Why living in a retirement community has been financially difficult

First, condominium rules don't allow me to have AirBnB guests so I can't earn income that way. That was my main source of income when I owned a house in Pennsylvania. That income covered all my household expenses.

Second, many residents here have enough income and also have a lot of free time. There's only so much golf, parties, dining out, pickle ball, movie watching, or cruises that will fill up their time. Sometimes when I reply to a Facebook post for work I can do, like assembling furniture, there are more responses from people who are willing to do that work for free so that my offer is passed over.

And it seems many here in the South believe women should not be doing Men's Work, but only Women's Work. That was a new one on me.

Many say I should get a job, like cashiering in a grocery store or being a security guard at the gate. At 77, I have some physical limitations: partial blindness, hearing impairment, and a doctor's order to not sit or stand for 20 minutes at a time because it can trigger blood clots. I've already had a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) and pulmonary emboli (2 blood clots in my lung.) So, it's not worth the risk.

And since I haven't been employed since 1972 I have no employer references and can put nothing relevant on a resumé or application. My self-employment experience editing books, negotiating speaker contracts, appearing on national television, hosting talk radio, and publishing books just isn't relevant to bagging groceries. 

The only work I've been offered are A. alterations and pants hemming which pays about $4 an hour, and B. cleaning toilets and scrubbing shower stalls. Forgive me if I sound conceited but I did have clients all over the world including a few Fortune 500 companies.

As soon as I can sort through 100 boxes of research material and government documents, and sell off 90% of my stuff, I will be able to return to writing and updating my books again.

Some neighbors who do want my things often  want me to mark down my items to free, but  won't take them unless in perfect condition. Others who have good hearts will sometimes give me a little more than I asked. 

At some point, if I don't sell everything I will call a charity to haul everything away. You can see what I have for sale here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1911474303599233 More posted almost daily.

The Kindness Test

I've changed the name of my book, from The Generosity Experiment to The Kindness Test, reduced the Early Buyer price by $4 (back to $20), reduced the number of "units" available to 2000, and extended the early buyer deadline until May 30, 2010.

The message of the book is that we all need to be more conscious of the impact we make on others we encounter through the course of our day, conduct business with, and pass by without noticing. The choices we make with each person may impact not only the other person's life, but our own, in ways we could not imagine. Being needlessly unkind to another could result in your missing out on wonderful things that you have dreamed of but never thought you could achieve or receive. In other words, not being as kind to others as you would like others to be to you could work against you in ways that you haven't imagined. You may be acting against your own best interests, and that is rarely, if ever, a smart idea.

My book will give you many examples of tests I have conducted with:

• Doctors
• Dentists
• Hospitals
• Police
• Veterinarians
• Hotels
• Real estate agents
• Churches
• Lawyers
• Neighbors
• Best Friends
• Banks
• Former clients
• Etc.

And no, I was never undercover... although I now offer to be an undercover client to businesses. I always disclosed upfront that I was writing a book about my encounters with everyone. Despite my honesty most people, not all, treated me with rejection, disrespect, avoidance, contempt and in some cases abuse and threats of physical harm... no matter how kind and generous I was to them. That says to me that our society needs a major overhaul in the area of Kindness to Others.

This book will ruffle quite a few feathers I'm afraid. You'll want to read this book, if only to find out who has been naughty and nice! Most of the stories are quite stunning. Often truth is stranger than fiction and these are true stories with no embellishment. And in many cases I gave people named in the book a second chance to do the right thing. You'll get to see who did and who didn't.

If you order The Kindness Test now, you'll get the first copies when its finished, but if you are one of the 2,000 early buyers you can share in the profits. You'll get your entire investment of $20 back after the sale of 5,700 books. If I sell 10,000 books, you get an additional $24 back. If I sell 20,000 books you should see $110 in total returned to you.

OK, that's not a big pile of money, but tell me this:  How many authors can you name who share the profits of their book sales with their readers? Besides me.

Oh, and if you recommend me for a paid speaking engagement on the subject of The Kindness Test that is booked, confirmed with a deposit, and actually takes place, you will receive 10-25% of my speaking fee... depending on how much effort you invest in getting me booked. The bigger the event, the bigger my fee. And what comes to you could be a nice little pile of money.

Think about it... but not too long.

The 50th post

This is what my "new" web site says:

Andrea Reynolds' Multi-Million Dollar Crusade for Justice

Because of my good deeds, I've been the target of criminal acts and hate campaigns...so I've launched my own campaign.

For now I'm collecting what people owe me or compensation for what people have done, not done, or done badly. Then I will spend my time promoting "big ticket" work like speaking, corporate consulting and syndication. No more offering physical work to people who don't appreciate the value of the work I can do to help them solve their problems and make good money. If they want my help they can buy my book that tells them how they can do it themselves. Or they can pay me a retainer.

And because I have now posted 50 posts here and don't have a single follower, this will be my last post on this blog. I'll be starting another blog on my web site to document my progress contacting people and companies who should compensate me or send me a refund.

Of all the nerve!

What are people thinking?

I'm destitute, trying to find ways to keep a roof over my head and earn an honest living, and people are treating me with such disrespect. Don't they get it? 

I've been rejected more than a dozen times for offering to provide free housesitting and pet-sitting for which I used to get paid a nice hourly rate, so I give up. When I hired pet-sitters in 2005 to look in on my 2 cats for a day I paid $25 a visit, two visits per day. Now I'm being rejected over and over when I offer to look after pets 24 hours a day... for free! Go figure.

And on a daily basis I get requests from strangers who say they want to be "friends." That usually turns out to mean they want me to come to their home (even drive hundreds of miles to get there), spend a month of my time de-cluttering, painting and staging it so it sells fast and for more money, but they don't offer me payment or even a place to stay. One man (who owns two homes) said to me (who you know is homeless): "I can't pay you; money is very tight." I explained my financial situation to him, and I never heard from him again. I hope he was ashamed of his intent to exploit me.

 One man promised me "some money" when the house sells. That could be 6 months from now and "some money" could mean $50 in his mind for 160 hours' worth of my heavy labor, or he could take it off the market and he could rationalize that he doesn't have to pay for all the work I did. I suspect he will get his realtor to do the work for free before he takes his home off the market. (I have good reason to believe he will.) Tsk, tsk.

I am so disgusted by the way I've been treated. Or should I say, how people behave with such an unreasonable expectation of entitlement. This is arrogance and disrespect to the max. News flash, guys: Slavery in the United States was abolished in 1865!  (Yes, these people will be in my book.)

And if the above scenarios aren't bad enough, I'm also receiving requests from strangers that I send them money so they can spend it on promotion of their self-published novels. Are they kidding me? I'm homeless and people I have never heard of want me to subsidize their careers? But are they willing to buy my books - at a reduced price, no less - so they can learn how to secure funds for their publishing projects? Of course not. They refuse to spend less than $10, but want me to throw bigger money at them with no expectation of return? Hah!

If someone isn't willing to invest in their own education so they can learn how to raise money as I did, they aren't worthy of anyone's investment.

Change of plans

"Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere."

That's taken from a TV commercial for a drug for depression. I'm not depressed, but I hurt everywhere. Sleeping on a lumpy couch or on a camping cot doesn't help, nor does being awakened often during the night by one or more cats, but I suspect those aren't the culprits, just hindrances. I suspect that stress, worry and lack of physical exercise over the years have had a detrimental effect on my health. And sleeping in a damp van that doesn't get any warmer than 50 degrees even with a heater on, is probably giving me arthritis, if I don't already have arthritis.

It may be fibromyalgia, but it may not be. All I know is that I hurt all over... my fingers, wrists, back, shoulders, head, neck, legs, feet, toes. And I can't go on like this, at least not while it's still cold at night.

So I need to change plans and take care of myself, even if only for a few months, no matter what the cost. If I don't take care of myself my 90 year old father may outlive me.

The first step is to come in out of the cold. I've rented a small studio with a bed, desk, bathroom and kitchenette. The second step is to get dental care. I need two root canals to start with.

All this will be very expensive so I've got to stop trying to offer services that nobody wants to pay for and will be changing my strategy.

Updated news release

Writer Seeks Companies with Heart… (and parking) so she can write book about creative generosity 

Have you seen this van around Erie?

[Erie PA] Would you invite a woman to park her “kindness-mobile” in your company parking lot for a week or a month so she can write a book about generosity of spirit? Would you, if you received favorable promotion on her blog, website, book, and keynote speeches? What if she also kept an eye on your premises? (As an investigative journalist she is a keen observer and was the first to spot two house fires and also identify a serial burglar so police could bring him to justice.)

A shady spot is imperative. In direct sun the internal temperature of the van

can quickly become 100 degrees which could kill Casper the cat.

Andrea Reynolds is an unconventional 60 year old, former public relations consultant and freelance broadcaster who is starting again with no income or savings after multiple years of personal and business crises… some resulting from heartless company officials. She knows there are companies with a generous spirit everywhere, she just has to find them…so she can write about them. (She’s already met plenty of the other kind.) She returned to Erie to be her elderly father's patient advocate.

Reynolds is accepting invitations to park from: Auto Dealers, Chiropractors, Churches, Colleges, Dentists, Grocery Stores, Health and Fitness Clubs, Hospitals, Inns and Hotels, Law firms, Libraries, Physicians, Radio and TV stations, Realtors, Restaurants, Veterinarians, etc.

A place to park with an outside electrical outlet would be heaven.

With no mortgage or rent Reynolds will live on less than $500 a month (including food, gas and storage unit)…so she can write, publish and promote her next book, The Generosity Experiment. Equipped with nearly everything she needs – except for water and electricity – her 2002 Econoline van will be home for up to two years for her and her cat Casper.

"I'm not home-less; I'm home-free," Reynolds insists. "This is my choice. I want to work, but until people are willing to pay me for my professional consulting, writing and speaking skills and books again, driveway surfing is how I live within my means. I prefer it to couch surfing."

Reynolds is offering to share the profits from sales of this book with up to 2400 early buyers. Until April 30, any individual can claim a book for $24, have his/her name listed as a patron and share a portion of the profits. If she can sell 10,000 additional books through her online and offline promotion, each “patron” will double her/his investment. Her mailing address is: Andrea Reynolds, Suite 647, 2501 West 12^th Street, Erie PA 16505.

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350 words

For interviews and appearances, please contact Andrea Reynolds, crisiswriter@gmail.com (814) 431-9278 (cellular) or (412) 440-3704 (voicemail) or www.Twitter.com/ReynoldsIntl  More info: her website, www.AndreaReynolds.com  and her blog, http://DrivewaySurfing.blogspot.com.

Andrea Reynolds, Suite 647, 2501 West 12th Street, Erie PA 16505 

Earning my keep

I'm so grateful to Delly and Jason for giving me a place to stay out of the cold while I wait to receive invitations to park or house-sit. I'm doing multiple things to be a good house guest... after all, I wrote a booklet on Bed and Breakfast Guest Etiquette.

1. I'm trying to take up as little space as possible with my things in the kitchen, living room and bathroom.
2. I'm trying to be as quiet as possible by keeping the volume down on the TV, my laptop (TV shows and podcasts) and have ver few phone calls a week.
3. I'm eating up their leftovers to make more room in the crowded fridge.
4. In lieu of payment for electricity, I'm contributing a few items to the household.
5. I'm making myself useful by providing HandyAnde services I normally charge $30-$60 an hour for. By providing at least an hour of my services a day ($30 x 30 = $900/month) as a home economist I feel as though I'm giving value for my presence. Some of my tasks:

• scooping out the 5 cat litter boxes
• picking up milk, cat litter, cat box refills as needed
• sweeping the laminated and linoleum floors
• unclogging the shower drain
• washing dishes by hand throughout the day
• cooking parts of dinners
• refilling pet water bowl
• organizing some cupboards  
• keeping pets company when "mom and dad" are out of the house
• adjusting the window blinds in the morning and late afternoon (for the pets and plants)
• investigating unfamiliar noises 
• breaking up cat fights
• combing cats to reduce the possibility of hairballs.

This is what I do when I'm house and pet sitting. So hire me already... it costs you nothing!