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Author Topic: An Extra $500.00 per month
prince
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posted 28 November 2002 12:13 PM      Profile for prince     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
A recent survey indicated that an extra $500.00 per month would have prevented 90% of personal bankruptcies. How would an extra $500.00 per month affect your standard of living? What would you do with an extra $500.00 per month? What suggestions do you have to earn an extra $500.00 per month?
From: Ontario | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
Lima Bean
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posted 28 November 2002 12:18 PM      Profile for Lima Bean   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
If I had an extra $500 per month, I'd be able to save up way more so that maybe I wouldn't have to go into such deep debt when I go back to school.

And I could buy a new pair of jeans. And a TTC pass. And maybe a bicycle in the summer...


From: s | Registered: Aug 2002  |  IP: Logged
Briguy
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posted 28 November 2002 12:56 PM      Profile for Briguy     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I would be able to start putting money away for the future. After years of playing catch-up on my student loans, I'm just starting to save for the future, but the savings are literally a trickle. Any bump (car repairs, unexpected travel) negate the savings for months at a time. I'd like to be able to buy a $500 government bond each month. It'd be sweet.
From: No one is arguing that we should run the space program based on Physics 101. | Registered: Nov 2001  |  IP: Logged
Trisha
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posted 28 November 2002 01:32 PM      Profile for Trisha     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
An extra $500 a month would leave me almost $200 for extras to make my life easier, like a scooter that I'm trying to get for mobility and having trouble getting approved or pay for household help when needed. Actually, for most people I know, an extra $500 a month would bring them up to the identified poverty level of income.
From: Thunder Bay, Ontario | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
DrConway
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posted 28 November 2002 08:26 PM      Profile for DrConway     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Oh hell, if i had an extra $500 a month I'd be able to liquidate my debts permanentlike, fix up both cars I have (a 1981 Toyota that's creaking along, and my 1984 Ford LTD Crown Victoria that's essentially a big road ornament at the moment ) and put some cash-stash away in the bank.
From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
paxamillion
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posted 28 November 2002 08:37 PM      Profile for paxamillion   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Well, do I have a business opportunity for you! (Just kidding.)
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Smith
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posted 28 November 2002 08:37 PM      Profile for Smith     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
If I had an extra $500 a month I'd save. And I'd buy a membership in the new repertory cinema they're trying to get started here in Halifax. And I'd donate to various things.

And oh, okay, I'd probably buy myself some more RAM and some pillowcases and a really nice dress.


From: Muddy York | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
DrConway
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posted 28 November 2002 08:47 PM      Profile for DrConway     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'd also be able to give more money to homeless people.
From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
verbatim
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posted 28 November 2002 08:47 PM      Profile for verbatim   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'd have a regular, stable food budget. The sad truth is my debtors get first crack at my cash.
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Tommy_Paine
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posted 28 November 2002 09:42 PM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Well, the last time someone put money in my pocket-- Mike Harris' blood money-- a whole bunch of business figured they had a right to it, and, low and behold, prices-- coincidentally or not, went up.

My theory is that for every extra dollar that goes in my pocket, there are three business, at least, that feel perfectly entitled to it, and have the power to enforce their entitlement.

Therefore, I don't think I could afford that extra $500.00.


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
sheep
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posted 29 November 2002 01:01 AM      Profile for sheep     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Everybody always says they could use an extra $500, or $100, or whatever. $500 could pay off the minumum balance of quite a huge credit card balance. It would be interesting to look at the gross income of these bankruptcies. People can always find a way to put that money to good use...then need a little more.

As for me, with an extra $500, I could buy a house, but I really don't need it, so probably straight into the bank it would go. As far as earning that extra $500, I could forward on lots of tips that I get in my hotmail account, but otherwise I hear there's money to be made in computers. There are lots of interesting jobs out there.


From: Vancouver | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
DingleBall
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posted 29 November 2002 02:53 AM      Profile for DingleBall     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
An extra 500 dollars would help me out immensely. I could get out of the stagnant rut I am stuck in right now thanks to student loans, medication costs, a weight problem and a shitastic job that pays 130 dollars a week.

First I would buy a swim pass for the year. Then I would take drawing classes. I could pay more on my loans. I could purchase fresh vegetables. This would lead to:
1) better health mentally and physically
2) a start on an art school admissions portfolio and more confidence in my abilities, which we all know is very important for success.
3) a second student loan (since I paid off the first one) which could lead to a degree, a job, my own place etc. Normal person things that 24 year olds are supposed to have.


From: Halifax, NS | Registered: Nov 2002  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 29 November 2002 03:13 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
If everyone had an extra $500 a month, the price of housing and food would go up in response.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Smith
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posted 29 November 2002 03:28 AM      Profile for Smith     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
True. We're just playing here.

Well, I am. I don't doubt there are lots of people on this board and elsewhere in Canada who could really use another $500 a month, but I'm not one of them.


From: Muddy York | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
shelby9
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posted 29 November 2002 02:12 PM      Profile for shelby9     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I am one of those who could use an extra $500 a month.

Cripes, as it is I am eeking out a life on what I have!! An extra $500 a month to me would be the exact amount I would have free to use as I saw fit.

How would I use it? Pay off my debts faster, put some in the bank and save it for a vehicle, and likely buy something totally fivolous and just for me every couple of months!

Jeez, I wonder what it feels like to be debt free?


From: Edmonton, AB | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged
Kindred
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posted 29 November 2002 03:17 PM      Profile for Kindred     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
An extra $500.00 a month would have a huge impact on society as we know it.

Having lived in a depressed area for years, where people were - well just surly and rude to each other I moved into an area with a much lower cost of living, a lot of employment opportunities and the first thing I noticed was that people smiled at each other and were pleasant to each other.

After living there for a few months I realized no one had flipped me a finger or blown a horn at me while I was driving ! Not once did I see any road rage - or people yelling at each other. After almost three years in the area I could still say the same - amazing ! The reduction in my own personal stress levels just because of this was amazing -

I decided the difference was that in place A people were constantly worried about debt, paying mortgages or rent, and feeding their families.

In place B although many people couldnt afford luxuries their families were well housed and well fed. The spin off is better sleep, less stress, less anger -- etc. If a child got sick people could afford prescriptions and medical care. The basic family structure wasnt constantly threatened and under attack by the money Gods.

$500.00 a month could mean paying off debts, being able to afford a few luxuries, but the biggest thing it would buy for so many people is a good nights sleep. No more lying awake worrying yourself sick over the survival of yourself and your family. It would reduce crime, and buy a better society for us all to live in.

When I was raising my kids as a single disabled person in BC an extra $50.00 a month would have meant we had food for the entire month and I wouldnt have had to go for almost a week every month with just eating the kids leftovers. It would have meant we could turn the thermostat up higher than 65F in the winter. $500.00 a month would have been so incredible and wonderful - no more having the heat turned off in February - wow !

For me now it would mean I could pay for all my daughters prescriptions without having to clench my teeth and worrying about how I can manage it financially -


From: British Columbia | Registered: Nov 2002  |  IP: Logged
Smith
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posted 29 November 2002 05:58 PM      Profile for Smith     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I've read that every time the unemployment rate goes up in the US, the divorce rate goes up right along with it.
From: Muddy York | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
DrConway
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posted 29 November 2002 07:45 PM      Profile for DrConway     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
If everyone had an extra $500 a month, the price of housing and food would go up in response.

(Economics mode: ON)

Actually, this would be too simple a reading of the AD-AS relationship, since it depends on where AD is in relation to AS, and also whether the bulk of the extra $500 a month is saved or spent.

If it's saved, consumption won't increase very much if at all, and AD won't budge. In effect the inflationary effect is muted, rather than amplified.

If it's all spent, then, yes, the full force of the impetus on AD would be felt and if we were at reasonably low unemployment levels then prices would go up a bit even though production would also go up a bit.

The concept that the extra $500 a month might be saved and not spent is valid even if people choose to liquidate debts with it, because that is a form of saving to compensate for dissaving in the past. For example, if I liquidate, say, $1000 in credit card debt with that extra $500 a month, I'm saving it because I'm paying for excess of consumption over my "natural" non-debt-induced level. Consume more now, consume less later.

(Economics mode: OFF)

Meow!


From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Pogo
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posted 30 November 2002 10:17 AM      Profile for Pogo   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
If I had another $500 per month I would RRSP it probably. However, I do have a wish list of things I want:

1) Magazine subscriptions
2) Attend far away conventions (NDP, Cooperative Housing)
3) Take my kids to Europe
4) Build a cool tower house on an island (one room, 4 stories high)
5) Have friends over and order in the biggest chinese food dinner ever


From: Richmond BC | Registered: Aug 2002  |  IP: Logged
Amy
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posted 01 December 2002 02:10 AM      Profile for Amy   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
if i had the extra 500 a month, i would probably get a house with a family that i know (instead of living in a room-by-room house) buy healthier food on a regular basis, and get replacement bikeseat (mine's dead ) and a tuneup once in a while, and on the off chance that i had anything left over, i would be very wierded out, and wouldn't know what to do... and would probably end up buying some music or going to some punk-rawk shows (like the weakerthans, playing next weekend!!!) the thing is that i don't even make money to begin with, so i would find it rather hard to get 500$ extra and still go to school.

o/t:

quote:
I've read that every time the unemployment rate goes up in the US, the divorce rate goes up right along with it
this little line reminded me of something that i just read. this article in Jane was about a program recently implemented by the republicans, and the whole goal is to keep poor people in unhealthy relationships to "reduce dependance" on welfare!!! it's so messed up, the program costs soemthing like 300 million dollars just to start up. i think that i might start a new topic once i find that article.

edited twice to fix smilie

[ December 01, 2002: Message edited by: wizkid ]

[ December 01, 2002: Message edited by: wizkid ]


From: the whole town erupts and/ bursts into flame | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged
prince
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posted 02 December 2002 01:42 PM      Profile for prince     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Your responses to my questions confirmed that another $500.00 per month would be a welcome additional income to most people.
Interestingly, I am actively trying to hire a part time sales person. Less than 10 hours per week, and they can set their schedule. (Disclaimer: the person must be local to me and this post is not a back door want ad).
I have a simple qualification for a $500.00 per month salary. Then the job is salary plus commissions. I also provide free training.

I am unable to find anyone to take on the job. Some are interested in full time only, and require a more significant guaranteed salary, others simply don't have the self confidence to sell and although they want a salary they are not willing to even attempt to me meet my qualification requirements. I personally reached this simple qualification in just 3 evenings. So I know some one should be able to meet the qualification in 4 weeks.

I believe there are two types of people, rich and poor thinkers. The rich thinkers are not interested or do not need an extra $500.00 per month plus commissions. The poor thinkers don't have the self esteem to try and make a difference in their lives. Some want to challenge my salary qualification as being an immoral way to get customers without paying.

The whole process has left me bewildered. I appreciate reading your comments.


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Michelle
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posted 02 December 2002 01:52 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Or maybe they think $500 a month isn't nearly worth giving up time with their families in the evening after working all day at whatever they already do.

Or maybe they can't see a big shining future around the corner waiting for them to move up in the world from a $500/month sales position.


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 02 December 2002 01:57 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
You know, prince, it sounds like you're talking about Amway or something similar, and if you are, then I'm not surprised people don't want to do it - most people have caught onto the game.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
prince
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posted 02 December 2002 01:59 PM      Profile for prince     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I forgot to mention that each applicant was asked to send me a handwritten answer to this question: How would an extra $500.00 per month improve my lifestyle. The answers were similar to those posted here.
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Michelle
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posted 02 December 2002 02:01 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
So it wasn't an MLM scheme that they would have been applying for?
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
prince
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posted 02 December 2002 02:01 PM      Profile for prince     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
No I have a legitimate telecommunications business.
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Michelle
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posted 02 December 2002 02:06 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Oh, okay. Sorry. I've had people try to suck me into MLM schemes, and their approach used similar wording to yours - big opportunities, only a few hours a week, starting at $500 a month, etc.

However, having worked at an incoming call centrer, I hated it so much that you'd have to pay me a hell of a lot more than $500 a month to make me give up evenings with my family to do it. I can't even imagine trying to do outgoing sales calls on the phone.


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
paxamillion
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posted 02 December 2002 02:09 PM      Profile for paxamillion   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
What's the business called? What products and services does it offer? Is there a web site that describes it?
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prince
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posted 02 December 2002 02:14 PM      Profile for prince     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Pax, none of that is relevant to this forum.
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paxamillion
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posted 02 December 2002 02:19 PM      Profile for paxamillion   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
You may be right. However, you stated that you have a legit business. What's wrong with me asking for details here? It's not as if you have something to hide, right?
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prince
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posted 02 December 2002 02:41 PM      Profile for prince     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
No I have nothing to hide. My concern is the rules of the forum. I don't think it is appropriate for me to advertise my business on this forum.

In general terms I market long distance and natural gas, both residential and commercial. I use several companies for each service depending upon what is best for my clients. I am an independent consultant focused on saving my clients money. I also have contacts who provide hardware (Telephone systems) and we have reciprocal deals for leads and sales. I also give free advice as a consumer advocate when I discover companies that overcharge or have hidden fees. There is no real money in residential services so my main focus is commercial accounts. One of my main competitors is a company called Schooley-Mitchell


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Michelle
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posted 02 December 2002 02:44 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
So what the job is, is a call centre job where you have to do telemarketing in the evenings, right?
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
prince
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posted 02 December 2002 02:49 PM      Profile for prince     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
No. I tried telemarketing and it is a waste of time and money.
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paxamillion
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posted 02 December 2002 04:08 PM      Profile for paxamillion   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ok. So how do you sell and/or market?
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prince
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posted 02 December 2002 05:00 PM      Profile for prince     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The best way has been and always will be "Word of Mouth" or "Referral marketing". Advertising is expensive and the results are sometimes good sometimes poor. I still advertise, I am always trying new ads, new twists etc. One of the best methods is to use press releases. I send out press releases periodically, but I need a compelling story or it doesn't get printed. A good press release can lead to a lot of clients.
From: Ontario | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged

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