That pays next to nothing.

A few months before graduating, I decided to try something totally new and went to work for a non-profit. Although I know I’m doing great work for a worthy cause, giving back to society in my current position doesn’t make near enough to be “big ballin” as they say.

So how do I pay my bills AND go out for happy hour? Welcome to the hustle a.k.a. doing freelance work to make some extra cash.

Figure out what you’re good at: Write down five hobbies/interest and five skills. Do you love fashion or cooking? Do you like to run or make pottery? Are you organized, articulate, web savvy, etc? It can be anything, just write it down!

Combine a hobby/interest and a skill into something you can sell: So, let’s say you love to cook and are articulate. Maybe you could give group cooking classes. Or maybe you’re an avid runner, who’s also web savvy. Ever think of sharing your tips, tricks and routes with others who want to start running through an online subscription service? Think creatively, no idea is too out there!

Research the need for that skill: Be honest with yourself, would you pay someone for this service/product? Yes? Now check Craigslist or do a Google search to see if others ARE selling this service/product? They are? Good, that means there’s demand for it!

Market yourself to potential clientele: Do NOT go about this haphazardly! Do your research and find your niche. Figure out what your selling exactly, how much you should charge, who would be interested and then where to advertise.

Now do it: Although this seems like an obvious step, people can start to doubt themselves and their abilities. DON’T! Yes, you’ll probably hear a lot of no’s and spend weeks with no one answering you back, but that’s OK! Be persistent, be smart, change up your strategy if need be, but know, you can do this!

Tatiana currently works for a non-profit that helps children with their literacy skills. She enjoys nice long walks to nowhere in particular, her coffee with milk and Splenda and non-fiction books. For more of her tips, tricks and writing, please email her at tg.writes(@)gmail.com.

Do you have advice for recent grads? Real life advice and stories that you wish someone had told you. Submit your idea to editor (at) collegecandy (dot) com.

Turns out I was wrong. I’m so dead by the end of the day that I can barely keep my eyes open when I crawl into bed at sunset. Truth be told, I cannot figure out why. I possibly have the least physically demanding job in the entire world. As a freelance blogger I spend half my days in bed on the computer and half my days on a couch on the computer. Sure my fingers are getting a work-out (ever seen a thumb with biceps?) but the rest of me might as well be sold off for spare parts. If anyone knows how much legs (partially shaved) are going for these days, please leave me a message below.

And it’s not only the exhaustion that’s taking a toll on me. It’s also being responsible for the work that I do everyday. In the past I’ve had part time jobs doing things like working at an ice cream store. But if I didn’t bring my A-game to work it wasn’t that big of a deal. All it meant was that some kid had an allergic reaction because I wasn’t paying attention when his mother asked if nuttybutter-walnut ice cream had nuts in it. Same with internships. I could make a million mistakes and then shrug my shoulders and be like “sorry, I’m just an intern, I didn’t know that pressing backspace would delete a year’s worth of work.”

But now it’s like I make a mistake and I receive a scathing e-mail seconds later asking me if I was raised speaking English or if it’s a recently acquired skill. When people are paying you real money for your work, they’re a lot more demanding–as well as open with the constructive criticism. If I had a penny for every e-mail from an editor telling me to change this or be wittier or be more serious or write all your words backwards for style effect, I might be able to afford to eat three meals a day.

Unfortunately for my stomach no one is attaching pennies to e-mails these days. Until then I’ll keep on chuggin’ along trying to keep my eyes open long enough to catch the 5:00 news. And by news I mean Family Matters reruns.

I got a job!!!

All my tears, temper tantrums, panic attacks, stress-induced friend fights, and violent rages towards my parents turned out to be totally worth it. I’m on my way to getting a full time job. And by that I mean that I’m now working three freelance blogging jobs and making enough money to support myself for at least one to three months depending on how long I can sustain myself on a water and table scraps diet.

One blog is about the postgrad realty market, one is geared towards men’s humor, and the last is all about liberating and embracing a woman’s sexuality. So by the time I get done with a week of writing all three, I’ll be the only certified realtor that can make hilarious fart jokes while imparting the seriousness of bra burning. If that’s not a pick-up line in a bar, then cat’s got my tongue (I’m aiming to write for a blog entirely composed of idioms if anyone’s got a lead).

I excitedly told my grandparents over a dinner of boiled chicken and broth to which they responded with little to no enthusiasm, can you write that much? I immediately answered yes, of course I can write that much. However I started to question myself; am I capable of actually writing several different blogs? I mean this blog is easy. I just have to write about myself and truth be told it’s been a phenomenal therapy system for me since graduation. All I have to do is share my feelings and then the commenters provide the tough love solutions.

I’ve spent the last few months telling everyone that I aspire to be a fulltime blogger and now that it’s kinda starting to happen, I’m kinda starting to freak out. I have to really be an adult and create a schedule for myself. No more sleeping in until noon and spending my days sitting on a park bench insulting tourists in my head as they walk by in their heinous sneaker-dress combo outfits. No more half-assing work because I’m an unpaid intern. This is the real thing.

Then again, perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself and this freelance blogging is a good intro to the real world of working. I’ll be waking up earlier, dressing myself nicer (I’m pretending like it’s a REAL job), and perhaps start looking into getting some of that health insurance everyone’s been talking about.

The best part of getting these jobs is that next week when I go back to school for homecoming I won’t even have to lie about having a job. I just have to keep the bragging to a minimum about having three.

Let me make no mistake: Anderson Cooper is a stone cold F-O-X. They should change the call letters of his station from CNN to E-F-F, because when I tune in, all I see are Anderson’s steely blue eyes telling me he wants to jump my bones.

But Anderson isn’t just a journalistic automaton–the guy’s got substance. After graduating from Yale, he didn’t have a job and simply decided to fly himself to far-flung locales like Burma and Somalia to cover wars as a freelance journalist, which he wrote about in his book. He gained recognition for his hard-hitting news coverage, landing him a spot as a CNN reporter and anchor of the program Anderson Cooper 360. Known for his grit and endurance for reporting across the globe, Anderson also starred in the documentary Planet in Peril, about the most critical environmental issues facing the earth today.

But all work and no play would make Anderson a very dull boy. He is well-known for being down-to-earth and plugged in to today’s popular culture. He’s a BIG fan of Real Housewives of Atlanta, (as he’s professed on many talk shows), and has a Facebook and a Twitter. He made a big splash a few weeks ago (literally!) when he challenged Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps to a mini-swimming race. Anderson may have lost the race, but ladies won the chance to see our favorite journo jock shirtless on national television. Most recently, he co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve special with Kathy Griffin (whose wild remarks have been the talk of bloggerati since yesterday), where he professed his resolution to blog more in 2009. Will I be hanging on his every effable word? Yes, yes I will.

Don’t worry, I’ve read all the gossip. I could care less if he loves men, women, or panda bears–I’d like to dispatch Mr. Cooper to my bed to experience some of his hard-hitting coverage. “Anderson Cooper’s Effability” is the only breaking story on my news feed.

Why is everyone talking about taxes?

Taxes are a way that the government can inject money back into the economy.

A way of reversing the chain—you buy something at a store= store owner buys something at another store= etc.

President Bush and Senator McCain believe that continuing the current economic trajectory with regards to taxes is the proper response. They feel that this is all merely an economic downturn, — not the R-word.

Both Senators Obama and Clinton call for tax reform in the form of restructuring the system – placing the burden of taxes upon the upper echelon of people and giving more breaks to the middle and lower classes.

While the politicians continue their debate over tax cuts/ breaks/ rebates/ and whether the term recession should be employed, you and I are daily facing the economic reality—whatever you choose to call it.

Recessions really hurt us twenty-somethings: that part-time job you were going to get to cover your car loans suddenly disappears because the store that was going to hire you decided to stick with it’s current staff; a creative project which you, a freelance artist, were going to contract suddenly gets indefinitely postponed as the company realizes it really doesn’t need a 20 ft mural in its entryway… etc.

So, while dealing with tax reform and providing economic stimulus packages will potentially help the situation, it is important for us to take measures to protect ourselves against this economic downturn.

How can I protect myself?

I’m glad you asked!

1. Cut up your credit cards!

No seriously—this could save your butt for two reasons:

→ First of all, as I mentioned in the first part of this article through the text-book buy back example, in a recession, the economic slow-down means that the money you thought you were guaranteed suddenly is not there—for example, you may have expected to work 40 hrs a week and planned your finances around that inevitability but now, thanks to job cuts, you’re only working 35 hrs/ week. Therefore, in a recession don’t spend money you don’t currently have no matter how certain you are that you’ll have it by the time the bill rolls around.

→ Second, credit rates tend to increase during a recession, especially if you are late paying a bill. This means that if you miss a payment, you may end up owing far more than you thought you did.

2. Cut back on your spending

Wait! Before you tune out—this doesn’t mean eating just rice or shopping at thrift stores! Here are some basic ideas:

→ Try walking to the corner store rather than driving or taking public transportation. Even if it’s only a dollar or so you save, multiplied out over a month, you’ll find you save a fairly significant amount.

→ Go shopping in your closet. You’ll be surprised how many shirts and sweaters you forgot you owned. Try making new outfits using the old stuff with some of your newer stuff for a totally different look. Take your well-worn shoes to your local shoemaker—for a comparably small sum they can dye, re-sole, and renovate until you won’t even realize they’re the same pair you wore all last fall (meaning your co-workers won’t either).

→ Instead of ordering a pizza, buy a frozen one and heat it up. Seriously—and I speak from personal experience now, you’ll be amazed at the price comparison.

3. Start your own business

Diversify your income:

Check out the gigs section at craigslist– from writing to housekeeping, from modeling to printing up 250 labels– there are people willing to pay you to do jobs they don’t have time to do themselves

Mary Kay Cosmetics offers a great chance to bring in a few spare bucks

Like pets? Have a few hours to spare in between classes? Become a dog-walker!

Become a professional babysitter– seriously– Check out babysitting opportunities in your area.

So, to sum up:

Bad News: We are in a recession/economic downturn which sucks and may hurt you financially.

Good News: Now you know what you’re talking about and, in addition to meeting hot economists (let me know if you find one– they’re an endangered species) you can take steps to protect yourself.

Good Luck!!