All around me, the economy is showing. Friends and family are eating up their savings cushions. Writers and editors I know are in low level panic. Etc. Etc.

I was laid off from my last full time gig two months ago, but really, I haven’t worked a day job with any regularity since I went to Clarion West in summer 08. My husband, Chris, an artist, has recently returned to school to upgrade his day job skills. Having been raised poor myself, and living in a house of two relatively creative people, we’ve managed, thus far, to continue living.

I usually speak in broad strokes here in this blog, but I’m starting to feel obligated to try and share some of the tips and tricks we use here in the Gussoff-Sumption camp to stay afloat (and by afloat, I mean bobbing around the surface getting occasional gasps of air, not racing across in a honking and luxurious yacht. These are not get rich tips. These are staying fed and clothed tips with the electricity on).

Today, I’ll share three internet sites that have helped us get by. If these are interesting to you and seem helpful, let me know by commenting or by sending me an email. I’m happy to go on to cover keeping your fridge filled, scaring up health care, and so forth, if folks are interested.

–Go to the content mills, or “work for hire.” There’s always a lot of poorly paying gigs out there. Suck it up and take one. You won’t be writing art. So what? Use a pen name if it bothers you (I don’t, but really, do people care? Half the time my content mill articles don’t give bylines, and when they do, whatever). A place I have direct experience with is Demand Studios (who’ve gotten a lot of mixed press lately). The pay is relatively low, but the articles can be, well, interesting (I’ve written articles on making chicken manure tea, using Hoyer lifts, making plaid pants for punks, knitting hats, using Suboxone, getting diagnosed with psoriasis…) and once you get the hang of what they want, you can make 30 bucks an hour. They pay twice a week, they pay on time, and they will now be offering health insurance (!!!!!!!) for freelancers who average 30 articles/month for more than 3 consecutive months. The application process is straightforward. The work is steady. I’ve worked with them on and off for 2 years, and they’ve never screwed me. They’re honest about what they want, how they want it, and when they want it. Right now, they are my main source of income. If you’re a broke writer or editor, I can’t encourage you strongly enough to go apply already.

–Low paying content mill jobs require lots of internet searches. Get free stuff to treat yourself with while you have to search anyway. There are lots of “reward” sites out there (they seem to come and go), but the one I use right now is swagbucks (which has been around for awhile). I really don’t ever promote this kind of stuff, but swagbucks is easy and free.
You use their search engine (which uses Google, only with more sponsored links) and you earn “swagbucks” which you can then trade in for a variety of stuff–most notably and interestingly, Amazon gift cards. The prizes are real and actually show up, the site is legit, and they don’t spam you. The search results are pretty diluted, so reserve your serious searches for Google straight up. But for causal searching, you may as well get free stuff. In fact, I’m pretty close to getting a $50 Amazon gift card, which will be one of my husband’s holiday gifts. If you sign up, I’d appreciate you using my referral link, but you don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable.

–Join Freecycle. I’ve gotten great stuff from local folks who were trying to declutter, including the office chairs Chris and I are sitting on right now and a breadmaker that I use at least once a week. I’ve been able to give people stuff we didn’t need, including an extra toaster, a bathroom scale, and a gigantic sack of yarn scraps–all to folks that can use them. It’s awesome. Really. Not just because it kept the stuff out of landfills, but because, hey, you know, free stuff we/they needed. There’s a Freecycle group in just about every metropolitan area and most have email lists or newsletters that list stuff people are looking for or are giving away.