I need a source of income ASAP

Just been denied SSDI here in TX USA. Need to find a way to bring in an income, preferably at home, through an old laptop. I can do bookkeeping, spreadsheets, DBs, etc.
Need at least $1K/mo
Please help. Thank you.

It is common knowledge that most folks get turned down for disability.

Dear hubby was in the hospital having 5 by-pass heart surgery when he was turned down.

I talked with a lawyer who suggested I try again and yes his disability was approved.

I added your post to the "Job Wanted" forum.

You might check out the "Agile Work" forum for some suggestions:

https://permies.com/f/199/agile-work

One thing that bugs me a lot is the fact I paid into SSI for 20+ years, but can't touch that for another 13, not now when I need it the most.

I also know a number of folks who had to apply multiple times for SSI. Keep trying.
in the meantime your profile says Houston, there are several disability resource centers there, if you search that you can find some contacts. A loved one went through a similar situation in another state and found their local disability resource clearinghouse thing to be very helpful.
Good luck.

You can sell things using the internet. I have heard of people who frequent garage sales and Goodwill.  One can buy things very cheaply and resell at a profit. I had a friend that specialized in used books. They had an ap which they could use to find the value of a book before they purchased it.

Dear Harold Quintano. I hope you are ve got one if not let me know i have a friend in TX that i can introduce you to

Those are great marketable skills you have there. I occasionally work from home using the Upwork platform, doing ghostwriting and grant writing. They take a percentage of my pay. In exchange, I get an easy way to find clients and pitch them, set rates, get paid, and communicate. I don’t have to pay for bank fees, website, Zoom, or anything. Do you have Quickbooks online experience? Or can you learn it? People are often looking for QBO help on Upwork.

Important things to succeed on Upwork:

1) Don’t undercut yourself or your rates. Charge what you’re worth. Don’t set bottom of the barrel rates that a guy in India with a much lower cost of living can always beat if he wants. Commonly on Upwork I see jobs offered in the $20-40 range for bookkeeping, but do your own research and charge enough to make it worth it. In my opinion, for a solo entrepreneur, it’s much better to do better work, for fewer clients, and charge high prices to make the bills than to farm yourself out to EVERYONE on the cheap and struggle to find a hundred people to pay you.

Eg. one client pays you for 10 hrs a week, $28 an hour. Upwork takes 10% so you make $25. $250 a week or about $1000 every four. One client has made you $1000 a month.

2) Take your time to develop your offer, write your pitch, and edit it. Preferably on a different screen, so you can’t accidentally send it and you can save it to edit for the next pitch. You want something (usually money and an easy to work with client). They want something (a skilled expert who is easy to work with, communicates well, etc.). If you’re a visual person, make a Venn diagram that shows 1) what you have to offer (and WANT to offer), 2) what they want, and 3) the overlap between the two. Then show them through your pitch that you’re the person they need. Be confident! Don’t beg for work. There are SO many clients out there. Take your time to find people you want to work with who will pay you what you’re worth. Of course, in the beginning you may need to take sorta crappy jobs to get your footing, but once you have it, level up to better clients.

3) Communicate with clients! Make it your priority! Make them feel valued.

4) If what you’re making isn’t worth your time, learn something else and then sell that skill. That’s what I did. Ghostwriting capped out at a certain going rate and the fastest speeds I could write on an ongoing basis without burning out, so I learned grant writing. Be confident. People need help, and they don’t have the time or desire to learn to do things themselves, so help them.

5) Do you have business experience that you can use to help people? Is your advice good advice? Consultants can often make more money for advising people on how to make big changes or structure their lives/businesses/wealth/etc. If you have an area of expertise, you can sell that expertise.

Sorry if this is long… any other questions, feel free to ask. Hopefully I’ll see them.

Joe Uicker wrote:You can sell things using the internet. I have heard of people who frequent garage sales and Goodwill.  One can buy things very cheaply and resell at a profit. I had a friend that specialized in used books. They had an ap which they could use to find the value of a book before they purchased it.

I had a friend who did that.  He got struck with a lot of stuff he could not sell, and did well on others.  Books are iffy, have to be the right kind that someone actually wants.  Do a lot of research online to see what is selling and for how much before you invest money into that.  But if doing so, it can be well worth it.  Just because something is listed on E-Bay for instance for a certain price doesn’t mean it is selling for that price.  A giveaway is when you see a lot of one item listed by different people which apparently is not selling, and just because something is popular this month doesn’t mean it will be next.  The buying public is fickle.  

Meditate and get in touch with your higher guidance which will guide you into doing what resonates with you.  If you have a natural inclination for something it will be fun and not so boring or feel like drudgery.  Go to meetings and get in touch with other people to see what they need help with that perhaps you could do.  Brainstorm with them for ideas.  Almost everyone has some and it helps to see other viewpoints.  

Meanwhile, research and study free online information to gain additional skill sets.  

It would be great to hear back from Harold five months later to find out how he is doing.

Did disability come through?

Harold Quintano wrote:  "Just been denied SSDI"

 

I even had a lawyer tell me they 'always' turn down the first application.  The idea is to have an application for a lawyer or other advisor help you improve.  Most states have lists of lawyers who will give you a little time free, and that time is better used when you have a completed and submitted and denied application to show them.  I will echo what others have said.  Keep trying.  

I concur. I was hoping to find that he forged ahead and got his benefits, or at least found a bridge until that day comes.

Anne Miller wrote:It would be great to hear back from Harold five months later to find out how he is doing.

Did disability come through?

It's been so long since the original post, but wanted to point out that if you or anyone is in dire need, you can almost always sell plasma in the larger cities.  Most programs pay between $800-1200 / month if you make 8 visits (twice a week) per month.  

This post focuses on Social Security Disability. What I list below is from my experiences working as a vocational consultant for a law firm and graduate course work in the late 80s and early 90s.  Things may have changed.

It is my understanding that Level One is a simple review looking for an exact match.  To invent an example , if the guidelines say one has to be missing both eyes…or both arms …or both legs, and the person is missing one of each, he/ she is  turned down

Level Two is a simple review of Level One to see that the the first reviewer read and applied the standards correctly.

Level Three goes in front of a administrative law judge. There some common sense can be applied.

Many people, including some attorneys, think the decision is made on medical conditions. It is not. It is made on Functional Limitations.   That is, it is made on how the medical condition impacts the ability to work.  It is not that I am missing my hands .  It is that I am missing my hands and because of my lack of dexterity I cannot do any of the jobs I am otherwise qualified to do.

The “jobs” are jobs available anywhere ….. not just the jobs the person making the claim want to do .   And, not just the jobs immediately available. I saw a woman turned down because she could be a “bead stringer”.  

And, if a person is turned down and makes a few bucks on a street corner selling the paper flowers that he/she makes at night….that person  just proved the decision that he/she is not totally disabled to be correct.

To stress a point. This is a work decision and not a medical decision. The Kerner decision (federal court) held that doctors are medical experts …they are not experts in work.

If I was seeking disability, I would see if my attorney knew what a functional limitation was. If they only focused on my medical condition, I would look for a different attorney.