What I did when I didn't have enough money was to patent my own Austerity Plan (the capital letters are important). In the most recent plan, Austerity mk III, I didn't spend money except on bills and at the grocery store.
If you aren't there yet, maybe that'll help you get your costs lower. If that still doesn't get you where you want to be, try dumpstering staples like bread, fruit and vegetables. You generally want to dumpster things that go bad in an obvious way so that you know you're getting something edible. We eat a lot of dumpstered food from fruit stands and the Essential Bakery.
Once you're only buying food, and maybe dumpstering some of that, if you still don't have enough money to survive, you need to cut your bills, and that's no fun at all. But if you've got more bills than rent and loans, the rest are all discretionary and can be cut, ne? One reason Austerity worked so well for me was because I have no bills but rent and student loans.
If you're doing all that and still not making it, you can turn to the government for help OR you could get a second job. When you're living on the cheap, even 1 shift a week at minimum wage can make a big difference. I'm not sure what minimum wage is where you are, but 8 hours at 7 bucks an hour is $56. On your W-2 tell them you don't want any money withheld so you can take it all home with you. One shift would double your savings rate. Even in this economy, there's plenty of crappy retail jobs available.
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If you aren't there yet, maybe that'll help you get your costs lower. If that still doesn't get you where you want to be, try dumpstering staples like bread, fruit and vegetables. You generally want to dumpster things that go bad in an obvious way so that you know you're getting something edible. We eat a lot of dumpstered food from fruit stands and the Essential Bakery.
Once you're only buying food, and maybe dumpstering some of that, if you still don't have enough money to survive, you need to cut your bills, and that's no fun at all. But if you've got more bills than rent and loans, the rest are all discretionary and can be cut, ne? One reason Austerity worked so well for me was because I have no bills but rent and student loans.
If you're doing all that and still not making it, you can turn to the government for help OR you could get a second job. When you're living on the cheap, even 1 shift a week at minimum wage can make a big difference. I'm not sure what minimum wage is where you are, but 8 hours at 7 bucks an hour is $56. On your W-2 tell them you don't want any money withheld so you can take it all home with you. One shift would double your savings rate. Even in this economy, there's plenty of crappy retail jobs available.
Good luck!