A grand in 5 weeks, is it possible?

Keen_Young_Learner

Hi Everyone!

Looking for a bit of advice and support here. I've just finished uni (yaay!) with a job offer in China (double yaay!). Lucky me! But I need to pay to get over there...I will be refunded the money at the end of my contract, but it's still a big ask!

My finances are in ok order. Obviously as a student I've not been rolling in it but I have two part time jobs, and can support myself without too much strain.

I only have 5 weeks left here before I jet off and I want to enjoy them, so I don't want to cut back too much. However, I do aim to have at least thousand quid in the bank before I go, to pay for flights and to give myself a little safety net in case anything goes wrong. I've worked out I can put away £50 a week between now and then, so that's £250 already. Do you lovely people have any advice on where to find a few hundred quid?

Here's what I've got/organised so far:

• I've sent off a story to a 'true stories' magazine agency, which apparently they're interested in, so there's a potential couple of hundred there.
• I'm organising a clothes swap with some friends (can't take all my frocks with me!). I'll be asking them to pay what they think each item is worth as a 'contribution' - I hope to make about £100 in donations that night (I have a LOT of clothes...and shoes...and bags).
• I've applied for a few jobs doing exam invigilation - if I get the work that should gain me about £80 I guess, as a generous estimate?
• I've also made enquiries (and left my number with a receptionist) about working in a charity call centre, which I hear is very flexible and pays around £13 an hour.

I've asked for extra hours at my two existing jobs but there's not much luck there.

Is there anything I've overlooked? Do you have any advice about the ideas I've come up with? How can I save even more without changing my quality of life (I already downshelf, bargain hunt and check my finances)?!

Thanks in adance all of you!

KYL xxx

kazwookie

Have you got a work permit for China?

Keen_Young_Learner

Hi Kazwookie!

Yeah, that's all being organised by the company. They're taking care of everything, including visas, work permits, accomodation, health insurance. I just need to make my own travel arrangements and have a few quid in the bank for when I get there.

I've known about this job for ages but with the last few weeks of Uni my priority has been getting all my work done!

KYL xxx

PasturesNew

Write an ebook for the Kindle, to sell on Amazon, along the lines of: "Graduates, how to get a job in China and move there".... and tap into the desperate graduate "can't get a job" market. Or anything really that you know about that has a market.

moneypuddle

Can you babysit for anyone? Get some temp work?

Tina20

You could do an apprentice styleee door knocking exercise?

Offer Ironing? Gardening? Cleaning? Although people are a lot less likely to let you in unless you have a camera crew with you, it's worth a try in the evenings?

smunchkinp

throw a going away party and instead of having drinks bought you, get your friends/family to chuck the money in a bucket

Natterjack88

Well Done on getting the job! How about a clearout on ebay? A carboot sale. You could sell your uni books on Amazon. Babysitting/dogwalking. Gardening may be popular this time of year- especially for older people/ people that are at work all day. Thats all I got right now!

e_london

Perhaps an idea might be to work in a a media sales type company. Make sure what they are doing is legal and ethical first. Allot pay cash weekly and if you are good you could earn a few thousand

Check out monster but stay away from land broking or anything to do with wine


Good luck:beer:

DS4215

Surprised nobody has mentioned matched betting. With your £250 you could easily double that in a couple of weeks...

See the dedicated forum for more details or any questions....

Keen_Young_Learner

Thanks everyone for your replies, they are pretty much all brilliant

I definitely think I'm going to try this door to door idea to offer cleaning/babysitting/dog walking. Might make it a bit more official with some fliers though! That way I can also put a price down and get it all in writing.

My Uni books won't sell for much on Amazon - I studied literature so it's all battered Penguin Classics on my bookshelves! It's a good idea though and I've got a couple of massive dictionaries that'll be worth a bob or two.

Love the e-book idea but it might be a bit optimistic in 5 weeks

Thanks again all of you, if you have any further inspiration please let me know! Right now I'm mentally going through my male friends, trying to work out who I can get a topless picture of to sell to Love It! magazine for fifty quid...

KYL xxx