How can you earn money when you are not mobile?

Superbetty

Hi, just wondering if anyone have any ideas. I am off work as I am not able to walk because of bad knee, still not diagnosed, don't know what really is happening. Our financial situation because of that is really bad. I was always working, was very active and energetic person, and suddenly I cannot do anything. Now sitting and thinking about the ways I can make money, the only way is online, I tried this before, some weird websites with lots of spam. Unfortunately I was working my whole life in retail, so cannot think about any skills useful for online jobs. I am registered on website called Prolific, doing paid surveys there, it is a good website, but it is just pennies. If anyone has any webistes in mind, where I could do something online to earn money, that would be great. Any ideas welcome, thank you:-)

Cher_Alumni

Hi @Superbetty

This is a useful question to ask, although I am sorry to hear you are struggling financially. Have you used a benefits calculator to make sure you're not missing out on anything you're eligible for?

You might also want to get in touch with Scope's Support to Work service which is free and aims to help people looking for paid work. I'm sure the career you built in retail will have left you with some transferrable skills for remote online work 

If anyone has other ideas about ways to make a little extra, I'm all ears 

Superbetty

Hi @Cher_Scope, thank you so much for the reply. I am now in process of applying for PIP and Work Capability (whatever is the name of it), but obviously it will take months, and as we all know, I might not even get it (hopefully I will). So yes, I know all about benefits, but thank you. I did read about Scope's Support to Work service, but I got impression it wouldn't help me much, but I might be wrong of course. I am willing to try anything, and I will have a look at it again, thank you. I do appreciate your help:-)And I will certainly update you if anything will change here, for better obviously:-)

2oldcodgers

I made my money working at a desk with a telephone.
There must be some genuine work that can be carried out at home especially now with the digital age.

Pseudonym

Running an online shop via ebay? If you get stock ordered and delivered to your home, then use the delivery option in which the postie can collect items you're sending, you coif do that without going out. I've not tried any of this myself, but that's what comes to mind when combining home based work with your experience in retail. It would involve using online services, so I'm not sure if you're comfortable with that. (If not, maybe one to aim to learn about as a step towards more home based options, both for work and other parts of life.)

Superbetty

Pseudonym said:

Running an online shop via ebay? If you get stock ordered and delivered to your home, then use the delivery option in which the postie can collect items you're sending, you coif do that without going out. I've not tried any of this myself, but that's what comes to mind when combining home based work with your experience in retail. It would involve using online services, so I'm not sure if you're comfortable with that. (If not, maybe one to aim to learn about as a step towards more home based options, both for work and other parts of life.)

Thank you for that, but to run any shop you need really good stock, something what will sell. I cannot afford to buy things and then they won't sell. I had Ebay shop before, and I had to close it after few years, was making pennies, it was not worth my time and effort at all.If you have something people are after, then obviously it is good. Most important, I have no money to buy anything and start the business, unfortunately. 
I loved having my Ebay shop (I was healthy then), it kept me busy, I had happy customers and nice things to sell, but i the end of the day, you are doing something to make money. And now, when I can hardly move, I wouldn't make such a big step. For now all I can think is doing something on my laptop.
Thank you again:-)

Lottie1732

Hi @Superbetty

Have you thought about user testing?  This is something I do (well, try to) and have earned extra from it. Sometimes a nice bit and sometimes nothing at all. It's not a living wage (though I believe it could be) but certainly it's helped keep the wolf from the door for me. Happy to pass over what information I have.  The other option that I know about is transcription. I do this, but it's quite hard to do and relatively low in pay for the effort involved. Still, it's money.  I used to have an ebay shop too, in another life so I get where you're coming from. 

Kind Regards
Lottie

Superbetty

Hi @Lottie1732, thank you so much for your reply! I wouldn't mind ueser testing at all, I am glad it is something you do, so something checked, as like I said, I tried few websites and all I got it was spam, so just gave up. Yes, I would like the details, I would definitely try this, thank you. Betty

Lottie1732

@Superbetty
Can we private message here?

bg844

@Lottie1732 To private message someone click on the mail box on the top of your screen and write an ‘@‘ followed by their username.

Superbetty

Hi @Lottie1732, I am sure you can, but I didn't try it yet. I will try to message you first, to make it easier for you:-)

Superbetty

bg844 said:

@Lottie1732 To private message someone click on the mail box on the top of your screen and write an ‘@‘ followed by their username.

Thank you, I have just messaged her:-)

chiarieds

Hi - I've just been reading this thread, & wonder about being a 'customer adviser' online. For example, I've just seen one bank's advert, 'No previous banking knowledge is needed. You can apply from retail, hospitality, travel or any customer related industry.

I mention this as my daughter has been an online advisor for a bank, working from home, for some time, having been a travel agent for many years, & I was thinking you likely have transferable skills from your work in retail (which seems to be the case from the above advert. Also my granddaughter's partner is training to be an adviser with the same back after working in retail).

My daughter also looked at building societies a while ago. Like banks, some need you to travel to train first, whilst with others this can all be done from home. Just a thought.

Superbetty

Thank you @chiarieds, this is very useful. I was looking online, and there was an and for 111 service-answering phone calls, obviously after training. I can also imagine myself as banking adviser, so yes, thank you, I will definitely look into this. Thank you again:-)

Superbetty

HaydnMassey said:

Hey there! I saw your post about being off work due to a bad knee and wanting to find ways to make money online. I'm sorry to hear that you're going through a tough time, but it's great that you're looking for ways to earn money despite your challenges.

Aww, thank you so much!! I am just sitting in the kitchen, thinking, what an excititng life I have right now:-)But yes, I am trying, I am trying:-) I have registered for few websites and starting doing surveys and tests, quite excited and hopeful. Apart from financial side, which is very important to me (I have £3 in my account right now), it keeps me busy. Fingers crossed:-)Thank you for your comment, it is a lovely thing to say:-)
Are you new here? How are you, how are you finding this website?

L_Volunteer

You would be surprised @Superbetty at the number of online jobs you could be useful at. For example, there are many sales callers and finance/fundraising jobs with similar skills which are online.

Similarly, there are increasingly more job roles where you can start at entry level and work your way up with training and experience. Research is quite a good role to get into if you can too.

I am just thinking, as you are not a member, you could be a research panellist here at Scope and engage in research and opportunities. Please do not hesitate to let us know if we can do anything to support you further.

Have you got the finances you need to help keep yourself fed/hydrated and taken care of etc at the moment? You really matter to us and so does your welfare and general well-being 

Haklan

chiarieds said:

Hi - I've just been reading this thread, & wonder about being a 'customer adviser' online. For example, I've just seen one bank's advert, 'No previous banking knowledge is needed. You can apply from retail, hospitality, travel or any customer related industry.

I mention this as my daughter has been an online advisor for a bank, working from home, for some time, having been a travel agent for many years, & I was thinking you likely have transferable skills from your work in retail (which seems to be the case from the above advert. Also my granddaughter's partner is training to be an adviser with the same back after working in retail).

My daughter also looked at building societies a while ago. Like banks, some need you to travel to train first, whilst with others this can all be done from home. Just a thought.

Yes, the big plus is remote work. I have already been able to compare it.

LindsayO

How about an Etsy shop selling printables, things like planners, colouring pages that people download and print out. You don't need to keep any physical stock. There are tons of tutorials on youtube that tell you how to get started