Tag: money

How To Be A Thrifty Gamer in 2020

~ Artiecarden ~ 4 Comments

Hey pals,

I’m not a huge gamer, I enjoy playing old games from when I was younger and also always been a Sims person. But the gaming industry can be a pretty wasteful space. Things are slowly getting better as we mostly pay for a digital copy or pay to stream games now vs. always buying the latest game on disc (or game cards? whatever we used back in the day). But how do you continue to be a gamer and enjoy video games without the environmental impact and also trying to save some coin?

I’ve never been someone who stays up-to-date on the latest game trends, I don’t have the newest consoles and I don’t have a gaming computer (though I am looking into buying a gaming laptop…) and I still have a lot of my old games and consoles. But they can break and what do you do when you’ve completed them all? One of my favourite things to do is going into second hand electronics/game shops like GameStop (which might be deceased by now) or CEX. Their prices for older games are pretty decent and they take almost anything. You can sell to places like MusicMagpie but I don’t recommend it unless you’re desperate because their service is awful. Anytime I’ve booked for a collection they never arrive the day scheduled and then claim I wasn’t in and my most recent interaction where I was able to drop a box off at a shop for delivery, they claimed 6 or more of my items just weren’t in the box when they definitely were, definitely better off with CEX and going into store it’s much easier and the prices are about the same.

They buy and sell all kinds of electronics, not just video game based products. I sold an old camera I used for filming my videos, because my new phone has better sound and video quality so it became redundant. Also, a very old camera lens from my A level Photography days (8 years ago…) which gave me a nice little sum of money. I also sold a pile of old DVDs and games I no longer wanted, I’m trying to part with as many DVDs as possible really as I stream most of my content off Netflix and my family have Sky but it IMG_2651can be hard to let go. Some of the items were only worth a penny, but it’s something added to the price off what I’d gone there for. You can also check if they are taking the items you’re selling by looking them up on their website and they give you what they sell it for, what they pay cash and what they pay store credit which tends to be higher than cash coz they want you to keep coming back. It’s a good system. Almost like a game library. Buy a game, return it for some money when you’re done, get a new game. This is why I like it really.

There can be an issue with old broken electronics or random chords you don’t know what they went to, Curry’s actually recycle these items which is great as I hate the idea of electronics just being thrown out and adding to the rubbish collecting in landfill and would rather be a little kinder to the planet.

I’ve been returning to old games recently to try and complete them so I can finally find out how they ended! And then be rid of the clutter! But my Nintendo DS from when I was a kid got trashed somehow, like unfixable trashed, so I’ve known for a while I’d need to purchase a new one (or rather an old new one…) I know they sell them on their website but I would rather skip the postage and buy one in store so I checked as I was selling my unhaul of items and they did indeed. It was the newer version of what I used to have as a child and smaller, but they said it was better quality and only cost about £5 more than the older one. It has been pretty fun to get back into. I’ve been needing a space where my brain switches off from real world and can be focused elsewhere, and a lot of the game I play have mini-games that are good brain exercise, and I think I’ll be going back to Animal Crossing and Nintendogs for a more relaxing version of this too. Time to chill out.

(I wish I was making money from this post but I’m not, I just think this is a good alternative to buying new and giving things to charity as you know these items go up for sale at reasonable prices whereas a lot of things donated to charity end up being thrown away…)

It’s also a great way to actually make some extra money off of old items going to no use! My camera lens fetched me £45 more than I needed! I’m pretty sure I have other stuff sitting around I have no use for, but there’s a lot of mental preparation that goes into letting things go. The lens I sold was to a camera I still have and also haven’t used for god knows how long so I think this may be the next to go, along with a few PSP games I completed or have no interest in playing, and DVDs obviously.

But, overall, my experience there was great. I didn’t lose any money I actually made some and I recommend doing this if you need some extra money or are a gamer. It’s a pretty good deal, all in all.

~ Artie

I may sell some games on my depop for UK delivery so check it out.

As I don’t make any money from my writing currently, I do need help keeping this going and keeping my equipment up to date/working. I do accept donations via Paypal and I’ll happily promote you at the end of a blog post or YouTube video, just leave a message with the donation. You can donate here.

I also use Canva and sometimes Skillshare, if you want to try using either of these things, use my links and I’ll get to use some stuff for free. Canva is great for my thumbnails or blog post pictures and Skillshare is a great way to learn new things! 

Why We Should Help Each Other Get Work

~ Artiecarden ~ Leave a comment

Hey pals,

 

So, I can’t really tell you where this is coming from, except from a recent happening among my family and friends. I said to my family recently that it is near impossible getting a decent job that pays well and has stability, without knowing someone who works within the company. Lots of companies don’t advertise well because it costs, and pretty much all of them will advertise internally, which doesn’t get rid of the problem of not having enough staff. They’re always trying to do you out of money because of your age or experience, or you just wont get the job because of things like this. Yes, even at jobs that say they will provide full training for the role. (This is also a lie a lot of the time.)

 

I’ve heard a lot from people who work full time about people not turning up for interviews they’ve agreed to or ghosting companies rather than just saying ‘thanks, but no thanks’. But the companies still often wont take on people who have a brain and will try their best to do the job properly. Somehow, it’s always the people who don’t have a clue what they’re doing, don’t try to know what they’re doing, and are a nuisance that get the job.

 

If you know your company is about to advertise roles and you have a mate or family member who is unemployed or stuck in a shit job they desperately need to leave, then do what you can to give them a good in? Big them up to other staff (particularly if you know who is doing the interviews) and help them get their application and documents in as quickly as possible, even tips on what to say in the interview…

 

It works the same in the creative world. With everything being online, we miss so many opportunities if we aren’t online at just the right time. So if you see something that would be perfect for a friend of yours, send them the link, or just generally signal boosting is always good especially for opportunities for marginalised people as they are often requested by smaller companies and creators and don’t always have the reach they need.

 

Really we are all in a bit of a crisis where we can’t just climb the ladder of a company anymore, the age of retirement is getting older and older, and the standards for young people are getting higher and higher, no one can stand a job past 6 months because of company abusing their workers and co-workers bullying each other… and definitely not being paid enough to put up with it. And no matter how hard you try to do well, it’s still always your fault. No, yeah, even that. That is your fault too even though you didn’t even know that was a thing. Oh, well that’s your fault you didn’t know… but how are you to know to ask, when you don’t know you don’t know it…?

 

There’s just about a million ridiculous standards that are impossible to meet but we all (unfortunately) gotta make money to… exist. It’s actually a lot easier to get a job when you know someone in the company, so if you already have a job, just lend a hand through the process. You don’t want to see yourself or someone you love going to food banks or being evicted because the government is trying to kill off the poor.

 

Don’t get me started on the government, at least not today.

 

~ Artie

Motivation and Passion: Who is she?

~ Artiecarden ~ Leave a comment

Hey pals,

 

I’ve been struggling a lot lately with my sense of passion for what I’m doing and the motivation to continue doing things. I am letting procrastination get the better of me. I try my best to ignore the view or follower count of other people I interact with online, because we are all different and work differently. But it’s pretty disheartening to see all the work I put into my videos, or instagram pictures, or writing across platforms, all getting barely noticeable interactions.

 

My videos barely reach 15 views and I put hours of work into filming, audio, editing and thumbnails. My instagram pictures only reach 100 likes if it’s Harry Potter related and will maybe reach 30 likes on an average day. Jumping onto twitter tags and getting 10 likes compared to the hundreds other people get for less witty and less creative posts… My YouTube subscribers climb one person every couple of months, but my instagram swings up and down by 40 or more every week…

 

And with each platform changing constantly how they do things, I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep up. I’m tired, I’m sick, I have so many ideas floating in my head but not physical capacity to do them. Or even mental capacity a lot of the time, I can’t get past the brain block. I can’t stand to sit in a quiet room for the feeling of loneliness to settle in. The realisation of how completely and utterly alone and unappreciated I feel.

 

I am sick. But I love to make things. I can never be one of those people with a niche because I love to do everything. I love making my videos, I love writing blogs and stories and poetry, I love reading and watching TV and Film, I love singing and music, I love to dance and exercise, I love junk food but I love learning to take care of myself, I love taking photos and I love learning to love photos of myself, I love talking about the things I care about, I love drawing and painting and art and making presents for people, I love clothes…

 

But I hate the effort it takes to do all these things and I hate feeling like I have to improve my content rather than wanting to… I hate feeling like I’m not doing anything, or doing enough, or that people around me are thinking that. I hate feeling like I’ll never be independent and happy… I hate feeling like I wont ever make money doing something I love… or if I do I wont make enough to live off.

 

Making things and posting them on social media can be great but also soul killing. I’ve done my best over the years to ignore (or semi ignore) the numbers, the analytics, and comparing myself. I ignore the fact that I got more views and more likes when I had brightly coloured hair… what’s different from then and now? I’m still relatively the same person and creator… why does my hair colour change how many people interact with me? Why do selfies do better than pictures of my work, or my dog, or things I really care about?

 

Is it the people who are watching and interacting? Or is it the analytics and the way the sites work? Does my stuff get lots or thrown to the bottom of the pile because I’m not paying for it or I don’t have 1mil on every platform? Is it because I’m not skinny enough?? I see plenty of people posting the same kind of content as me… but they have more followers and they are much skinnier than I. I’m about an average size in the UK… Does that mean less interest on the Internet? I can’t help but see a correlation. Will posting more than once a week, or once a day attract more attention? Could I even physically manage that??

 

Some people who make content like I do, may feel like I have an advantage because I have a niche or marginalised experience. Sure, I can apply to more competitions for free, I can talk about things not many other people are talking about, and I can relate in a way others can’t… but along with that, there comes a lot of internet abuse. Trying to be authentic as a marginalised person opens you up to being shit on. I mean, look at the white cis able bodied male creators out there and all the crap they got away with and still get away with, and I am including gay men here for a lot of instances as well.

 

I’m just frustrated and angry and so, so tired of fighting to be heard and fighting to be as valid as other people in the creative industry. I feel like I can never stop doing all these daft little things on social media to remain relevant that I can’t take a moment to do something I really care about and really want to put the time and work into, or even BREATHE. I can’t breathe under all the responsibility thrust upon me by myself, and by society, and by my family (not my immediate family that I live with and give a shit about me…) and by my teachers past and present… by all the people who have no idea about my struggle. All of this whilst going in and out of hospitals and doctors appointments, and private therapies, and nausea, pills, pain, and pain again, and having so many stories to tell but they’re stuck in my head, they’re stuck in draft, and I slept wrong so I can barely move today, I need to buy this and see if that will help, and oh my God where did all my friends go, and well it would be nice if they contacted me surely they know, and I should be working to pay something towards living at home but I can’t keep a job either because I’m disabled or the employer is ableist, or because I’m queer, or because I ask too many questions, oh and why can’t my past stay where it is rather than sneaking up on me months later when it has finally been put away in a box in my head that I will never touch, and now I need therapy again because no one is listening…

 

No one is listening. But people like me are constantly told how useless they are and how terrible we are just for existing. People hate disabled people, people hate queer people (especially the bi and nonbinary kind), people hate mentally ill people, people hate people born as the female sex, people hate slow dyslexic people, but they also hate educated people, they hate poor people, they hate unemployed people, they hate witches so much they might as well be starting the trials all over again… and so much more that I do not experience but others do. And I’m sure they are as tired as me.

 

Where is our right to live a peaceful life? Social media inundates us with all the worst things that are happening in the world but also the most rich and successful people flaunting what they stole.

 

What I’m trying to say is the smallest things that affect us are mostly inherently political and systematic. People’s failure to teach, learn and express empathy.

 

But who cares right? As long as you’re ballin’.

 

~ Artie

Learn Something New in 2019

~ Artiecarden ~ Leave a comment

Hey pals,

 

One of my favourite things to do it to learn. I’ve had a very difficult and confusing relationship with learning. I’m dyslexic (as I talked about in this post) and struggled with the typical school system, but thanks to my genuine love of learning all kinds of things I left school with 15 and a half GCSE’s all grade C and above. I didn’t even really do any revision, coz things I’m being tested on I have to learn through being taught, not being self taught.

 

I have self taught many skills just for the love of the thing. Drawing and painting was my first passion, morphing into creative writing where I was mostly self taught until college A-Levels. I taught myself editing, and ways to make those videos better through quality and through my performance. Self taught blogging, I guess. And when I was studying German, I taught myself all kinds of phrases no one else was learning in class.

 

Oh yeah, the point… I plan on learning more this year. I won 3 months of Skillshare at Christmas because of a writing submission I wrote for Kindly. I’ve been looking through all the classes I could watch and even started to take some of them. I collected a whole bunch of classes for learning German because I haven’t used it in 7 years and can barely remember any useful phrases.

 

If you have a useful skill or specific knowledge, you can also become a teacher on the site! I assume you get some kind of payment for it. Definitely something you should look into.

 

I have tonnes of classes I’m excited to check out, particularly the photography and cinematography ones, so I can improve my current content and expand my CV even further. You can take as many classes as you like!

 

If any of this interests any of you guys out there reading this, use my link to try out 2 months free, and with everyone who permanently signs up I get a free month. I’m not promoting this because I’ve been asked (obviously lol) and I’m not promoting to desperately earn some pennies. I’m promoting it because I want to share a platform that makes learning more accessible and doesn’t involve being tested (the worst part for everyone). It could be a way to get into a hobby or finally go do something you want to do.

 

For example, I love Germany and would love to go back and explore more places but my conversational German is pretty poor, so by brushing up on what I learned years ago I could eventually go and do this!

 

There are also tonnes of business ventures or aspects of running a business that is discussed in numerous classes so this could be helpful even if you’re already currently running a business. You can refresh your brain or give yourself new ideas.

 

There’s no pressure for any of you to stick with this site after your 2 months, it’s just something I think is cool and would benefit everyone. And I needed an outlet for my feelings!

 

See you next time!

 

~ Artie