How can I make extra money to pay for my surgery?

Money Management
1

I was injured about 10 years ago and had to have surgery on my spine, re-injured in 2016, and my symptoms and pain have returned and are worse than ever. My insurance is pretty much useless and I need a surgery that I cannot afford. The pain I’m in cannot be put into words and I just want my life back.

My credit is atrocious mostly from poor decisions as a young adult.

I am working but I don’t make enough to put money aside each paycheck.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do?

My pain makes it difficult to work, but I’m doing it. I was hoping to find a side job working from home so I can make money and still rest from the workday but it seems to be a struggle to find a WFH position that’s actually legit.

Of course it would be ideal to get a loan for the surgery but I’m honestly out of ideas.

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

1 Like
2

Hi @kelsey.del.valle! First off, I am so sorry to hear this! Please know we’re thinking of you, and hope surgery is a success and brings a close to this painful chapter.

Now on to your question — how to make extra money via a WFH side job. This topic has come up quite a bit around here, so I’m going to link you to some previous threads and methods I’ve seen our members write about.

The threads here, here, here and here are from members who had similar situations. The comments are a treasure trove of information! There’s also this thread about best industries and companies for WFH jobs: The Best Industries and Companies to Find Work From Home Jobs.

Finally, I’d suggested The Penny Hoarder’s Work-From-Home job portal. It’s populated weekly and vetted by The Penny Hoarder’s team of editors.

I hope this helps get you started. My sincerest well wishes to you. Keep us posted on your progress!

1 Like
3

Kelsey,

I am right here with you. Just got off the phone planning my treatment and surgery. Its going to be expensive. Lets think this out together. Work from Home ideas are immense in this group. As mentioned we have a treasure trove on here. The key thing is to do your homework. Find something that works for you. I do two things from home and they fit nicely together; both are very part-time because right now I also have a regular job. My hope is to eventually just be working from home.

Lets connect and share ideas and help each other. I wish you well.

Leta

4

@leta.muncie posted:

Kelsey,

I am right here with you. Just got off the phone planning my treatment and surgery. Its going to be expensive. Lets think this out together. Work from Home ideas are immense in this group. As mentioned we have a treasure trove on here. The key thing is to do your homework. Find something that works for you. I do two things from home and they fit nicely together; both are very part-time because right now I also have a regular job. My hope is to eventually just be working from home.

Lets connect and share ideas and help each other. I wish you well.

Leta

Thanks for your supportive comment to Kelsey, @leta.muncie!

If you feel comfortable, do you mind sharing what kind of work-from-home jobs you’ve found and how you went about finding them? Not the company per say but the kind of work you found that you can do at home and how. Perhaps it’ll help Kelsey (and others) with some ideas on what’s out there and how to get started on their own search.

1 Like
5

sending prays hope everything goes well, i know when i had my radiation treatments my insurance let me know they don’t pay for them, are you kidding me?? so i reached out to our congressmen and he helped me get them paid for, who doesn’t think people with cancer treatments don’t need to have help paying them?? god bless and good luck

6

The key is to do your homework and find what works for you. I have language writing skills so I took up a Feedback Writing, part time job on an editing platform. I also have Social Science skills from my teaching background. I am in the process of securing another virtual, part time job, using that skill. I took sometime to search (that is the homework part) for something that works for me. The net result is I have managed to raise an income! You may have different skills from me, but go on year search to find what works for you. All the best.

1 Like
7

First off can you get insurance to cover your surgery. Here in CA we have what used to be called Covered CA which came from Obama Care. Second if you have things around the house you can sell on Ebay, Mercari, Poshmark?

1 Like
8

I’d say if you can get a loan for the surgery, you should definitely do it.

There’s quite a few ideas to make money from home, including but not limited to:

  • Selling stuff on eBay / flipping stuff on eBay

  • Flipping stuff on craigslist: you can just pick stuff up from the ‘for free’ section and sell it for some money. But it wouldn’t be WFH and probably won’t be good for your back, unless they’re very light items. Though ‘free’ items are usually heavy furniture.

  • You can arbitrage various services online.

  • Convince business owners to pay you a monthly income by promising to do their SEO for them (you’d outsource it, of course).

And a lot of other misc tactics that I outline here that I’ve tried myself.

Regardless of money, I wouldn’t put off on the surgery though and would definitely prioritize getting a loan. Making money takes time and isn’t easy (otherwise everyone would be rich). You can use the above and other comments here to boost your money to pay the loan back faster, but while money comes and goes, your health only goes.

My advice: just get the surgery and deal with the money later.

1 Like
9

Flexjobs.com has many work from home jobs listed.

Penny Hoarder’s own work from home portal.

Bring up any major corporation’s website and enter WFH in the job/career search bar and it will list the jobs available.

By the way, you never mention what work you do for a living nor your skill level(s).

10

Hi Kelsey!

I’m sorry that you have to find extra funds to fund your surgery. I’m not sure if you already had it but I wanted to share my ideas on how to make money. I don’t know if these ideas would apply to you but I think it’s worth a try.

First, you can find creative ways to make quick money or other ways to make long sustainable side hustles or even side businesses.

Here are some quick ways to make quick money:

? Sell unused items online (clothes, shoes, books, etc)

? Find things in your house that other people would want to buy and sell it (makeup, DVDs, old phones, etc)

? Do people’s laundry if they are too busy (students or working parents)

? Look online for surveys - Some websites give points instead of money but it’s still extra cash. Some survey companies also give extra cash if you download their app or subscribe to their site (Swagbucks, Ipsos i-Say, Survey Junkie)

? Sell your old books online - some websites always need a new book to add to their collection so they will buy old books from you. Some other websites have a good price for these used books while others have a bad price so beware.

? Save on your commute to work - Every little cent saved adds up, so you can save money maintaining your car, reduce weight in the car, avoid rush-hour traffic. If your partner drives to work in separate cars, use the more fuel-efficient one for the longest commute.

I tend to find side gigs on blogs like PennyHoarder and GigsAcademy. Some ideas on ways to make side hustle income or more sustainable long sources of income are listed below:

? Deliver food using food delivery apps near you like Instacart, DoorDash or Uber Eats. The money varies depending on where you deliver, how far it is, and the demand of the restaurant. Some places pay more than others so beware before accepting a job.

? Do yard or house work - you can apply to national companies that are willing to give people jobs based on their skill set. Other local landscaping companies might need more hands during spring or summer.

? Create and sell online courses (i .e Udemy) - This may take more work but it’s truly passive income and you can get free money every time someone buys your course. If you specialize in something, it’s easy to create a course on it.

While these are some ways that I know of to make a quick or sustainable income, you may want to look into starting a micro business for long term income. Good luck with your surgery and hopefully you can get it soon so you can start making some money.

1 Like
11

Sending prays hope everything goes well, I know when I had my radiation treatments my insurance let me know they don’t pay for them, are you kidding me?? So I reached out to our congressmen and he helped me get them paid for, who doesn’t think people with cancer treatments don’t need to have help paying them?? God bless and good luck