Living in SF I spend less than $15,000 per year on rent and food (I cook). It isn't as expensive as many people think, especially if you limit your entertainment and activities to free things on the internet.
I tried elance. They have a convoluted point system where you can bid on ~10 projects a month. I put in the lowest bid for a bunch of simple <500$ projects, but had no responses. They are lots of indian and russian contracting firms on there spamming every job.
I wish I was trolling, but this is the reality of my life. I did apply for one of the investor demo days at Hacker Dojo, but was rejected. I'll admit I am somewhat antisocial, and have not attended any networking events, which is totally my fault.