Journey to Supporting Myself

[SoulRaven]

I just wanted to share here. 

The month of May was the first official income I have earned since I was 15 and became significantly disabled a year later. I'm now 27. I've been living off of SSI at $733/month without the ability to save, as total accounts cannot go over $2000. Dealing with SSI is a nightmare and a half, and I recently decided I'd rather work myself to death than go crazy from dealing with them.

It wouldn't be possible without my awesome partner by my side, helping me when I'm too exhausted to move or not safe to drive. He's so incredibly  supportive of my goal to no longer need SSI.

In May I earned $152.01 total, mainly from one weekly housecleaning job (1-2 hours of work/week, for a good friend who is super flexible since I can't be reliable) and a couple dollars from a paid text and survey.

Halfway through May, my sister told me about an online chatting gig. It took a week to go through the application process, and another week before I received my first paycheck.

Meanwhile, June 1st I got a phone call. "Grandma's house was being broken into in broad daylight the last day the renters were moving out. Can you house-sit for a month or two, starting tonight?" We worked out the terms, and since I'm unable to use the house itself (smokers) and due to the extensive history of break-ins, we agreed it was more of a security position than house-sitting and I would be paid $25/night I parked in the driveway and took care of lights and blinds.

In June I earned $824.01 total. (!!!) In addition to the security job, turns out the chat gig suits me well, to the tune of $50+/week. The housecleaning is $25/week.

It's now July, and my friend whose place I clean is traveling this month, thus not needing my services. Last week when I was there she says "by the way, that friend of mine you met the other day asked about our arrangement, and she's thinking that would be super helpful. I've told her about all your (extensive) limitations and she's cool with it. Are you interested in expanding?" I said YES!!

The house-sitting/security job is kinda "fake" and not going to last, but I am fast developing other avenues of income to make up for it when it ends. I think I might be off SSI sooner than I thought! Within a year is my goal.

The long-term plan is to support myself as a writer; these jobs are just to have the security of income before that becomes reality. In May I obtained a website platform and have been slowly but surely pursuing my dream to turn it into a career. Seattle has an awesome writers' community that I'm getting plugged into. It feels good to get serious about making this actually happen.

My health is significantly suffering in some ways, and better in others. Having an influx of money that I can't save has been an interesting position to be in -- there has been no shortage of good uses to put it towards and it relieves my anxiety significantly to have more safety and comfort items on hand.

There's still going to be interesting times ahead, but I'm really hopeful based on the way it's progressed so far. Here's to independence!!!

 

[Stephen]

Good for you!

 

[Almost There]

Awesome!!

I have a couple of friends who I wish would take inspiration from you!!

I know it must be tough to work around all your limitations but two thumbs up for being so determined!!

 

[speedhighway46]

Bitty: your perseverance is inspiring! Hats off to you!

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Congrats Bitty! I see a successful future heading your way!

 

[rvpopeye]

Hey , you're actually getting there ,,,keep it up and you can write a book on how you did it !
Who knows , maybe the SSA will buy the rights as a cost saving measure????? It could happen....

 

[highdesertranger]

good for you and good luck. I hope you meet your goals. highdesertranger

 

[sephson]

It's good to hear that things are looking up for you Bitty! Here's hoping it's the start of a trend for you!

 

[cyndi]

Bitty, you are just freaking awesome! You go, grrrrrrl!

 

[jimindenver]

Bitty

When you clean a persons house, you are not selling the fact that you can clean, anyone can clean. You are selling the fact that you can be trusted and you have to take advantage of that. Please be careful with the chemicals.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

good for you Bitty, You say this is "fake" but I reckon that this could be a good angle to exploit, especially for a van dweller, not only would people who are away like to have a van parked in their yards but imagine all the new houses that are being built around town
they have building material on site, sometimes tools, with a van parked in the yard overnight I am sure this would be a deterrent for would be thieves. and a great place to overnight for a vandweller,maybe even electricity for a heater, loaded with a few references and a business card racking up to these sites might yield something, I don't think it would be a hard sell for a few hundred a week how can they loose.. good luck.

 

[SoulRaven]

Bitty

When you clean a persons house, you are not selling the fact that you can clean, anyone can clean. You are selling the fact that you can be trusted and you have to take advantage of that. Please be careful with the chemicals.

Thanks. No use of chemicals, my friend fully transitioned away from that. Vinegar, baking soda, and steam works wonders.

good for you Bitty, You say this is "fake" but I reckon that this could be a good angle to exploit, especially for a van dweller, not only would people who are away like to have a van parked in their yards but imagine all the new houses that are being built around town
they have building material on site, sometimes tools, with a van parked in the yard overnight I am sure this would be a deterrent for would be thieves. and a great place to overnight for a vandweller,maybe even electricity for a heater, loaded with a few references and a business card racking up to these sites might yield something, I don't think it would be a hard sell for a few hundred a week how can they loose.. good luck.

I looked into the house-sitting thing pretty thoroughly. There are basically three types out there. Security type: prefers male, requires at minimum someone be able-bodied. Task type: requirement of some essential daily or semi-daily task, e.g. feeding a pet or watering sensitive plants. Requires rock solid reliability. Or the third: straight-up house-sitting, which is practically never paid for, in fact the person doing the house-sitting is typically expected to cover all bills during their stay. Living rent-free is considered payment enough.

The first is my current job, which I got only because it was relatives and they were desperate for someone immediately who was trustworthy. Every other ad I've seen of this type requires able-bodied and prefers male. The second, I can do if it's only 2 day in a row max, and only if it's okay to have someone sub for me last minute if a crisis comes up. Works for family and friends, not so much for Craigslist strangers. The last both isn't paid and I cannot utilize it much due to the inability to use their shower, indoor cooking, or take off my mask inside. :/

 

[SoulRaven]

The following CL ad is a good example of construction security jobs and requirements:

Security detail 9pm to 3am lynnwood

Looking for someone with a car and clean driving record from 9pm to 3am Thursday thru Sunday. Four days a week for the next two months or month and a half. Must be clean cut and fit to conduct foot patrols. Construction site security. Must live within 10 miles of lynnwood.

No drug use please. No felonies.

$11/hr easy job.

It's the "fit" part that gets me every time with these type of jobs. :/

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I get those kind of construction site jobs where you have to walk around to see it all, with a flashlight and a big dog, that would be a bit scary at 2am. I was thinking of inner city residential houses where they tore down the old one and are building a new one on the same site, All you have to do is sit in your van in the driveway as a deterrent , if you hear something you call the cops. This would be small construction crews/companies, In order to get these you would likely have to do a bit of leg work and go directly to the contractor on site and ask, or let them know of the benefits from spending a few hundred a week, paying for a set of eyes not muscle. I have often thought of this when I see a house under construction, how easy it is to take a few sheets of plywood and how exposed it all is at some point during the build and how it seems like a perfect job for a vandweller.

 

[akrvbob]

Thanks. No use of chemicals, my friend fully transitioned away from that. Vinegar, baking soda, and steam works wonders.

Bitty, I've become a big fan of Dr. Bonners cleaners and very impressed with it's cleaning power. But I have to wonder if it's actually all-natural and healthy. I use it on my dog and myself so I want to be sure.

Do you have any knowledge or feedback about it? 
Bob

 

[SoulRaven]

Bitty, I've become a big fan of Dr. Bonners cleaners and very impressed with it's cleaning power. But I have to wonder if it's actually all-natural and healthy. I use it on my dog and myself so I want to be sure.

Do you have any knowledge or feedback about it? 
Bob

I've used some of Dr. Bronner's castile liquid and solid soaps, but not the cleaner. I'm guessing you're referring to this?

The main controversial ingredient in there is the sodium lauryl sulfate. SLS is pretty much the only thing that differentiates this from their liquid castile soaps. You can read a page here on some of the suggested dangers for SLS. Personally I avoid it in daily use products, but I'd keep it on hand to use for tough jobs without a second thought.

The other factor is the fir and spruce essential oils have been known to sensitize people over time. Anything in the pine family does. But this isn't necessarily a reason to avoid it, just to be on the lookout and discontinue use if it happens. The essential oils don't really contribute to the soap's effectiveness beyond mild antimicrobial properties, they just make things smell nice.

I mainly use Nutribiotic liquid soap, which is just water, soaponified coconut oil and citric acid. I find it's enough for pretty much any job out there. Plain coconut oil soap can dry out your skin though, so for daily use stuff like hand washing I prefer Dr. Bronner's unscented liquid soap, which uses other oils in addition to coconut oil that are more moisturizing.

Hope that helps!

 

[SoulRaven]

I was thinking of inner city residential houses where they tore down the old one and are building a new one on the same site, All you have to do is sit in your van in the driveway as a deterrent , if you hear something you call the cops. This would be small construction crews/companies, In order to get these you would likely have to do a bit of leg work and go directly to the contractor on site and ask, or let them know of the benefits from spending a few hundred a week, paying for a set of eyes not muscle.

Thanks for clarifying. I'll definitely keep that in mind for next time I see some construction!

More progress happening.

Today I put up an only mostly-finished article for some peer review from a few friends. I'd been working on it for two weeks, now. Even in its current state, a friend-of-a-friend requested my permission to print copies and use it as hand-outs in their classes! I made sure I let them know how stoked I was, and opened the conversation to discuss rates. Even if that doesn't pan out, it's a huge boost to my writing to see how others value it, and to begin informing people that the value I provide comes as the result of hard work that deserves pay!

I arranged for one pet-sitting job, got another maybe pet-sitting job, and turned down a third, since the dog is a puppy and would require my constant presence and energy. All of these are from family and relatives.

When I arrived at my house-sitting/security job today I found the front door unlocked. This is the third time 5 weeks of doing this a relative has left a door unlocked or even wide open! I'm getting lots of appreciation for catching their errors. It feels good to be useful and earning my keep. The job is expected to last another 6 weeks at least.

In the meantime, over 4th of July I snagged a flash sale of 5 ebooks for the price of one ($10) that are all about actually making a living as an independent writer. I already knew this freelancer gives out solid advice on the subject. I'm halfway through the first and it's been super helpful, which is why I knew how much my personal minimum rate is and the importance of having some sort of contract in place for each gig. The friend-of-a-friend who approached me might balk at it, but those who do aren't the clients I want anyway.

I'm learning.

 

[Bast]

You are certainly awesome. I sometimes think that my life is very difficult then I remember yours. You are an inspiration

 

[akrvbob]

I've used some of Dr. Bronner's castile liquid and solid soaps, but not the cleaner. I'm guessing you're referring to this? 

Thanks Bitty!!! I think I confused you, I do use the Tea Tree Castile Soap but I think of it as a cleaner. This is what I use:
https://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/TEATREE/OLTT08.html
I use it on everything including my counter tops, Coleman 1 burner stove, even my bbq grill and it cleans them all very well. Like I said, I also use it on me and my dog.  My dog loves to roll in poop so he gets bathed with it on a very regular basis and it works super well. 
I guess I'm concerned that it does too GOOD a job for an all-natural soap--if that makes sense.  I'm very fortunate to have no sensitivites, so do you think I am okay to keep using the Dr. Bonners Tea Tree Castile soap for everything?
Bob

 

[SoulRaven]

Thanks Bitty!!! I think I confused you, I do use the Tea Tree Castile Soap but I think of it as a cleaner. This is what I use:
https://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/TEATREE/OLTT08.html
I use it on everything including my counter tops, Coleman 1 burner stove, even my bbq grill and it cleans them all very well. Like I said, I also use it on me and my dog.  My dog loves to roll in poop so he gets bathed with it on a very regular basis and it works super well. 
I guess I'm concerned that it does too GOOD a job for an all-natural soap--if that makes sense.  I'm very fortunate to have no sensitivites, so do you think I am okay to keep using the Dr. Bonners Tea Tree Castile soap for everything?
Bob

Sorry for the confusion! Yep, I think you've made an excellent choice. I can't think of any reason why that wouldn't be fine to use on everything.