# Dead Broke, No Job. Any ideas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 5, 2013, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904 "2013-04-05T07:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/102 "2013-04-10T01:41:09Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Thanks, **NC** and **Lorene**. I should have the bank thing cleared up tomorrow when the sixth transaction has posted. Unfortunately, I’ll still only have 130 dollars in my account. But I’m optimistic about finding something in the next couple of weeks. Desperation is a scary but effective motivator. Yeah, plasma donation seems terrifying until you think about the $40 in your hand and how much [del]beer[/del] groceries it can be. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/103 "2013-04-10T03:22:11Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Yeah, plasma donation seems terrifying until you think about the $40 in your hand and how much [del]beer[/del] groceries it can be. I’ve donated blood to the Red Cross for free on many occasions. Kinda humdrum, in my experience, except the forms got a whole lot longer after AIDS happened. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/104 "2013-04-10T03:29:47Z")
If you’re going to donate plasma, you’ll really want to get foodstamps first, because it can be very hard on your body and deplete your iron and protein. Eating just oatmeal isn’t going to cut it. You can qualify for emergency foodstamps if you have very few assets and little cash on hand. I hope that you do this. I want you to eat. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/105 "2013-04-10T06:47:57Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Do you know the area well? Look up jobs as a courier. No experience necessary, and these places are also always hiring; you just drive around, pick up packages and drop them off. What with the price of gas these days the profit margin can be slim as you generally get paid on a per-delivery basis, but it’s something. I actually made pretty fair money doing this but I lucked into a regular route delivering prescription medications to nursing homes. I’d still be doing it if I wasn’t physically disabled. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/106 "2013-04-10T06:59:31Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > If you have reliable transportation, look up a company called **RGIS**. They do store inventories, and they are _always_ hiring. It’s just a couple hours of training and they hire pretty much anybody. Not real satisfying work, it’s quite mind-numbing honestly, but it beats the hell out of McDonald’s. I have to say that I did exactly this for a while and regard it as the very worst job I’ve ever had. It can be physically demanding and the hours worked often gave me only a couple of hours between the end of one job and the start of another. Even so, it did provide an income but a poor one. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/107 "2013-04-10T15:45:58Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Unemployment works differently in the States. It’s an employer insurance plan and it only pays if you are laid off. If you’re fired for cause, or leave on your own, you don’t get any. Plus, it only lasts a year and a half or so at most so I assume the OP is past the cut-off by this time, if she were even eligible in the first place (which I don’t think she was, but that’s just a gut feeling). In Virginia at least, I think you do get benefits if you are fired _for poor performance_. You lose benefits if you are fired for _misconduct_. In a sense it does make sense - If they wanted to lay you off but didn’t want to have their unemployment insurance rate jacked they could just set you up to fail by increasing the expectations and lowering their tolerance for errors or delays. With a misconduct firing, it’s a bit easier to prove objectively. Which is more objective and easier to prove: 1. You were fired because your supervisor said that he wasn’t happy with the quality of your TPS reports. You allege that you haven’t made any significant changes to your TPS report practices and you are being scapegoated because you reported sexual harassment in the workplace. 2. You were fired because you raped the secretary. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/108 "2013-04-10T16:02:07Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Which is more objective and easier to prove: > > 1. You were fired because your supervisor said that he wasn’t happy with the quality of your TPS reports. You allege that you haven’t made any significant changes to your TPS report practices and you are being scapegoated because you reported sexual harassment in the workplace. > 2. You were fired because you raped the secretary. Well that escalated quickly. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/109 "2013-04-11T07:08:17Z")
IME in Virginia you can pretty much get unemployment even if you are fired for cause-say, for example, threatening to beat up your boss in front of witnesses. Not that I’m bitter that I’ll be paying triple the unemployment insurance for seven years because of one claim. Also, while I definitely support the OP getting any job she can, I think that it’s easy to underestimate the true costs of a minimum wage job. I used to think that if you took anything you could, then you could at least break even, but my opinion changed after reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s book “Nickel and Dimed”. She basically sets out to try to live on a minimum wage job starting with minimal cash and finds that you end up paying more for things like food and housing when you don’t have an initial stake to get set up to do things cheaply. It’s definitely worth reading even though it predates the current recession. ---
**Author:** ![mayaonfiya222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@mayaonfiya222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mayaonfiya222)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/110 "2013-04-11T07:34:35Z")
I, myself, am in a rut as well. A lot of the info on this thread will benefit others in similar situations. I was only going on Craigslist for job hunting for a while, but now I’m opening up my search to other websites. Have you tried any type of barter for rent ad? I put one up and received a lot of responses from elderly people wanting help with stuff like buying groceries, cooking, etc…in exchange for an extra room. The problem with me is that I don’t have a license and many of these people wanted someone who could drive them places. You have a license, so maybe it’s something worth looking into. If you’re interested, I can email a copy of my ad to you. You can edit it and repost it. If you’re interested, please screen everyone on Craigslist very well. There are some serious freaks on that website lol Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/111 "2013-04-11T07:59:26Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Yeah, plasma donation seems terrifying until you think about the $40 in your hand and how much [del]beer[/del] groceries it can be. Not everyone can. I tried it, was politely turned down for having too-small veins in my arms. ---
**Author:** ![mayaonfiya222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@mayaonfiya222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mayaonfiya222)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/112 "2013-04-11T08:05:47Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Not everyone can. I tried it, was politely turned down for having too-small veins in my arms. Holy crap I’m gonna do that. I have Madonna veins $$$ caching :eek: Thanks. -Brokeashell ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/113 "2013-04-11T15:37:48Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > IME in Virginia you can pretty much get unemployment even if you are fired for cause-say, for example, threatening to beat up your boss in front of witnesses. Not that I’m bitter that I’ll be paying triple the unemployment insurance for seven years because of one claim. > > Also, while I definitely support the OP getting any job she can, I think that it’s easy to underestimate the true costs of a minimum wage job. I used to think that if you took anything you could, then you could at least break even, but my opinion changed after reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s book “Nickel and Dimed”. She basically sets out to try to live on a minimum wage job starting with minimal cash and finds that you end up paying more for things like food and housing when you don’t have an initial stake to get set up to do things cheaply. It’s definitely worth reading even though it predates the current recession. I disagree with you, the book is about trying to maintain her previous lifestyle working minimum wage. she wanted a nice apratment, nice car, nice clothes and did not make any compromises in her life style. she never looked for a roommate, a second job or several other things people who have little money try to do to live. She had an agenda to prove and that is as far as it went. Minimum wage jobs are about a start not a lifestyle. She worked as a waitress and waitresses can make more than minimum wage pretty easily. I know this becasue I worked as a waitress in a diner and If I can do it (being clumsy, not especislly attractieve, etc) others can as well. I have also worked as a pizza delivery driver for little more than tips and supported myself for quite a while until I got a secure job that was going to last. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/114 "2013-04-11T15:52:21Z")
> [@adhemar](#): > > I disagree with you, the book is about trying to maintain her previous lifestyle working minimum wage. she wanted a nice apratment, nice car, nice clothes and did not make any compromises in her life style. she never looked for a roommate, a second job or several other things people who have little money try to do to live. She had an agenda to prove and that is as far as it went. Minimum wage jobs are about a start not a lifestyle. She worked as a waitress and waitresses can make more than minimum wage pretty easily. I know this becasue I worked as a waitress in a diner and If I can do it (being clumsy, not especislly attractieve, etc) others can as well. I have also worked as a pizza delivery driver for little more than tips and supported myself for quite a while until I got a secure job that was going to last. That’s not true. She did take a second job during one of her stints. She also had a roommate in the form of a bird she promised to look after in return for lower rent. Her agenda was mostly about pointing out the true costs of cheap labor. A valid point when many Americans have barely seen their wages rise while corporate profits have soared. I have the book in my house. I can point out page numbers where she mentions the second job and the bird if you like. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/115 "2013-04-11T18:45:31Z")
Sorry to go off track, but it’s not worth starting a whole new thread, I don’t think. I’m in a dire financial situation, myself, and have a question for those who’ve donated plasma: Are there a lot of qualifying factors? I take a fair amount of prescription medications, is what I’m wondering about, specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/116 "2013-04-11T20:54:41Z")
Google plasma centers and there’s a list of medications etc. that would keep you from donating. Also, the amount of money you get varies with location. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/117 "2013-04-12T13:21:23Z")
A friend who frequently donated plasma wound up with horribly scarred veins (like a heroin addict). He was so ashamed of the scars that he always wore long-sleeved shirts. . . . Just something to consider for anyone considering plasma donation as a job. ---
**Author:** ![Mame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Mame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mame)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/118 "2013-04-12T14:42:12Z")
OK, I am in Australia, and blood and plasma donation here is not paid. Well, you might get a cup of blechcoffee and a biscuit, but no money. Here, if you donate plasma, the red cells are separated out and returned into your veins. I used to donate blood, then was asked to donate plasma as I had a high antibody titre against the tetanus toxin. (Yes, I was a horse substitute 🙂 ) The blood bank returned the red cells as they wanted the plasma donors to donate much more frequently. The cannula was left in the vein during the separation process, and the cells returned were kept cold during the process to stop them lysing, and it was the strangest, most visceral discomfort without actually being a pain. However, the process certainly did leave distinctive scars, and all the regular plasma donors had inner elbows that looked like junkies’. Still have the scars and it has been years. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/119 "2013-04-12T20:47:24Z")
**Mame** - In the US, much blood and plasma is donated through the Red Cross. However, the private, for-pay collection of plasma is done because those blood products are turned into for-profit drugs used by hemophiliac patients, pregnant women (with a negative Rh factor) and patients with Von Willebrand’s disease. The drug companies collect the plasma and refine it in a process that takes almost a year. Some companies have a regular “stable” of donors and some have collection centers. StG ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/120 "2013-04-12T21:41:21Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > A friend who frequently donated plasma wound up with horribly scarred veins (like a heroin addict). He was so ashamed of the scars that he always wore long-sleeved shirts. > > . . . Just something to consider for anyone considering plasma donation as a job. Yeah, you’re absolutely right that it’s not an experience that’s worth repeating often; but if you’re brokety-broke and have little other option for eating or paying your bills that day or the next… Another thing the OP could do is buy a pantry staple in bulk size/cost that they know others who live nearby use and splitting it w/ them; it costs less for both parties, the OP gets something they can use and gets cash back when reimbursed. And **adhemar** , I don’t know what Ehrenreich book you read but that’s not how it went in _Nickel and Dimed_. Remember the part where she’s working at 2 different restaurants at the same time? ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904/121 "2013-04-13T00:10:04Z")
If someone is willing to consider the plasma route - they also might want to consider doing Medical experiments. It’s been a while since I’ve done the, but I’ve gotten between $100 to $1800 doing them. For $1800 I had to spend two weekends there - and come back for blood draws about 15 times. I’ve done vaccine ones that paid I think around $400. You also usually get a free physical - which is nice when you are poor. Probably depends on the area a lot - I live in a place where there is a bunch of medical research. Back when I did them there were a ton of ads in the “City Paper” - I’m sure they are all online now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-broke-no-job-any-ideas/654904.md?page=7)