I have news; for some of you it may be exciting, for some of you it may seem that I have totally lost my mind, but I hope that what I am about to disclose will be followed closely by each of my readers.
For those who are familiar with me, you already know that I have a physical handicap which causes me a great deal of pain. Recently, I have entered into a pain management program. Although I am still by far not pain free, I am suddenly able to do things that I have not been able to do for quite some time. Of course, I still have days that I can do very little; but the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ certainly is getting brighter.
What I have not previously disclosed is that my husband who suffers from migraines and kidney stones [fat too often] has been downsized three times in four years. He has been a tower of strength for me, and he has been my right arm [leg, etc] quite often. We have recently discussed a venture that will either make or break us, and I am about to share that venture with you.
The economy in Western New York is far from good. It’s not like there are no jobs, it’s more like there are plenty of minimum wage jobs, all of the good paying jobs have either moved to other countries or been outsourced [also to other countries]. Neither of us can figure out how to grow younger, so the best we can determine is to grow old with grace.
We have decided to attempt to make a living helping others. Throughout this web site you will find a variety of information, from links to free samples, freebies and contests, to essays and research articles. My personal favorite page is dedicated to Paying it Forward; we have decided to expand on this; helping others and ourselves at the same time.
Yes, spending time together can be quite trying from time to time; but we have decided that we have always worked well together; after all at one time he was my assistant manager. My husband is a great bargain shopper. He is one of the few males I know who reads labels, compares prices, shops sales with coupons and rebates consistently. He is also extremely knowledgeable in computers and auto glass. I research, write, love to search through second hand shops, go to auctions and yard sales. I am an avid contester and win prizes on an average of bi-weekly. Of course, I have a difficult time maneuvering around auction sites, etc these days.
We have decided that we are going to combine all of our talents and work to make a business out of it. My husband will be purchasing, rebating and selling on eBay as our main source of income; yes, this will be rather a risky operation. He will also be doing sideline work, assisting insured persons in doing their insurance claims and getting their auto glass repaired or replaced, there will be a small fee attached to the insurance claim while still maintaining competitive market rates for the insurance companies. He will also offer, free of charge, advice to uninsured persons to get the best deal for their buying dollar. He will offer computer services to persons who need computer assistance or repair at highly competitive prices. His final sideline will be running a shopping service [for nonperishable items only] to Western New York residents who may not have the time to shop for themselves.
I will continue to enter contests and sign up for freebies. I will continue to write and hopefully sell articles, essays and novel length manuscripts. I will continue to update this website. I will also seek deals for sale on eBay, as well as practicing cost cutting maneuvers to keep our cost of living down. The final thing I am doing is container gardening. So, now that you know what we are doing, has it crossed your mind that I have yet to tell how this will help others?
It is our dream that my husband will be making enough money to pay for our minimal needs; once our basically monthly bills are met we will invest 25% of the remaining monthly net in the Pay it Forward program. We will donate to local food pantries, excess food we do manage to grow through container gardening will be offered for free to anyone who can use it. Some may feel this is not fair, that people of means will be helping themselves to vegetables meant for others, but I feel that if someone feels they need the food, they should be welcome to it. Twenty five percent of every dollar that I bring into our household will be put into the pay it forward fund.
From this fund, we will purchase children’s books so that local children can feel free to take them and read; hopefully expanding their minds. Since we live in a county in fiscal crises, many local programs have been cut. Amongst the cut programs is free library service to those from other counties. We live on the border of two counties and the libraries in the neighboring county are by far not as adequate as our libraries. Despite the fact that the Erie County Libraries are closer than the Cattaraugus County libraries, persons living in Cattaraugus County are now required to pay a $20.00 fee every six months to use our library. They are also restricted to fifteen items signed out. Some of these families cannot afford the added $20.00 fee for their children to have access to the library computers, videos and books; we are hoping to be able to raise enough money to see to it that those who cannot afford the library fees on their own will still be able to use the library.
We also have a group called LOVE INC., this is a group of varying religions who have joined together to assist local people in whatever means are necessary. This could be money for a cab so that a person can go to the doctors, medical expenses, prescriptions, food, clothing or whatever else may be deemed necessary.
I urge everyone to pray for us; not only that we make enough to help ourselves, but that our goals to help others are also met. Should anyone have any ideas for us, please feel free to contact us. If anyone needs auto glass, computer assistance or is in the mode to do some shopping, we would appreciate it if you would use us. We have links throughout the site and we are paid a small commission from the companies for sales if the purchaser clicks on one of the links from our site and makes the purchase.
