During this pandemic, many of us have witnessed people losing their jobs which happened to be their mainstream of income. You may still be in college, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to set up other streams of income. The world is getting more expensive every year Student loans, medical bills, health insurance, dental care, and more are creeping upon us. Here are my suggestions on earning some extra cash.
#1: Investing in Stocks
I promise you, I’m not one of those Forex traders that pull you into an emotionally draining community that requires you to recruit. If you’re on social media at all, you’ve probably seen at least one person post about trading stocks. You probably saw the news about the GameStop stocks crashing a few weeks ago. I’m not a math person at all but I was attracted to the idea of stock trading. Trading stocks is a skill you learn and gets easier the more you learn. The way I learned to stock trade was from Lavish Life Academy. Lavish Life Academy is run by 23 year- old millionaire, Ruby Asabor. The academy is set up like an actual class. You take notes and study from pre-recorded videos and then take tests to make sure you know the information. You’ll “graduate” the academy before you officially start trading. The great thing with trading is that you can trade before class, before work, even before bed. In the 20 minutes, you spend on TikTok before class, you could be making some money that goes towards your rent. Just make sure to know your facts and don’t invest the money you don’t have. Say you invest $100 and trade until you have $200 in your trade account. Then you take out $100 and put that in your bank account. Now, you have essentially $100 of free money in your stock account to trade. Some user-friendly stock apps to download are Robinhood and Webull
#2: Create a Small Business
Small business ownership is gaining popularity If you have a passion for something, then you can turn it into a profit. It can go from selling stickers to original artwork to clothes. My friend Isabel, a fellow HPU student, opened an Etsy shop called Bell’s Blue World where she sells marine animal stickers, pins, and t-shirts. 1% of the profits are even donated to marine conservation. She opened her shop in January and has gotten over 160 orders already! Another HPU shark is Mia. She also happens to a fellow Her Campus member. She runs an Etsy shop called StiickWithMi where she sells planning pages, stickers, and tote bags. When starting a small business you learn independence, control, opportunities, and of course financial gain. I know some of you have a passion inside you that can be turned into a business. Maybe your skill is baking. Baking sweets seems to do well here on the island. I’ve bought sweets from a lot of people on the island.
#3: Teaching English/Fiverr
If you’re looking for a possible minimum wage job that can be done from the comfort of your home then you should consider teaching English to children online. Specifically, children from China are always looking to learn English. Through Qkids and Cambly, you can teach English online to children ages 4 to 12. Qkids offers a pay rate of $16-$20 an hour. Cambly offers a pay rate of $10.20 per hour. You can fit this into your schedule between classes. This is a great opportunity for education majors as well. Even if you’re not looking into being an educator in the future, this is still a great opportunity. Another similar app is Fiverr. On Fiverr, you can sell your services for a set rate. If you want to teach English to adults rather than children, Fiverr is the platform for you. You can also engage in creative projects such as making Youtube thumbnails to Spotify playlists or resume writing for people. Your rate normally begins at $10 (per project? hour?) and grows as you gain popularity. The options on Fiverr are endless and offer ample streams for creativity.
As we get older financial security becomes a necessity. Having multiple streams of income allows you to more easily have an emergency savings fund for unexpected rainy days. A variety of passive and active income streams is critical to achieve financial freedom and build a safety net. These tips can be easily incorporated into your student schedule to allow for flexibility and maximum results with a minimal time commitment. With the right balance of income streams, you too can achieve financial freedom.