Looking for advice

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

4 minutes ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

$100 per computer fixed no hourly charge or trip charge. Parts extra if needed. Installations are 1.25 times cost of materials for commercial and 1.5 times cost materials for the work.

$500/website without web shop, $1000 with webshop.

 

So basically he is repairing 12 computers a month am I right?  

 

Okok sorry being mean. But clearly what you lined out for me is part time work in reality and not a full time job at all. 

Edited August 3, 2018 by Cyberfx1024

[Mansini77 100]

Sounds like this family could use some wise financial advice.

 

I'd recommend trying to call Dave Ramsey's radio show and listening to his podcast on helping people get out of debt and start saving for retirement.  

 

When I was 22, I was a fiscal wreck. I almost lost my condo to foreclosure.  My utilities were disconnected on a number of occasions and I even had a hard time keeping the fridge filled with groceries.   Let me tell you, from first hand experience, that being poor in America is all behavior and a mindset.  One day, I got up and said "Im sick and tired of being sick and tired".    That day I applied a part time job in the evenings at my local Pizza Hut as a delivery driver.  I was hired, 4 nights a week.  Roughly 15 hours a week in total.  Between my first and second job, I was putting in 60+ hours a week.  That second job grossed between 300-400 dollars a week.  In four months, all my debts were paid and I had enough to spend nicely on Christmas gifts.  The job saved my life and changed my attitude about work, spending, and saving.  I continued doing it for another five years and I was able to live debt free the entire time and was able to travel around the world.  Yes, delivering pizzas part time paid for three European vacations, Australia, Korea countless other places.

 

I'm a business owner now, so my days of pizza slinging are over.  Many people who don't speak English well also liked delivering.  There is no need for higher education, and your English doesn't have to be perfect either.  

 

It is the perfect second job that pays instantly.  

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

  Using , or more precisely overusing , credit is an addiction. The worse thing you could do is use up your equity in your house( not your house or your equity really from what you said )  to pay off the cards and start using them again.  You need to close all the accounts asap ,   if you insist on keeping a card freeze it in a large Tupperware full of ice so you have to wait until it thaw to use it.  I was with a man that had this issue and it will be hard.  From what you have described of what your husband does sounds like things my grandchildren can do easily.  You should adjust your spending to what he makes now, not what you think he can make.    Make a budget and stick to it.  If you don't have the cash for whatever you have been using the credit card for you really don't need it.   Also you should avoid adding to your household size until you get things under control.  

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

13 hours ago, Wooderz said:

He’s been building his business for 15 years and only makes $800/month?  What is he doing differently now that makes you think in a few more months he will be more successful? Honestly, he needs to get a job somewhere. I understand that he doesn’t feel like he is entry level, but that’s temporary. Even an entry level help desk job will pay more than his business is bringing in. If he’s as good as you say, he will be promoted quickly. He can continue to build his business at night and on the weekend.

OK, so a little background on that. He used to make roughly $1200 that went into the bank account & an extra $1000 in cash (without even having an office) that he'd spend on gas, eating out, groceries and such.

Last year in September we went to Europe for 5 weeks. We set his RingCentral account, through which he has a business number that rings his cell phone to only forward between 9 and 5, Hungary time because we did not want to get calls all hours of the night (7-hour difference).

We forgot to switch that off! So he missed a LOT of calls for the better part of a year. That's why business is so dismal right now plus summer is usually slow.

7 hours ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

So basically he is repairing 12 computers a month am I right?  

 

Okok sorry being mean. But clearly what you lined out for me is part time work in reality and not a full time job at all. 

For the last couple of months, pretty much.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

5 hours ago, NigeriaorBust said:

  Using , or more precisely overusing , credit is an addiction. The worse thing you could do is use up your equity in your house( not your house or your equity really from what you said )  to pay off the cards and start using them again.  You need to close all the accounts asap ,   if you insist on keeping a card freeze it in a large Tupperware full of ice so you have to wait until it thaw to use it.  I was with a man that had this issue and it will be hard.  From what you have described of what your husband does sounds like things my grandchildren can do easily.  You should adjust your spending to what he makes now, not what you think he can make.    Make a budget and stick to it.  If you don't have the cash for whatever you have been using the credit card for you really don't need it.   Also you should avoid adding to your household size until you get things under control.  

You're right. To be fair to him, he never wanted credit cards. I wanted them, not even to overspend but to establish credit. Before he met me he only ever had 1 credit card for his business & he paid it off.

They're a definite trap. It seems like free money, but it isn't. It's a free way to get oneself WAY into a lot of nasty debt. Compounding interest..... Yuck.

BTW I adore the Tupperware idea! I'd keep one, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, because of the points, they are definitely worth it, we may accumulate enough to cover the interest paid this year, not just the yearly fee.

Edited August 3, 2018 by EM_Vandaveer

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

19 hours ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

He won't take an entry level job nor does he need a GED. IF he were to get a job, he could get one for $60k+ annually, based on his skills. He does not want the long commute. He'd need a new car.

He'd rather concentrate on running HIS business much more aggressively, more advertisement, actual office place, getting referrals ect. If he does that seriously, he'll make more in a few years than he would make in DFW as an employee. He has a computer security background. I'm not just saying that he's excellent in his field. He really is.

I didn't finish reading all posts, because I stopped when I got to this one, so apologies if any of this is redundant or already settled. I also do not intend to come off judgmental or rude, as I am saying this as an observation from someone who knows from experience.

 

This is part of your issue, in my opinion. Sometimes, you can't be picky when it comes to jobs. You take whatever you can get to supplement and provide for your family. I've always been a fan of the saying, it's always easier to look for your dream job while working your not-so-dream job than it is to look for it while you are unemployed. My husband left a very nice career that he spent 20 years building when he moved here to the states. He has a wealth of education, just not US education (he went to school in Sweden). He knew coming here he would likely not get a job on the level that he is capable of, or even technically deserves. But you have to start somewhere. This goes for both beneficiaries and petitioners. We're hoping my husband has his EAD or green card by the beginning of next year so that he can start working, but we also know sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to. So I'm already mentally prepared to get a second job next year, if need be, to make sure we continue living a life we want financially. That's also sometimes what you have to do - work more than one job. If the one you have isn't making ends meet and you can't find something better to take its place, find something to supplement it.

 

You mentioned in an earlier post he doesn't have a high school diploma. No, he doesn't HAVE to get his GED or any higher education. But having those things definitely increases your opportunities, salary wise. Some companies pay people more just for simply having certain degrees or levels of education. It's worth considering. Skillsets are great to have, but are not always good enough on their own.

[Amadia 711]

Don't know if this was asked already but do you have a computer/laptop with solid internet at home that you can do a work from home customer service job? I see you are based in Texas and you can look on www.Indeed.com. They have many WAH jobs for your state that pays well.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

11 minutes ago, Amadia said:

Don't know if this was asked already but do you have a computer/laptop with solid internet at home that you can do a work from home customer service job? I see you are based in Texas and you can look on www.Indeed.com. They have many WAH jobs for your state that pays well.

She has 3 kids IN the house and my CS jobs don't allow you to have any distractions at work. 

[Amadia 711]

4 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

She has 3 kids IN the house and my CS jobs don't allow you to have any distractions at work. 

I have seen postings for CS jobs where it does not involve talking on the phone. It can be email based communication. OP just need to do some research for jobs like that in her state. I mean, we are all trying to help give her some type of advice, right?

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

10 minutes ago, Amadia said:

I have seen postings for CS jobs where it does not involve talking on the phone. It can be email based communication. OP just need to do some research for jobs like that in her state. I mean, we are all trying to help give her some type of advice, right?

I totally agree and it was stated earlier about email based customer support jobs. She never responded back to that one at all. 

[Marieke H 2,495]

3 hours ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

OK, so a little background on that. He used to make roughly $1200 that went into the bank account & an extra $1000 in cash (without even having an office) that he'd spend on gas, eating out, groceries and such.

Last year in September we went to Europe for 5 weeks. We set his RingCentral account, through which he has a business number that rings his cell phone to only forward between 9 and 5, Hungary time because we did not want to get calls all hours of the night (7-hour difference).

We forgot to switch that off! So he missed a LOT of calls for the better part of a year. That's why business is so dismal right now plus summer is usually slow.

For the last couple of months, pretty much.

Seriously??? I agree with what many others have said, he will be much better off getting a job instead of ruining his business with mistakes like this.

Of course he can keep rebuilding his business, and even quit the job once his business is doing better.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

1 minute ago, MariekeH said:

Seriously??? I agree with what many others have said, he will be much better off getting a job instead of ruining his business with mistakes like this.

Of course he can keep rebuilding his business, and even quit the job once his business is doing better.

I appreciate your input. It was a one-time mistake that has since been corrected.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

2 hours ago, Paul & Mallory said:

I didn't finish reading all posts, because I stopped when I got to this one, so apologies if any of this is redundant or already settled. I also do not intend to come off judgmental or rude, as I am saying this as an observation from someone who knows from experience.

 

This is part of your issue, in my opinion. Sometimes, you can't be picky when it comes to jobs. You take whatever you can get to supplement and provide for your family. I've always been a fan of the saying, it's always easier to look for your dream job while working your not-so-dream job than it is to look for it while you are unemployed. My husband left a very nice career that he spent 20 years building when he moved here to the states. He has a wealth of education, just not US education (he went to school in Sweden). He knew coming here he would likely not get a job on the level that he is capable of, or even technically deserves. But you have to start somewhere. This goes for both beneficiaries and petitioners. We're hoping my husband has his EAD or green card by the beginning of next year so that he can start working, but we also know sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to. So I'm already mentally prepared to get a second job next year, if need be, to make sure we continue living a life we want financially. That's also sometimes what you have to do - work more than one job. If the one you have isn't making ends meet and you can't find something better to take its place, find something to supplement it.

 

You mentioned in an earlier post he doesn't have a high school diploma. No, he doesn't HAVE to get his GED or any higher education. But having those things definitely increases your opportunities, salary wise. Some companies pay people more just for simply having certain degrees or levels of education. It's worth considering. Skillsets are great to have, but are not always good enough on their own.

In the state of TX, a homeschool is legally an equivalent of a private school. He has a HS diploma from the school of his parents, basically. He did learn all the material. 

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

30 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

She has 3 kids IN the house and my CS jobs don't allow you to have any distractions at work. 

This. My cousin-in-law started this then promptly lost a job because the QA people heard the kids in the background. I'm trying to look for chat based stuff. No luck just yet.

[Jaquelly 1,647]

What about the work at home jobs that do not require you to be on the phone?

 

American Express has them. Just google 'web chat work from home' and that should get you started.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Jaquelly
additional info