In Desperate Need Of Some Advice/help

[SirSilvia]

Ok so, I need cash, who doesn't. But today me and my three other roommates had a house meeting and well my a** is about to get voted off the island so to speak.

What happened:
I moved a few months ago, and due to a scheduling mishap I lost my job in the process.
I started applying all over the place minutes after turning in my keys and parking pass.
Couple weeks later on my way back from an interview my 240sx broke down. So I'm boned.

On unemployment but its not enough to barely pay my personal bills/groceries, let alone what
I owe my friends in my share of the rent.
So we all talked and in the short term I need to come up with $400-500 within two weeks.

I'm looking for some advice, help or something in the means of something like "hey i know so and so needing
an extra hand around the job site" or if anyone has anything to aide in some way or another. Other things would help is if anyone can give me a hand rebuilding the KA24E in my car at some point to get it running again. Or anything that while help get that running.

I'm about a week or so from getting a car so that will help in the job area. I just need some help ASAP on the short term. Whenever generally excel when backed in the corner but that's no guarantee.

[frapjap]

Scour Craigslist for the odd jobs that you think you can handle. Its summer so trim some bushes , mow lawns, cut down trees, thin out the woods, etc. Make sure the people have the tools for the job though.

I was strapped like that once (thankfully I had only one roommate who didn't know I was drowning) and I searched the local CL and this awesome handyman type job was posted. I was grooming and grounds keeping this wealthy families ginormous yard because the husband had a hernia surgery.

They asked how much per hour and I went for gold and said $15/hr. Granted, it was hardcore, hot heat, eating cold meals on the back of my car for 5-7hours 3-4 days per week for about 4 weeks, but it was definitely worth it and I stayed afloat and even had some cash to spare. I kept finding things to do in the yard- clear rocks, weed, new mulch near the playset, get rid of that poison ivy, etc. I made sure the job was never done and they never got mad that I was doing things that the husband didn't have the time to do even if he wasn't hurt.

Lesson is, the more proactive you are, the faster you'll climb yourself out. Go to the local construction site and tell them you'll bust your a** laboring and schlepping whatever the guys want for 7 bucks an hour. You can also sell plasma (~$50 bucks, but you have to be sober for a few weeks and remain sober), blood, and whatever you can reliably flip a quick profit on CL. Do some dumpster diving and trash picking. People are always throwing good s*** out. Wash dishes (easiest job to get) and kick your a** doing it. Reformat computers that have failed. You didn't post where you live, but if there are post-natural disaster cleanups happening at the moment, they're CRAZY easy to get on the work crew.

There are all kinds of services someone wants on CL- and not just the erotic kind.

Even if you have to do yard work for this guy, money is money.

[SirSilvia]

I'm in the Butler, PA area and yeah i've been going over CL with a fine tooth comb since earlier today. Things wouldn't be so bad if it all didn't happen all at once.

[RCA]

Move back in with relatives/parents?

When stuff like this happens, it happens all at the same time. You need a savings account with AT LEAST 6 months of living expenses for cases like these.

I would look to live for free, work on hustling for a job while trying to fix your car. Once you have that job, start saving. $400 - $500 isn't that much to make on odd jobs.
Try landscaping. They pay pretty well and you don't need much skill because you will be doing mindless grunt work.

Keep us posted bro.

[Dattebayo]

I say re-evaluate your personal bills and what you eat. Unemployment pays quite well for a kid who lives in PA. Sounds like you are eating large and paying for things you don't need.

[poems2beats]

I was in a similar situation and ended up finding a job with Kirby (the vacuum company). Big mistake, don't work for them. I ended up finding a telemarketer job on cl.That paid enough for rent and stuff...

[SirSilvia]

I did some number crunching and whittled it down to Cell phone bill and car insurance. I had already cut down my bar outings/parties to about 1-2 times a month. Now I'm not going to do anything of the sort. I've quit smoking almost completely, and the only time I smoked was at the bars or at a party. So if I don't go out anymore, I wouldn't even by buying that one pack a month. That being said other things I've cut down on or stopped altogether is random stuff like eating out almost everyday and soda which I used to drink like it was the only thing on the planet. Went from almost a 20oz 6-pk of code red to about 1 every other day. I'm now not going to eat/buy anything that isn't in my cupboards.

My mom and bro is renting this small a** trailer about 15mins away. said i can could move back in. but there's no room for my bed let alone any of my crap.

I did a little more figuring and I can pay up next week since all I have in bills then is car insurance. Then I can give the $400 to my roommates. It doesn't leave me with d!ck afterwords, but what else do I really need?

This presents a problem with getting my friend's accord. I am trading my second 240sx +$200 for his Honda Accord. If I do the above then I would have to push back getting it for another 2 weeks.

[SirSilvia]

Move back in with relatives/parents?

When stuff like this happens, it happens all at the same time. You need a savings account with AT LEAST 6 months of living expenses for cases like these.

I would look to live for free, work on hustling for a job while trying to fix your car. Once you have that job, start saving. $400 - $500 isn't that much to make on odd jobs.
Try landscaping. They pay pretty well and you don't need much skill because you will be doing mindless grunt work.

Keep us posted bro.

I wish there was somewhere I could live for free. Did find something on craigslist a while back when I was still employed that was an apartment superintendent. I would live at the apartment building, rent and utility free while responding to general housing problems like leaky faucets, apartment prep for the next tenant, painting etc. on top of being paid some sort of salary. If I saw my job ending then I would've done that.

I've set a plan for today,
1) don't sleep
2) 5am - get over to "Labor Ready" and get some info from the workers standing outside and the staff. On jobs and what I might be able to expect to make on a weekly basis.*
3) 10am - interview at getgo. It's only $7.50/hr 20hrs/week so I'm making twice that on UC. Still going to show up just in case. So unemployment doesn't go "wtf, you willingly opted out of an interview, no more $ for you"
4) 12pm - Career Link is having open interviews for jobs in butler that are paying $7.25-$9.50/hr http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/lab/1890933757.html