When you need a new roommate to help cover half the costs of your midtown (or uptown or downtown) studio – because your previous roommate decided to skip out on the lease early to “find” himself somewherein Sumatra – Craigslist is likely the first place you look.

But Craigslist’s network of online communities isn’t limited to helping you hunt down your next live-in archenemy. The global Web site allows you to buy, sell and search for almost anything you can think of – goods, services, jobs, dates – just enter a word, and Craigslist is on the case.

As you can probably tell from previous posts, I am a Craigslist junkie. I didn’t earn the nickname “The Craigslist Queen” for nothing. If I’m not picking up ridiculously low priced pieces of mid-century modern furniture or scoping out NYC apartments, I’m browsing the community sections looking for freebies and other good deals.

Craiging (the stunted term for my habit) requires a delicate balance of being able to pass over the crap and see the potential in other somewhat flawed pieces. After hearing friends complain about their fruitless searches, I thought I’d lay down some tips that have helped me find really incredible finds (like a mid-century modern American of Martinsville sideboard for $120) on the “the list”.

Your home is a goldmine. I’m not referring to property value; I’m speaking of the loads of useless crap about the home (unused books, movies, videogames, clothing, and other miscellaneous items) that potential buyers are more than willing to drop a few bucks on–if you’re willing to part with it.

A Craigslist posting caught my eye the other day when it was asking for healthy men and women to participant in a brain imaging study. Most of my time on Craigslist is spent perusing the “rants and raves” board or the ever so popular “missed connections” forum, so a posting about medical research isn’t nearly as exciting. But this posting also promised up to $400 in compensation just for participating.

During a time where lay-offs and pay cuts are no longer a shock, should we be seeking other ways to make a quick buck? The idea of participating in a medical research study makes my skin crawl when I think about the possibility of putting my body at risk but walking away with some extra cash is tempting.

As you may have guessed from previous posts, I’m a big fan of Craigslist. I’ve found pretty much every apartment and every job I’ve had in New York on the old Craigs. So when I decided to check out what the city’s rental market was doing, I hopped back on the to see what rents were looking like in the borough I call home — Brooklyn.

If you’ve figured out what skills you have that you can market to potential employers, then you’ve got the first step behind you. What lies next is the tricky part. How do you successfully point out possible clients and market yourself as a consultant to those potential employers?

Renting an apartment, especially in New York, can be an enormous headache. Lots of people fall into the trap of getting a job and seriously overestimating what they can afford to spend on rent each month. When I first moved to New York, I lived in a pretty spacious (at least by New York standards) one bedroom in Washington Heights. The rent was $850. My salary was 26K. How did I do it? By using almost all of my paycheck to pay my rent, and paying utilities, food and other random bills with credit cards. A big no-no.

Congratulations. You’ve got a fancy college degree, a real job and a brand new apartment to signify your recent entry into adulthood. The next step is trading in that Target blow up couch and bean bag chair for some new, adult digs.