GINNY PIGS

Our first real tangible money making venture in our new city has been to turn ourselves into Ginny Pigs, test rabbits in an area run amuck with scientists and statisticians on the prowl for bodies willing to be mentally and physically poked and prodded in the name of science and the advancement of consumer goods. The first of us to jump under the microscope of available candidates in the name of research ended up being our daughter, Emmy. Yes, we're pimping the child in the name of science. We spotted an ad looking for children and adults between the ages of nine and thirty-five willing to have their faces smeared with ointment for an hour and a half and then placed under a medical light source for an additional nine minutes to determine the efficacy of a zit treatment currently used in Norway but not yet FDA approved here in the U.S. of A. When Emmy turned twelve she started having some moderate bouts with acne so we had been trying to find some dermatology help for her, but when we first showed Emmy the ad for the free treatments she shrugged her shoulders with an, "As if". This lasted until we got to the part about the $440 paycheck at the end of the study. All of a sudden her eyes grew to silver dollars and a smile spread like a nineteen ninety's IPO across her face. Never has a child been so thankful for a third eye.
Now Rick and I have added our names to a local consultant firm looking for willing participants to add their two cents on such things as the taste of a new toothpaste, the most recent pizza commercial, or how to operate the next hot video game, all of this at $50 to $175 for a two hour session. This is not going to get us out of debt or provide a down payment on a new house but it will buy us a weeks worth of groceries and that means a lot.

TIP:

Look through your local newspapers, pay attention to notices posted on your local grocery store's bulletin board for help wanted. The things posted range from part-time elder caregivers to research ginny pigs. During the transition these part-time and one-time job offers can be a lifesaver for paying the basics.