What can I do to save up as much money as possible as quickly as possible before I begin grad school?

July 15, 2008 7:52 PM

How can I make as much money as possible in the month before I move to NYC to begin grad school?

I'm moving to NYC in exactly one month to begin grad school. I have a fellowship and will get a part-time job when I get there, but am trying to earn/save up as much money as possible to increase that good ole financial cushion.

I have a 9-5 job already, but am not allowed to work overtime. I scour craigslist gigs but rarely find anything or am chosen for the things I apply for. I've sold all my extra books and CDs, I did find a occasional babysitting gig, do freelance writing when I can (which isn't as often or well-paid as I'd like, c'est la vie), and am on some lists for focus groups that occasionally prove fruitful - none of these have yielded much in the way of income, however. I'd rather not get a retail job evenings just because I like to have a few hours at home (even if I spend them working) and I am going to be moving so soon. I have no waitressing experience.

Is there anything else I can be doing to make money fast?

posted by lxs to work & money (10 comments total)

Donating blood plasma would bring in a decent amount, and you can do it twice in a seven day period. From what I hear, first time sucks and takes a while, but after that it's fairly quick and easy.
posted by Autarky at 8:04 PM on July 15 [1 favorite]

Are there any colleges nearby? Here they're always looking for participants for short psychology experiments, even over the summer. Usually it's only $10 for 45 minutes to an hour, but it's something.
posted by danb at 8:05 PM on July 15

You don't always need waitressing experience to waitress. It's really quick, usually really good money. It isn't as hard or as bad as everyone tells you its going to be.
posted by thebrokenmuse at 8:07 PM on July 15

Can you streamline your budget? Stop eating out, buying unnecessary stuff, pay off any credit card debt, etc. Reducing your monthly costs will serve you well in grad school, and most people probably have some slack they can take out of their budgets without sacrificing much quality of living.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:11 PM on July 15

FedEx and UPS often hire overnight workers to sort packages. They also help with tuition, but you probably have to be employed longer than a month for that.

You're only working 40 hours a week. Coffee shop in the AM and restaurant in the PM. It's only for a month.
posted by Frank Grimes at 8:13 PM on July 15

Go to a temp agency and tell them about your hourly availability. They'll attempt to work around it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:03 PM on July 15

I don't know what it's like to be a sex worker in NYC (actually, I don't know what it's like anywhere) but some students here pay their way through uni doing that. Of course, given that it's legal here, it's somewhat less risky than it might be there.

This isn't meant to be flip, you did say as much money as possible, as fast as possible.
posted by The Monkey at 12:24 AM on July 16

donating plasma can get you a bit of extra $$ fees vary but if you can do it 2x week you can usually get $200-250 in a month. However, you need to maintain your iron and protein levels and you have to tolerate needles.
posted by silkygreenbelly at 9:57 AM on July 16

Tutor? Babysit? Fix stuff? Train people on computers? Put flyers on cars? Demo food at the grocery? Check gigs on Craigslist.
posted by orangemiles at 11:07 AM on July 16

Well, you got into grad school so you must have strong GRE/GMAT/LSAT/SAT scores and good ability at writing grad school applications. You can use that.

Tutoring can be lucrative. Depending on where you are, you can get a job with Kaplan which is nice because then you don't have to worry about marketing, and they'll provide structure for your classes. Or you can advertise on Craigslist.

You could also sell your services as an editor for grad school applications. Right now is a little early in the season, but you might catch some earlybirds.
posted by CruiseSavvy at 10:43 AM on July 17