I'm really panicking - I owe a LOT of rent and may lose my flat, any suggestions are much appreciated?

While you've told us a lot about your situation, which helps, you haven't said what kind of work experience you have. That might help us tailor our answers a bit. But you could get creative... think outside the box.Do you have any friends with children who might appreciate a night out with you caring for the children?

Could you do pet grooming? Maybe get a group of friends together, team up with a local gas station or store to use their parking lot for a % of your takings, then hold a car wash... signs can be posterboard, soap is cheap... the business gets people stopping and waiting for their car to be washed... maybe they go in and eat if it is a restaurant, go shop if it is a store... or can you cook? I don't know what the health laws are in your area, but could you contract your services to go into someone's home and cook for them?

Or sell cookies or cakes? Are you an artist? Could you talk a local business into letting you set up outside on the sidewalk or in a corner of their store and do caricatures of people?

Do you knit? Crochet? Can you offer yourself out as a tutor?

Help adults learn to read? Help children with their math? Approach local schools and libraries about this.

Put an ad on craigslist. Think about what you like to do and what you are physically able to do even if you don't like it... you can offer to pick up trash or cut lawns... just look around your area and see if you can see a job that needs doing and offer to do it. Filing for a local bookkeeper or other businessperson... does the local nursing home need someone to help with something?

I once helped a landlord pull huge weeds in the back of her rent houses... THAT was hard work. Took a shovel for each one... but got paid for it. I'd just check every local business around and see if you can do some short term work.

If you can talk directly to the owner and explain that you lost your job and need to pay the rent and are willing to work hard, you just might get something that will fill the stretch. Just keep thinking. Put that brain to work and i'm sure you will find the perfect thing.

My brain won't shut off... i'm editing to add the tried and true... sell stuff you don't need or don't want... yard sale or ebay... instant cash. And I went and found a website that lets you browse for odd jobs like i've been talking about too... putting it in sources. You bid for jobs you'll do.

If there isn't anything listed in your area, you can still get a lot of ideas from the site... for instance I saw pick up groceries and picking up take out... now that would be easy. I've also heard of being a personal shopper...maybe you can contact your local meals on wheels or senior center and offer to do errands for local people who can't get out on their own... hmm... if I think of more i'll be back. I still have 45 minutes that I can edit this.

:) we should be able to find you something!

A lot of people may say this to be crazy but I have seen this work a few times. If you go to Craigslist and post a AD with your situation you will be amazed by the amount of replies you will get with people willing to help. Some people wouldnt go this route because they may find it embarassing but when you are in a situation such as yours this is a definite way to at least get a little help.

Honestly if I was able to help I would but I recently had a baby so moneys a little tight as well. I wish you luck though and let us know how everything pans out. God bless.

Mystery shopping is a great way to make some money, but they normally pay a month in arrears- and you need cash now. This may not be appealing, but when I was sixteen and unable to find a job, I hired myself out to clean houses. I went door to door with fliers, and underpriced the professionals who did cleaning.

I don't know what the going rate is in your area, but if you post a few fliers in supermarkets in upscale areas of town, offering a "complete scrub and scouring" for a set price, you might be able to make £200 - £300 with 6-8 jobs. Your landlady may have friends who need a cleaner-- that would help get her her money, so you may want to ask. Good luck.

You could try gardening, season is coming up, and older people/people with large gardens are always willing to pay someone to help them. It's a quick way of making some money. You could go to areas with large houses/gardens and chat with people.

Or put small flyers in their letterboxes. Gaining trust is key! Good luck!.

You can also look at my site (or at least in a while), I'm kind of on my own money-quest. But who isn't :-).

It might not be ideal, but it might be the best idea until you can get some money saved up. I would recommend keeping a tight budget and only spending what you need to. I don't really have any suggestions for job opportunities, but I would just search for job openings locally.

Are you going to be paying for college yourself?

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.