +0000

I would recommend Last Word for a group game. Basically, each player gets a subject card (computer parts, dog breeds, names of rivers, etc.) and players have to say words for that subject that all begin with a certain letter; this is randomly timed. There’s no order to it (in the sense this person goes first and this person goes next, etc.). I just played it over a friends house and, if you’re shy it’s a bit uncomfortable to get all riled up in front of people you don’t know, after a while, it’s totally fun!

By: Tara

Tara — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:33:33 +0000

I’m not much for asking advice from bloggers, but I love yours so much and I have taken a lot to heart from what you write here. My question is in relation to how you handle Christmas in your family. My unfortunate situation includes a step-daughter that lives several states (and a very expensive plane ride) away. We do have her several times a year, including right after Christmas. I’m dead set on leaving the materialistic tendencies of holiday shopping behind us and moving on to better things – more thoughtful gifts, like a trip somewhere special (but not too costly) or tickets to do something she loves. My husband has grumblingly agreed this might not be a bad idea, especially since we just bought our first new home. My problem is that my step’s real mom encourages exactly the opposite – despite the fact that she rarely works and when she does, makes just enough to feed the multiple kids that came with her new live-in boyfriend. How do we counter what I consider to be a very destructive tendency to coddle my step’s inner material girl, especially around the holidays? My initial response to her handing me a lengthy Christmas wish list was to say, “This year we’re not getting you anything on your list – what you get will be a big surprise, but I promise you’ll love it.” Surprisingly, she just kind of shrugged her shoulders and said, “Awwww, okay.” She wasn’t that depressed about it and lifted her 10-year-old self right out of the dumps when she realized we might actually come through for her. Anyway, I still think we’re fighting an uphill battle and I don’t know what to do when her grandparents and her mom give us all kinds of hints as to what they think we should buy her so they can buy her the rest of the stuff on her multiple lists!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:04:16 +0000

I would recommend scattergories for the party game. For this game you have several cards with categories on them, such as ‘things you wear’, ‘things in a diner’, ‘nicknames’, etc. Then you roll a dice with letters on it, and you have 2-3 min to come up with a word starting with that letter for as many categories as you canharder than you think). Then you get a point for each unique answer you come up with. This game can be played by both adults and children, starting at about 6-7. The game comes with cards for 6 people, but can be played with more with sharing cards or more sets. This game can lead to some interesting discussions about whether answers are valid or not.

By: Shevy

Shevy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:57:02 +0000

Well, I gave my realtor a bottle of good kosher wine once but that’s because he had connected us with a realtor in the area where we plan to retire and had faxed stuff, etc. and the out-of-town realtor was the one who got the commission when we bought. Don’t know if she gave him a cut, didn’t ask.

However, it’s usual that the realtors give *you* something. Wine, flowers, a casserole dish are all gifts of this type that I’m aware of. When we bought our rural house the welcome gift was from the *listing* realtor rather than my realtor. The gift was a bottle of wine (non-kosher, which I gave to a non Jewish friend) and crayons and 3 colouring books for my then 4 year old (she still talks about how nice the realtor was and we never even met him). And the listing realtor paid for a cleaning company to come in the day we closed on the deal, a few hours before we arrived because the former owner had not done a great job of cleaning.

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:28:50 +0000

Jana, based on your income and assets, you should qualify for food stamps. It’s a pretty simple, relatively quick process. That’ll help you to eat all month. Look into the state and federal Lifeline discount if you have a landline phone. And most electric/gas companies have some sort of assistance to help low-income households keep the heat on in the winter.

Since you’re under 65 and receiving SSI, I’m assuming you’re disabled or blind, which means that part of your $845 income is probably Social Security Disability (SSDI). With SSDI, you really need to be careful about the amount of work you do and how much you get paid or your benefits may be cut off. That link that #7 put up gives a good description of what you can and cannot do. From what I gathered, though, it sounds like the SSA assumes that you’re trying to get off disability if you work for any extended period of time and will cut off benefits when you reach a certain income level or have been working for a certain period of time.

By: Mayank

Mayank — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:57:06 +0000

Since nobody has talked about the 4th question here, let me chime in. While I agree with Trent that it’s not easy to make money with Squidoo and the likes, the potential is definitely there.

You need to have a plan for this and treat it as a business. Instead of just relying on the advertisements pay off, join some Affiliate programs and promote the products there. That’s where the real money is made.

Once you get this income stream going, then you
can use the money to build an authority site like the Simple Dollar.