I live in a border town, very easy to cross to the south. Coming back is a hassle. Long lines of immigration checks. I like their grill pork tacos 3 for $1. I don't even need to change the currency. I used to got my prescription meds there, much less than in the USA. Mexico is fun outing with friends.
My lawn guy is $160 per month. I have priced them and that is the going rate. People have knocked on my door and told me they will do it for much less. But they have no insurance, cannot speak my language, have no physical address or Web site, want to come to my house (which I'm never in) to get paid in cash, etc, etc. I don't want to deal with transients. I will end up having to shop for a new lawn guy every few months--been there--not worth the hassle. And I don't want to get dinged by IRS/ Labor dept. for being an "employer" when I never intended to be. Lots of lawyers and hassles to get out of that one. Better to deal with someone who has a business license, a green card, some people working for them, and some permanence. The lawn guy is from Vietnam and has several Mexicans working for him.
HEY misterno is 100% true. I used to live in Houston and I know what he is referring to. the vietnamese run salon on Hilcroft... THE HAIR CUTs there are on par to 15$ hair cuts at other places. damn it. why cant they do the same in Dallas.. . wow.. so the rate is still 3.99 plus a 1 buck tip. I think I used them last in 2004 .
Of course. I failed many times before I was sucessful. That didn't stop me from trying. You have to expect to fail. If you don't fail how can you learn what you are doing wrong?
You are assuming that there is the capital and the living expense to try again. Very few are so fortunate to have a 2nd chance.
I'm so fucking tired of hearing this bullshit from people. YOU MAKE YOUR OWN SECOND CHANCE. AND THIRD CHANCE. AND FOURTH CHANCE. I'm not lucky that I'm well off, I work fucking hard for it with struggle after struggle where most people give up and just go work at McDonalds and complain about their job and lack of second chances. And no, my struggle is not limited to "my mom doesn't love me." Your quote is what is fucking wrong with society right there. Your parents should kill themselves for bringing up someone who is so fucking defeatist.
$10/hr seems insanely low, even if you were paying illegals under the table. When I lived in Singapore, we would pay more than that to the Indonesian/Philippine maids who did freelance cleaning work. (paid $20/hr) And this is in the country that's king for hiring cheap foreigners for labour work. Like other posters said, I would be expecting closer to $100/hr in any bigger city.
Touching. Been in same biz for over 25 years. This economy is very tough. Fees are literally below 1980's levels when expenses were much lower. Working twice as hard for less and deadlines are very short. It is going to be very hard to get ahead in this economy - particularly for people that are deep in debt and lived beyond their means. I am doing well now b/c I grew-up poor and have that deep fear from my childhood, and because I am frugal. If I make less, I spend less, if I make more, I do not up my lifestyle much, I just invest more. I sold my investment R.E. from 2004-2007 and own the casa F&C with some rental income from othyer units on the property. No debt, NO CC bills, - one child is finishing up college this quarter and the other is covered and doing very, very well, but having only one child in college for another 4-5 quarters is actually a relief even though I can afford it. Believe me, when things dumped in 2008, it was a bad time to have two kids living away at major universities, but I had prepared and had very low overhead and living expenses, and I got very competitive on my fee quotes and fortunately I picked up a great client in early 2008 and they now provide 75% of my (which is in a way scary too, but I can get by from other clients if need be). This thread started out talking about people over 50, which includes me... If you told me my fees would be lower now with 25 years experience than they were in the 1980's, I'd have said you were nuts. Its not just me, its industry-wide. A lady that worked for me in the early 1990's and went out on her own successfully for like 15 years, just took a job at a larger company on fee-split arrangement. Let me tell you, there are loads of qualified people out there and the fee splits are LOW. Margin squeeze if you have your own biz. Tough times. So hard work, persistence and drive are definite pluses, but right now there is not enough work to go round and a 55+ guy getting laid off in a depressed industry has my empathy... Compound interest really works in your favor if you start early. Someone who is 55 with limited savings, big mortgage, kids in college, etc., is in an ugly spot. My advice to all, for what it is worth, is to live below your means, work hard and invest. I would avoid debt unless it provides really strong leverage/high yields w/o too much risk and is non-recourse. One other thing - some of the jobs mentioned here are unskilled labor that can be eliminated. You can do your own pool, gardening and clean your own casa. I do not know of anyone in my area paying $50/ to $100/hora to have their house cleaned. Maybe $50 to $75 for the whole house, but not that much per hour. No way, not here anyway.
I was only responding to the guy with the attitude. I didn't mean to include you. I know that once you are over 40/50, you are done these days. If you need only a second chance at 40/50, I envy the sheltered life you have lived so far.