National Home Assemblers work at home ripoff Mainesburg Pennsylvania

Hi Shari,

Instead of being traumatized from beng duped, get good and mad and then look at the obvious. We already know you're a saint for putting your life on hold to take care of your dad, and I suspect you're a lot smarter than you even realize. Don't beat yourself up for believing in someone cold enough to take advantage of your situation. You've spread the word on them and saved plenty of people in similar situations.

As for your smarts, you can make the magnets yourself at home. All it takes is a little ingenuity. Think of what people like to collect, cows, angels, musical instruments, etc. Fifty bucks buys a LOT of supplies at Michael's or another craft store. Market them to friends, family, hold yard sale types of sales, pair up with several others to get a booth at a flea market or craft fair. Start your own website (I don't know how but have a family member who could show me, and you can find someone, too.) I made a complicated Christmas tree ornament a few years ago just to see if I could and was swamped with orders from friends after they saw it. People in our position tend to sell themselves short because we know the value of a dollar and the difficulty of earning one. Excluding labor (about 30 minutes) this ornament cost 37 cents to make, but when I asked a lady what she was willing to pay for it, she said, "Oh it's easily worth $5." And they sold easily for that amount.

The service industry has been on the rise for years, as predicted. Are you able to clean houses or offices? Most offices are done at night, so if your dad is in a situation to stay alone for a while that may be an option. If you can get some help for a day or so with your days, schedule all house cleanings for that one day. If your personality dictates, offer yourself as a clown or some other type of entertainer for children's parties. Take a balloon and small gift for the birthday child, sweets for the attendees, play a few games, paint faces (sponges make good templates!), entertain in general, for about an hour. When I did this *over 20 years ago* I received $55 per party.

If you are absolutely stuck at home and cannot leave, how about a service where you call to check on the elderly? They would love the opportunity to chat for a few minutes and their family members could be alerted if there was no answer or a problem mentioned in one of these calls. Children tend to move and think (correctly most of the time) that Mom and Dad are ok as long as they call on Wednesdays and Saturdays, etc. If you can't afford an ad in the newspaper, post notices on community bulletin boards or send notices to churches and other organizations that have a true interest in their elderly. Spend $10 to get a copy of your criminal record check from your local courthouse and get as many personal and professional references as you can, to put these people at ease.

Service is 'where it's at'. People are busy and willing to pay for things their schedules don't allow. Use your imagination and I'm sure you can come up with some great ideas - and maybe in the meantime put people like the one you mentioned out of business! Good luck to you and God bless.

Jan, I'm not being facetious. I have not seen such an upbeat response here or anywhere is a long, long time.

It is so easy to get duped into thinking we can't DO THAT without sending someone money but most people can DO THAT (being whatever). With a little imagination and some sales ability (maybe none if one works from a flea market) someone might be able to make extra money. Nothing to get rich on, but enough to cover some bills.

Thank you.

I know several people who buy from thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales, mark up the price and then resell the items on Online auctions. They don't get rich, but it brings in enough extra money to keep them going.

The USPS will deliver as many Priority Mail boxes, labels and envelopes as you need. It's all free. You order them Online from their website. The mail carrier brings them to your door.