It honestly depends on the area. My brother is 15 and a half and he makes $15 an hour babysitting. I make $25-$40 an hour depending on my job. I only have a A.A degree and working on my bachelors.

I feel you, although not on every level because the country I live in helps ease the squeeze on some of the expenses you're facing. hat you're being paid and how much you owe in student loans makes me head spin.

Are you using coupons when it comes to your groceries? My food bill is the first thing that usually takes a beating when I am tight for cash. It seems to be the easiest place to make savings. I actually eat at the hare krishna joints in town sometimes because they have a 'pay what you can afford' system. The food isn't crap, its not like its a homeless shelter or anything. Some people go and pay up to $50 just cause they like the food. Is there anything like that in your town?

What about night fill positions at supermarkets? The work is dull as anything, but the hours are usually flexible and late at nights so its less likely to clash with your current job.

Think outside the box with your business degree. Arts companies and venues need managers, maybe look for jobs like that that are not traditional corporate cubicle jobs but still require your skills.

Geez that's crazy!! Minimum wage in Australia is only that low if you're under 17. Once you turn 18 it starts rising up to the $20s. Plus as poko mentioned, we don't actually have to pay off student loans, and a lot of people (including myself) qualify for a government allowance of $460/fortnight, so it's really quite easy to fend for yourself, pay rent, and still live comfortably...

I'm guessing there isn't much you can do about your phone if you're locked into a contract, but $80 a month seems really steep!!

Anyway, my contribution is, have you considered tutoring? I'm not sure how much of a thing it is in the US, but I've earned a lot of money while I've been at college tutoring younger students in my field, year 11, 12 and first year college students. It's high pay for not a lot of work, and the hours are flexible because YOU set them.

Where I am minimum wage is $9.75 I think...for everyone... and in my hometown the going rate for babysitting was $5/hour...

I know how you feel about money. My bank account is closing in on zero real fast and I live in a small town where nobody is looking to hire. yay...

So..update. Money is still tight, but my birthday was a few weeks back, and the birthday money that I got is really helping provide some cushion. So, I'm actually doing alright as of now.
I sold a few things on Ebay and made some extra cash that way as well.
As far as the coupons thing goes--I've actually been looking more into that. I haven't done it yet, but I think that's the next thing on my list as far as ways to save money.

Minimum wage around here is 7.05 or 7.25/hr, I believe. As for my current salary, I knew how much old managers at my old store got ($13-14/hr--same state--actually a smaller-sized city), and I tried twice to negotiate with the guy who moved me up and he wouldn't budge. He said the company was cutting back on salaries because of the economy (or something like that..it's been over a year).

Anyway, I'm actually now working on applying to teach English abroad. I have two friends that are currently doing this (both going for their second year and love it). I've read that it's a great way to save money as well. My flight and furnished apartment would be paid for by the school, alongside not having a car (and all the expenses that go along with that), and I know I could save up a lot. I'm big into travel, so I'm kind of surprised that I didn't look into this sooner.

Thanks so so much for all your help and comments