times are tough for almost everyone. i been laid off a wile back was bringing home $700 a week, had to settle for $350 a week (for now) quite an adjustment.. well a few weeks back our gas range oven went out the part was $120 and that was myself replacing it. last week in front of a house was a higher priced model same color gas range said "free works great" i couldnt resist i picked it up. and it works flawlessly/ thought that was a big releif!! went to the store today and there was an old desk that said free.. so hell i stopped. it was a 3'x5' metel desk. i rang the bell tolld the guy i will take it. he said it was his sisters husbands and it was in the koren war. this is one stout desk! i think it will hold a bigblock if sat opon it..saved me the $ from building or buying me one. great addition to my garage...now if i can only find a 71 hemi cuda convertable that says "free works great!!"

 

keep dreaming

 

I hear you 66. I am still working, but where I work took the excuse of the bad economy to cut my pay 15%. I took me 8 years to earn that 15% and they took it away in a matter of a couple months. What am I going to do, quit and go look for a job while unemployment is at nearly 10%? Plus I am 53, who wants an old fart like me? I am glad that you had a couple of scores on free stuff. If I see any free Mopars in my travels, I'll let you know.

 

Its just never ending ya think sometimes, in 71 years the only time I never really worried about food or the bills was the 14 in the service, other then that it's been one thing after the other - Being born in Manhatten post depression per WWII was no ball of joy times were really tuff and when you were old enough to walk in my house you were working, in 1943 when I was 5 I would go out with my brothers on metal & rubber collections for the war effort and even though they got nothing they gave me 1/2 a cent for every pound I could carry, that was my first job - And you know my Dad was a fighter pilot in WWII, my 1 older brother & sister were in Korea, 14 in the service with 8 of that in and out of Vietnam for me, my little brother killed there, my 2 oldest boys flying missions in the Gulf .... just seems like we keep fighting for a better life and we do what our Country asks of us when push comes to shove and all we do is get **** on one way or the other, its like you said clone at 53 wtf are you going to do and nothing like killing yourself to get half the pay right Bob - I dont know what its going to be like in 30 years and most the time I'm happy I wont be here to see it ....Jake

 

yeah. im installing cabinets now..i miss being a forman for a concrete company. the guy i work with asks me hey bob how is it i have 4 doors and you only have 3 on and i started after you. i turned and looked at him and say becouse i make 9.50 an hr.. he just laughs.
i might have a have another little chunk of luck. found a 95 olds' runs great needs a $17.00 water pump .and the drivers door is damages a bit..the guy wants $225 for it. i just may buy it replace the door and pump . and hope to make $800?

 

66, I'm doing the same thing, bottom-feeding for repairables on Craigslist! When times were good, I didnt have time for this. Now, a $100 flip profit is good!

 

So I am not alone on Craigslist.....good to know! I constantly cruise the parts section. Believe it or not, there are poeple out there in worse shape than us, so there are deals to be had if you stay on top of it. I recently found a 440 water pump housing cleaned and painted to $10. I thought that was a pretty good deal, so I bought it. I may keep it as a spare or sell it, but how could I go wrong for $10??? Yeah, I also watch the car section, but I am wary of tying up very much money for very long.

Good luck out there fellow bottom feeders!!!

 

Ya do what ya gotta do to survive these days, anybody could sell crack but it takes a real man to step outside of his normal means and feed his kids, most of the public in our Country make me disgusted you boys make me proud, I salute you gentelmen, Jake

 

well i looked at the car again. 95 old gutless supreme, ok it needs a water pump $17. the drivers door is caved in and it cut the wires going thru the door soo no pwer is going to the drivers door.. front fender is a little dented and the rear drivers door is krinkled at the front edge. interior is fair no rips floor is stained think i can clean it. front end is a bit loose, doesnt smoke,runs and shifts fine. it has the big 6 in it, (2 where availible for that year.) but it has 190,000 sum odd miles on it. he said he will take $175.00 for it what do you all think?

 

Sounds like a lot of work.....what do you think you could get for it when you finish?

 

where theres a self service yard near by a door is 50 bucks. im just gonna replace the door and straiten the rear door and fender. i think i could get 800 out of it? ill have 175 plus maybe another 100 in parts? a little bit of time. i should make $425 out of it.. those cars go for around 1200 here. in good shape.

 

In that case, I would go for it. Who couldn't use an extra $425????

 

those r my thoughts

 

Things are not any better in Japan. Last month I got up early and went for a walk to the store, and I received an email on my telephone asking me what time I would be attending the meeting in Nihonbashi. I answered that I didn't know anything about any meeting, and I had to work that day anyway. The person who wrote me the email then called me and told me that our company had filed for bankruptcy that morning, and was closed. Needless to say, I was shocked. I changed directions and walked to the office and found it empty. I powered up the computers and checked the mails, and sure enough, a mail had been sent late the night before warning of the bankruptcy filing the next day.

I attended the meeting where I learned that our pay (which was due to us that day) would not be coming. What was worse is that many of the workers in the company were living in company-provided housing, and the company had not been paying rent on some of the apartments. Not only was the loss of pay bad, but I had several thousand dollars due to me as part of my end-of-contract bonus.

Bad as all this was, it could have been worse. A couple of months ago I began reselling photographic equipment on the big auction site. I hunt around in the used camera shops around Tokyo for old cameras which I clean, repair, and resell. I make quite a bit of extra money, and this extra money ended up having to be used to pay for my bills. But at least I was able to pay my bills (unlike many of my coworkers).

Luckily, I was on the "A" list at my company, and I received a phone call a few days later from a new company offering me a position at the same pay scale as my old one. They also offered to relocate me to a new apartment building, and as I write I'm waiting for the movers to show up.

Since all of this happened, I've bumped up my sales on the auction site. I haven't received a paycheck in more than 6 weeks, and I won't receive any pay from my new company until the middle of next month. My credit card bills are at $1000 per month, not to mention food, utilities, and train fare. I'm breaking even at the moment, but I should start getting ahead once my regular paycheck starts coming in.