Am I semi-FIRED?

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 I did change careers. I went from factory work to pizza delivery. I couldn't care less about my "contribution to the world" or "life meaning". I'm just trying to survive.

Hang in there.
I cleaned houses when jobs were scarce in the early 80s. I made damn good money doing that for the short term. My customers (some were disabled) were happy to have the service.

I have a friend who makes a good living doing interior painting, a j*b everyone hates doing for themselves.

Are you a handyman? There may be other things you can do on a PT basis for local neighbors. I am always looking for someone to help me with j*bs I cannot do alone or are beyond Mr B's capabilities. I would suggest proposing a set task price versus hourly rate for the "quick-n-dirty' things. If it is a drawn out j*b, hourly might be better.

Take a look at www.indeed.com. You might find something to try out there.

[Andre1969]

What about a job driving elderly/disabled people around, or running simple errands for them? Aren't there jobs like that? Seems to me there would be a market for it.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre1969 I don't know that I would depend on pizza delivery though, as my only job for the long-term. It can be hard, thankless work that gets tiring as you get older. Plus, it can be downright dangerous! What about a job waiting tables, or bartending? It would still bring in a lot of cash money, but without the added automotive risks.

I would think waiting tables or bartending would be more difficult physically because you're always on your feet. Pizza delivery is spent sitting down 2/3 of the time which is what i'm looking for. If I have to stand for prolonged times then every part of my legs hurts from the hips to my feet. I NEED to find something that lets me sit for a good portion of the shift. I've been looking at job sites and haven't found a single office job that i'd have a chance at getting with my lack of experience. That leaves me with driving jobs as the only other option that i'm aware of. I think i'll do the pizza delivery for a while and see if it brings in the money I expect--$12-15/hr after gas expenses. If it doesn't i'll probably look into getting a CDL. Problem is i'd have to quit my job to get a CDL and jobs aren't easy for me to get.

[WhoDaresWins]

Aaron, I can tell by your writing that you are an intelligent fellow. Have you ever considered taking civil service tests for federal, state or county positions? They have all sorts of job classifications. Where I work, many people gain entry as case aides or accounting clerks. The pay is not bad and it comes with full medical benefits and a pension plan. We have all sorts of people in my office, from the gregarious to extreme introverts. If you can read and write, the tests are pretty easy from what I understand.

One of my co-workers was telling me the other day about a fellow he knows who recently got two job offers after being unemployed (in his fifties) for a couple of years. One job was as a file clerk for a state agency and another was working in the office of the housing authority processing applications. My boss told me that her daughter's boyfriend just got a pretty good job in maintenance at a county agency. He goes in to work after everyone leaves for the day at 4:30.

Don't give up! Almost everyone I know has had to redirect their lives at times. Best of luck to you.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 Hang in there. I cleaned houses when jobs were scarce in the early 80s. I made damn good money doing that for the short term. My customers (some were disabled) were happy to have the service. I have a friend who makes a good living doing interior painting, a j*b everyone hates doing for themselves. Are you a handyman? There may be other things you can do on a PT basis for local neighbors. I am always looking for someone to help me with j*bs I cannot do alone or are beyond Mr B's capabilities. I would suggest proposing a set task price versus hourly rate for the "quick-n-dirty' things. If it is a drawn out j*b, hourly might be better. Take a look at www.indeed.com. You might find something to try out there.

I am not at all a handyman and i'd be more likely to hire a cleaning person than be one but thanks for the suggestions. Maybe I could mow lawns and shovel drivways for a little extra cash. I'm not talking all day long but maybe 1-2 per day.

I already use indeed.com as my primary job search tool.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre1969 What about a job driving elderly/disabled people around, or running simple errands for them? Aren't there jobs like that? Seems to me there would be a market for it.

I applied for a job like that a couple months ago but I didn't even get an interview. The problem is there are so many people looking for work that employers can hand pick someone with direct experience and I don't have experience driving a van.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoDaresWins Aaron, I can tell by your writing that you are an intelligent fellow. Have you ever considered taking civil service tests for federal, state or county positions? They have all sorts of job classifications. Where I work, many people gain entry as case aides or accounting clerks. The pay is not bad and it comes with full medical benefits and a pension plan. We have all sorts of people in my office, from the gregarious to extreme introverts. If you can read and write, the tests are pretty easy from what I understand. One of my co-workers was telling me the other day about a fellow he knows who recently got two job offers after being unemployed (in his fifties) for a couple of years. One job was as a file clerk for a state agency and another was working in the office of the housing authority processing applications. My boss told me that her daughter's boyfriend just got a pretty good job in maintenance at a county agency. He goes in to work after everyone leaves for the day at 4:30. Don't give up! Almost everyone I know has had to redirect their lives at times. Best of luck to you.

Seems unlikely they'd take someone with no office experience when they have so many applicants but i'll look into it. Thanks

[Andre1969]

On the subject of fuel expenses, don't forget that you can write off your mileage. However, I'm unclear as to whether you have to itemize on your taxes to get the mileage writeoff or not. By the time I was delivering pizzas, I was itemizing, so it was a nice little bonus.

Back when I did it, the mileage writeoff usually covered most of my fuel costs. I remember it was something like 28.5 cents per mile, which in my tax bracket at the time saved me about 7 cents per mile on taxes. However, that was also back when gas was usually around $1-1.25 per gallon. I was driving a '68 Dodge Dart that got around 13 mpg in that type of driving. Those were the good old days...start off with a full tank, drive 200 miles on a busy Friday or Saturday nite. Walk out with at least $100 in cash. And the next day (don't want to hit the gas station late at nite with $100+ in cash on me!), I'd use $20 to fill up and get change back!
I dunno what the mileage writeoff is these days. Considering fuel is about 3x as much, in theory I'd think the mileage writeoff should be about 3x as much. But I wouldn't hold my breath! And hopefully you're doing it in something that gets better than 13 mpg, and has less than 300,000 miles on it!

[WhoDaresWins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 Seems unlikely they'd take someone with no office experience when they have so many applicants but i'll look into it. Thanks

A lot of jobs are gotten by being in the right place at the right time...willing and able to start work when they need you. Civil service jobs have to hire off a list so that might work to your advantage by limiting the pool of applicants when a job vacancy occurs.

I don't know the resumes of all our recent paraprofessional hires but I have overheard things like: stay-at-home Mom for thirty years, babysitter, substitute teacher, volunteer at Meals on Wheels, laid off glass factory worker, bookkeeper for consultant husband, etc.

Heck, I was a SAHM for 12 years when they hired me 18 years ago into a position for which I had no background or experience. And I did not have any political connections or know a soul at the agency. I was hired at the same time as a fellow a couple of years older than myself who had been laid off from a management job at a mega corp. He had retrained for a couple of years in a technical discipline, but his wife did not want to relocate for the jobs he could get in that field.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre1969 On the subject of fuel expenses, don't forget that you can write off your mileage. However, I'm unclear as to whether you have to itemize on your taxes to get the mileage writeoff or not. By the time I was delivering pizzas, I was itemizing, so it was a nice little bonus. Back when I did it, the mileage writeoff usually covered most of my fuel costs. I remember it was something like 28.5 cents per mile, which in my tax bracket at the time saved me about 7 cents per mile on taxes. However, that was also back when gas was usually around $1-1.25 per gallon. I was driving a '68 Dodge Dart that got around 13 mpg in that type of driving. Those were the good old days...start off with a full tank, drive 200 miles on a busy Friday or Saturday nite. Walk out with at least $100 in cash. And the next day (don't want to hit the gas station late at nite with $100+ in cash on me!), I'd use $20 to fill up and get change back! I dunno what the mileage writeoff is these days. Considering fuel is about 3x as much, in theory I'd think the mileage writeoff should be about 3x as much. But I wouldn't hold my breath! And hopefully you're doing it in something that gets better than 13 mpg, and has less than 300,000 miles on it!

Unfortunetly my car with probably only get about 15 mpg in that type of driving. You do have to itemize to writeoff the mileage. Since my income will only be about $10K/yr and the standard deduction and exemption is around $9500 it wouldn't pay to keep a detailed daily log of miles. On the plus side i'll be paying almost nothing in taxes, just SS and medicare. Since I have such a low budget I can get by on only slightly more than that. Plasma donations, the occasional side job, as well as some internet suveys will make up the difference. I shouldn't even have to touch my retirement savings except for large purchases which I don't make as often as the average person.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoDaresWins A lot of jobs are gotten by being in the right place at the right time...willing and able to start work when they need you. Civil service jobs have to hire off a list so that might work to your advantage by limiting the pool of applicants when a job vacancy occurs. I don't know the resumes of all our recent paraprofessional hires but I have overheard things like: stay-at-home Mom for thirty years, babysitter, substitute teacher, volunteer at Meals on Wheels, laid off glass factory worker, bookkeeper for consultant husband, etc. Heck, I was a SAHM for 12 years when they hired me 18 years ago into a position for which I had no background or experience. And I did not have any political connections or know a soul at the agency. I was hired at the same time as a fellow a couple of years older than myself who had been laid off from a management job at a mega corp. He had retrained for a couple of years in a technical discipline, but his wife did not want to relocate for the jobs he could get in that field.

I just looked at the Wisconsin civil service job postings and the only job that i'd qualify for(maybe) is Custodian. That is not an office job and would be too physical for me. I bookmarked the page and will go back every week or 2 to see if there's anything I may qualify for.

[martyp]

You are not semi-FIRED. You, like millions of others in this economy, are underemployed. It sounds like the root of your problem is your physical condition. I realize you aren't in the position to afford much access to health care but getting healthy should be a top priority.

[WhoDaresWins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 I just looked at the Wisconsin civil service job postings and the only job that i'd qualify for(maybe) is Custodian. That is not an office job and would be too physical for me. I bookmarked the page and will go back every week or 2 to see if there's anything I may qualify for.

Find out where your state office building is located and make a trip in to see job announcement postings in person. They test all the time for positions whether there are posted vacancies or not. Sign up for and take lots of tests for which you might even be remotely suitable and get on those lists. You might also get a part-time or casual position that leads to a full-time position in time. Take anything that gets your foot in the door.

[photoguy]

Have you looked at freelancing sites (maybe something like freelancer.com?)

I think there's a lot of jobs available for people without college degrees that don't require standing for long periods. For example, what about pet sitting? when we travel, we pay a sitter to walk the dog in the morning/evening and stay in the house overnight. I think all you would need to be is reliable/bonded.

According to some sources there has been a barbell type recovery in jobs: growth in low and high wage sectors but a thinning of the middle. Have you done any research to see what low-wage jobs are growing in your local area?

[brewer12345]

aaron, I would tale a slightly different philosophical tact. How about looking at your current situation as a transition period which will last for an uncertain period of time? You could do it for a period of years if need be, so you aren't in a house on fire. That being the case, keep doing what you are doing, but keep your eyes open for alternatives. There are a ton of side hustles out there that could substitute for what you are doing now. How about doing taxes for H&R Block or a local CPA firm? Working back office in a financial planning firm (if you saved up a big enough portfolio to make it with what you are doing, you must know something about all of this)? Local gubmint isn't a bad idea either (DMV clerk?).

How about something entrepreneurial? I have a friend who has lots of little side hustles going. He figured out that there was a specific part that collectors always want for a specific brand of rifle and that a majotr parts vendor had a limited supply that was misclassified on their website. So he bought their entire stock, send back the ones that were rusty or otherwise damaged, and now has a simple website set up that retails these things for 5 to 15X what he paid for them. He gets an order, cashes the check and drops them in the mail.

Finally, you are relatively young and mobile. How about achange of location, either to elsewhere in the US or elsewhere in the world? There are plces in the US with a more vibrant economy and places in the world with a much lower cost of living. Change your location and you could be well employed or permanently retired.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoDaresWins Find out where your state office building is located and make a trip in to see job announcement postings in person. They test all the time for positions whether there are posted vacancies or not. Sign up for and take lots of tests for which you might even be remotely suitable and get on those lists. You might also get a part-time or casual position that leads to a full-time position in time. Take anything that gets your foot in the door.

Apparently the state of Wisconsin has done away with "walk-in" testing. You now have to pre-register for testing and the testing isn't as frequent. There is testing today but I would've had to register at least 10 days ago. The next testing isn't until November 10th. Damn budget cuts

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 aaron, I would tale a slightly different philosophical tact. How about looking at your current situation as a transition period which will last for an uncertain period of time? You could do it for a period of years if need be, so you aren't in a house on fire. That being the case, keep doing what you are doing, but keep your eyes open for alternatives. There are a ton of side hustles out there that could substitute for what you are doing now. How about doing taxes for H&R Block or a local CPA firm? Working back office in a financial planning firm (if you saved up a big enough portfolio to make it with what you are doing, you must know something about all of this)? Local gubmint isn't a bad idea either (DMV clerk?). Change your location and you could be well employed or permanently retired.

I'm already in a low cost of living area with a paid off mortgage so I think i'm in a good position as far as that goes. I don't have a large portfolio but I have a low budget. I think people would look differently at my situation if my portfolio was 4X as high even if my spending was also 4X as high but it's the same thing. I don't need as much because I spend far less and am reasonably happy doing so. If I make $12000/yr and spend $12000/yr being semi-retired how is that different than someone who spends $40,000/yr and does part-time consulting work for $40,000 while semi-retired? I've seen people in that position get much more favorable comments even though it's the same situation having an income equal to expenses while working part-time and having a reserve of more than 10 years expenses.

I'm not saying I won't keep my eye open for a better paying job but I don't think I NEED to.

[Katsmeow]

Not everyone is suited to academic college. I have 3 kids. One is taking the more traditional college route.My daughter is not. She is in high school so we discuss alternatives quite a bit. In the modern world there are options for training that aren't traditional college. Around here, the community colleges are mostly open admission. Financial aid is available and there are a lot of things to train for and the training is specific to the particular field. Just some examples:

Culinary arts
Auto repair
Veterinary assistant
Floral design
Cosmetology
Interior design
Fashion merchandising
Nurse's Aid
EKG technician
Personal trainer
Medical billing clerk <--- if you like accounting tasks this might work
Massage therapy
Phlebotomy technician
Air conditional technician
Commercial truck driving
Bookkeeping <--- again if you like accounting tasks
Dental hygiene
Hotel and restaurant management
Payroll clerk


All of these courses of study can be taken part time and can be taken at the public community colleges where the cost is low (there are for profit schools that cost a lot of money but at least around here there is no need for them as they can be done very low cost at community college and any student loan debt would be low). For most of them you take courses only in the area you are training for. if you want to learn floral design you don't take history courses, etc.

These could be taken while you do the work delivering pizzas. Obviously not all of these would appeal to you but maybe something would appeal.

Another point if you really don't want to do any more schooling. My older son felt the same way. He worked as a shift manager in a fast food restaurant and makes in the range you are talking about for pizzas. No tips, but indoors and doesn't have the wear and tear on cars. Started out at minimum wage but a bright person can work his way up pretty quickly.

[photoguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 If I make $12000/yr and spend $12000/yr being semi-retired how is that different than someone who spends $40,000/yr and does part-time consulting work for $40,000 while semi-retired? I've seen people in that position get much more favorable comments even though it's the same situation having an income equal to expenses while working part-time and having a reserve of more than 10 years expenses.

The problem is when s*** happens. E.g., lets say you have a medical issue and need to payout an additional $4k that year. Or your car breaks down and you need to get a replacement, home repair, special assessment, etc. $4k/$12k = 33% of your yearly budget whereas $4k/$40k = 10%.

[WhoDaresWins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 Apparently the state of Wisconsin has done away with "walk-in" testing. You now have to pre-register for testing and the testing isn't as frequent. There is testing today but I would've had to register at least 10 days ago. The next testing isn't until November 10th. Damn budget cuts

Most definitely register for Nov. 10th then! And take tests for EVERYTHING you possibly can and get on those lists.

To paraphrase a line used several times by a character (Henslowe) in one of my favorite movies, Shakespeare in Love...."I don't know. It's a mystery to me." This is how I think about civil service lists and how they work and how jobs on them seem to materialize out of the blue, not necessarily posted where you would think they would be. You just have to be on those lists, and one day (could take a long time) you will get a letter in the mail inquiring into your availability for interview (probably several at one time, the way life is). You are a very smart guy and will do well on those tests!

Keep working all the angles in the meantime but stay positive and active and be good to yourself.