Money, it's a gas.

[carmel]

So it's agreed on here in other threads that if you can make $15k in one year that's considered a really good year. Around here the cheapest apartment rentals go for $900/month with utility. That equals to a $10,800 yearly rental fee. So already that leaves you under $5k left. Now let's estimate yearly food costs. Let's go with $50 a week for one person. That's $200 a month. An entire year would run you $2400. Now, you can probably get by on less than $50 a week for one person. But you'd have to be a strict person and never eat out. So now we're up to $13,200. Some of you don't go beyond that since I read on here $15k is a really good year.

I know some of you have mentioned in other threads that you do some odd jobs in between. Blogging, mowing lawns, substitute teacher, 3D Design, etc. So perhaps that is the answer right there. You can't really just live off this alone. Nearly impossible unless you have housing provided to you by someone. I would say blogging would be the easiest route to make money in between studies. You can do it not just in between but while you're in a study, too. The key is consistency. Most give up after a few weeks when they don't see any new visitors. You need perseverance and to keep at it.

[mike]

Yeah, you're right, you can't get by on that much unless you are living very frugally; eating a lot of ramen, renting a small studio apartment; or being homeless part or full time, or getting supplemental income from some source, or living or food assistance (like family or foodstamps). I have used all these ods. Some kind of occupation that you can at least do some kind of work on while in a clinic study is the way to go, I'm in a study with a guy right now who spends most of the day on his laptop and phone wheeling and dealing some kind of real estate transactions, and another guy who is a animation/computer designer.

[travelingrat]

Aug 30, 2013 19:56:27 GMT -5 carmel said:

So it's agreed on here in other threads that if you can make $15k in one year that's considered a really good year. Around here the cheapest apartment rentals go for $900/month with utility. That equals to a $10,800 yearly rental fee. So already that leaves you under $5k left. Now let's estimate yearly food costs. Let's go with $50 a week for one person. That's $200 a month. An entire year would run you $2400. Now, you can probably get by on less than $50 a week for one person. But you'd have to be a strict person and never eat out. So now we're up to $13,200. Some of you don't go beyond that since I read on here $15k is a really good year.

I know some of you have mentioned in other threads that you do some odd jobs in between. Blogging, mowing lawns, substitute teacher, 3D Design, etc. So perhaps that is the answer right there. You can't really just live off this alone. Nearly impossible unless you have housing provided to you by someone. I would say blogging would be the easiest route to make money in between studies. You can do it not just in between but while you're in a study, too. The key is consistency. Most give up after a few weeks when they don't see any new visitors. You need perseverance and to keep at it.

carmel, do you have a blog? i would love to be reading it!

[vark]

The trick is to not live somewhere where rent is $900/mo. Since your work is elsewhere, you can choose to live somewhere cheap.
I just bought a house for $7000 cash, paid for by last two studies. Sure, it's not the best neighhborhood, and sure it'll need some work. The plan is that the roommates will do most of the work while I'm off doing studies. $15K/yr is a reasonable. I'm at 14.5K gross so far in 2013, and it's only september. I meet guys, young, super healthy, who say they are making 40K, flying from one study to another, but 15 is typical for me. When I was younger I lived somewhere hip and expensive, and I was struggling to make rent, so I moved to a far less hip town.
I've had chats with one guy from here who thinks we should a bunch of cheap houses around the country for lab rats to live in betwen studies. It's a decent idea but neither he nor I have our act together enough to pull it off. I may have one extra bedroom in the new house where i could put up a lab rat who needs a base. In a year or two I should have an extra house that I could rent to a lab rat cooperative for say $500/mo for 4 people + utils.

My blogs dont pay anything. I met a guy on a study recently who had been making $500/mo from his blog, although it fell to 100 when google changed soing.

[mike]

$7K for a house? Are you in Detroit?

[idoitforthepong]

Detriot, sure...hell maybe two houses for that much, many options for sub 15k houses in a lot of cities but they are gutted, fire damaged, poor condition and in sketchy neighborhoods. I thought about some in Chicago (since getting a mortgage would be next to impossible with 90% trial income i'm guessing) but a lot of homes are for auction and outside investers have so much cash that its hard to come close to outbiding them. The homes that are left may be bought cash but then your talking 40k or more for utilities and getting up to code. plus chicago is a hard city to work with.

Vark i'm curious to how your home ing/rehabing is going? Did you in Indy by any chance?


Also 15k is possible (did it by August this year) and i haven't even traveled much. Go big study to big study stay at hostels, family, and then you don't have to worry much about rent...let alone food if your in trial a lot.

[mike]

That's actually one of the best fringe benefits to long studies: not paying for food, you can really save a lot of money, even if you are not a glutonous lardass.

[carmel]

That is interesting about the $7k house, vark. We're all curious to know where that is. My initial reaction was "Detroit", too. I'd be too scared to live there. Better be packing some heat. I know a woman who is paying $500-600 is a nice apartment complex. The way she was able to get it was that she was homeless and lived at a shelter. They then found her the place. It would otherwise cost her $1100. At least this is what she claims.

Finding those places that cost under $900 are findable. However, they come with no utility. I suppose we could also spend less on food if we ate out of cans and ramen noodles. Then again I wonder if not getting appropriate nutrients could affect your blood work. I wonder how those guys make $40k. I guess there are a ton of studies then that never get posted on the CRU websites. Someone tipped me off to call Paraxel, and not to rely on the website. So I guess that is the same for everywhere else. Because I don't see how it's possible for that $40k otherwise. You'd have to be going to at least $7k studies each time. Unless these guys know a trick to wipe clean their bodies really fast.

[mike]

Here is how people who don't know any better think they can make $50K at this: i.e. I just finished a study that took under a month and made $5000, multiply by twelve and you got more than $50K.

But they don't take into account the unavoidable misses and dry spells; I failed to get into a study or could not find one that I could do for months before this one, and then it was a pain to get into this one too. I got into the third cohort, they were supposed to call me for the first cohort but I did not get the call, then I was backupped for the second cohort, I was finally given priority for the third and last cohort, but almost got bumped out of that one too.

It's hard out here for a pimp.

[vark]

oh yes, it's in indy, in a white trash neighborhood 1 mile south of downtown. low cost of living was one of the main reasons i moved to indy. i would not in detroit personally. i have to fire my handyman/caretaker, caught him stealing, and my other guy moved away, so if any of you are handy at fixing up old houses and want a free place to stay for a year between studies, let's talk. oh and for food between studies i dumpster dive and garden and forage and just a few staples and spices. the rest of you are welcome to visit when you passing thru. unforunately no clinics right here. examples of places with clinics and cheap houses include evansville and kalamazoo, possibly cincinnatti. my plans/vague hopes are to a house a year in indy for 3 more years so i have fallback income when i get too old to do studies.

[mike]

Yes I heard of a great deal on a place in Cincinnati that just went on the market, complete with dungeon and cages in basement.

The thing about Detroit is you could pay $5000 for a house and quickly realize you payed about $5000 too much.
After you see your neighborhood has 12% occupancy, lawns have not been mowed for so long you could hide a bus in them, and the most basic city services are not available, like trash pickup, code enforcement, ambulances, POLICE! It will take a lot to bring that place back into this country.

By indy do you mean Indianapolis? That seems not too bad a location, you have Chicago and Evansville both about 2 hours away, and Kalamazoo a bit farther.

[carmel]

Hey guys, my numbers were off. You can actually get places for more like $700 a month. I find that's about as cheap as they come, though. That's for single studio apartments. I'd like to move to NYC. However, it's too expensive in the city. I've got my eyes set on neighboring Jersey City or Newark. Those two areas have had major redevelopment in recent years and is said to be nice to live in... in particular Jersey City more than Newark. You can find apartments for $700/month and not have to pay NYC tax. You have access to the entire world if you are situated there.

[sparky]

#brokepeopleproblems #brokementality #nojobskills #nohustle #labratsforlife

[carmel]

Oct 16, 2013 12:58:31 GMT -5 sparky said:

#brokepeopleproblems #brokementality #nojobskills #nohustle #labratsforlife

So what is your solution to this pollution?

There are people who are generally broke and live paycheck to paycheck no matter how hard they try. That's why they can never get ahead, and this has turned into today's America. There is no longer a "dream." Now, there are others who simply don't care. They don't try and they don't mind living off the government and have no desire to improve themselves. I think these people are greatly outnumbered, though, by the people who do genuinely want to get ahead but can't.