Living on an AmeriCorps Stipend

Keyword: stipend. I repeat, this is NOT a paycheck! If you think about it as a paycheck, then inevitably you’ll realize you’re getting paid around $4-5 an hour, and then you’ll feel stiffed. This is a stipend for a volunteer position--it took me seven months to finally look at it that way, and once I did it really changed my attitude and perception of what I was getting paid.

It also made me think about the stipend more like a game; I have (very) limited resources every month, and it’s fun to figure out the best ways to stretch those out.

My monthly bills put me in the red each month, and a big reason for this is that my rent ate up 67% of my monthly stipend. If I had lived in an area where I could have found roommates, or worked near other VISTAs who were looking for roommates, that would have helped immensely, but unfortunately neither was an option. My other biggest fixed expense was my car, which was also non-negotiable (I lived in a town that had one Uber driver, no public transportation, and unreliable taxis).

So, I cut costs in other ways. I exclusively used string lights instead of overhead lights (this actually started for aesthetic reasons, but I saw a drop in my electric bill!), and would plan cooking and baking for similar times so I just had to turn the stove on once. I combined fun day trips with errands so I could use gas more efficiently, and I took note of the price differences between gas stations; for example, the gas station by my gym was frequently 10 cents cheaper than the one by my house, so I combined going to the gym and filling up my gas tank.

For fitness, I took advantage of free outdoor activities like running and hiking, and I got a Planet Fitness membership for $10 a month during the winter months. I also worked out getting the student discount rate because of AmeriCorps; I found that a lot of places were open to giving me a discount if I asked, but I had to be prepared to explain AmeriCorps well and succinctly. I also kept an eye out for free community fitness or yoga classes. More places offer these than I had expected!

I heavily used the library, and checked out lots of books and movies from there. I signed up for Redbox rewards so I could get occasional free movie rentals, and I used Vudu to watch free movies. Also, almost every streaming service offers a trial period, and I took advantage of most of them (just remember to cancel before the trial is over!). And remember, there’s reward programs for everything!

Because my monthly bills exceeded my monthly stipend, I found a lot of different ways to make a little extra money. I was able to work remotely for a job I had before I was a VISTA, and did that as much as I could. I also dogsat through Rover, babysat through Care.com, sold clothes on Poshmark, opened an Etsy shop, did surveys on SurveySavvy.com, did national research studies through Fieldwork, earned money for completing activities through the app Achievement, and got cash back on certain grocery items on the app Ibotta. In short, I hustled! I didn’t have a lot of options for part time work outside of VISTA, and I don’t mind getting a little money in a lot of different ways--especially with opening my Etsy shop, which was really fun and fulfilling for me to do. Most VISTAs I talked to also had outside jobs, so hopefully these ways of making money will give you some more ideas besides or in addition to typical part time work!

Overall, I would try and cut costs in as many ways as I could, because it’s way better to be surprised by having a little extra at the end of the month. I learned this the hard way when I heavily dipped into my savings for the first few months of my VISTA year. Also, remember to plan way ahead for the transition period after your term ends to whatever you do next; even if you start a job right away you’ll likely have a couple weeks where you don’t have any income, and you might need to factor in moving costs and a security deposit. It’s hard to save up the little money you get as a VISTA, so planning way ahead for that time is really helpful!