Yes, but I have to pay off two medical bills, transmission for my car that I had financed (6 mo, no interest). We don't really have anything to sell besides our sectional, but we need that until we move. I can't give plasma because I passed out twice trying, I have a minimum wage job now and get about 16 hours a week, but that all goes towards our regular bills such as phone, cable, rent, insurance. And I have applied for fast food, other retail jobs, and really anything that will take me, and still no one will get back to me unfortunately. I am getting to save about $50 a month at this rate.
If you can't cut (don't sell your couch now!), you have to make...
I've never had an American medical bill -- is it possible to negotiate a different payment schedule, or consolidate somehow?
Tutoring - GRE prep. Foreign students. Put flyers all over every campus in town (including community colleges). Advertise on craigslist. (Don't let students bully you into writing their papers, though, that is what they mostly want.)
Agree with food service -- if you've already tried volume/family-oriented franchises (eg Applebees), maybe give catering companies a go. Some are on craigslist. Most will train staff themselves (and often like it that way) - experience not always required, and it's often possible to take as many shifts as you can handle (or as few as you like).
If you've got the experience/stomach for either, child care or dog-walking - both can pay more than minimum wage. Same as with tutoring - go old-school - use flyers (for the dog-walking, obviously), for kids especially, word of mouth.
Forgot: right now, if you're in the polar vortex region: SNOW REMOVAL. Older folks need help with that. My mom was desperate for reliable help this year; was so grateful to have found someone who would show up on time last month. Neighbourhoods where people have smaller driveways/walkways, you'd only need a shovel and salt -- could charge for the last up front. Shovelling, though, is not easy work and admittedly takes longer than with a snowblower, but you could get $100 on a snowy day from 2 (nearby) houses. (Even on days it doesn't snow, it melts, and freezes again, and someone has to throw down the salt. So it might be a 1-2x/week thing.) There are another couple of months of snow, probably, and there's grass after that. It is physical labour, of course, but neither takes particular skill (unlike gardening or something like that).
Other than clothes and your essential books/papers (go electronic where you can), you really don't need things. It's easy to restock on the cheap when you arrive, as noted above, especially if you can get a student loan when you get there.
This all sounds rough, I'm sorry. But it will be short. Try to keep your eyes on the goal.
