How to Pay Bills While Doing an Internship

Internships are traditionally unpaid work performed in order to learn about an industry and to gain work experience. It is possible to find paid internship, but often they don't pay enough to live on. Interns must find a way to pay the bills and still put in a full day of work at the internship.

Instructions

1. Get a second job. While you intern during the day, get an evening or weekend job that pays. Live as cheaply as possible to make your second job cover the bills.

2. Sell off some stuff to raise cash. Get rid of items you don't need to fund your internship time. You can sell items through online auctions or classified ads in the local papers. Students can put up fliers in the student union advertising the items for sale.

3. Team up with another intern to share living expenses. Live as roommates to cut your expenses in half. Take on more roommates to reduce the cost of bills even further.

4. Move in with your parents to save on rent, utilities and food costs. Look for an internship program near your parents' home to reduce transportation expenses.

5. Find a paid internship. For those who can't get by while doing a free internship, seek out an internship program that pays. If the pay is low, a weekend job may make up the difference.

6. Seek out a part-time internship so you can work a full-time paying job. The internship may take twice as long, but you won't be living on beans and rice while you do it.