How often do English MA's get funding? I'm in engineering and masters students are rarely funded. I'd say that if the probability of getting funding next year is low, you should decide this year to poop or get off the pot in terms of grad school. If getting a graduate education is what you want to do, do it now. Take the financial hit while you're young. You have the rest of your life to work. The longer you stay out of school, the more difficult it gets to go back. As your "real world" income increases, so does the opportunity cost associated with going back to school. Also, by starting now, you may be able to get a TAship or something next year.
As an alternative, if you just want a masters and you don't care that much about about doing any meaningful research, there are many accredited online programs that offer practical masters degrees. (i.e. no thesis - intended for working professionals, not academics) Most employers have some sort of tuition reimbursement that you may be able to take advantage of. Of course if you are considering an academic career, this will not suffice.