Low on Dough in New York City

Grocery Staples:

Part of survival in New York means that you don’t get to indulge in all of the delicious treats the city has, instead you have to eat at home. If you have a home. In your tiny apartment/cardboard box? The staples that I have survived are essential for any poor folks out there:

• Peanut Butter
• Top Ramen
• Eggs- NOTE: You must hard boil the eggs, anytime they’re cooked any other way you don’t feel as full. Plus, they’ll last longer.
• Rice cakes- they are the perfect substitute for bread which will go bad much quicker, and if you are trying to lay off the carb’s  a rice cake will suffice. Put peanut butter on the carmel cakes and cheese on the plain cakes.
• Block of cheese
• Crackers- anything can go on a cracker.
• Soup
• Pint of yogurt
• Bananas
• Canned peas

Let the random dude buy you a drink.

Stop being such a femme Nazi for five minutes, and let the dude scoping you out from across the room buy the next round. There’s nothing wrong with letting go of your pride for a beverage.

Make friends with PR folks....

Here’s the deal guys, when you’re poor you often want to drink your miseries away.
Unfortunately, liquor isn’t free and you can only drink a forty a couple times without feeling like you’re falling quickly down a steep slope towards alcoholism.

The solution: EVENTS. Events mean, open bar- and appetizers. They also mean you’re getting into places you’d never usually be able to afford. So go out, networking=free shiz.

Learn to love the cheap spots:

OK. So maybe Dunkin Donuts isn’t the healthiest or the most high-class joint in town, but it is cheap. And just because you’re getting your food from a cart doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious. In fact, I’ve never loved a hot dog more, not even at a baseball game.
Embrace the art of “the food cart” and The Dollar Menu.

Sell your stuff:

“Hey Chels! Whatcha doin today??”

“Hey Dad…….well, I’m on the way to sell some of my clothes because I have no money to buy a subway card.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“No Dad, I’m not. I have to sell some jeans so that I can get uptown with out wearing through the soles of my shoes walking there.”

“Move home.”

Look, sometimes you’ve gotta go whatcha gotta do…..

Scrub a dub dub.....

Sometimes, getting your stuff sent out is NOT feasible. Throw your stuff in the tub and start scrubbing, Cinderella.

Alternative sources of income.....

Our 9-5’s won’t always suffice in a city where your monthly rent costs more than your parents house payment in the Midwest. In order to start paying off that credit card bill we often have to pick up an extra shift or two. Alternative jobs are not a bad thing, as long as you don’t get arrested (but I won’t list those options, I’ll let you use your imagination.)

Some popular choices:

• Guest Bartend- call your favorite bar and ask if you can “guest bartend” for a couple hours, invite your friends down and make some extra cash for the evening. Careful not to spend it all in one night AT the bar….
• Background work- have you ever wanted to be a part of a show like CSI? You can! Sign up to work as “random pedestrian” or “restaurant patron” make cash, and get fed.
• Amateur stripping. End of story.
• Give blood, plasma, donate eggs…. sell your soul?
• Have lots of friends? Try going the promotional route for different clubs in the city, the more people you get to come to the club…the more dough you’ll make.
• Collect cans, glass, etc.
• Sing on a street corner…..hey, you can buy a lot with a dollar if you’re resourceful.