[privatedan]

Why take a minimum wage job when you can probably contract yourself out doing a number of different things? I worked part-time one summer for $6/hr ( ~ 0.75 higher than minimum wage ) in between sophomore/junior year in high school. Towards the end of the summer, I started mowing some lawns for some people I knew and was making ~$20 per lawn ( which took about an hour each ).

Next summer, I figured if I only mowed one lawn a day, I'd make the same $$$. Ended up mowing 10+ lawns a week at $25-40 a piece ( I averaged ~$20 - $25/hr depending on the week ). My favorite move was to go to my customer's neighbors and say "Hi! I'm cutting Sam's lawn for $x. If you let me cut your lawn for $x - $5, I'll knock $5 off Sam's lawn as well. Get your lawn cut and save your neighbor some cash." That worked pretty well and kept my transit time down.

Even if you take a min wage job for stability, try contracting yourself out a bit on the side and bank that cash. You'll get where you're going quicker.

[bartonfink]

That's a hell of a sales tactic in a market where social ties matter. Kudos to you for figuring it out.