Clever Ways to Maximize Your Earnings in College [7 Ideas]

It's tough to hold down a job while you're in school, but you do need money. Check out these seven clever ways to maximize your earnings while in college.

As a college student, making ends meet can be rough. Not only do you have a big loan hanging over your head, but you still need to eat and hopefully have some fun!

That said, there are only so many hours in the day. And if you already have a part-time job and a full load of classes …

How can you fit in another job without risking low grades or lack of sleep?

You’ll be happy to know that we’ve compiled a list of seven side hustles. Use these in college to boost your money flow without taking too much time away from the necessary things. (Like sleep and studying.)

1. Rent Anything

As a college student — your days are full. There are plenty of things that you own that are probably sitting unused during your college days.

These belongings don’t have to sit and collect dust. Use them as a way to make some side money while you are away at college.

Not only is this a relatively risk-free way to make some extra cash, but it takes very little time out of your schedule to do it.

You should have a contract that you have signed before handing over your goods or stick to renting to those you know and trust.

Your Car

Your car can be a great income source if you are one of the only students on campus that has one.

Many times, if you are going to a college or university in the city, students won’t bring their cars because it costs too much to park.

If you live close by, you have an advantage. You can rent out your car for these students when they want to take an excursion out of town or to pick up and drop off family from the airport.

Make sure that your insurance will cover all drivers in your car to keep from being liable for any accidents that may happen.

Activities

Another thing that usually sits in the attic while students are away at college are activities that they used to enjoy.

Think about some things that you have that could be potentially rentable. Things like bikes, camping gear, instruments, and sporting gear are all viable options.

Your Clothes

There are many occasions that people don’t want to spend the money to buy clothes, but opt to rent them instead.

If you already own clothing that matches these occasions, you can use them as a source of income.

Clothing to rent includes a prom dress, tuxedo, wetsuit, and some high-end brands.

• com– If you think this is a great idea, you should check out this website. You can list your belongings here to reach a wider audience.

2. Scholarship Competitions

One way to potentially make some extra money for your college days is to enter scholarship competitions.

It's surprising how many scholarship competitions are available each year to college students. And, unfortunately, many aren’t well known and attract very few entrants.

This is good news for you, however, because that means you have more of a chance at winning the competition.

To find a scholarship competition that you can apply for, search through this online scholarship database from BigFuture.

3. Shopping Rebates

This might sound like a waste of time, but many people make a lot of money looking for ways to save on things that they already buy.

Of course, we know that some college students aren’t into clipping coupons, but most use apps daily!

There are so many apps that you can use to get shopping rebates based on the items that you buy. Here are a few of the most popular:

• Ibotta- This app gives you money back into your bank account or PayPal for buying items and sending a picture of your receipt. It usually takes a couple of days to process, and once you’ve reached a certain amount of money, you can transfer for payment.
• Ebates- This is an app that automatically gives you money back for purchases made through the app.
• Checkout51- This app is very similar to Ibotta. Using both apps will help you get the most money back for your groceries since they will have different items with rebates.
• Shopkick- This app rewards you just for walking into a store! They will also reward you for scanning barcodes and purchases. You get points for each action, and you can redeem these for gift cards.
• TopCashBack- This app will find any cashback or coupon code available for your in-app purchases.
• Seated- This app rewards you for making reservations at restaurants all over the country. Once you arrive at the restaurant, you can take a picture of your receipt, and you will get credit for up to 30% of your meal. Nothing better than free money for food!

4. Monetize Your Designs

If you consider yourself a creative person, you can make money from your talents. Some websites will allow you to post your designs and make them available for t-shirts, on mugs, or posters.

A few of the top websites include Cafe Press, Design by Humans, and 99 Designs.

You can make them funny or match the college culture and sell them to your friends.

You might have a knack for this kind of thing, and the best thing about it is that you only have to make the design once, and you can keep making money from it.

5. Be an Influencer

Are you a trendsetter? Do you like to find new and exciting things and share them with others?

You can make money by being an influencer.

If you have a pretty good social media following, companies will pay you to promote their product. Of course, your following and social media presence will go a long way to making you a valuable asset to some brands.

If you already have a passion for a particular brand, you can contact them and ask to be an influencer.

6. Create Online Content

Nowadays, everyone is trying to make money online and for a good reason. There are so many opportunities to make money from the world wide web.

You can start a blog, YouTube channel, website, or online course. The key is to find a way to monetize this content.

Whether you make money from pay per click ads or selling a product, online content is a definite potential moneymaker if you do it right.

7. Sell, sell, sell!

You might consider yourself to be without assets, but in reality, everything you own is worth something to somebody. Selling your belongings can help you make ends meet in college.

You can sell your hair to wig makers. If you have long, healthy hair and wouldn’t mind a shorter cut, this is a quick way to make some extra cash.

If you have a bunch of old clothes in your closet, dust them off and sell them online with apps like Mercari and Poshmark.

Something that is always in demand at college is old textbooks. Once you have finished the semester, sell your books to others for a fraction of what the college bookstore would charge.

If you have an eye for photography, you can make money selling stock photos on websites like iStock and Shutterstock.

All you gamers out there, you can sell your old video game accounts that you don’t use anymore. It may surprise you how much someone is willing to pay for a game account that has an already built up inventory and achievements.

Conclusion

Most of the things on this list require very little extra time, and you can do them all without great effort.

Hopefully, you’ve gained a bit of hope in making extra money this semester through one or more of these ideas. Now, get out there and make that green! 

[Author bio]

Ryan Sundling is a Group Marketing Manager at Cardinal Group Management. He has over ten years of experience in the student housing industry and works with The Union at Auburn on a daily basis to help them with their marketing efforts.