Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi wasn't always paid to party.
The "Jersey Shore" star who made headlines for her run-ins with the cops, her signature poof and her hot and cold relationship with Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, revealed to InStyle Tuesday that the only income she received during her first year on the MTV reality show in 2009 was from the Shore Store, a T-shirt shop located along the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, where the cast resided.
"We would get $200 a week from the Shore Store. I had never gotten that much in a week, like, every single week, because you usually get paid every two weeks," Polizzi said in an interview for InStyle's new column, Money Talks. "That was crazy for me."
"I had never gotten that much in a week, like, every single week, because you usually get paid every two weeks."
By the show's sixth and final season, the popular Polizzi was pulling close to $150,000 per episode -- a total of $1.8 million for the season, Radar Online reported in June 2012.
"They also get a reported $400,000 signing bonus at the beginning of the season, $200,000 bonus at the end of the season and for any additional reunion episodes they get the $150,000 for that too," Radar Online revealed at the time.
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However, Polizzi claims all the stars "got the same pay" on the show.
"If we didn’t, I probably would’ve freaked out," she added.
The self-declared "meatball" explained that she grew up in a middle class Italian family who taught her to work for her money, encouraging her to get her first job at the young age of 13.
She held several paid positions throughout her teen years, including a job as a bus girl, sales associate at Filene’s and Forever 21, as well as serving food and drinks at a local baseball stadium.
"I never want to stop, because I love what I do. I love reality."
"I wasn’t allowed to get a credit card until I was financially stable," Polizzi continued. "My parents basically babied me ’til I was 21, so they didn’t want me to go into debt right away."
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The 30-year-old, who is now married with two children -- Giovanna, 3, and Lorenzo, 5 -- doesn't have to worry as much about finances, with an estimated net worth of about $4 million, according to International Business Times. She's also likely making a substantial sum of money for her role in the reboot “Jersey Shore Family Vacation."
But that doesn't mean Polizzi plans to quit her day job anytime soon, which includes running her very own clothing line called "Snooki Love."
"I never want to stop, because I love what I do. I love reality," she told the publication. "I love having my own brand and my own business. I like keeping busy. If I’m not doing anything, I feel like I’m wasting my time. I definitely don’t want to stop, ever. I’ll work until I stop breathing."
"Jersey Shore Family Vacation" returned to MTV on April 5 and airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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