3 Ways Students Can Make Some Extra Cash

3 Ways Students Can Make Some Extra Cash
College students don't have the biggest budgets, and often find themselves in need of a little extra cash. Things come up, like car repairs, extra expensive textbooks and high cell phone bills. When this happens, you may need to earn some extra money on the double. Here are a few ways you can make that happen.

Sell Some Stuff
It sounds crazy, but you may actually be able to make a few bucks by cleaning out your closet. If you have things like old textbooks, CDs that you don't want anymore or old exercise equipment lying around, turn them into money. Take some pictures of your things and post them on a classifieds website and see if you can't make some money from your junk.

Pick Up Extra Hours
If you are already working an hourly job, see if your boss can give you a few extra hours. Sometimes you can increase your workload just by asking. If that doesn't work, see if you can pick up shifts from coworkers who need some time off.

Be an Entrepreneur
I know, you probably don't have the time to start an entire business, but you may have the time to start something small. Try advertising some type of service like dog walking, music lessons or yard work. If you have good rates and can get the word out about what you do, you may be surprised at just how much money you can make this way.

Use Your Talents
If you're particular good at something like painting, photography, sewing or woodworking, sell your work. There are entire websites dedicated to people selling their handcrafts, but you can also just spread the word on your own. This is a great, and often enjoyable, way to make a few extra dollars each month.

Donate Blood or Plasma
It sounds ridiculous, but many students earn lots of spending by donating blood or plasma. In many places, you can earn up to $25 a visit. And, some donation centers increase the amount they pay you depending on how many times you have donated. This is a good way to earn some gas money and actually make a difference.

Become a Temp Worker
If you really need some cash, why not work as a temporary employee? Most cities have a few temp agencies that work to help people find short-term work. This is perfect for times like summer holidays or when you can't seem to make ends meet.


Jill Hardy writes for UniversitiesOnline.net, a website that is geared toward helping students find all kinds of online programs, from criminal justice to nursing programs.

How to Become a Disciplined Saver and Still Live the High Life

How to Become a Disciplined Saver and Still Live the High Life

When you’re managing your financial life, you’re really balancing two problems: how to enjoy your life in the present, and how to save up for the future.  You may think these two goals are mutually opposed, since in order to enjoy life now, you necessarily have to spend money you then can’t save for the future.  In order to plan for the future, you must forego pleasures in the present.  While generally speaking this is true, there may be ways that you can save money in the present without sacrificing life’s fun activities.  It may just be a question of rethinking what it means to live the high life.

Think about how you define value for a moment.  Is value the price tag on an item you buy, or is it the amount of joy it brings into your life?  In our consumer culture, we are trained to think that what we should value is necessarily what costs more money—not necessarily what makes us happiest.  Do you spend a lot of money buying expensive designer clothing or handbags that are no higher in quality than products that cost less?  Do you spend a lot of money on a new car when an older used car might provide you with the same level of technology and sophistication?  

In order to live the high life and still save money, the first thing you need to do is train yourself to think differently about value.  You need to recognize that companies want your money—they don’t necessarily want you to be happy or successful or wealthy.  But if you want to be happy, successful, and wealthy, then you need to figure out what you really want and need in life.

Let’s take the example of a vehicle.  Lots of people think they need to have a new car—because new cars are the best, right?  Wrong; most brand new cars actually come with a number of quirks that need to be worked out. 

A used car that is several years old may actually offer you a better driving experience and require less work—and cost you a lot less.  Are you sacrificing anything in your lifestyle by giving up the new car and paying much lower installments on the car that is several years old?  In real terms, no—the only sacrifice is that you can no longer tell people you have a brand new car.

Another example is designer clothing.  While most designer clothing really is high in quality, you may be able to purchase the same level of quality in brands that are less famous.  You also may find designer clothing at a significant discount if you simply buy it used online or in a thrift store.  A lot of people give up their perfectly good clothing every year simply to have the newest thing.  That means you can wear that perfectly good clothing at a fraction of the price—even top designer brands you love.  Also consider that you may pay less for a custom-made, hand-tailored item by a boutique designer than you would for a mass-produced designer item.  Thus you can actually save money on a superior product.

Entertainment provides us with another great example.  Do you buy new videos and video games?  Why not simply buy used instead?  If you don’t mind a few dents in a package or scratches on a disc, you can pay a fraction of the price for your multimedia and enjoy the same quality—products that run without a problem that you can enjoy just as much.

These are just a few examples of how you can save money for the future without sacrificing your existing lifestyle—and you may even be able to make improvements to it.  Hopefully from these examples you can start to see how it works and come up with more ways you can save money.  Value doesn’t necessarily take the form of currency in our modern economy.  Figure out what makes you happy and what you enjoy, and then look for deals on those things.  You don’t always need the newest product to be happy—what you need is the best product, and the best value.


This guest post was written by John Szabo, a part time blogger, on behalf of Poundaccess. Poundaccess are a UK based company offering quick short term loans.