Hey guys!
Being short on change is unavoidable as a student. Government loans barely cover accommodation, let alone food and going out, and most parents don't have enough money to spend on their children's education. Fortunately, the Internet has made it easier to make money in your spare time, without having to go through the lengthy process of finding a job. These range from selling old things to appearing on TV.
1. Surveys
Filling out online surveys may be tedious, but it can often be rewarding. Surveys are a great way of earning a few pounds whenever you have a spare moment. There are plenty of website that give you points for completing surveys, and you can exchange these for vouchers or cash. I personally like
Inbox Pounds and
Swagbucks. Doing lots of surveys is time-consuming and repetitive, so both websites offer other ways of earning money, including playing games, searching the web, and watching videos.
2. Trading
Trading requires a lot of patience and determination, but you can earn hundreds if you keep at it - just like my friend. It's also much quicker than things like doing surveys and writing articles. However, trading can be risky, so don't invest any money into it that you can't afford to lose. Check out
Plus500 or
eToro.
3. Blogging
Fancy being the next
Victoria Magrath or
Anna Gardner? Why not set up your own blog? (I'm sure that if you're reading my post, you probably have a blog already!) You can write about pretty much anything, not just fashion and make-up, and make a bit of cash too. If you have a reasonable number of readers, you can sign up to Google AdSense, which pays you when people click on the ads on your blog. Occasionally, you might be offered a sponsored post, but these are rare and sometimes only available to the owners of self-hosted blogs.
Hannah Gale and
Amy have written handy guides on how to make money as a blogger.
4. Freelancing
Assuming you're already a blogger, you must have
some writing skills. So why not put these skills into use and write articles for clients on websites such as
Freelancer and
Upwork? It's great practice for anyone wanting to go into journalism or full-time blogging. As a freelancer, you pretty much have the freedom to change whatever you want - within reason, of course! When you've got enough articles under your belt, you can pitch ideas to magazines and newspapers
(I'm not quite at that stage yet, although I do have a few ideas).
5. Be an extra
If you appear in the background of a TV show or film, you can earn around £80-100, which is roughly the same as what you would get if you did a day's work in a shop or restaurant. While there is a lot of waiting around involved in being an extra, you don't need any acting experience. Try casting agencies such as
Be On Screen and
Universal Extras, which has been set up specifically for students.
6. Sell things online
Got a load of clothes, books and DVDs you no longer want? It's worth selling them on
eBay or
Amazon. An alternative is
Depop, which is a useful app for selling old clothes, and it doesn't take long to sign up to.
7. Become a tutor
By the time you reach university level you must be knowledgeable in at least a few subjects, so it might be a good idea to teach one - or two - to younger students. Some tutors are paid around £10 an hour, although this varies depending on experience. Sign up to
Keystone Tutors or
Bright Young Things to get started.
8. Take part in psychology experiments
This may seem scary at first, but it's actually quite enjoyable. Many university psychology departments need students to take part in experiments. These typically involve completing surveys and doing other tasks, and they last from 15 minutes to 2 hours. At my university, you get paid £6 per hour to do experiments, and you can do a few each week.
9. Become a brand ambassador
Companies such as Innocent Smoothies, Spotify and Smirnoff give students the opportunity to enhance their CV and earn an extra income by promoting their products. It's the perfect job for anyone who is really sociable and good at networking. You also need to be passionate about the brand you are working for Brand ambassadors tend to go on to work in PR, events or marketing.
10. Listening to music
Believe it or not, you can actually earn money by listening to music! I recently signed up to
SlicethePie, which is a brilliant website for discovering new songs. SlicethePie has also recently introduced a fashion section. You get paid to review these songs and items of clothing, although it is only a few pennies per review, so don't expect to get rich quickly. You are able to receive a payment once you reach £10.
My referral code is
U1B454E1.
Do you make money in your spare time? Do you use any of the methods I have mentioned?
Hasta luego!
Serena
