5 simple ways to earn money from home for students
According to a recent UCAS report, the average student spends £247 per week, not including rent. During Freshers week this amount climbs to over £400.
University life is not cheap and with food, textbooks and nights out to be paid for, money is easily spent. Understandably, many students experiencing life away from home for the first time often struggle when it comes to money management.
Creating a budget and learning to manage money is a crucial skill that will help their money go further. But there are also some simple ways to earn extra cash from the comfort of their own home.
Sell clothes online
One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure as the saying goes, or put another way, one man’s laundry can be surprisingly valuable.
There are lots of websites out there to choose from when it comes to selling secondhand clothes online. Ebay, Depop, Etsy, Vinted, ASOS Marketplace and Preloved are just some of the places to try.
If you can’t bear to part with those ripped jeans or faded t-shirt then don’t worry. Scouring charity shops for bargain branded or vintage items and selling them online can also be a great money earner.
Online surveys
The best thing about online surveys is that anyone can do it. All you have to do is be yourself and answer the questions – there are no wrong answers to worry about here.
With companies eager to reduce advertising costs and better target their products, your opinion is valuable. Simply sign up with an online survey site such as Free Money and you’ll get surveys in your inbox.
Sites vary in the number of surveys they send out and how long they take to complete. Typically, they range from 10 to 20 minutes to complete.
Every completed survey is rewarded with points which are redeemed for money or gift cards once a certain number of points is reached. Basically, the more surveys you do, the more you’ll earn.
Earn cashback
Cashback is a way of earning a percentage of the purchase price back as cash. Some purchases are unavoidable so the chance to earn cashback on these items is a real bonus.
There are several cashback sites to choose from, but the main ones are TopCashback and Quidco.com. They offer the best cashback rates, a wide selection of retailers and exclusive deals.
While the savings can be small on some items, the amount soon adds up. Offers on Broadband and utility suppliers can be particularly impressive.
Sell photos
Budding photographers can sell their photos to stock photography websites who sell them on to publishers and newspapers amongst others.
Websites like Stockimo pay around 20% per photo sold, but rates vary from site to site. It’s well worth checking out the popular Adobe Stock and Getty Images too.
This isn’t for everyone, and earnings can be small, but some pictures sell for hundreds of pounds. Taking photos of subjects that have fewer search results, but you think might have high demand can be a good idea too.
Do your research, see what’s selling or trending in the news and get snapping.
Go freelance
Fiverr is the world’s biggest marketplace for people looking to make money selling small services or ‘gigs’. Services people can offer range from translation, social media posts, writing blogs, scripts and more.
The default price is set at $5 but extra services can be attached to gigs to earn more money. It may not seem much, but it soon adds up, and lots of people manage to make a living this way.
With some experience, the amount of time spent on each gig will reduce, upping earning potential.
Student life
One of the most important lessons of student life is learning to budget and manage money effectively. But with lots of ways available for students to make extra cash, that budget has the potential to grow even bigger.
