I already have a regular 40-hr a week job, but I'm still barely breaking even with each check. I've gone through my expenses and I can't really cut anything..it's all pretty much going to bills. I'm going to work on eating out less or not at all, but I don't even do that frequently, so I just need some help.

I'm 24 (25 in two weeks) with a college degree..and I'm pretty much open to any sort of extra work. My current work schedule is kind of scattered, which I think makes it a bit trickier when trying to find a second job, because I can't really pin down my availability as easily. For instance, if I worked a 9-5, then I could work another job in the evenings or weekends..but my schedule changes weekly.

Some things I've sort of been looking into would be substitute teaching and being a secret shopper. Does anyone have experience in any of those areas that could point me in the right direction?
I heard that with substitute teaching that you just need a college degree or at least 60 credit hours...but you also need a few references for places that I've looked into. So, I haven't completely thrown it out, I'm just looking for something else in the meantime.

Also--has anyone ever donated their eggs? I've toyed with that too...I'm not currently using them, and apparently you can make really good money doing that :-/

Or waitressing? Help! Any ideas?

For the egg thing, I'll refer you here; www.dance.net . . .

What about just looking for a new job? If you're college educated and still can just hardly pay the bills, it seems like a new job might be in order.

What kind of expenses do you have each month? Is there a way you could change cable/phone/interenet/cell phone providers to someone who offers a cheaper rate or a good bundle promotion. Sometimes you can get free or very discounted services as an incentive for switching. Aside from that, you could reduce the amount of channels you have on your television and coule get rid of phone features like call waiting or call display.

If you drive, you may want to look into public transportation. Even if you only took public transit a couple times a week it could extend the amount of times between gas fill ups in your car.

I agree with Theresa that if you are college educated with a full-time job than it might be time to shop around and see what else you are qualified for.

How about being a Nanny? That is the best job that I have ever taken.
The work schedule is pretty flexible, and I am getting paid to do "normal life" such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids.

I get the cash from work straight away, so that is an extra perk.

^I was also going to suggest nannying. My college's bulletin boards were chockfull of people looking for childcare...at VERY random hours. I nanied for a semester ish in college just one-two mornings ish a week. My hours were like 9-2ish, but you can find probably any combination of hours outt here. You can register on sites like sitter city (?)....I don't know there are MANY similar sites out there and it is usually free for nannies to post ads (not free for parents, but you can contact a parents ad on there...or they can find you!) I haven't tried that, but you could easily pick up a regular nanny job or random one-off events.

i made $10/hr nannying for this family and since I had a contact with this family, once I started working for them, I made even more money because they would ask if I could babysit while they had a dinner or fundraiser or whatever. AND they referred other families to me (who often paid more!). So if you get even one babysitting job...it easily becomes more.

Agree about cutting down on bills....are you in an apartment and friends with a neighbor? See if you can share cable with them.

If you've had your services for a while, call and see if you can negotiate a lower rate on your cable, internet, electric and phone bills. The companies will usually do that as a way to keep the customers happy or to keep your service. I just saved a pocketful on my cable with a 20 minute phone call.

Would it be cost effective to look into trading in your car on something with a lower payment?

Substituting is definitely worth looking into. Although scheduling can vary, if you pick up a day or two or three a month, you could end up with a couple of hundred dollars extra each month.

kk~

My mom did secret shopping for a while, and while they help pay for part of your groceries you almost always have to buy a certain amount and my mom ended up stopping because between gas, time, and the amount she actually had to spend she was just barely breaking even with it. So unless you spend $300+ per week on groceries, it's not a very good option.

Now, where do you live? Cost of living is a huge thing (obviously), but if you're desperate moving could really improve your daily living costs.

I'm sure you've already thought of this, but what about finding a part time job on top of the other job? Retail and restaurants (and if you REALLY need money, fast food joints) are all pretty flexible on scheduling and generally need more employees on the weekends when you'd be free. It's not ideal, but you've gotta do what you gotta do, right?

My brother went through this- after graduating with a degree in business management he assumed he'd be able to find a great job to support his growing family. He couldn't find anything and had to keep the job he had, and right now is in law school living off of student loans so he can have a career that'd actually keep food on the table. Tough, tough stuff.

Good luck... Money troubles are really hard. I hope your situation improves soon!

Well, I'm I have a promotion in the works to an asst. manager position..I've actually been working my way up with this company--It is in the food industry which I do want to get away from eventually, but apparently there's a big pay-jump with that. I'm already a manager now, but this is a different level manager. It's moderately confusing to an outsider.

Thanks for all the tips and advice.
As for my current bills, I can't really cut anything :-/
I live just outside of St. Louis, MO--and there isn't any public transport around here. I would bike, but it's a bit further out and it isn't super bike friendly around here.
Bills:
Rent $465
credit card--ugh..I'm making payments on it and paying it on time every time...
Student loans (2x/month--about $350/mo total)
Internet ($14/mo)
Car Insurance--It's like $70/mo--and I've been told that since I still owe on my car that I have to have comprehensive coverage until I no longer owe. However, I turn 25 in two weeks, and I heard it supposedly drops then...
Cell Phone--$80--Unlimited everything plan--I believe the minimum for the kind of phone I have. Just signed this contract in..May?
Car Payment--$160
Utilities--$20-70 depending on the season. I'm really good about not leaving lights on and only using the a/c when I really need it though.

I work 40 hours/week for $10/hr (crappy, I know..), paid bi-weekly.

And I don't have cable tv...

As much as I like my car, it'd be nice to ideally rid myself of a car payment if possible. I'm paying $160/mo on that. I thought that if I traded in my car and still had money owed on it, that I'd still owe any remainder on the difference between the two cars, right?

It's hard with my current job because our schedules change every week and the shifts we work are never the same from day to day...so I'm not opposed to getting a second job..it's just kind of tricky. Also, as I'm in management, we're supposed to have open availability.
I did talk to my boss today about needing to pick up some extra hours at another job and seeing if I could just take like two nights or so to get in some extra hours, and although reluctant, he said he'd try and work with me. :-/

Why do you have such a high student loan payment amount? I'd recommend applying for income based/contingent repayment in your position...that seems to be the biggest thing eating up your money.

There is something very wrong in this country when a person has a $350./month student loan payment and a $10./hour job. I know this isn't a helpful comment, but I just need to express my sincerest sympathy. The suggestion to try to restructure your student loan is a good one, but it is my understanding that you can only do that once, although there are circumstances where you can defer payment, like unemployment or underemployment. Talk to an expert about this.

Is it possible to take on a roommate? Your regular bills would be cut in half, and you might be able to double up on some of the loan payments.

As to the credit card payments...this is the biggest money sucker after the student loans because when you are only able to make the minimum payment it seems like the principal never goes away. If you look at the total you owe, is it possible to set this as your goal for more money? Sell stuff on e bay or in the free column in the local paper. Have a garage sale and do a big bake sale at the same time, or if you have anyone who can help you, a car wash? I've know people who did mega garage sales/bake sales/car washes on big weekends (like Columbus Day) and made a pretty good chunk of change. (Speaking of which try to put all your change in one place and then put it all toward the credit card payment)

Babysitting is also a possibility but might be difficult with your odd work schedule. If you do manage to take another job, please consider taking the best pay you can find. Waitressing at a good restaurant on the weekends may cut into your social life but even with the hope of management in the future, your current job isn't doing much for you.

Do you have a degree? I know that sounds like a stupid question, but lots of people have loans but didn't get to finish. That makes things really hard. If you do, please consider looking for a better paying job. You deserve more. If you don't, perhaps a job that doesn't pay great may offer tuition re-reimbursement and at least you could finish up and get the rest of your college paid for.

Hugs...xoxo
These are difficult times.

Keep On Dancing*

I'm looking more into getting a different payment program for my student loans...I knew they were steep, but I don't really know what an "average" payment is supposed to look like. I went for 5 years of undergrad at a state, public university.

As for school, I did already graduate and have a degree in business, but I'm honestly not interested at all in working in some corporate office in a cubicle. That sounds stifling. :-/ Toward the end of my time in college, I just wanted to finish and get the heck out, and didn't want to spend more time there hunting around for the perfect major. Honestly, the whole college thing is a bit of a touchy subject, especially with these loans, and a whole new subject altogether :-/

I'm in management now and I know there's supposed to be a big pay jump when I get my promotion...but I also know that I'm being screwed right now. I managed to figure out how much other managers at my old store made prior to originally getting put in management, and it was like $13-14/hr compared to my 10. Apparently the company had to make some cuts to deal with the economy and blah blah blah, so I got screwed. I did work to negotiate at the time (twice actually), but my district manager at the time wouldn't budge.

Anyway, I really appreciate all the help. Thanks so much.

If it's not too personal, could someone share what their own student loan payments are so I have an idea of what I *should* be paying?

//rant//
This is also probably why the majority of people don't "follow their heart" when picking a career. If you follow your heart, and the job doesn't pay well, then you'll be stuck with loan payments til you're 50. Not that I love my job or anything now, but still.
Ie: I also thought about going into elementary education for a long while, but since our country doesn't respect that profession very much and the pay is terrible, I veered away from it. :-/

//end rant. :-/

You sooooo need to be thinking outside the box! A degree in business is a very useful degree and it certainly does not mean that you need to be stuck in a greige windowless cubicle somewhere wasting away! You could work for a start-up with all the excitement that comes from a new venture.... or you could start your own business... or you could consult other young people on businesses, there's a ton you can do with a business degree. Whatever extra work you take on outside your regular job should be something that supports your degree and enhances your resumé. Being a nanny won't do that for you. Try temping for companies after hours - that's a great way to be seen and you might even be able to turn it into a full-time position and leave your low-paying job. (Not all temps are administrative assistants btw, but even that would be better than nannying.)

As for school, I did already graduate and have a degree in business, but I'm honestly not interested at all in working in some corporate office in a cubicle. That sounds stifling. :-/

Almost everybody says that...I don't want to sound snotty or rude or anything, but when I was a little younger I was convinced that I would never work in an office, especially in a dreaded cubicle. Well guess what, I work in a cubicle-filled office now and I like it. My co-workers are cool, my cube can be decorated with fun pictures and things, and I can stash nice snacks in my cabinet. Plus the parking lot is a good place for roller blading after work. Other jobs I've had were retail, food service, nannying and helping at a construction site. There's no competition as to what I'd rather be doing right now, even though I was completely convinced that an office wasn't the place for me...but where the heck else was I going to work besides an office? Where else could I work to use my degree and make enough to pay my bills? Retail, food service, none of them paid enough unless I was getting into management and then the hours completely suck. I know a guy who manages a chain restaurant and he makes about the same as me, but he works a lot more hours and he's stuck covering stuff when his employees call in sick or whatever. I love the fact that I think about and perform my job for 40 hours a week and the rest of those hours are free time for me to do what I want. If I'm sick, they encourage me take the day off and not contaminate everybody else. If I have enough vacation time they encourage me to take a vacation and chill out. It's really not the horrible environment you'd expect...granted, it varies from office to office but where I am now is still really nice despite being more conservative and particular about things than my old place. I wore jeans every day at my old job and here I wear jeans only on Fridays...not a big loss, really. We do fun things, like office breakfasts or lunches and birthday parties.

A business degree can really get you into a lot of jobs but you need to keep an open mind about things. Heck, if you lived in the same area as me I could hook you up pretty quick with some contacts for decent paying jobs for people with degrees...but most of them would be an "office environment." Just keep in mind that the office is just where people work...they aren't all like Office Space or something.

^Yeah, I see where you're coming from. It would actually be nice to be able to..I guess relax a bit more at work too. Not saying an office job wouldn't/couldn't be hard, but I think my job is more physically demanding, and it'd be a nice break to get away from that. Now..just figuring out exactly what I want to do is the next thing :-/


Side note--I have some old formal dresses from high school (prom and homecoming, amongst other dresses for less formal occasions)--what about selling those online? I've never sold anything on ebay before, but I figure I could get some money from them..

^Check out local consignment shops as well...Ebay isn't quite what it used to be. You may fare better without dealing with Ebay taking a cut and mailing packages out; at a resale shop you could just take the cash and be done.

Consigning is a great idea. I keep meaning to try that myself as I have several very nice pieces of clothing that I have either grown out of or dislike.

I'm in Business school right now and I'm not opposed to working in a cubicle, but I certainly don't think that it's one of my only options. I've worked in offices before where I had a desk and cubicle walls and it was actually quite nice. I had my own space with a bit of privacy and those walls are very sound buffering. Also, you aren't confined to your box all day. I was constantly up and down serving people at the desk making inquiries, running back and forth from the printer, talking to co-workers to ask questions, going for a coffee or lunch break. The actual amount of quiet working time at my desk was probably half the day or less.

Munkenstein wrote:

^Check out local consignment shops as well...Ebay isn't quite what it used to be. You may fare better without dealing with Ebay taking a cut and mailing packages out; at a resale shop you could just take the cash and be done.

I'm not trying to start an argument here, but I'd like to share my opinion in a non-confrontational way.

I think it really depends on what you are selling. I just recently started my "Ebay Business" that I have been wanting to do for a while. I actually have gone to consignment shops, bought items on clearance, and I'm selling them for profit on Ebay. Mind you, I take about an hour to post each item. I am VERY thorough and I've noticed that people who put a lot of time into the layout, description, and photos of what they are selling sell there items more often than people who just take a picture and post a 2 sentence description.

It is time consuming, but I am already reaping the rewards. I have a friend that has been doing this for about a year (buying and reselling for profit) and she is doing extremely well now that she has built up a clientele and has return customers.

I actually took a few things, including an expensive pair of Silver Jeans (namebrand here in the states) to Plato's Closet, a really large and popular resale shop for teens-young adults. They paid me $5 for $50-60 jeans, and $.50 for a $30 designer tank. After that, I decided I wanted to maximize my profits, and yes, it is time consuming, but so worth it (to me, at least).

Ebay is also having a promotion right now until October 1st where you can list things for free at any price you want (normally it costs to list them, depending on how much you list them for), so I am trying to list like crazy before the first of the month. Maybe this is something you could take advantage of now just to get a feel for it and see if you like it? And if it doesn't work out, no big deal, because it was free to list (but if your item sells, you will have to pay a service fee).


On another note, I have been in a horrible financial situation for the past 3 years. Both my parents are sick and don't work, so I am completely self supporting. I really feel for you right now; I know what the stress of worry about money can do to a person. It's horrible. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure does give one peace of mind. I've picked up a few things I can share with you.

I have found that cutting coupons helps so much. I only spend maybe an hour a week tops looking for them online, and then I use them when I find a sale that will get me the best price for whatever it is I want. I don't stock up like extreme couponers (no need to when I don't have a family yet), but it still really helps. Most recently, I cut $30 off my grocery bill with coupons. It takes me 4 hours of work to make that much, so I was thrilled to save that money.

I filled out internet surveys for a long time whenever I was bored or had a spare few minutes. The longer ones normally took me a half hour or so and I would get anywhere between $1-5 sent to me in the mail. It was worth it back then when I had the time; I am really busy trying to finish uni though, so I don't do them as often as I would like.

You could also try selling things, like Scentsy, Mary Kay, or .mark on the side. I am considering doing this at the moment, to help bring in extra cash, but I'm not sure yet. It's easier now that you can set up a web store to sell items.

You could also become a paid tutor. There are several websites out there that people can post their resumes and what school districts they want to work for and what grades.

If I think of anything else, I will let you know. Again, I feel for you. That is horrible to have gone through all of this. I remember when there were dark days when I couldn't even afford a meal after the rent and utilities being paid. I hope your situation improves soon.

If you're near St. Louis, Washington University has a med school not far away. See if they have any ongoing clinical trials you could participate in. Some of them don't require much time/ effort (e.g. going in once in a while to have your weight or blood pressure or whatever else checked), and some of them do pay. You don't have to have a disease to be in a clinical trial; some of them need healthy volunteers to serve as controls.

I assume your cell phone has a data plan for the amount you're paying? Can you access the internet from your cell phone? If so, could you get rid of either the internet service, or the data plan, and make do with just one of the two? (You could get a talk-only plan for the cell phone, which should be a lot cheaper). My phone plan is through Sprint, and while I have a talk-only plan, I was offered an unlimited data plan for $70, which is $10 cheaper than yours. I realize you might be stuck in a contract and unable to switch, but you may get a slightly better deal if you're able to shop around.

How much money is being withheld from your paycheck for taxes? When you filed the forms for the workplace, there must have been one which asked you to declare your withholding exemptions. Did you take the maximum possible exemption (probably "1" if you're single, with no dependents, and not listed as anyone else's dependent). If you put "0," you might want to see if there's a way to change it to "1" since it might give you a little more cash in each paycheck. I have no idea how great the difference would be, so you'll have to do the math to see if it'll be worth it.

For my last inquiry, I'm going to apologize in advance if I'm being too nosy (don't feel obliged to answer). But I tallied up all the expenses you listed and came to $1209 per month. In theory you should be making $1600 per month, so I'm wondering where the remainder of the funds is going? (That's why I asked about the taxes, in the event that your take-home pay is much less than $1600). I'm having a hard time imagining that food and gas (the only two expenses I can think of which weren't explicitly listed) come to about $400 per month. I can imagine scenarios where they might tally to that amount, but those situations would be unusual and may turn out to be something you can change. I understand you might have other expenses not listed here, but since you've already listed your budget here, I'm just wondering how it is that you're falling short of making ends meet.

Edit-- Just reread the thread and realized you might be stuck with respect to your cell phone. In that case, can you get rid of the internet?

And just to clarify, the amount of money that's taken in taxes is ultimately the same regardless of the withholding. If they withhold too much, they'll pay you back come tax season. And if they've withheld too little, you'll pay the government at that time (and may even pay a penalty if you haven't filed estimated taxes, though I doubt you're earning enough to owe a fine). The only advantage to having less withheld is that you get more per paycheck, and it might be able to tide you over until you get a new job or raise or whatever. So do the math carefully if you decide to pursue this route.

I actually took a few things, including an expensive pair of Silver Jeans (namebrand here in the states) to Plato's Closet, a really large and popular resale shop for teens-young adults. They paid me $5 for $50-60 jeans, and $.50 for a $30 designer tank. After that, I decided I wanted to maximize my profits, and yes, it is time consuming, but so worth it (to me, at least).

Here's why I suggested a consignment shop for her particular situation...she's got some dresses, not "regular" clothes to sell. It's harder to sell something like a prom dress online, as it's less likely that somebody has another one by the same brand and knows their size, like with jeans, for example. I don't know what type the informal dresses are, but they might be considered formal based on somebody's opinion, haha.

I've sold stuff online plenty of times in the past...the profits start to dip when you have to go buy more packaging supplies, go to the post office, etc. So if you aren't actually selling a lot of stuff, it becomes less worth it. Since she only has a few items to sell, a higher end consignment shop might end up being better for some or all of the items. If you type "prom dress" into Ebay you'll notice that the majority have no bids and the ones with decent bidding are super fancy and/or some designer name.

That's my experience/reasoning, which I didn't bother posting, as it was too long...but when prompted, I'll always share, lest anybody think I pulled a suggestion out of my butt for no good reason.

Here are a couple of ideas that might help you..

Ebay and Amazon are great places to sell things on. I've sold old textbooks for myself and friends and made a fortune. On Ebay I've cleaned my closet out and made money off of that granted it's not a ton of money but it's still something. Depending on the amount of time you have and the area you live in garage sales and thift stores can be hidden gems for money. I spent the beginning of summer going to garage sales in wealthy neighborhoods and thift stores and buying designer clothes dirt cheap and listing them on ebay.

You could try to sell blood or plasma.

^Actually, I've been doing exactly that recently.

I cleaned out my closet and have a small pile of things that I've been working on selling on Craigslist and Ebay (and sold my GPS on Amazon--I have one that I like better on my phone). So that's definitely helping. And my grandma held a garage sale last week and I was able to put a few of my things in there as well.
I may check into what you said about buying things at garage sales in wealthy neighborhoods and then re-selling online.

And my birthday is in 2 days, so all of that is definitely helping. I'm not really expecting much as far as money goes for my bday as the rest of my family is also tight on money, so the selling is really helpful.

I've also checked into selling plasma and..I want to..but I'm really really bad with needles. :-/ If I could get over that, then I'd definitely be doing that more routinely.

Thanks so much for all the help! You guys seriously are amazing.

TOTALLY irrelevant...but this is why you should all study in Australia.

You don't have to start paying back your HECS fee (sort of like a student loan) until you start earning a certain amount a year...and even then, its a pretty substantial salary you need to be earning before paying back!

^^^ Yes! I was going to say the same thing! It's such a great feeling when it's essentially free to go to University, I don't have to worry about fees or anything.

Also, is $10 an hour common in the US? Because I'm 21 and I'm earning $36 an hour at my job...and next year when I'm a PhD student I'll be earning double what you are :\

Minimum wage varies in the US by state and is usually somewhere between 7 and 9 usually. $10 for a college graduate is very low, but times are tough right now and most people will take whatever they can get. The most I have ever made was $12/hour and that was in 2008. Since then it's been minimum wage or unpaid internships. Though being on an hourly cycle can be better for some people. I interned for the US House of Representatives and all salaries of staff members are posted on the internet as taxpayer knowledge. I was there 30 hours a week for 8 months as basically an unpaid secretary. However, when I looked at the salaries of the junior staffers in my office and divided by how many hours they worked, it was well under minimum wage. However, student loan payments are made for them ($833/month)and you get some kind of health insurance and benefits so it does add up a bit, but not much and all are college graduates. (if anyone wants to look the website is called legistorm) For a student job like yours, I personally don't know anyone (or seen any listings) whose made more than $15 an hour. I know Teaching Assistants can make up to $2000 a semester per class but only if they work the maximum hours (honestly not sure what that is) It is very hard to live right now as a young college graduate in the US. Mostly everyone I know either lives with their parents, their parents are paying their rent while they are in graduate school (or they take out more student loans), or they share places with a lot of other people to cut down on rent as much as possible.