Going off the Wage

[ellipsis]

So when I moved to SF i got a job gardening on a 3 month probationary basis. 3 months is up and they didn't hire me. Which is kinda funny because I was going to quit in 1-2 months anyways to pursue self employment. Like I decided last friday to quit soon then today, monday they fired me. So I am not asking for advice, i know what i will do for money, as rent is paid because i donate sperm. I want to be a freegan and work for my self as gardener EXTREMELY part time. What I don't want is another wages slavery position where surplus value is extracted from me.

So if you were me, how would you make some spending money, "off the wage?"

Also spare me the lecture on hard work and getting a job etc. save it for another thread.

[Ele'ill]

So when I moved to SF i got a job gardening on a 3 month probationary basis. 3 months is up and they didn't hire me. Which is kinda funny because I was going to quit in 1-2 months anyways to pursue self employment. Like I decided last friday to quit soon then today, monday they fired me. So I am not asking for advice, i know what i will do for money, as rent is paid because i donate sperm. I want to be a freegan and work for my self as gardener EXTREMELY part time. What I don't want is another wages slavery position where surplus value is extracted from me.

So if you were me, how would you make some spending money, "off the wage?"

Also spare me the lecture on hard work and getting a job etc. save it for another thread.


What are your talents?

[ellipsis]

Basically: Gardening, construction, military/revolution related activities, Latin American Studies/academia. I have a canjo and i can whistle really good so i might try my hand at busking. I have done lots of things and can do more.
http://www.smokeymountaindulcimer.com/images/CANJO%20003.jpg

[punisa]

Do you own any assets? Particularly land?

[Ele'ill]

Advertise yourself as a student with construction and 'yard' skills and post flyers in people's mailboxes in the rich areas of your city.

Busk on your days off for fun and see what kind of money you can get.

Consider nearby collectives as a source for inspiration- meet people etc..

[ellipsis]

Do you own any assets? Particularly land?
Car, potential land to squat in VT but im in CA. but no i don't own land in San Francisco.


Advertise yourself as a student with construction and 'yard' skills and post flyers in people's mailboxes in the rich areas of your city.

Busk on your days off for fun and see what kind of money you can get.

Consider nearby collectives as a source for inspiration- meet people etc..

Flyers are labor intensive and SF is the birthplace of craigslist.

I will busk when the weather makes it enjoyable.

will do tour of local collectives.

[Lacrimi de Chiciură]

Donate blood plasma. Some places will give you $50 for it. It is literally selling your body, but hey... $50.

[Ele'ill]

You can make a flyer in 30 minutes using a local library's computers.

[ellipsis]

Bloods good. I don't mind selling my body, did u see the part where I donate sperm?

Flyers take time and energy to distribute, but I may fall back on that.

[Invincible Summer]

Bloods good. I don't mind selling my body, did u see the part where I donate sperm?

Flyers take time and energy to distribute, but I may fall back on that.

Maybe post flyers in community centres, or around other places where parents and families hang out? I think that would be your target market. It's probably more efficient to focus on certain areas to flyer than just cover the whole city.

Also, if you have friends/acquaintances, tell them to get the word around that you're looking for some work.

[ellipsis]

Maybe I could just put some up at grocery stores like Whole foods, and eat free samples while im there.

[Bitter Ashes]

I dunno. I've been there twice. The first time I ended up homeless and with anemia. The second time I decieded that if I was hungry I'd just eat the damn stuff instead of waiting for the money that never came. If there was somewhere to sleep, then I'd sleep there and look for something else. This was before I'd come over to the left, so I didnt have all the knowledge about property ownership and all that, but that alone kinda made things twig and I actualy got over the guilt about living exactly how my parents didnt want me to live all those years ago lol

[ellipsis]

OK so here is my plan on how to get by so far and BTW my GF works but we pay our own bills and split food and other household expense;

Shelter: have apartment, split rent with GF, pay rest with donor check

Food: I can get all the free produce i need because I pick up food for food not bombs and am allowed a personal allotment, I also work at a free community farm which also gleans and dumpsters food which is given away. staples like dairy and eggs and pasta, etc. can be gotten from food banks or my GF can buy some as needed. Also i could eat 3+ free meals a day just in my neighborhood free food lines.

Spending money for smokes and beer, bus fare, gas money(i don't drive but once a week)- I have some money saved from the last job so that should last me little, busk on the side, explore getting unemployement. I have been searching "gigs" on craigslist and posted an ad for gardening, will continue to do so. Won't say how but can get some free weed once a week, it CA :).

[Ele'ill]

Ditch the apartment for a tarp tent. :thumbup1:

[MarxSchmarx]

Since you are in san francisco you should go fishing for your protein. You don't need a license to fish of piers in America I think. you might have to go a bit out of town to make sure the fish isn't contaminated but likely it is safe.

Also since you have a car you should look into trading it for a pickup truck, even a beat up one. That way you can help people move. All you need then is a good back support belt. Start out by building a clientele through word of mouth in neighborhoods that people move a lot like near universities.

[Ele'ill]

I didn't pick up if you have food stamps(card) yet. If you don't- get one- that's 200+ dollars a month you can use for food-

[ellipsis]

Water is mad polluted in SF but I will look into some of the fresh water in Marin, up north.

I am looking at unemployment and foodstamps.

[Ele'ill]

I would advise against buying a pickup truck unless you know the person you're buying from (like a friend or family member). The last thing you want if you're trying to save money is to be paying insurance and repairs on a vehicle. The last thing you need is for it to break down and not have the money to fix it. Because of this I would also advise not to base your job or occupation around your vehicle transportation- If you lose the job you're still paying for the vehicle stuff and if you lose your vehicle then the job or occupation becomes a struggle (a fucking pain in the ass).

I've fished a lot when I was tarp-bound and it's a dirty way to survive but it doesn't sound like you need to do this. I'd make those food stamps priority- and I'm not pushing 'veganism' or anything when I say this but bulk brown rice- beans and lentils go a long way. Decent protein at a low price. If you're used to eating meat I'd suggest chicken two or three times a week.

I don't think I need to tell you all this as you seem to have an idea of what to do- best of luck and I'll post stuff as I think of it.

[MarxSchmarx]

Water is mad polluted in SF but I will look into some of the fresh water in Marin, up north.

Bummer. You might want to try migratory fish that don't have a lifetime of toxins built up, or fish lower on the food chain like herring if you have them there, those have less contamination issues usually. They mgiht also stock some resivoirs which would be edible fish tho you will need a license for those.


I would advise against buying a pickup truck unless you know the person you're buying from (like a friend or family member). The last thing you want if you're trying to save money is to be paying insurance and repairs on a vehicle. The last thing you need is for it to break down and not have the money to fix it. Because of this I would also advise not to base your job or occupation around your vehicle transportation- If you lose the job you're still paying for the vehicle stuff and if you lose your vehicle then the job or occupation becomes a struggle (a fucking pain in the ass).

I've fished a lot when I was tarp-bound and it's a dirty way to survive but it doesn't sound like you need to do this. I'd make those food stamps priority- and I'm not pushing 'veganism' or anything when I say this but bulk brown rice- beans and lentils go a long way. Decent protein at a low price. If you're used to eating meat I'd suggest chicken two or three times a week.


This is all good advice. Although I understand that they now have a lifetime limit on foodstamps of like two years or something, people haven't started starving yet tho. Yeah fishing isn't a sound survival strategy, although it's nice cuz you on a good day if you catch a lot you can freeze the fish.

As far as a car goes, the only reason i suggested pickup was that it is more versatile if you want to be your own boss. if you decide to look into it at all you should definitely have it checked out by at least 2 mechanics before committing, unless as Mari3l pts out it is from family or good friend. But if you can get work where any kind of transportation will do, go for it.

[ellipsis]

No pick up needed, i can borrow a friends if i need to. their is yard waste/compost pick up in SF so me not being able to get something hauled in my hypothetical truck, also large portions can be delivered unto a tarp. so i wouldn't really need a truck.

I have never fished also i don't eat a lot of meat. Food stamps not needed, as said i got most of my food from the community farm i work at and from FnB. Unemployment yes.

I had some more stuff to post about things ive been getting for free, bus pass, etc. but i can't remember now.:(

[Ele'ill]

I'm just going to list ideas-

I'd invest in a bicycle if you haven't already done so.

I've been in places where people i'm living want to do stuff but end up spending money. So rather than spend three days off together with all of us bored because we're broke we'll spend two or three days riding to the coast and camping the nights where ever.

Don't use a dishwasher or washer and dryer (depending on if you pay for water or not) Wash clothes by hand and let the sun dry them.

DHS centers can sometimes give you free bus passes.

Check to see where the closest free health clinics are to you- if by chance you do something like break a tooth- the free health clinics can take care of it (sometimes)- also look into large colleges both community and state- if they have a nursing or dental program you can often get in and they can do minor work-

Community colleges can offer courses in things like sewing or music or other trade learning courses that you can use in your every day life to save money- as well as make money as a job- also once you sign up and take a class you have the opportunity to receive free stuff- sometimes bus passes, sometimes free library/computer access- free friends that can help you with obstalces you may run into- contacts for fair housing and low income health/living advisors and possibly even a steady job doing maintenance work around the campus.


I generally don't like creating systems for myself to get stuff done in my life- cleaning, phone calls etc- I can multitask and keep myself ON task pretty well- I DO find that a white erase marker board works well though and can push you to accomplish a lot more than you normally would.

Also make sure you have enough fun and you feel like you're living- plan short trips etc.

[Ele'ill]

Here's a couple links that might get your brain going- The first is project oriented but still is pretty decent the second one is self explanatory but make sure you check out the DIY and other 'info' sections of the forum. These sections are just past the 'introductions' and other unrelated subforums. It's a really awesome site with good people on it.

http://lifehacker.com/tag/diy/





http://squattheplanet.com/community/


also

http://www.5min.com/

[Animal Farm Pig]

Sign up for some courses at the local community college. Then, make a visit to the financial aid center. Fill out a FAFSA and you can get a Pell grant for up to ~$2,500 per semester. Fill out a California state form for a fee waiver, and all of that grant will go directly to you pocket.

I did this last fall. I signed up for three classes and got about $1,000. It helped me pay off some debt and paid for an awesome tattoo. It also reminded me how much I hate sitting in classrooms. I think you have to pass at least some of the classes to keep getting the grant. I didn't sign up for any spring classes (I hate classrooms), but, from what I understand, you can milk those grants for a few years.

[ellipsis]

Still not working, made some money scrap, waiting for unemployment, dumpstering a lot of food and other stuffz, not job means tonnes more time for activism. need to make some money soon. need to be more motivated.

[leftace53]

You can find some weird ass odd jobs on craigslist. I came across a job in the free stuff section, where they paid to make bracelets. Might be an interesting way to get some disposable cash.

[fionntan]

Still not working, made some money scrap, waiting for unemployment, dumpstering a lot of food and other stuffz, not job means tonnes more time for activism. need to make some money soon. need to be more motivated.

Is dumpstering eating out of bins?

[Decolonize The Left]

Still not working, made some money scrap, waiting for unemployment, dumpstering a lot of food and other stuffz, not job means tonnes more time for activism. need to make some money soon. need to be more motivated.

I'm confused. Do you want a job? I thought that you didn't, because you wanted to get off the wage. So if you don't want to get a job, even a part-time job (as this would be for a wage as well), then how do you want to make money? I ask because working for commission is basically working for a wage, you're just being paid by X# of product/sales rather than by X# of hours.

The ways I can think of off the top of my head to work off the wage:
- Busking
- Labor exchange/trade
- Donating sperm/plasma
- Collecting cans for recycling
- Volunteering in exchange for free stuff
- Make/sell artwork
- Get a sugar mama

Just out of curiosity, how much money do you need a month to meet your basic needs? And how much of that do you have right now coming in each month?

- August

[Decolonize The Left]

Is dumpstering eating out of bins?

No. Dumpstering is taking food out of dumpsters which other people have thrown out, usually referring to large quantities of food thrown out by businesses (such as grocery stores). It can refer to physically eating out of a bin, but in this case (I assume) we mean taking leftover bulk food which is thrown out for whatever reason.

- August

[fionntan]

Thanks i thought it was like if someone threw away a half ate sandwich you would take take it from the bin. But if big buissness is throwing out good food why not take it..

[El Rojo]

thought about teaching spanish? you said latin american studs on yr origional post, and in the UK you can charge lik £20 an hour if yr in a rich area and have a formal qualification

[ellipsis]

No. Dumpstering is taking food out of dumpsters which other people have thrown out, usually referring to large quantities of food thrown out by businesses (such as grocery stores). It can refer to physically eating out of a bin, but in this case (I assume) we mean taking leftover bulk food which is thrown out for whatever reason.

- August

Yah this. I kinda don't like the word dumpstering because it is kinda misleading, but there is no verb form of freeganism. But yah dumpstering means resquing anything that would otherwise go to waste. Sometimes its eating half of a sandwhich, othertimes its picking up food that set asside by a grocery store for foo not bombs, sometimes its pulling bags of cupcakes out of the bin.


Thanks i thought it was like if someone threw away a half ate sandwich you would take take it from the bin. But if big buissness is throwing out good food why not take it..

Why not take the sandwhich? I found an entire In N' Out burger the other night.

[Decolonize The Left]

Why not take the sandwhich? I found an entire In N' Out burger the other night.

Do as you please. I'm not opposed to folks taking what they need, but as far as sanitary concerns go you're much better off dumpstering large quantities of food which are tossed out of the supermarket than pilfering a trashcan for leftovers.

So you may want to stake out the local grocery stores and figure out when their delivery days are, then you need to swoop by the day they get their new produce/bulk food in and check their dumpsters that night and the next day as that's when they're most likely to trash the stuff they don't sell.

You can also talk to local, small scale, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, etc... and tell them if they have leftovers at the end of the day (which they all do) that you'd like to swing by just before they close and get their day-old pastries, etc...
This is a good tactic as you will most likely deal with a worker there who is not opposed to handing out the food they'd throw away anyway.

- August

[Amphictyonis]

.

So if you were me, how would you make some spending money, "off the wage?"


craigslist. I lived off craigslist jobs for 2 years.

[ellipsis]

OK so now I have time to update my situation.

So I dumpster whereever I can, i recently got found a cupcake dumpster, get food from the farm i work at, and pick up the food for Food not bombs some of which i keep.

I still donate sperm and I have started working for my self as a gardener, through craigslist. 30 dollars an hour means I don't work much.

i have been thinking about applying for a seasonal position at trader joe's to make some extra cash to pay off my bills.

[Magón]

You can always go to small places like a bakery, or somewhere like that and ask for their left overs, rather than having to just wait for it in the trash. (Kind of like that episode of Seinfeld.... if you know what I'm talking about? Which, if you do, it does work, I had a friend try it.)

[ellipsis]

You can always go to small places like a bakery, or somewhere like that and ask for their left overs, rather than having to just wait for it in the trash. (Kind of like that episode of Seinfeld.... if you know what I'm talking about? Which, if you do, it does work, I had a friend try it.)

The cupcake place told me they give away their left overs, there are none we throw out. then i found out they do. I actually have access to more free food than i can eat, store or transport, and I know that bakery trick, it has served me very well in the past.

[Amphictyonis]

You should make a video blog to show how hard it is to survive without a capitalist taking value from your labor. Not sure how you'd get around the rent and usury thing though? It's impossible to completely separate yourself from capitalism but severing the wage slave ties can be done.

EDIT: To the poster two posts up ^ how about those giants? I'm not a huge sports fan but I watched the playoffs and world series.

[ellipsis]

i don't have time for a video blog but hope to write and publish a book on it. but yah you can never excape 100 percent for capitalism or wage slavery, but you can reduce your involvement.

Yah the giants won and every is going crazy out my window. HONK HONK WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[Amphictyonis]

Go down to Bound Together Books and volunteer some time there. I'm sure there will be some older chaps who have tried whet your doing volunteering there as well. There's always the food banks and churches giving out free food. Glide Memorial etc. When I lived in SF food stamps were easy to get. You can get emergency food stamps pretty easy- I think it's over by Harrison St. SOMA. Getting cash is a bit different but an EBT card (food stamps) comes in handy. Take advantage of that.

[ellipsis]

yah thanks for the resources. i have already hit most of them up.

[Sosa]

I'm sure there's a Free School in SF, you could always teach a class or something.

[Delirium]

Get your 215 and put those gardening skills to work.