I just did the unthinkable to earn money as a student

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Jkid
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25 Sep 2009, 12:16 pm

Making my own business as a scribe.

I would be getting money for living expensives for college from two sources, from my father and from social security. For reasons unknown the social security office in harford county decided to cut my SSI $600 check in half to $280. Now normally I would keep half of the money and the rest goes to bills, but due to various reasons and the fact that my mom for two weeks used one of my credit cards over the limit (one day after I payed the minimum balance on that card), and social security decided to change my SSI check to a monthly retirement check because I earned irregular income throughout the year (like once every month of two), most of the check is used for bills now and the rest I keep for myself.

And my dad despite promising me to pay the rest of my $600 by the end of the month last month, said to me today that he couldn't. Guess the answer? The economy. And who knows when the real economy will recover? I don't know until 2011-2012? And I don't know when he's actually pay me that money.

I realized myself that I can't rely on anyone or anything anymore. But what can I do? I can't get a part-time job on campus because: 1. I can't get hired anyway because the I don't have the experience needed or the job has already been filed when I inquire about it in person. 2) Even if I get hired it will take a month to be actually paid, and 3) I have to file taxes to the IRS which what SS uses to determine my SSI payments and if I get any decent income in a month, that will jeopardize my SSI and my medicare benefits.

So I did the very unthinkable, making my own self-business as a scribe. I plan to type papers for students who have lots of handwritten notes or a handwritten student paper and I type them for these students for five dollars a page. Rush typing and proofreading of these notes would be extra. And it would be by hand-to-hand cash transaction only. Because I'm in a hard place, I have about $70 in cash on me. So this morning I stapled 23 flyers on message boards around the University of Maryland campus.

But I have no hope of getting any business. (Yes I am a very pessimistic person, but that's another story.)



southwestforests
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25 Sep 2009, 1:07 pm

Jkid wrote:
...and if I get any decent income in a month, that will jeopardize my SSI and my medicare benefits.

That does cause something of a dilemma.


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MommyJones
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25 Sep 2009, 1:09 pm

There are worse things you can do than working under the table. We all have done it. I actually did it for a restaurant once. I worked for cash tips only. I also used to babysit. Just because I'm of working age doesn't mean that not turning in my babysitting money is illegal. Working a legitimate job and not filing a tax return is illegal. You are selling your time with a mutual agreement. Lets call it a form of barter.

Stealing from someone is unthinkable. Don't be too hard on yourself.



Hagbarthr
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25 Sep 2009, 3:34 pm

With a headline like that, I thought you were going to be cooking meth in your dorm room or selling $5 handjobs.

A typing service?

Don't sweat it.



thedaywalker
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25 Sep 2009, 3:37 pm

when i read that you did the unthinkable i figured you became a prostitute. anyways theres always worse ways of earning money



Willard
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25 Sep 2009, 4:15 pm

Working off the books is no big deal unless you're making enough for it to qualify as an actual occupation. Hell, even the IRS isn't interested until it reaches a couple grand - and my guess is, that would be a hell of a lot of typing. Unfortunately, people are much more facile with keyboards now that computers and printers have been household items for twenty years. Back in the days of typewriters, you could have easily made a full time living just typing other people's papers.

The header was a bit dramatic. I thought you were making money working motel rooms with a CraigsList ad or taking bribes to let necrophiliacs into the mortuary after hours. After a buildup like that, typing seems rather dull. C'mon, make up a better story... :twisted:



Woodpecker
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25 Sep 2009, 4:26 pm

I was rather shocked, I thought that you would be about to tell us you were doing something superbad like selling sex. Rather than typing for cash.

I used to get free drinks in return for granting access to lecture notes, I was known as a student who took very good notes at lectures.


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DylanMcKay
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25 Sep 2009, 4:52 pm

Woodpecker wrote:
I was rather shocked, I thought that you would be about to tell us you were doing something superbad like selling sex. Rather than typing for cash.


Well folks, maybe that's why it was labeled the "unthinkable." That headline threw me off too! I mean, I would have never guessed that what was to follow it was "Making my own business as a scribe." So maybe the joke's on us :) .



MDD123
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25 Sep 2009, 6:41 pm

I just joined the reserves for 15k, there's no other way to get any money right now.



zer0netgain
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25 Sep 2009, 8:33 pm

Working under the table. A fine tradition done around the world.

Since you can't support yourself on SSI, you might as well do something to bring in extra money to help out.



Logan5
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27 Sep 2009, 3:45 pm

Here are a few more ideas

"Can't find work? Try looking for cash."
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/disp ... 5/mm-cash/

You also might want to look into selling your blood plasma. Yeah, it is not as fun as donating sperm, but it pays more. :wink:



Ahaseurus2000
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27 Sep 2009, 7:37 pm

southwestforests wrote:
Jkid wrote:
...and if I get any decent income in a month, that will jeopardize my SSI and my medicare benefits.

That does cause something of a dilemma.


I'm in a similar boat with my welfare payments. I would lose some money straight away, and if I earn more than NZ$80 per week the amount taken off skyrockets.

These rules haven't been adjusted for changes in minimum wage. That wage is at least NZ$12 per hour now, so at most I could work 7.5 hours a week.



Tim_Tex
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27 Sep 2009, 9:47 pm

What's a scribe?


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