GFM, your work is gorgeous. If I had $10, I'd buy one in a second. Unfortunately, I'm not going to cover rent this month unless I find a generous family member to front me the cash. But I did send you a voice mail. That's better than money :)

Rock!

No worries, SassHat, I know how it is. :)

I like the photos, but I'm also poor and between jobs, and I'm running on fumes from my last paycheck. Even though I live very simply in the ghetto in the some of the most spartan digs I've lived in for years and my bills are really low (around 250-350/month + food) I'm going to either be pawning off my camera(s) and/or a computer or two or getting a small family subsidy/loan to make rent/bills this month, and then I'm hoping I find a tolerable job ASAP.

I think a lot of MeFites/MeChazens are in the same boat, really. A few of us have managed to make some money, it seems, but it seems like most of us are all hanging by a thread or barely treading water.

I've got some major furniture purchases coming up this week.

If at all possible, put them off or make do with something cheaper. Announcing that you have upcoming major furniture purchases doesn't really jive well with asking for help, y'know? Thrift stores are your friend. So is craigslist, especially the free/barter sections.

So is a good pawn shop. A good pawn shop with good rates and good cash offerings on your stuff can be a lifesaver, much more so than those skeezy payday loan places.

What's health insurance, anyway? I keep hearing stuff about it but I'm pretty sure it's just a myth. ;)

Hang in there.

So in the same boat here. I just did my arithmetic, and I have 394.60 Euros for now 'til the beginning of August (that's if I put off the rent) unless I get paid for some work... And I'm not looking forward to seeing the electric bill. :(

Ah! I just thought of something... Not much help in the immediate, but maybe you can pick up a little money over the long term with your photos on iStockphoto? I have no idea how worthwhile this is, but maybe someone here has had some experience with them?

Ok, I know I'm sick, but I saw this post title and thought: "Out of a tub?"

Now that's funny.

loquacious: I should explain on the furniture - my mother in law is coming to visit and would rather stay with us than in a hotel. However, all we've got to sleep on is a couch mostly inhabited by the cat, so we have to buy another futon (which was in our long-term plans anyhow) this week before she gets here.

As for health insurance, I don't want to go into it, but I have a medical condition that costs me hundreds of dollars per month in medication that there's just no way around.

Believe me, I would not be saying "Oh, I'm so broke" if I could merely pawn something. I've got nothing to pawn. My worldly possessions that someone would buy are limited to my computer, my camera, and my wedding ring. The computer and the camera are out as not only would I go insane if I couldn't do art, but they generate at least a very small source of income. And the wedding ring? No fucking way.

Yeah, I hear you about not wanting to pawn computer or camera, and especially the wedding ring. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of old cameras, but the one I'm looking to pawn is going to probably be the Nikon FE2 my mom handed down to me. While it's an awesome film SLR and a family heirloom of sorts, I haven't been able to afford to feed it film in ages, and the place I'm going to pawn it at apparently has really good terms and rates.

And hopefully I didn't come off as harsh - it wasn't my intent, I was just looking to problem-solve. It's all I really have to offer at the moment.

No offense, but even if you decided to pawn the wedding ring, you wouldn't get much. I never knew what a mark-up jewelry was until I was in dire straits. I'd left my husband, had a five and one year olds, they cut my pay by 28% at work, and I wasn't getting child support. In desperation I pawned my engagement ring (a third of a carat, but very high quality) and my wedding ring (custom made it cost $400.00). Together they'd cost $1400.00. The best I could do was $200.00. The reputable jewerly stores who claim to pay the highest prices? One offered me $75.00 (you read right) and another offered $175.00. The best price came from a nearly seedy pawn shop. I'm sorry to prattle on and on, but it's amazing how you're led to believe that your diamonds will only increase in value, when in reality they'll offer you pennies for them. When I married the second time, my engagement ring is cubic zirconia. And no one can tell the difference.