It isn’t being a student, especially if you are studying away from home. Not only are students usually in a lot of debt because of student loans, but they also struggle to financially support themselves.
Make Money While Studying
The lifestyle component of student loans is seldom enough to realistically support an adult, especially when one factors in partying and going out with one’s friends after class. Fortunately, there are some solutions available to students that want to make money while they are studying. Do your homework and explore these opportunities to strike a balance between your academic commitments and your financial needs.
This article will tell you about a few of those solutions:
Investing
Investing is undoubtedly one of the easiest ways for kids to make money when they are studying because it requires very little attention. In fact, there are applications and services that you can download that will manage your investments for you remotely. If your attention is needed, the application or service will send you a notification. Degiro is an especially popular investment broker. You can read more in this Degiro review if investing interests you. As with all types of investing, you need to carefully do your research and make sure that you are confident about any investment decisions that you make or your broker makes on your behalf.
Writing
If you are a good writer, then you can earn a little extra money on the side of writing content. The content industry is very large. Content agencies are constantly in need of qualified and professional writers, who can lend their expertise. The best part about content writing is that you can work according to your own schedule.
Content agencies seldom have specified hours that they expect their writers to work. As long as the work is completed, the agency is satisfied. Content agencies hire writers from all over the world, so whatever language you speak, as long as you can write well, you shouldn’t have trouble finding work. You can advertise your services on websites like Upwork, Reddit, and Quora.
9 – 5
If you aren’t a competent writer and can’t think of any other ways that you could make money online, then you can of course get a traditional nine to five job. If you are going to do this, then you will need to find a job that understands you are a student and doesn’t insist that you work full-time.
Ideally, you should find a weekend job. It is unlikely that you will be able to manage a full-time job in addition to your studies. If you don’t balance work and study, you will end up burning yourself out. Most students find that working in cafés, bars, and restaurants is the easiest and least demanding way of working while studying.
Borrowing
If working nine to five isn’t compatible with your lifestyle, then you could also consider borrowing money from family or friends. As long as you are confident that you can repay them in the future, then this shouldn’t be a problem (provided that they have the money to lend you).
If you know a loved one is struggling then you should not ask them for money, because there’s a very strong chance that despite their financial hardship, they will say yes. You must also repay any loans you take from friends or family because unpaid debts can put a lot of strain on your relationships and result in you falling out with them.
Bursaries
You might also qualify for a bursary if you aren’t earning a lot of money and are struggling to fund your studies. Bursaries are granted in addition to student loans – they are unconnected.
There are myriad bursaries available to students. Some are offered by the colleges and universities themselves, others are offered by third-party bodies and services that support needy students.
Bursaries are non-repayable, meaning that you don’t have to pay them back. If you are going to apply for a hardship bursary, make sure that you read the application requirements beforehand just so that you can be confident you are eligible.
Selling
Finally, one effective way of making money as a student is buying second-hand clothes at thrift stores and selling them on websites like eBay and Etsy. This can be a very lucrative trade if you have a good eye.
You should research what current fashion trends are and then look for items that conform to these trends. Vintage and second-hand clothing is very popular at the moment and could be a very good business. Selling on eBay is not very demanding, either. You just need to make sure that you post items on time, and you won’t have any problems.
Surviving as a student can be difficult, especially if you don’t have friends or family there to support you. Fortunately, you do have options.