I bet you never expected to see a title like that, did you? I bet you never expected it would be a literal thing, either, did you?
We obviously do the yard sale things and we’ve picked up our share of “curb deals” along the way. I used to do some dumpster diving now and then, but certainly not to the extent that this person takes it. I can’t fathom picking $2500 worth of stuff a night. My husband asked how the heck he did it. It obviously works for some people. Not sure how well it would play in our neck of the desert. Most of that guy’s pickings came from places that are off-limits around here.
Since SSD shut me down cold, and an appeal will take God knows how long, we’re rearranging the finances. Our house goes on the market this weekend, which was a foregone conclusion if the SSD didn’t go through first try. I won’t pretend to be thrilled, but neither will I come unglued. We’re planning to buy a cheapie mobile home for cash and still have enough to live on for a while, hopefully augmented by ongoing yard sale goodies and other options. That should chop our living expenses to half or less.
G and I lived in a mobile when we first got together, and we loved it. Yes, it was smallish, but it was just the two of us then and he’d come from a substantially less appealing situation. We were living in Payson, where we’d be happy to return if and when the time is right.
I finally got my ass in gear and applied for a job with an online tech support company I know and love. I had to wait for a specific opening to come available (which it did.) I followed their directions to a T and attached a spiffy resume.
One of my proofreaders pointed out that I’m so overqualified for the job that it’s ridiculous. Maybe so, but it has a couple of key differences between it and some other jobs. You can work from anywhere with an Internet connection and it includes benefits. I’m not 100% sure of the pay, but given the scope of work it should be in the range that will keep us afloat, provided we scale back our living expenses. We’re already doing that by swapping out a mortgage for space rent that includes some utilities. We’re hoping eventually to move to private land. I could care less if the place we live is categorized as a site built place or a mobile, as long as it’s ours and in decent condition. That means no daily commute. I’ll still have to deal with the days my hands refuse to work.
I read an entry from someone who works for the company where I applied. He said his “office” locations have included a folding chaise on a beach; a plastic chair on his patio; various coffee shops, cafes, and a few more exotic locales. Hey, if I were to spring for a quality 4G tablet I could theoretically work my way through our yard sale escapades. (For the record, I don’t plan to do so unless it’s a job requirement.)
After emailing them, I got an automated response swearing they got my email and that they honestly, truly, for reals would reply to me in a few days, give or take.
Could be interesting.
I have a couple of other things in my peripheral vision, including the servers project that WILL get going, dammit. It’s too important to let it slide. However, in terms of actual reliable income that doesn’t require me to travel nonstop or spill my blood to finance, this job is definitely on the better end of the spectrum.
And if nothing else, there’s always dumpster diving for fun and profit.