Enough is Enough!

OK! So I've had enough of watching all of these people say they make hundreds, even thousands of dollars, working from home while the rest of us toil away for nothing. Do I believe these people? No, of course not, but is it possible? Of course - anything is possible! What the heck! I've selected a couple of sites that didn't require money upfront and started my research on affiliate marketing.

The big key to any successful venture (after cash), is a plan. My plan? Don't know - I just know I want to make money now! That should be enough to drive my success (right)?

Seriously, I started thinking about the number of times I had to look for a payday loan just to get tossed from one website to the next to the next and how frustrating that was. I did keep filling out the forms, though, all the while thinking the next one would be the last one. Why not get in on that action? I've been on the receiving end and did eventually get my loan but had to go through about 20 hoops to get it. Now I have my own link to payday loan sites and get paid each time someone fills out an application (even if they aren't approved). Sounds like a scam, right? Probably is - I've had 180 visitors to my site since last week and still haven't made enough to be paid but I only paid $29.95 for the web hosting after my 7-day trial and if I already had a website, I wouldn't have had to pay that. You could probably have your local provider host your site and have that cost included in your monthly internet bill but I don't trust our provider.

Am I making money while I sleep? No. Am I making money while I'm awake? Depends - if I get a good ad on Craigslist I will see a flow of traffic later that day. It is difficult to post though, without people calling it spam. Frustrating! So far, it has been 6 days and I've earned $147.00. Not bad considering I haven't spent money on advertising yet.

Anyway, I will keep you posted if this pays off. I am not going to struggle through another year of being broke. If I have to get another 2nd job, I will but I am going to pull myself out of this!

What has Changed?

OK - Well, for starters, I am on salary at my job now. It took me begging and pleading my case and proving myself at several projects but it happened. While this looks better to the creditors, it can still be a little scary because I can't earn overtime and I can still have my pay reduced by a percentage if sales are down. I'm working very hard to make sure that doesn't happen.

I filed bankruptcy 90 days ago and have just been discharged. We are still struggling. It really didn't matter that we filed because we weren't paying our bills at that point anyway. This isn't a matter of poor budgeting - my fiance smokes and ciggarettes have increased to $5 per pack over the past year. Getting him to stop is like asking for someone to cut off their arms. It is his one vice that keeps him sane while we struggle. Of course, that is an oxymoron - he isn't stressed while his vice is causing us to stay broke.

I did the math and we are spending a whopping $6000 per year on his habits! This wasn't a big deal when he was working but since he isn't, that money is coming out of our main budget.

I am not working a second job right now so that is what we are working on. Ways to increase our monthly income when the job market is dry. I've been looking at work-at-home opportunities to supplement my salary but there are a lot of scams out there! He has been working on cars and doing some basic remodeling for friends and relatives but they are slow to pay and don't want to pay well (they seem to think we are doing this as a favor to them).

I just had a birthday and I really want us start thinking of having a family. I know that sounds rediculous in our situation but we are both at an age when we have to say now or never. Maybe we should be a "never" couple but then it would feel like we did all this struggling for nothing. Who needs a house if you don't plan on filling it with family? We could have just let it all go and lived in an RV if that were the case. Somedays I'm tempted.......

I know - it Has been a Long time!

OK - I know it has over a year since I've posted to this blog but spending everyday worrying about where the next dollar is going to come from doesn't leave much time for posting. I'm starting again, though because we finally did come up with the money to file Chapter 7 (at least I did - we couldn't afford for my fiance to file yet). But this doesn't necessarily mean things have gotten any easier! I'm going to start posting again as we continue to fight our way out of this recession!