Who couldn’t use a quick buck these days? Especially college students who can barely scrape together a couple of quarters for 50-cent beer night at the pub. Sure, we have financial aid, work study, and minimum-wage paying part-time jobs, but sometimes we just need a little extra cash, stat. Thanks to Craigslist, that cash isn’t so hard to come by.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Craigslist, there is an individual site for most major cities across the US (and around the world, for that matter), e.g. losangeles.craigslist.org, boston.craigslist.org, and so on. Craigslist is basically a bunch of classified ads, and there’s a huge section of both “jobs” and “gigs” just waiting for you to stumble upon. So whether you want to splurge on a shopping spree, get your grandmother a birthday present, or actually buy your books this semester, look on Craigslist. I recommend browsing the categories “ETC” and “Event,” though if you have a particular talent or skill, you may want to look under “Creative,” “Labor,” or “Writing.”

Here are some of my favorite past Craigslist gigs:

1. Mock Juror
Listed under: Event
Paid: $60 for less than 4 hours Read More »

When I was in high school, my parents always told me that the only way I was ever going to do anything in life is if I went to college. NOT going wasn’t even discussed. You had to go to college if you wanted a job. If you wanted to work at McDonald’s or WalMart forever, then fine, you could skip out on college - but everyone knows (at least according to my parents back then) that working at WalMart wasn’t really a job as much as it was a sentence to the worst life ever.

Well, I went to college, and I even did my parents one better and went to graduate school. Armed with both a BA and MFA, I was certain I could pretty much get any job I applied for, and would get paid 35K at the minimum.

Ha. Ha. Ha. And I’m not alone. Not only have most of my friends with MFAs scrambled to find anything to pay the bills post graduation (working at Borders, in a file room…with freaking MFAs!!), but it seems like degrees in general are losing the battle to inflation.

According to this really long and slightly boring article from the Wall Street Journal, college degrees no longer carry a promise that you’ll immediately grab a job and get paid in awesome wages.

“What employers want from workers nowadays is more narrow, more abstract and less easily learned in college. Read More »

When budgeting, I have two primary concerns that I think many college students share:

1) Pay rent to keep a roof of some sort over my recently highlighted head.
2) Social spending, as in, how many nights a week do the remaining funds allow for.

Please note that these are not necessarily considered in that order, which can cause trouble.

Depending on whether your college town is ridiculously expensive (see: going to college in a major city) or suuuper cheap (see: anyplace where drinks are less than $4.00 each or has promotions like “dollar long island night”), your bank account is going to take a very different sort of beating by means of your social budget.

But food is an essential, and when takeout can cost more than your bar tab, grocery shopping to save some green is a great habit to have. Read More »

So it’s Sunday. Unlike productive members of society who are enjoying a break from professionalism or whatever, I woke up three hours ago with a raging hangover. I reserve the right to complain about this because a) I am a college student, thus weekends are sacred and b) after I graduate all the fun is gone and nonstop partying simply isn’t in the cards for those who hold a steady job…which I hopefully will achieve.

Anyways, this occurrence is not inevitable, but pretty regular for me, and from what I’m told, countless other Weekend Warriors. So to make my (and your) Sunday morning/afternoon nausea slightly more tolerable, I present my Top 5 fave Hangover Foods.

5. McDonald’s Diet Coke + an Egg McMuffin.
This makes the list for both its deliciousness and medicinal values. McDonald’s Coke and Diet Coke WILL cure your hangover. My best friend swears by it. So does her Mom. That stuff is great. Unfortunately this meal is 1) highly inconvenient, as there’s very little chance that you will be up early enough to get an egg McMuffin and 2) usually eaten under the circumstances that your hangover is very very severe and you can only manage small bites and sips. Read More »

I have no damn space. I swear my ass may get stuck in my own hallway if I eat another Cadbury Egg.

Like many college students, I have been forced to find a way to sleep, eat and basically shower/sh*t/etc. all within 5 feet of each other. Books are piled on top of stacks of clothing, shoes are collecting dust bunnies under my bed along with a variety of other dust collecting partners; bills, blankets, bras and the one sock I’ve been looking for forever. I can never find anything and generally am forced to throw on whatever happens to be crumpled under my feet. Organization? I’m sure that I wouldn’t be able to give the definition of the word if a million dollars were on the line.

…Until the other day, when I had a calling from what must have been a divine being…something told me to hop into The Container Store on my way home from work.

The moment I stepped foot into the store I was sure I had been saved. As a notoriously messy person, it had seemed like nothing would be able to shake me of my slobbish ways. How wrong I was. Read More »

I’m broke and lazy - are you broke and lazy? Of course you are.

You’re a college student (or a big fan of college-related material if you’ve found yourself reading this).To many, “college student” is synonymous with “too busy and too broke.” Even if you’re a part-time student/full-time worker it’s assumed that you’re a slacker. So instead of slacking off on ultra-cool college websites (…) how about you get off your ass and start preparing for your trip home?

Oh, you need help? Sigh…OK.

Just sit back and let CollegeCandy do the dirty work of providing simple-yet-important travel tips while you reap the benefits.

Book your flight early

It’s surprising how many people don’t follow this all-important rule. Call it being a member of the A.D.D. Generation or being too busy with schoolwork, but there’s no excuse when purchasing a ticket home is just a click away.

It’s early November - are you planning on heading home to see your family? Let’s hope you’ve already bought your ticket: holiday season is by far the most booked-up time to travel in the year. If you haven’t yet come back to this article (it’s not going anywhere) and book your flight at Orbitz, Expedia or Priceline immediately. Be sure to avoid spending ungodly amounts of time looking for the absolute cheapest rate: too much time browsing will equal too much money spent if you don’t act quick. Read More »

Sometimes I indulge in this fantasy where I drop every responsibility I have (damn you, student loans!) and run away to a foreign land.

Then my dreams are dashed when I realize that I do, in fact, have responsibilities that need to be attended to…and even if I didn’t, I don’t have thousands to throw away on a trip around the world. So, what is this 20-something to do? Well, realistically…I go on Facebook and check out the pictures my friends took back in 2005 when they went abroad.

Then I stumbled on an application that looked a bit curious…Trip Up CouchSwap!

It’s perfect! It merges reality and fantasy and wraps them up into one attainable goal for us travel-loving college kids. Poor college kids sleeping on other poor college kid’s couches…for cheap (or free)? Sounds like a typical Saturday! What more could we need?

I’ll tell you: CouchSurfing.com

Here the idea branches out even further into it’s own little social network where people around the world document and rate the travel accommodation they’ve received by traveling backpacker-style.

Now, I’m the first to admit to a little too much trust in my fellow man (or woman, whatever) and the idea of getting murdered while taking a nap on some person’s futon doesn’t really cross my mind…while you may be thinking there’s no way you’ll ever allow some random to take you in. Well, I’m officially calling you out. Read More »

So craigslist is a very money site. I can find furniture, sell my used books and even find a creepy love interest if I’m so inclined. And when I’m ready for the real-world-working thing, I’m sure I’ll check out the job listings.

But, my friends, I’ve discovered a better site; it has all the gloriousness of craigslist but has been tailored to fit the college student’s needs — umarkt.com. Created to fill the void of an online marketplace for us, Umarkt helps to find roommates, housing and even sweet rides. It’s totally free and all you have to do is register to use it. Not many schools are listed yet, but they encourage users to add theirs.

So check it out!