The most high-profile new Democratic member of Congress is trying to figure out how to afford an apartment in Washington and trying to stretch funds from her restaurant job until January.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, shocked Washington by knocking off powerful Queens Rep. Joe Crowley. Now, as an incoming freshman lawmaker, the democratic socialist has other problems of her own.

The transition period between her election win Tuesday and her swearing-in in January is a problem, and she is no longer drawing a salary.

She told the New York Times that gap will be 'very unusual, because I can't really take a salary. I have three months without a salary before I'm a member of Congress,' she said.

Alexandria Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is running low on cash and has to make it until January without a job, when she will start drawing a salary as a member of Congress

Ocasio-Cortez holds a Puerto Rico flag as she greets supporters at her midterm election night party in New York City

Other elected House members draw pay, but she may have been referring to potential ethics problems of soliciting work after being elected as a member of Congress.

'So, how do I get an apartment?' she wondered. 'Those little things are very real.'

Ocasio-Cortes, who stressed her working class status and upbringing during her unlikely win, said she saved some funds before leaving her restaurant job. But that might not cut it Washington D.C.'s hot real estate and high rent market, which doesn't quite rival New York's but has led some lawmakers to sleep in their offices or even bunk in group houses.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to her supporters during her election night party in the Queens Borough of New York on November 6, 2018

Ocasio-Cortez says she saved up funds from her restaurant job

HELP WANTED: Ocasio-Cortez won't draw a salary until she gets to Washington, which has high housing costs

Ocasio-Cortez celebrates after defeating Republican challenger Anthony Pappas in the race for the 14th Congressional district of New York

'We're kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I've really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January, she said of she and her partner.

In her previous life, she made Margarita cocktails at a Manhattan taqueria called Flats Fix.

The 29-year old told Bon Appetit, 'My campaign started in food, and in a lot of ways evolved out of food,'

'For 80 percent of this campaign, I operated out of a paper grocery bag hidden behind that bar,' she said, referencing her political pamphlets and change of clothes.

There have been other hardships, including having to turn down an annual trip for New York pols to Puerto Rico frequented because it conflicts with orientation for new lawmakers, where they get tips for hiring staff, running an office, and the bare bones of legislating.

'I need a minute,' she said.