Broke. Need tips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did focus groups years ago when I was between jobs, signed up at 3 local companies and made $125-$300 for each focus group I was chosen for. The norm was about 150 for a 2 hour discussion. (The $300 one - I had to go to two focus groups, and reps came to my house once).

They usually overbook to ensure enough people. So, you may not even have to do the focus group discussion and they still pay you for it.

You can only do this once or twice for each company but it's a good way to get a bit of extra cash.

NP (also a single mom always looking for more money) here. I've signed up with a couple, Shugol Research and UserWorks, but rarely get called in for studies/focus groups. Any others that are good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And you can buy good frozen pizzas, frozen Thai food, and frozen Indian at trader joes (so no need to eat out)

Forget trader joes if you want to save on groceries. We only shop for Groceries at Walmart. Oddly, they recently raised the price on milk, so we get it at costco or giant, but otherwise the Walmart generic brand prices are extremely low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And you can buy good frozen pizzas, frozen Thai food, and frozen Indian at trader joes (so no need to eat out)

Forget trader joes if you want to save on groceries. We only shop for Groceries at Walmart. Oddly, they recently raised the price on milk, so we get it at costco or giant, but otherwise the Walmart generic brand prices are extremely low.

Really? They have milk for $2.99, cream for $1.29, ground beef for under $3, bananas 19 cents/lb, frozen veggies for about $1.25. Everything is super cheap there except for their other meats like chicken, steak, and fish. Their prepared foods are cheaper than eating out though.

[Anonymous]

For children's clothes, it is almost consignment sale time. IMO a lot of consignment stors around here are too expensive, or you go the thrift store route (goodwill, Salvation Army) you have to search through a ton of stuff to find that diamond in the rough, making it a waste of time just for a shirt or a pair of pants. I like consignment sales at church's and via Moms' groups because usually a great selection and prices are good. The Our KIds website has a list of local sales.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And you can buy good frozen pizzas, frozen Thai food, and frozen Indian at trader joes (so no need to eat out)

Forget trader joes if you want to save on groceries. We only shop for Groceries at Walmart. Oddly, they recently raised the price on milk, so we get it at costco or giant, but otherwise the Walmart generic brand prices are extremely low.

I found WF, believe it or not, to have the better price on milk, eggs, and yogurt than all the other stores near me (HT, Giant, Safeway, TJ),

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:two tips: pet sitting in your home or the owners

Aldi for groceries saves me a ton

Agree with pet sitting. A friend of mine just started doing this and made over $1,000 this month! I wish I had a house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did focus groups years ago when I was between jobs, signed up at 3 local companies and made $125-$300 for each focus group I was chosen for. The norm was about 150 for a 2 hour discussion. (The $300 one - I had to go to two focus groups, and reps came to my house once).

They usually overbook to ensure enough people. So, you may not even have to do the focus group discussion and they still pay you for it.

You can only do this once or twice for each company but it's a good way to get a bit of extra cash.

NP (also a single mom always looking for more money) here. I've signed up with a couple, Shugol Research and UserWorks, but rarely get called in for studies/focus groups. Any others that are good?

Same here PP (in regards to focus groups). I never seem to fit the criteria they are looking for. In the 5 years I've been on their list, I've only ever qualified for 1 study group (coffee tasting) and that was about 3 years ago. Definitely not something you can really count on. I also did mystery shopping, but the reimbursement and compensation was in the form of PayPals which was ok, but it wasn't the cash I was hoping for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cause I can't get out much and I have a child.

Um, your kid will be better off without cable. Kids do not need cable tv.

You can get an antenna, get PBS kids. No, TV is fine for kids but if you are broke get a
Digital antenna. The quality is great.

+1 I made the switch 2 years ago to an antenna and love it. PBS Kids is great.

[Anonymous]

Offering a contrarian opinion on the TV thing.

Over-the-air digital TV may not work w/o an antenna on the roof and that will cost $$$ for the antenna, the install, etc., unless you think OP needs to be tromping on the roof putting holes in it or ending up paying a couple hundred to do the setup (that may or may not work).

If it works with rabbit ears inside the house, then it's a real option to consider.

There's plenty to do on the computer (games, Netflix, etc.) but finding a broadband provider that doesn't expect you to bundle may be challenging -- like $50 for internet, $70 for basic cable + internet. This varies by region/provider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There's plenty to do on the computer (games, Netflix, etc.) but finding a broadband provider that doesn't expect you to bundle may be challenging -- like $50 for internet, $70 for basic cable + internet. This varies by region/provider.

can you tell me how to find those deals?
I have Verizon triple play and the 2 year contract expired so they are charging me an additional $10 per month because the internet got upgraded. I am paying $210 per month

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There's plenty to do on the computer (games, Netflix, etc.) but finding a broadband provider that doesn't expect you to bundle may be challenging -- like $50 for internet, $70 for basic cable + internet. This varies by region/provider.

can you tell me how to find those deals?
I have Verizon triple play and the 2 year contract expired so they are charging me an additional $10 per month because the internet got upgraded. I am paying $210 per month

What are you getting for $210 a month? I'm guessing/hoping that is land line + internet + mid or high tier cable + cell phone.

[Anonymous]

OP, can you come back? I have some questions.

Where do you live - can you add a renter and get some income that way?

What are you good at? For example, are you a good writer or have web skills? If so then you may be able to go to elance or odesk and get some work. I just don't have enough to go on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There's plenty to do on the computer (games, Netflix, etc.) but finding a broadband provider that doesn't expect you to bundle may be challenging -- like $50 for internet, $70 for basic cable + internet. This varies by region/provider.

can you tell me how to find those deals?
I have Verizon triple play and the 2 year contract expired so they are charging me an additional $10 per month because the internet got upgraded. I am paying $210 per month

What are you getting for $210 a month? I'm guessing/hoping that is land line + internet + mid or high tier cable + cell phone.

Not the op, but I get landline + international calls, internet, cable + dvr.
The dvr I need because of our house layout.

[Anonymous]

Agree with pet sitting. A friend of mine just started doing this and made over $1,000 this month! I wish I had a house.

Where did she find clients??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There's plenty to do on the computer (games, Netflix, etc.) but finding a broadband provider that doesn't expect you to bundle may be challenging -- like $50 for internet, $70 for basic cable + internet. This varies by region/provider.

can you tell me how to find those deals?
I have Verizon triple play and the 2 year contract expired so they are charging me an additional $10 per month because the internet got upgraded. I am paying $210 per month

What are you getting for $210 a month? I'm guessing/hoping that is land line + internet + mid or high tier cable + cell phone.

Not the op, but I get landline + international calls, internet, cable + dvr.
The dvr I need because of our house layout.

As soon as your contract is about to expire, you have to call Verizon to negotiate a new one. A pain, I know, but otherwise, they put you up at their highest rates. I got rid of the landline last year and now get Fios Internet and TV for $89 a month. Of course it ends up much more than that with the endless fees, a DVR and one set-top box. The total for us is about $122. I'd love to get that lower, but even though we have pretty modest income, I'd really hate to give up my DVR and watching TV as it happens, especially the news and shows not on Netflix and Hulu.