Money Saving Wednesday…How About Money Making Wednesday…Crash of the Housing Market
I have been giving lots of thought to the housing market the past week and just why we should be concerned about it’s highs and lows. Last month the housing market crashed with existing home sale at a 15 year low and new home sales at an all time low. As I pondered I considered why houses are not selling. Some are upside down on their mortgage which means they are stuck. Even those who are ready and needing to move up can’t. Those who are ready and willing to downsize can’t. Then there are those who are ready to buy for the first time. They have the opportunity of a lifetime to buy low but with the job market in a stall and banks more cautious than ever they can’t qualify for loans or unwilling to take the risk. There are plenty of foreclosures but those often need expensive repairs as the former owners have taken fixtures and appliances or just because an empty home creates lots of problems quickly due to lack of attention when problem is small.
Why should the housing market be a concern? The obvious answer .is the construction industry. There are no job. Even those with homes are not investing in improvements. Who wants to invest in a property if you may never get the expense back out? Those workers are not shopping the way they were so, restaurants and retailers suffer. Those who supply parts and building materials are cutting back on workers because orders are down. Now those workers are not eating out or spending. Appliance manufacturers are not selling appliances because there is little building and little remodeling. Now those employees are not spending. No building means less income to school districts who charge fees for new building. That adds to the problem of no new students moving into the district and in lots of areas shrinking class sizes which means less money coming in from the state…..When will this end? I have no idea. When will people feel confident to invest again and not worry that the property they are buying could be worth less in a few months? I have no idea.
Last week I asked for your suggestions for a reader who is struggling with some serious financial challenges. I really appreciate all you suggestions and I’m sure she does also. What do you do when you have tried all those things? You have cut your bills, don’t have a cell phone, don’t have cable, don’t eat out, eat mostly rice and beans or breakfast foods for dinner and you bike to work? It’s tough, especially if you don’t have a good support group of family, friends and your church. I am grateful I have that support but I realize some do not.
All this reflection made me think again about earning more money. If we can’t save any more how can we earn more? I have found it to be impossible to hire a teenager to mow my lawns. Really! I can not believe it but the kids don’t want to work. Boy, do they have a wake up call coming and will they ever be angry with their parents when they realize they have been cheated out of the opportunity to learn to work and budget. This does leave an opening in my area for the unemployed or under employed. Moms and dads could fill the void and pick up a little extra money. There are other opportunities.
My 12 year old grandson has decided he loves to bake. His mom belongs to a yahoo group with her friends in the area and he decided to send out a notice that he was baking that week. He listed the items that could be ordered with their prices. The next Saturday he and mom baked all day and delivered the goods . After paying for the ingredients he made $25.00. Everyone purchases bread and with bread at $3.00 a loaf or more wouldn’t you be willing to pay $3.00 for homemade bread? The same is true of birthday cakes. They cost a fortune and the grocery store variety taste awful. Wouldn’t you rather purchase one at the same price or even a little more, that tasted great?
So what could you do to make extra money? I opened an ETSY store and that was a disaster! I tried….I do have lots of great baby gifts now for future showers. I know others who are making on line stores work but it just wasn’t meant to be for me.
I would like to know what you are doing or what friends have done. Please share your ideas. Baking bread may not be the answer for you, but it may. Mowing lawns may not work, but it may. Let’s throw out some ideas and maybe we can help someone who is struggling discover a solution that will work for them.
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Great sites, I spend less than 10 minutes a day and I make an average of 20 – 30 dollars per month. I’m not going to get rich doing it but if you have a couple of minutes a day online you can pay for your monthly internet bill.
If you sign up for either of these sites I would appreciate you using my username as your referral. I’ll make a little extra every time you make money. It is a win win.
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NOTE:
I really don’t like promoting things I have not tried so I signed up on inboxdollars and most of what I found required you to join a group and get emails from them in order to make your 50 cents. There may be more available that I did not see and if so I hope Bethany will share what those are. Thanks…Carolyn
We bought a nicer home and immediately the housing market crashed in our area in Fall 2008. We couldn’t sell our other home and 2 months earlier it would have sold immediately. After living in the home for 6 months and facing a job loss, we moved back to the less glamerous home. We live in a tourist area so we rent out the new home as a vacation rental and most of the time it pays for itself. This has saved us from bankruptcy.
Husband has not been able to get a great job so we are struggling and living on our food storage. I work from home designing websites and marketing the vacation home. With 5 kids and one adopted this Spring, we’re pretty exhausted, but doing all we can to survive and continue to look for better paying jobs.
To make extra money my friend and I are selling the things we make at our local markets. We try to make and sell things that people need, not just want. I sell aprons, bibs, cards, small gift items, etc. I think people will buy something handmade, they can use and have to buy anyway, An item that is made locally and not in China. We all need to look at the skills, gifts and talents we have been blessed with and use them to help ourselves generate extra income. I sew and that is a talent that not everyone has these days. Because people see the things I have made for market, they hire me to do other sewing for them. Take a class to improve the skills you do have. Ask a friend, sister, neighbor, church member to help you improve your skills. We all have been blessed with some kind of skills and talents, just find out what it is, have fun with it and make some extra money. Make business cards on your computer and hand them out, post them, take advantage of places that have bulletin boards. Some credit unions have a free buy or sell paper they put out once a month-post your skills with them. Work out of your home.
I had a huge car repair bill that was ruining my budget so I recently sold a clarinet that my older kids used in band. I have been advertising to rent a room in my upstairs since my youngest just moved away to college. I was blessed that some friends came to visit and need a place for awhile, so now I have company and renters!
the real estate market is doing better – hopefully we will have the quantity of building permits continue to keep increase