Hello, fellow broke student! Already, you might be thinking, “Woah, how does she know I’m not rolling in dough?” Truth is, the fact that you clicked on this article is a major hint.
Welcome back to school, a money (and sometimes soul) sucking enterprise. I know I’m feeling the pressure already to squirrel away my cash and protect it. Like many students, I worked my butt off during the summer… Just to watch my hard-earned cash deplete bit by bit throughout the remainder of the school year. One month in, and major monetary dents have been made. I digress…
Are you sick of cycling from a steady paycheck to a slow financial crisis year after year? I know I am. That’s why I finally said “F*ck it!” and developed a side-hustle, and you should too.
A side hustle is any sort of activity that brings you extra income in addition to what you do full-time, whether it be working or living the student life. For example, I’m taking 5.0 courses, volunteering with a handful of extracurriculars, playing sports and maybe even socializing once in a while… But none of those activities bring in the cash! So, I set up a writing business and now I have a successful side hustle. I’m making money in addition to my full-time gigs of school and building my resume. Score. Not convinced yet? Allow me…
Reason 1) Control Over Your Finances
We all have a set amount of money that is dedicated to life’s essentials—rent, tuition, groceries, textbooks and similarly unexciting items. It can make you feel out of control—like there’s no room for fun without dipping into funds that are needed for other, more important things. For example, rent is kind of non-negotiable.
Once you earn some extra income, you can try stretching your summer paychecks for the essentials, but keep your side hustle cash for the extras in your life. For me, this looks like treating myself to a few fancy grocery ingredients I wouldn’t normally get or buying a new book I’ve been meaning to read. How you choose to splurge could be even more exciting—if so, let me know and I’ll live vicariously through you.
Reason 2) Be Your Own Boss
Don’t want to work for one week? Don’t. Want to work a lot during a slow week? Do it. Dealing with a crappy client? Drop them. Want to get paid more? Raise your rates. There is so much freedom that comes with a side hustle. You have control over your hours, clients, payment and type of work that you do.
For example, my side hustle is writing. I don’t work when school is too busy and I get to work with recurring clients who I have great working relationships with. Oh, and I get to set my own rate. It’s essentially a dream student job.
Reason 3) It’s Accessible
All you need to do is identify your marketable talent, set up a site or register on a platform, and start snagging clients. This allows you to avoid lengthy application processes where you’re forced to sit through a handful of different interviews, go through training and then start work—meaning it can take months to get to actual work (aka money). Not to mention, it can take ages just to get one interview.
With a side hustle, you can just bypass the whole job search and application process. You only need to set yourself up, at your own pace. It can take a day or a month, it’s up to you. And yes, it’s honestly that easy.
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- 19 Ways To Start Your Semester Off Right
- 5 Things Working Students Know
- Budget Friendly Ways to Continue Enjoying Life in Second Semester
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