Is being a caregiver worth it? $$$?

[Dr. Pot]

I've been toying with the idea of registering as a caregiver, but financially is it worth it? I can't invest much into a grow system right away, but I do have a small grow going for my own use.

Just looking for the logistics. Like how much time a week are you spending on "caregiving" and what kind of $ are you making?

Feel free to PM if you dont want to post this publicly.

 

[weeds247]

Take a class...find out..

 

[peilo]

lol, no ones gonna go into specifics and if you don't know all ready it is way to much to explain in a few paragraphs. Most have been around pot long enough they can tell u gram for gram wt# for increments for an 1/8 and up 28,56,112,224,448 off the top of their head tell you what you will earn back by the time your go through a pound (16 ounces) Think quickly talk about ROI. How many can you grow when your maxed, multiply times oz's per plant and think of a ball park figure you would want to be compensated for your meds. The rest is up to you......

 

[rowlman]

...here we go again...lol.
i can't commit on the $$ issue, because I don't make any...but on a grow for 3 patients I spend at least 4 hours a day in the grow rooms on average...some times it's all day for a few days.
2 x 1000w HID's and 1 400w HID(+ flor. for seedling and clones), 7 fans and equipment adds about $160-175 a month to my elec.
I've been buying my nutes in bulk lately...so average is around $250 a month for nutes and other supplies...( I grow hydro...dirt may be more ...idk..)...and of course more if something like a bulb burns out...or a fan...that can be another $100 or 2 for the month.
Plus , we make hash and butter...lots of time there too.
We all put in together on the elec...and I get help with nutes when they can afford it...2 of my patients are unable to work and are truely sick.
I don't sell it to them...we get together every week,( I don't need to go into specifics...lol)...and everyone gets what they need.
My reward is not having to buy my meds...and being able to grow the best meds is priceless...and helping people feels good too...plus I can't ask for money from people that don't have any...the money I get might cover 10% of my time at best, but it's all good to me

 

[cmt1984]

there is def money to be made here. the first thing you need to do is see how much bud you can get out of a harvest with your current setup. if you dont have any money to invest in to a bigger setup, then becoming a caregiver may not be an option for you.

rowlman - im down with cheap meds but i couldnt give away meds like you, i would go broke in less than a year. do you have a day job?
to you though.

 

[deprave]

much like rowlman I grow for 4 patients, what little money I get only pays the bills and I spend 4 to 8 hours a day..my running cost is around 500$ a month ...If my medicine was for sale I suspect I could make about 1,000$ to 3,000$ a month in profit....so if its worth it thats a question you need to ask yourself, its not a lot of money, you likely make more at your normal job for the same amount of work. This was a 6,000$ investment for me for start-up cost, I am still in the hole about 6,000$ after about a year. Id say if you dont have a good job then yes it would be worth it in desperate times to feed your family or get by, but a real job comes with a lot less risk and benefits, for most people growing cannabis indoors is more of a hobby then a business venture, selling weed can be dangerous and is borderline illegal right now and indoor yields arent that great...if you really want to make money hit the outdoors next summer and pull 10 or 20 elbows for next to nothing.

 

[rowlman]

there is def money to be made here. the first thing you need to do is see how much bud you can get out of a harvest with your current setup. if you dont have any money to invest in to a bigger setup, then becoming a caregiver may not be an option for you.

rowlman - im down with cheap meds but i couldnt give away meds like you, i would go broke in less than a year. do you have a day job?
to you though.

...I had to retire early after an on the job injury...at least growing saves me the troublr and money of buying it somewhere else...that makes it worth it

 

[skirulz]

No, it's not worth it if you're looking to make money.

 

[peilo]

to each their own, everyone will tell you something different with a different view and experience, just like each and everyone's grow.

Can you make money if you open up a fish taco hut or served the best blueberry pancakes in town even if there was a waffle house or Ihop in the neighborhood? Some could, right?

 

[hockey4848]

It is going to be tough to make the big bucks while staying totally legal.

I have been doing it legally for awhile and there is more competition then ever right now...

 

[cliffey501]

someone correct me if Im wrong but I was always under the impression that you weren't allowed to make any profit because to stay legal you have to be a "non-profit" organization.

 

[Lt. Fydor]

i sure hope there's some money to be made... I've been in REAL shitty money problems (student loans and doctor's bills), i've been homeless and eaten a lot of meals from dumpsters. I am in a job that allows me to eat most of the time and usually pay rent/utilities on time... which is a LOT better than where i've been. I literally saved every penny i could for 5 months to be able to get my card ($250) and a very modest bubbleponics kit ($200). I have a friend who's growing on the other side of the state who I talked to a lot before going for it, and he assured me i could easily sell everything i harvest to a compassion club or dispensary for at least $300/ounce.

So i'm really hoping things work out. I'm not some greedy asshole or anything, I just have 6 plants hoping to help out some patients and make some money as well. I have the fucking dept. of education and various other collection agencies calling me every day and I'd like to get out of debt.

To be honest, i'm probably only going to use the trim leafs and probably not more than 1/2 ounce since I need the money so bad.


so, I guess it depends on who you ask. You can easily and very cheaply grow for yourself and get a lot more pot than you could for the "investment" of starting up. or, you could sell everything you grow and not smoke any of it, and you'll get more than you spent (not including time and labor). you really need to go pretty big (like 24+ plants) and do all sorts of high-performance techniques to get the most

 

[rowlman]

i sure hope there's some money to be made... I've been in REAL shitty money problems (student loans and doctor's bills), i've been homeless and eaten a lot of meals from dumpsters. I am in a job that allows me to eat most of the time and usually pay rent/utilities on time... which is a LOT better than where i've been. I literally saved every penny i could for 5 months to be able to get my card ($250) and a very modest bubbleponics kit ($200). I have a friend who's growing on the other side of the state who I talked to a lot before going for it, and he assured me i could easily sell everything i harvest to a compassion club or dispensary for at least $300/ounce.

So i'm really hoping things work out. I'm not some greedy asshole or anything, I just have 6 plants hoping to help out some patients and make some money as well. I have the fucking dept. of education and various other collection agencies calling me every day and I'd like to get out of debt.

To be honest, i'm probably only going to use the trim leafs and probably not more than 1/2 ounce since I need the money so bad.


so, I guess it depends on who you ask. You can easily and very cheaply grow for yourself and get a lot more pot than you could for the "investment" of starting up. or, you could sell everything you grow and not smoke any of it, and you'll get more than you spent (not including time and labor). you really need to go pretty big (like 24+ plants) and do all sorts of high-performance techniques to get the most

...sorry, but i deleted my post....good luck to ya...peace

 

[edwardtheclean]

If you have patients that pay what you need them to pay then you wont have a problem. Since there is a million different setups and each one takes more or less time and more or less money to maintain it is tricky question. The short answer is yes if you know what you are doing.

The best thing you can do is count how much you already spend on meds and add how much it costs. Then start a grow and start growing enough meds for yourself. Once you do that you will know how much it will cost you and then you will have a good idea on if you can make money. If you take over as caregiver for your father for example, figure out how much he uses and pays and start growing for them.
If you have any left over that is what you could donate for money. It takes a long time to figure out what you can do especially on a consistent basis.

The best thing I can say is start growing for yourself, if you spend money right now on meds you could start paying yourself for your own meds if you were growing. It will pay for the costs eventually.

Hope this helps.

 

[flyfisher7]

Doing it completely legal is going to be difficult to make any profit. A previous poster mentioned the competition out there and he's right. Since I've had my card the average price has been steadily decreasing, albeit slowly. Several dispensaries around where I can walk in and get an onion for less than 200. Granted it's not everywhere but it is spreading. My caregiver knows this and only requires about half of the average donation amount to retain me and grow my plants.

 

[Stompromper]

You can only legally be compensated for your expense.. I consider my time an expense and factor that in also. So you can legally get reimbursed for the time you put into it.

 

[Cory and trevor]

OP-change one mode of thinking. plant #'s do not matter to a great extent. think grams per watt per month (or day or year or week). what can you produce per watt. that will give you more solid numbers for your questions going forward. when you can produce close to a pound (real not Michigan 15 oz lb) per 1000 watts per grow period and you can't keep it in stock then you have the skills, and the distribution to make it big time. that's my opinion, I know nothing about anything to do with profits $$$ or anything at all....I'm a fictitious character and speak from NO EXPERIENCE AT ALL EVER! LOL good luck on getting answers, your questions are scary to most people who have answers to them.

 

[Rrog]

I still contend that a modestly built soil, run as a no-till, is the least expensive way to grow.

Soil is expensive when you add a lot of high priced bagged amendments and then toss it after 1 run (like SuperSoil). I've been on a real kick to use local materials for soil building and driving out cost where possible.

You can literally grow dirt cheap.

 

[edwardtheclean]

good point. 1 plant under a 1000 can get you a pound.

OP-change one mode of thinking. plant #'s do not matter to a great extent. think grams per watt per month (or day or year or week). what can you produce per watt. that will give you more solid numbers for your questions going forward. when you can produce close to a pound (real not Michigan 15 oz lb) per 1000 watts per grow period and you can't keep it in stock then you have the skills, and the distribution to make it big time. that's my opinion, I know nothing about anything to do with profits $$$ or anything at all....I'm a fictitious character and speak from NO EXPERIENCE AT ALL EVER! LOL good luck on getting answers, your questions are scary to most people who have answers to them.

 

[TonightYou]

I technically don't have patients, but my grow pays for itself and more. I think of it as a hobby that makes me some money. A couple of good customers with my small 400 watt perpetual nets me a few extra hundred a month extra plus all I need medically.

short answer yes.
Eta If you aren't Making money you are doing it wrong