Single parent lurkers

[corn18]

My wife saves a ton of money every time she shops. She always tells me how much she saved, so I think she's doing a better job saving than me.

Is there an unlike button?

[~bs]

My wife saves a ton of money every time she shops. She always tells me how much she saved, so I think she's doing a better job saving than me.

LOL.... little bit off topic here, but it used to kill me when my exes would go shopping, come back with all sorts of clothes and crap they don't really need, and proudly tell me that they saved $XXX because the stuff they got was on sale. They never really understood (or didn't want to understand) when I told them "you didn't really save $XXX, you SPENT $YYY.

You SAVE money by being able to spend less on something that's a necessity. You save money by carpooling or by combining insurance policies or by not jack rabbit accelerating your car at stop lights. Not by taking advantage of a BOGO sale on your 99th and 100th pair of shoes

[bjl584]

Nah. I'm not greedy. An extra $25k/year shuttling drunk yuppies around with my daughter with me sounds great.

Think outside the box. There are plenty of ways to earn money that don't involve driving around, taking your daughter with you, or dealing with drunk clients. Like I said, there is a difference between earned income and leveraged income. I am currently getting more involved in real estate investing. I have a meeting with my bank tomorrow, and I've reached out to a local real estate broker. My plan is to start acquiring investment properties. Once set up, I will have a source of semi-passive income from them that doesn't involve Uber on any level. I may have a problem tenant, but I am willing to take on that risk.

[disneysteve]

I am currently getting more involved in real estate investing.

Real estate is great, but it does require a fair amount of capital to get started. For someone without a lot of extra money sitting around, there are also plenty of options.

For someone who might only earn 30K, buying a rental property is probably out of the question. However, driving around the neighborhood on trash day and rescuing a few pieces of furniture or old kids toys and going home and listing them on craigslist costs you nothing but time. If you live in a populated area and can't make a couple hundred dollars a month doing that, you just aren't trying.

[rennigade]

I cant think of a better way of educating a child than strapping them in the front seat of a car as you drive around coked up pill head heroin shooting alcoholics after a bar closes.

I had 2 people in my apartment complex that worked for uber on the side. Both of them were evicted because they couldnt pay rent. Not sure if there was too much competition where they couldnt make money (washington dc area,) or more realistic...uber just fudges their numbers to make it sound like its a decent way to make coin.

[rennigade]

However, driving around the neighborhood on trash day and rescuing a few pieces of furniture or old kids toys and going home and listing them on craigslist costs you nothing but time. If you live in a populated area and can't make a couple hundred dollars a month doing that, you just aren't trying.

The problem with doing this is your house soon becomes a dumping ground. What happens when you pick stuff up that doesnt sell...then you have to pay to trash it.

I do see people going around in the early morning picking up scrap metal all the time. With the price of most metals other than copper...I have no idea how they make any money at all.

[PeggyHefferon]

The problem with doing this is your house soon becomes a dumping ground. What happens when you pick stuff up that doesnt sell...then you have to pay to trash it.

I do see people going around in the early morning picking up scrap metal all the time. With the price of most metals other than copper...I have no idea how they make any money at all.

Also, you better be aware of what the local laws and ordinances are regarding this type of activity. In some places it is okay to take items from the curb, providing you aren't breaking any other laws in the process, but in other places it is not.

[disneysteve]

The problem with doing this is your house soon becomes a dumping ground. What happens when you pick stuff up that doesnt sell...then you have to pay to trash it.

Not really. What difference does it make if the trash truck picks the item up from my neighbor's house this week or my house next week? Take it home, clean it up, list it, and if it doesn't sell, put it back out next trash day.

Another option if the items are in nice shape is to donate them to Goodwill or similar places. You can't deduct them since your cost basis was zero but it's better than trashing them. Many charities will even pick the stuff up so you don't have to haul it to them.

[disneysteve]

Also, you better be aware of what the local laws and ordinances are regarding this type of activity. In some places it is okay to take items from the curb, providing you aren't breaking any other laws in the process, but in other places it is not.

Good point. I've never lived anywhere where trash picking was illegal but I have heard that laws like that exist in some places.

[rennigade]

Good point. I've never lived anywhere where trash picking was illegal but I have heard that laws like that exist in some places.

I know dumpster diving is frowned upon and can probably get you in trouble. Im not really sure what the law is for picking up junk people put out by the street.

[PeggyHefferon]

Good point. I've never lived anywhere where trash picking was illegal but I have heard that laws like that exist in some places.

And it isn't just whether or not it is legal to take the item that you have to be concerned about. Nuisance laws may also come into play. Potential traffic/parking violations.

I know a picker got cited in my area because he was making a mess out of people's trash. All because he was in a hurry to grab what he wanted and move on to look for more.

[msomnipotent]

I would worry about bed bugs on upholstered items. That would be just my luck. I have a cousin that used to collect metals for recycling. You have to store up a lot of it before it is worthwhile to take to the scrap yard, and it all has to be sorted. He had so many bins that he couldn't park his car in his garage. While trash picking is technically illegal in our town, we all tolerate it pretty well. Most of us set the good things out a day early to give people time to grab it.

[~bs]

I see people doing this quite a lot. I personally am not a fan, and especially am not when people dumpster dive and leave a mess everywhere of stuff they don't want.... However, below is my understanding of the law.

Dumpster diving is 50 states legal. Once you throw something out, it is now in the "public domain" and no longer your property, hence being up for grabs. BUT even though something's thrown out, it does not supersede other laws. If someone has a locked dumpster on his property, it is not your right to cut the lock and dive in. If the dumpster is on his property, you are trespassing to access the dumpster. It is not your right to trespass to access their garbage.

Generally the trash that is legal for digging through or taking is the curbside garbage. In our city, there's bulk trash pickup days where people line up appliances and other bulk stuff on the curb. Also in our city, the government provides specific receptacles to homeowners to place their garbage in for pickup. These are labeled as "property of the city" and include other statutes and laws sited on the receptacle, so actually diving into them for homeowners garbage may be illegal.

I would also like to caution that sometimes things are thrown out with good reason, you don't know the history of the item in question. Say someone throws out a perfectly good (looking) couch. You take it home, now your home is infested with bed bugs, mites, or other critters. Say you pick up a working microwave. Little did you know that the previous owner dumped it because the components were sparking up once the microwave got going for a few minutes and there was a dangerous short somewhere. And what happens when you grab something for free, sell it on CL, and it burns someone's house down. Are you liable since you sold them something with a pre-existing fault and was dangerous, and should have known about it? I'm not an attorney, so I don't know.

[PeggyHefferon]

I would worry about bed bugs on upholstered items. That would be just my luck. I have a cousin that used to collect metals for recycling. You have to store up a lot of it before it is worthwhile to take to the scrap yard, and it all has to be sorted. He had so many bins that he couldn't park his car in his garage. While trash picking is technically illegal in our town, we all tolerate it pretty well. Most of us set the good things out a day early to give people time to grab it.

You don't necessarily have to sort it from my understanding, but that is how you get the best prices for the various metals. If it isn't sorted, you get a lower rate or something.

The guy in my neighborhood doesn't even take things off of his truck. And since he was polite and asked if he could take something a few years ago, I got a card from him and call him anytime I want something picked up. He is thrilled because he makes some money, and I am thrilled that I don't have a pick up truck pulling up to the curb and trashing my trash

[~bs]

I would worry about bed bugs on upholstered items. That would be just my luck. I have a cousin that used to collect metals for recycling. You have to store up a lot of it before it is worthwhile to take to the scrap yard, and it all has to be sorted. He had so many bins that he couldn't park his car in his garage. While trash picking is technically illegal in our town, we all tolerate it pretty well. Most of us set the good things out a day early to give people time to grab it.

the only metals really worth doing is copper and aluminum. everything else will take a lot more metal and weight to come out to the same amount of money. and even then, if the metal is "dirty", it's worth a lot less. If you have time on your hands, it may be worthwhile separating the components. If you do construction and demo houses or deal with a lot of appliances, it may be worthwhile doing. aluminum siding and copper piping are good recyclables.