Smart Money Moves For Students

By Admin - November 29, 2020

If you want good financial habits, you must start developing them while you're in college. College is a time when most of our financial life is still in training wheels. If you live in campus housing and you are on the meal plan, your biggest financial line items are settled- Basic needs.This means that you're managing a budget far easier than it will be once you graduate. These are times you can set in stone good financial habits that will serve you well after graduation.
Here are six money tips I recommend everyone use but especially my college students.
1. Tighten Your Budget And Save Where You Can
The best thing you can do for yourself right now is make your money last and plan for the future. Especially if your summer internship or future job plans have fallen into limbo, now is the time to adjust your budget to match that reality.Focus on these three things when rethinking your budget:

1. Prioritize spending on essentials like food and housing. Plan several months ahead: there’s no telling how long quarantine will last. Use a notebook, spreadsheet, or budgeting app to keep track of your finances.

2. Don’t spend if you don’t have to! Specifically... Cut down on things you can live without: online shopping, subscriptions, luxuries, etc. Avoid traveling (you should be staying home anyway!).

3. Minimize eating out. Most food delivery costs 10cedis, minimum. If you’re ordering food daily, that’s at least 70cedis spent every week, for just a single meal. Cooking is more cost efficient. With the 70 cedis spent on delivery, you could probably feed yourself three meals a day from the grocery store, if you know how to shop frugally.
 

2: Slow Down With that Credit Card

This tip is all about minimizing your risk for the time being. Say you’ve been regularly using your credit card before quarantine, paying the full balance each month. Everything has been going fine, but then you get hit with an unexpected bill. Once you take care of that bill, will you have enough left to pay your credit card balance? 
If not, you’ll start to owe interest, which increases the total amount you pay for what you bought. And if you miss payments, you could face damage to your credit score. Even if you have an internship or job lined up right now that could provide some income in the future, it’s better to play it safe in the present. Things could change, and no matter what your situation becomes, credit card companies will still expect you to pay. Keep that balance as low as possible and only use your card if you have to.

 

3: Look for New Sources of Income

If you’ve lost upcoming opportunities, here are some things you can do right now for additional income.There are so many ways students can do it not even needing to move from their sofa. We have put together different ways to earn money.

Get a part time job

This is one of the easiest ways to earn a steady flow of income as a student as you know you are guaranteed to be paid! Try to look online for job vacancies in your local area, this is not only a good way to service your debts but also you can gain some highly regarded work experience.

Sell your old books 

The market for used books is hot right now, with more people spending time indoors and having time to read. Sites like BookScouter and others are great resources for selling used books (including textbooks). You could also look at more established marketplaces like Amazon. 

Publish a Kindle book

If you’re into writing then this one is definitely for you! You can write and publish a book on kindle and then sell it. You will get 70% of the profit! Also what is really good about selling it on Amazon is that they have a large market, so hopefully you will sell lots of copies of your books.

Get a side hustle

Consider a side gig if you’re willing and able. There are still a lot of businesses that have remained open and need workers. Some popular ones include food delivery services, grocery stores, and online tutoring sites. Of course, the main consideration here is your health and safety: if you do decide to work, make sure you have the right safety gear and are able to stick to social distancing guidelines. If you’re really strapped for cash, try alternatives like short-term loans. Many companies that offer such loans are aware of the needs of college students and may offer special plans for repayment.

Become A Virtual Assistant

Another great way to earn money online is to become a virtual assistant. A lot of people and businesses are looking to outsource “assistant-type” work, such as responding to emails, handling basic writing and organization, research tasks, and more. If you are looking to do this type of work online, consider becoming a virtual assistant and you could earn several hundred dollars or more per month.

Start A Blog Or Website

If you really want to make money online, you need to start a blog or website. This is your home-base for everything that you do online, and it, by itself, can turn into a hugely profitable venture. Forbes.com has has recorded thousands of bloggers earning a 6 figure income monthly that started in college. It's really easy to get started.

Become A YouTube Video Blogger

If you have a gift for video, becoming a YouTube blogger is a great way to earn extra cash. You get paid based on the advertisements displayed on your videos – so the more people that watch your videos, the more you get paid.It's estimated that video bloggers on YouTube get roughly $7.60 per each 1,000 views of their videos.

Become an influencer 

You already know that influencers can earn money from their social media channels, but how exactly do they do this? Do note that a certain degree of fame is essential to earn anything near substantial (they aren’t called “influencers” for nothing).Monetization varies greatly among influencers, and you’ll find that a lot make money through various income streams. One of the most common ways influencers do this is through affiliate marketing.A brand approaches influencers to promote its products on their page:

  1. When a customer purchases through the influencer’s affiliate link, the influencer gets paid accordingly. 
  2. Influencers can sign up for various affiliate platforms like FlexOffers or Maxbounty, who can connect them to a myriad of sponsors they can collaborate with.
  3. Influencers can also sign up for display advertising or get paid for sponsored posts. Students can try Woopro it's a new app developed in Ghana.


4: Continue the Job Hunt
Believe it or not, a lot of companies are still hiring. Coming out of quarantine with a job would be a huge bonus for your financial security. Now’s a great opportunity to brush up that résumé and practice interview skills, especially for phone and virtual interviews. In addition, you could get in touch with your school’s career advancement office to see whether any opportunities have become available. You can also continue the search online. Intern Queen is still here to help, as well as many other websites specifically geared toward helping college students.


5:  Learn How to Invest

Saving money will start your nest egg but investing will enable it to grow.Building wealth requires learning how to invest and you can do so with very little these days.While in college, if you have income, take advantage of Roth IRAs. They are tax-free retirement accounts that take post-tax money. Learn the ins and outs of investing using a Roth IRA but leave everything else for after graduation.

You are a student first but your education must include a little bit of how investing works. You'll be tempted by all the robo-advisors and alternative investments but avoid that temptation because it's adding complexity before you're ready.Just learn about the markets, how fees impact your investments, and stick primarily with funds inside a Roth.

6: Have Fun
Last but not least, remember that college is a time for you to try new things when you have very little at stake.Remember to have fun and graduate without any regrets. If you follow these simple financial tips, you won't have to worry about your money in the meantime.

 

The Smartest Money Move Is Being Proactive, Not Reactive

College students already deal with a lot, and quarantine has made life that much more complicated. I know that managing your finances seems like just another burden that you have to juggle, but it’s one of the most important things you can do for yourself right now. If you follow these recommendations, you’ll be better prepared for the present and poised to hit the ground running when things start normalizing.

  • Share:

You Might Also Like

4 comments

  1. Are there any materials like books or videos to help sustain less financial damage during this Corona period

    ReplyDelete
  2. You can try 'How To Save Money By Eliminating Spending Leaks' at Udemy.com

    A great post by the way

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks I looked it up and it was actually quite helpful 🙏

      Delete