People on the dole

TurkishDelight

PasturesNew wrote: »

My mum wouldn't let me have a paper round - scared perverts would kidnap me!

But I was allowed a washing up job in a local pub/restaurant (before the days of dishwashers). But I lived in an active/large village just 3 miles from town, so had the benefit of there being probably 8 or so pubs around.

I also did babysitting. Paid peanuts, but the couple I babysat for went out quite a lot, so used to do about 3 nights per week. One night her brother came round, I was naive and let him in. He left after about 2 hours. When she came back she was horrified, he was supposed to be in prison and was obviously on the run and had turned up. I saved all my money to buy my first tape recorder. Wasn't even a stereo one and it cost £70!! It turned out the reason that couple had the cash to go out was: he was a milkman and was collecting the Xmas Hamper money from all his customers and simply spent it.


So .... what about babysitting OP? Any chance of any of that in your village? How many people live in your village?

The only other thing I can think of right now that might help you right now, is - to head over to the other boards in this forum, where there are some ways to earn a bit of cash here and there (some seem to be doing quite nicely). They're doing online surveys and cash clicks etc. Worth taking a look at. No idea how much cash you've got coming in, but if you're on about £50/week then being able to make an extra £10-20 is a real difference.

I've thought about that, but a) my parents have fell out with about half the village, and by extension me :eek: and b) when I say small village, it really is tiny.
The survey thing is good but anything over £5 a week gets taken off anyway, so I just do a bit, but ta anyway

Poppy9

Jobs are out there you just have to overcome the obstacles in your head to plan how you will attack the travelling issues. Yes trundling along for hours on a bus is hard work and tiring but think how you could use the time to read your study notes. Then it's not a waste of time. Thousands of people spend 3 or 4 hours a day commuting to work because they too have no choice.

If you have any local schools have you considered volunteering there as a classroom helper to get some work experience.

TurkishDelight

PasturesNew wrote: »

What is PGL?

I thought that too

Graham_Devon

lewt wrote: »

GD you brought it all back then. i used to do paperounds in the mornings often 2. then school then back straight off the bus for another paper round and then into the chippy for 3-4 hours on 2.50 per hour. i used to do the papers every morning and evening for £1 a round and got £2.50 on sundays. if i did 2 on sundays i thought i was rolling in it.

i remember my mate was threating to tell the news agent i was under 12 when i went to ask for it. mad what we used to do hey......


3

I got £1 for each weekday and £2 on saturdays, as you had to go back to the shop to go get the rest.

You'll know saturday papers were sometimes an inch thick! When I got a bit older, I'd take a bag on each shoulder and br relieved when one was getting lighter!

£7 a week!!! Thing was, I'd spent most of it by the time it got handed over in the shop. I was able to go into the shop after getting off the bus from school, buy a can of coke and maybe something else, and put it on a slate type thing. Paid all that off on a saturday when I got my £7. Was often left with a quid, lol.

FloFlo

TurkishDelight wrote: »

The thing is if I could get to college I could get to jobs :rotfl: (my nearest college is 2 buses away, my nearest uni 3) but I have just started with the OU (something I had to figure out for myself- I had been on the dole a year and no-one even mentioned it!)
It's not a bad idea, the motorbike thing but when you've lived around wales for most of your life and figures like:
"In 2005 there were 694 motorcycle casualties in Wales, and 539 in 2006, according to figures from Gwent Police."
only surprise because you thought they would be higher, I don't think it's a option that I will be taking up any time soon. It's not the jobs that are in difficult to get places btw, it's me that's in a difficult place

You need to put a bit of effort in. What you're really saying is that there is work but its too inconvenient for you so you'd rather sit home. I travelled three buses to work and three back, working long hours too. Get off your butt.

TurkishDelight

Poppy9 wrote: »

Jobs are out there you just have to overcome the obstacles in your head to plan how you will attack the travelling issues. Yes trundling along for hours on a bus is hard work and tiring but think how you could use the time to read your study notes. Then it's not a waste of time. Thousands of people spend 3 or 4 hours a day commuting to work because they too have no choice.

If you have any local schools have you considered volunteering there as a classroom helper to get some work experience.

It's not the traveling I mind, but I can't really get anywhere for work hours. I really can't stand kids, and they can't stand me, but I guess I could give it a go :undecided

Strapped

Here you go:

http://www.pgl.co.uk/PGLWeb/Recruitment/Apply

You can apply online, and you don't even have to attend an interview, just put that you're willing to do anything and work hard on the application form, and they will give you a go. You don't need qualifications for most of the roles and they have several sites in Wales so you won't even be too far from home. (It would help if you want to work with kids, but they also need maintenance people, stores people, catering and cleaning staff etc). You also might get the opportunity to pick up some useful skills/training eg First Aid certificate, Food Hygiene Certificate, etc.

No connection to PGL other than having worked for them at a time when I needed a roof over my head, and ended up having one of the best times of my life. There's lots of similar companies, but PGL are the one where you don't have to travel for interview.

PasturesNew

Re stopping surveys at £5 because over that they take it off you.... yes they do. However, if you think the bigger picture out....

If over the next year you could build up your earnings online, trying things out, dumping the slow/bad and building on the fast/good, then over time you might be surprised how much it's making. Maybe to the point where it is exceeding your dole. And, if at that point, you get a job, then you could just target the ones that work best for you as a substitute "part time job".

I am not currently working, I am what I call "resting" (well, it IS December!!). I can do this because I have about £900/month that just drops into my bank account every month without me doing anything. And I started off trying bits and bobs online to see what worked for me - just ONE year ago.

I never expected it to work out so well... and now I plan to replicate what I have learnt and do that as a full-time job for 2008. There's new things coming along all the time that you can do for free that make a bit here and there... some will suit one person, some will suit another. I've probably tried about 150 different things - and now found 6 that for me work exceedingly well.

But, of course, one man's meat is another man's poison and all that.
One size does not fit all.

So take this as a posting of my personal experience and not "advice" as something you must/should do.

TurkishDelight

FloFlo wrote: »

You need to put a bit of effort in. What you're really saying is that there is work but its too inconvenient for you so you'd rather sit home. I travelled three buses to work and three back, working long hours too. Get off your butt.

No, I am not, and no I wouldn't. I would happily spend hours on buses every day if it meant that I could get off the dole and have a bit of money and self-esteem.

pandas66

FloFlo wrote: »

You need to put a bit of effort in. What you're really saying is that there is work but its too inconvenient for you so you'd rather sit home. I travelled three buses to work and three back, working long hours too. Get off your butt.

yes!

I watched a tv programme the other night, Evicted I think it was called. I spent almost the whole programme in tears, especially the family that travelled an hour and half each way to get the children to school and back.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/nohome/tvandradio/evicted.shtml