A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

I am scared I won't be able to support myself... - secret

Posted: Sep 14, 2010

as an MT with only my income. I live at a place where I don't have to pay any household bills right now. But I want to move out. It's not a good place for me to be living.

I plan to get an apartment in about 5 months. I am just scared I won't be able to support myself. i can get an apartment for about $400 to 700 dollars. Along with groceries, cable/internet, and utilities, I'm just unsure.

I guess I'm looking for advice/reasurance from MTs who support themselves on their income only. I'm probably looking at getting a 2nd job, right? I don't mind that, really.

Please, no snotty answers.

I support myself, husband, and two kids - on MT alone.

[ In Reply To ..]
It gets tight at times, but we are making it, paying $500 house payment, plus utilities, groceries, car insurance, gas, etc. We don't have cable, just internet, and a program called PlayOn that we can watch pretty much any show through that. We also really try to conserve on electricity. I got car insurance through Safe Auto and it is really inexpensive.

Thanks for replying...sm - secret

[ In Reply To ..]
Just what I needed to hear. Do you have multiple jobs, or just 1?

it can certainly be done. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
it has supported my whole family (x4) all these years. But you will need a reliable company/employer, and be able to produce fairly well at a decent line rate, or get an hourly rate. If where you are is not a good place to live, its worth taking the risk. If nothing else and it doesn't work down the road, maybe a better option will be open to you then. ((hugs))

Support myself - Pat46

[ In Reply To ..]
I know it can be done. On of the girls that I work with is supporting herself and her two girls. She is divorced but they share custody so she does not get child support. She works 32 hours and is in nurses training. We work at a hospital. If you are working for a company for line count I would suggest you try to get on at a hospital or find a company that pays by the hour.

Good luck

i am scared - freddy

[ In Reply To ..]
you should be, mt,s are a dying breed v recognition is taking over your jobs. to all the people who like voice recg. good luck it takes 3 years for that machine to learn your voice

Have a "just in case" fund - Daisy

[ In Reply To ..]
Things in this industry happen quick. Sometimes your company won't get notice that an account is jumping ship until the day before. Sometimes the company will get notice ahead but they won't tell you because they are afraid you'll either quit or sabotage the work.

You can get hired just as quick with another company if you're lucky, but just in case you don't, you should have some cash stashed. Also, you're going to want to have a little extra on hand if you have a December work slow down for the holidays or a summer slow down and you can't get your normal lines.

Ive already spent all of mine... :( - Rocky Raccoon

[ In Reply To ..]
Now I'm siphoning off the retirement money to buy groceries after I've used my whole MT paycheck to pay rent and utilities.

It's not always easy, but it can be done.... - Lois

[ In Reply To ..]
I understand what it means to live in an unsafe place--but here I have to pay bills, lol....

My suggestions:

1--Make up your mind to save aggressively from this point on.

2--Consider ways to live frugally now w/o breaking your spirit; bank the savings. You WILL need to give yourself treats on occasion. Start practicing now, in the months prior to your planned move. You'll then see what you can/will be able to do for yourself AFTER moving. (A good resource is About.com's Frugal Living site.)

3--Don't know where you are in your career--newbie, etc., but know that when you apply yourself, you can, and will, find ways to be efficient on and off the keyboard. You'll also learn ways to boost your line counts in ways small and huge. And remember, it ALL adds up.

4--Accept that an apartment by yourself may not be the way out--at least not yet. Taking a safe room rental elsewhere and paying some bills, or teaming up with a roommate and paying some bills, may be the ticket.

5--Chase lines however, whenever you can. Get up early, stay late 'cause baby needs new shoes AND new housing.

6--Make sure that you are managing your time efficiently, on AND off the keyboard.

7--AND, make make sure that you intensely control, protect, and defend your time on AND off the keyboard.

In the past, a neighbor and a roommate were compulsive talkers. A simple "Hi, how are you?" would become a 45-minute, monologue.

They went on about things I didn't much care about, wasn't interested in, found irrelevant to my life. They talked all, and only, about themselves, ad nauseum. In those moments I, quite literally, saw my Safeway money galloping down the road, my prescription money going up in smoke, my rent money dying on the vine.

I cut them out of my life bc THEY didn't pay MY rent or any other bills at my house. I had to let them be mad and frustrated. Better them than me, as I finally had to admit that I don't do poverty well.

You've seen a movie before? Make your excuses and walk away to make some lines. A conversation doesn't interest you? Make your apologies,..."I need to make some lines..." Someone invite you to share a meal and they're a bad, marginal, unsafe, un-hygeinic, or questionable chef? Thank them, announce that you've already planned your meal and that you'll be eating at your desk bc....

It can be a while to build up your confidence in and clarity on your ability to support yourself alone, much less learn to control your time. Know that that is not unreasonable.

Case in point: I live in an excellent part of town in a beautiful, old, divided mansion. Turned out my landlord's a slumlord, rents to ANYone with 1st mon. and a deposit. ANYone.

I learned PDQ I was living with hard and soft core drug addicts, and older, raging alcoholics whom the addicts preyed upon, a rodent problem, a serious BA mold problem, a paranoid schizo who doesn't believe in meds, a landlord who pads the electricity bills...you name it.

One day, working amid the chaos, I ignored some nearby commotion for as long as I could; I'd decided I'd no longer get involved in problems of their own making.

Good thing I finally got curious and worried. The hardcore junkie had slit his wrist for the 2nd time in 2 wks. People were in hysterics, so much so that nobody thought to get a towel to stop the bleeding, nobody was alert to answer the doorbell.

I opened the door, 4-5 cops rushed in, one with a shotgun, acting like they were going to catch a "bad guy"--not save a life. Before leaving, a cop told me he was thinking of shutting this place down as a public nuisance.

I alerted the landlord (he lives next door) who finally got up off his butt. began putting some of these folks out.

With each eviction, my line count jumped, which went a loooong way to restoring my confidence which had been nearly totally shot and I'm nobody's "newbie" by any means.

I started again on some serious saving, combined it with renewed dedication to living below my means and deeper frugality.

Before I was frugal bc the chaos here wouldn't allow me to make a decent paycheck; and every check was eaten up by subsequent chaos...and on and on and on and...

Now I was working my butt off so I'd have the $ to move that much sooner and felt it was finally realistic that I could afford it.

Why the landlord left the para/schizo behind I don't know. She'd certainly cost him hundreds and hundreds in property damage dollars. That was some of the most expensive rent he ever got out of anybody. It just didn't pay. Fool.

I saw it coming. She finally blew. She held a knife to another tenant's throat and made general threats towards others.

Talk about motivation to further step up my line count, keep looking for affordable housing,....and, YES!, my line count grew even higher once she'd gone.

I finally saved in a few months' time enough to get out of "Dodge".

I move tomorrow to a truly safe and very, very lovely, spacious apartment. All by my GD self.

But...I plan on getting a roommate, lol. Need to maximize those cost savings wherever I can....

It can be done.

Get busy, stay busy.

Wow, congrats for...sm - secret

[ In Reply To ..]
Being able to move out of that toxic environment! And thanks for your long reply. I will take your advice to heart.

Double congrats, Lois. Tomorrow! Have fun - Savings Critical, tho

[ In Reply To ..]
fixing up your new home.

Anon, you've gotten lots of good advice, but all those saying to put away a cushion--right away--are right on. The savings that will allow you to ride out fluctuations in paychecks, if necessary, can make a critical difference between succeeding at living pleasantly on X dollars and having trouble sleeping every few months wondering, "What if..." You definitely need to avoid all the angst that comes with no savings, and it's usually much easier and cheaper to keep from falling in a hole in the first place than it is to rescue yourself from one.

Lots of people, especially these days, rent out rooms in nice homes and share apartments, and the least-expensive room satisfactory to me is the way I'd go for just as long as it took me to build the security fund and a deposit on my own place. Craig's List has a Rooms & Shares section.

Since you have the freedom that comes with being on your own, you could also choose, for instance, between living close to the center of town, with stores and public transportation a close walk (allowing you to skip auto/gas costs for a while), or taking a very inexpensive room in a quiet outer area that offers something you feel you need.

BTW, this work can be isolating. If you don't have friends/family available, a great way to get out and socialize without spending money at first would be volunteering at something that interests you. Volunteering's usually a lot of fun and can open some very interesting doors. Good luck!

i've been doing it for 7 years now with a daughter and no child support - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
it does get hard at times, I have to have help too, food stamps, etc., but I survive. It's not the life I thought I'd have, but I'm doing okay.

My gut feeling is that there is no security in any kind of job/career these days - One is about as good as another

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm seeing people in 'secure' jobs drop like flies these days. So what is the answer to your question? Nobody knows how you will do. We don't know a thing about your skills, your employer, the area where you live, our MT industry, and we have no idea what the economy in general is going to do, except that it probably isn't going to get better any time soon.

If you have a really solid job opportunity that seems secure to you, take it! If not, choose the next best option and go with it. Do the best work you can and try to make sure that if anyone is laid off, it isn't you. That's all any of us can do.

Security - Susan

[ In Reply To ..]
Sadly, it's not just the economy. It's the basic business models of these national companies that makes it difficult to not only make a living but work in an ethical environment. It breaks my heart to hear story after story of MT's working for companies like Webmedx who seems to be all over the board these days with experienced MT's trying to figure out how to keep food on the table and Xanax out of the medicine cabinet!

Perhaps, but that some employers abuse employees is nothing new - Talk to your grandmas if you want to hear bad. NM

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Yes I do, see my post above in the Monterey area thread. - CaliDeb (sm)

[ In Reply To ..]
I won't post my income because I don't want to get harrassed, but I have a $1300 mortgage, was able to buy this home with a very large down payment by myself, no inheritance, no husband, and I just paid off a 2006 Jeep. I like nice clothes and get keratin treatments for my hair! But other than those splurges I live simply. I do work my behind off, but try to take one day off from the computer a week, even if it means the day before is 12 hours long. I do have a side gig in fitness, but that is kind of my pin money for my hair and clothes, and it is kind of a nice balance from a social and physical aspect. I have about 12 years experience in MT, started with MQ when that place ruled for bonuses (man oh man that was awesome, even as a newbie) and quickly got my own accounts. I also work 8-12 hours a week for a national, add more hours when they need it, less when they are low or when my own accounts get slammed... I keep the lines of communication open with that MTSO and it works nicely.

Good luck!

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