It’s almost impossible to meet a college student without a job. Even kids of rich families take odd jobs here and there for extra money. But if you are hell-bent at fulfilling all your college requirements and graduating on time, you have to pour all your time into researching, studying, and taking as many college units as you can. It isn’t always ideal to work while studying in college. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways for college students to save some cash without necessarily working.
Become a Trader
Even during these uncertain times, the stock market is brimming with hope. You can start investing in the stock market and earn from the dividends of the company. You can sell the shares you bought at a low price when they start to rise. You don’t need a lot to start investing. Plenty of people started with a little over $200 to their names. You can find a good system that works for you.
Do you know that you can start trading in foreign exchange for as little as $5? That will open an account for you. Since you’re always busy with school, you can work with trustworthy ECN brokers. These are forex brokers who use electronic communications networks (ECNs) to give their clients access to the whole currency markets. The use of ECN is especially useful for traders and investors who cannot trade during normal market hours.
Start a Dropshipping Business
What are the benefits of a dropshipping business? One, you don’t need to buy inventory. Two, you don’t need to store the inventory. And three, you don’t even have to worry about shipping the items to your customers. In dropshipping, you act as the middleman between the manufacturer and the customer. The prices of products in a dropshipping business are considerably lower because the customers are buying directly from the manufacturers.
In this type of business, you are facilitating the sale. You’re the recipient of the order, which you will then pass to the manufacturer. The producer of the goods will send the items directly to the customers under your name. You can a commission for every sale you close.
Monetize a Craft
Do you have an artistic flair? If you can create jewelry, painting, calligraphy, and embroidery, you can sell those items on a website or social media. Storefronts such as Etsy and eBay also welcome home-based sellers like you. With the use of social media, it’s easy enough to advertise your skills and products. You can even offer customization services to your clients.
Your $50 can go a long way toward buying the supplies you need to start a calligraphy business. Personalized products have a huge markup and people are usually willing to pay the high costs of the products and services. The only thing you should worry about when monetizing a craft is the time it takes you to finish and deliver the products.
Build a Website
This takes skills, time, and a bit of capital. You can start a website for user-generated content around the campus. The students can leave reviews about cafeteria food, coffee shops, bookstores, laundromats, and other products and services on the campus. The great thing about this is you only have to set up the website and wait for the users to generate the content that web visitors will see.
So how do you profit from this? Eventually, local and small businesses would want to partner with you. The site will earn from affiliate marketing. If you can grow your followers on social media, you could become an influencer and earn from promoting brands that you trust.
Use Your Car
Once the threat of the coronavirus subsides, you can start offering chauffeur services again. People don’t use new cars for random deliveries because these can rack up the car’s mileage. They can reduce the value of the car faster. However, college students usually drive used and secondhand cars. They are the perfect vehicles to make more money in college.
You can join app-based services that will pay you to pick up and deliver items. You can drive people to and from their work when you are free. Popular apps for college students are Intact, DoorDash, Postmates, UberEats, and Grubhub.
There are plenty of ways to make money in college without needing to work as a full-time or part-time employee. By using your skills and maximizing what you already know, you can save money for books, medical expenses, and leisure activities. Getting your degree on time will open up a lot of opportunities for you.
