Homeless

I think when I go pay the rent, I am going to have a little chat with the landlord and find out what his plans actually are.

We have been looking at mobile homes up north...some are going for 50,000 bucks, you own the land AND the home, in the pines. Looks promising. Problem is...we need to get a loan. So...if the landlord would buy it....or get a loan on it with our names on it too...perhaps we can rent to own it from HIM. Once we die, he can have it back for his own family..in his estate sorta thing. Its a win win. We have a roof til we are dead...we pay the payments and the taxes (as long as it does not go over 450 per month..which is my SS and we live off hubbys like we have been), and for reward, the landlord gets it back to resell or give to his family..whatever he wants to do.

That is the plan, anyway. And if he says no, not interested, then I fall back on Plan B. The van and us living in our car.
 
Well..I have some great news!! I just went and paid the rent and the landlord said we don't have to go anywhere! We can stay here as long as we like!! YAY!! This means I will always have roomies, but thats ok. I can live with it. I am just breathing a HUGE sigh of relief because I have been stressed for the past year worrying that we would have to go. Nope. We don't!!!!

Happy dance!
 
I've been foloowing this thread and that is fantastic news Kaya...now we've got to help find a solution for linda ...georgia has given some excellent advice :) I hope it's gonna be of some help to you linda..
 
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Linda needs to find a small two bedroom somewhere near a college town, then rent out the other room. Or...look for a caretaking postion...or...manage a motel. Free roof!
 
There's always what I did as a fall-back when I couldn't even get a McJob in 2009 after DH died. Heck I couldn't BUY a job! So I did something that I've always liked to do and became a cleaning fairy. The demand is out there for sure. At first I was so stretched for time that I was cleaning two houses a day and had a waiting list. That finally got to be overwhelming, and I worked so much that I was always bone tired so two years ago I cut back to only one job a day and called all the wait-listed people to tell them it was going to be a no-go because I was settled into the client list I had and unlikely that any of them would quit. I don't work as much now and even have a day off here and there...and occasionally TWO days off.

However, it can be brutally hard work and isn't for everybody. Advantages? I get paid the day I work so if the wolf is at the door, I know I'll have a bit of cash when I'm done. And I don't have to work for anybody I don't like or in a house that's impossible to clean. Also, in the past year, clients have started asking me to dog sit for them, which is a nice bit of extra cash, and I dog sit for dogs that know me in houses that I'm familiar with.

Dog sitting, dog walking, house sitting and, of course, cleaning are the only things I can think of that require no particular skills, allow you to set your own hours and give you the freedom to turn down work that you don't want.
 
Georgia, I too cleaned houses for a living, but that has been several years ago. Now, I fear that if my darling of a husband leaves this world before me, I don't know what I"ll do. I would like to go back to work, but my health hasa me at it's mercy. I get up in the morning and my BP is generally sky high. This morning it was 184/112, which the Dr. says is driven by my pain level. And that is just the first thing on the list.
 
It's tough nowadays. Really tough. I would like to still work, but my health won't let me. At least, not physically. I have been piddling around with ebay since 1998, so that is one venue I can still do. Hard to hold a brush or a pencil or do labor jobs, but thank God I can still type and sometimes even that is a PITA. Ebaying brings in extra funds. Going yard salin' is hard sometimes too...but at least hubby knows to find certain things that we know will fetch some bucks either on CL or ebay. Maybe LindaV can do that? Buy dressers at yard sales for 5 to 10 bucks, slap a coat of white paint on it, sand it, put it on CL as shabby chic and sell it for 50 to 75 bucks. That's what I do...once in awhile if I am in remission from the RA and I can hold the brush longer than 15 minutes.
 
Ina, I understand. Every day I thank God for my relatively good health and strong back (and sometimes a strong stomach!!!) so that I can continue to be a cleaning fairy. If I get hurt or sick, I won't be starving and will always have my granny flat to live in, but I won't much like being strapped for money. As it is now, I get a pretty healthy SS check and a smallish pension from AT&T and earn half again the amount of my SS with my cleaning jobs. I don't count the income from dog sitting because it's sporadic and there's no way to know how many days each job will last, so it's just "extra" money (as if there's any such thing as "extra" money).

When I read some of the posts here, I'm grateful that I'm so fortunate but also know that there but for the grace of God, go I!
 
There are a lot of folks in LindaV's and my boat. I know I am ok here for some time, thank goodness, so that takes a lot of stress off. I also plan to replace the roomie I have now with someone retired or semi retired that wants to pay less rent in exchange for helping me do stuff I have trouble doing. Pushing a vac kills my hip and back, cooking with heavy pans kills my wrists. So someone that will vac, do the dishes or cook a meal now and then would be great...and pay less on the monthly rent. She will be moving in August or September...so that is my next plan of action. Finding someone having a tough time and needing a roof and the same time me getting some much needed help.
 
LindaV: Road trip! Off to Kaya's house :D Maybe you should ask nwlady to see if she wants to join you. I know she was looking for a solution, too.

Y'all could be the 21st century version of The Golden Girls!
 
In 08 I had several bad grand mall seizures, and now my hands tremble, so I need to find another media, see what i can do. I am a self taught portrait artist. I love the structure of peoples faces. My last portraight went for $300.00, but I didn't do them for the money, I just love peoples faces, the older the better. I worked as an accountant for twenty years, that I knew would pay the bills.
 
I get to be Dorothy! Hubby is Ma. That leaves Rose and Blanche! So who is nwlady and who is lindav??? Choose ladies, lol.
 
Ina said:
In 08 I had several bad grand mall seizures, and now my hands tremble, so I need to find another media, see what i can do. I am a self taught portrait artist. I love the structure of peoples faces. My last portraight went for $300.00, but I didn't do them for the money, I just love peoples faces, the older the better. I worked as an accountant for twenty years, that I knew would pay the bills.
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I miss painting. Did it as a living for some years. My antique shop was full of my work and I had many customers. I wish I could still do the intricate work but...can't any more. Maybe I can teach LindaV or NWlady via the internet?
 
This is some of my work:

This one was all beat up. I sanded it to death, slapped on some paint, sanded it some more so it would look funky. Bought it for 10 bucks..sold it for 175 bucks.

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This one I put white stencils on it and sold it for 250.00:

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This is a festive dresser I did for a lady that supplied the dresser...and i painted it for 150 bucks.

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I didn't want to sell this one, so I put 495.00 on it...and damned if it didn't sell 15 minutes after I hauled it to the shop!! I was not happy.

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This one is plain brown, with raised stencils I painted gold. Sold it for 250 bucks.

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And this one made me an international artist cuz it was purchased by a gal in Belaruse. It cost her more to ship it than the price of the coffee table itself!

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I can paint a wall. A picture? I don't think so. I can THINK a picture, though. Does that count?

One of my grandsons has RA. He's only 31 and wasn't diagnosed until he was in the army after the Iraq invasion. For him, at least his medical and medication expenses are paid for by the military and he gets VA disability. He's managed to finish his degree, but working is problematic because it's so hard for him to get around and to use his hands. When it's this hard at 31, what's it going to be like for him in 10 or 20 years? So sad.
 
Kaya, Good idea, Denise has the desire, and I'm thinking Linda has the determination. I can see it as a worthwhile endeavor. From the examples you are showing, I think there is a market.
:yougogirl:
 
Oh, there is a market. Everyone wants shabby chic and/or hand painted furniture. The pieces I did and sold were CHEAP. Look on google. Most sell for 700 bucks up to 3200 bucks. So yeah....I still buy and sell on CL...sometimes I can just slap a coat of white paint and hubby lightly sands it for me. On to CL it goes and Poof. It's sold the next day. I never spend more than 15 bucks on any dresser. I always ask between 40 and 75 bucks. Not a bad investment.
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
I can paint a wall. A picture? I don't think so. I can THINK a picture, though. Does that count?

One of my grandsons has RA. He's only 31 and wasn't diagnosed until he was in the army after the Iraq invasion. For him, at least his medical and medication expenses are paid for by the military and he gets VA disability. He's managed to finish his degree, but working is problematic because it's so hard for him to get around and to use his hands. When it's this hard at 31, what's it going to be like for him in 10 or 20 years? So sad.
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I feel his pain. Literally. I have been in remission for about a month now, but my right wrist is acting up tonight. Might have to wrap and ace bandage on it soon. Throb throb throb.
 
Georgia, if you can paint a wall, you can paint furniture. And forgive me of confusing you two ladies. The meds that bring down my BP can make my mind lazy, I awoke with BP 184/112, now after my evening dose it is 109/80.
I think maybe I"ll just observe the rest of the evening.
 
And thank you ladies for the compliments. It was fun while it lasted. :)

I did teach a friend of mine how to do it. She refurnishes furniture, sells on ebay, and her husband scraps metals just like we taught them. They are doing very well!
 
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