This is mostly a parent-ward sort of business. It is not a catch 22. I mean you don’t (always) need money to get money. All you need is to be smart. Student life can be freaking boring without money. Like how do you even survive? How do you impress your crush? I remember sometime in level 200, I had requested for money from home and I never had it. Home was tight, chaley! My friends came and asked that we go to the movies that evening. OMG, are you guys kidding me already? Well, I didn’t go.
I browned. I told them I’d seen the trailer of the movie, it didn’t look too cool. Being broke as a student is the worst thing ever to happen to you. But anyway, thanks to me, I have developed up to 15 proven informal ways students can make money without any hard work. Check them up below.
- The Request.
Ordinarily, if you’re “privileged” to be educated, your parents/guardians should be able to provide financial support which eases your life on campus. In simple words, you have the right as a student to inform your parents when you’re (getting) broke. No two ways about that. Like yeah, you need some cash. However, sometimes “home” gets empty more than your frequent hungry soul. So, you know, chill it when you realize that. But anyway, keep the pressure to communicate your sense of seriousness about you being broke. Call anyone you can possibly reach at home to reach your parents. Don’t say you don’t want to worry them.
- Sick Money.
In the event where you happen to just accidentally blow all your money before the expected time frame, you need to do the sick-job. Whereas some parents would literally freak out when they hear their wards aren’t well, others may not bother that much. Especially as it may seem casual to them. Now the drill here is to inform them that you haven’t been well over the period and you used a chunk of your pocket money for that. This works most effectively for Tertiary students and a little bit more for Senior High School students. Not so fast, though. Make sure you don’t overdo it. Some parents are “formatters”. You can’t use this format in the often.
- Course Materials Money.
Perhaps the most commonly used format of all time. And this works well for both Tertiary and SHS students. Academic materials such as, Test books, Technical Tools, Note Books, Maths set, etc. are imperative when it comes to achieving academic excellence. I mean, you need these things (even though you aren’t really learning as expected) to make your grades which your parents/guardians are expectant of. So, go ahead, when you are broke, create that sense of urgency for a course material and make some free money. But again, in the event
where you actually need the course material you may only have to increase the price of it.
- Excursion Money.
To those of you whose parents are adventurous and like to explore, this works better for you. At certain times in the academic year, students are somewhat required to make trips, fun fairs, industrial visitations, etc. This a major avenue to genuinely make some free money from Mum and Dad. The drill is such that, you pre-inform them before you start asking for money. Give them a significant reason why you be part of it. Let them know it adds up to your academic score, for instance. Yes! Magic! It worked! Hahaha! But anyway, if there really is an excursion of a sort, you would only have to increase the trip fee. There you have it. Free money again. Wizkid (richest student) of all time.
- Feed Money.
This works for SHS student. Yeah. Sounds about right. Well, some parents get very cranky when it comes to feeding their children. They wouldn’t have their wards eat just anything at all. And this could be a major source of free money. Now, you don’t want to be broke, never! Okay. Here’s the thing. Tell Mum or Dad or both that, the dishes they make at dinning leaves you with runny stomach and you aren’t even able to go for class and that you’d want extra money to feed for some time. Make sure it worries them. “Run-sto” is relative. We all have foods that our tummies will react to individually, differently.
- Borrowing.
One honest thing about borrowing is that, the likelihood of you defaulting repayment is high. Mathematically, there is about a 99% chance that you won’t pay back. Now keep a record. Be like the Lannisters in “Game of Thrones”, they always defray their debts. Also, remember that the person you borrow from will definitely sell you out especially if you don’t repay on time. So yeah, go ahead, initiate a request from your rich friends with the amount you need. If they like you, they may even ask for help from others on your behalf when they are unable to help. When it’s approaching the repayment time, pay in bits, it’s better than none. Also, you can rob Peter to pay Paul. Borrow from another person to clear your debt from your creditors. Just, get ready for reputational damage, if anything goes wrong.
- Groupie.
With groupie, periodically (perhaps on a weekly basis) a group of like-minded individuals contribute money to one person of the group then it repeats and keeps rotating. For instance, if a group of 10 people contribute Ghc10/day, the lump sum for say a week (7 days) is Ghc700. This amount (Ghc700) is given to one of the group members. Consequently, at the end of the Week (7 days) a member gets his/her money (here Ghc700) then the process repeats until it reaches the last person of the group. This is one of the innovative ways you can make money. It is an internationally accepted financial breakthrough system. The catch here is, mobilise about 10 reliable people in your dormitory or say hostel or even your class. Yeah! Pitch to them. You guys are Millionaires already! You can start a business after school together or perhaps with your lamp sum.
- Fraternities (Best friend, Boyfriend, girlfriend, Uncle, etc.).
You may equally be earning some free money from your favourite persons. This works most of the times. Some people unlike me just meet very good people in their student times. Whilst some acquaintances may out of the blues surprise you with money and presents, some would equally do same upon requests. So, in the appropriate time, ask for it. The Bible even endorses asking. Matter of fact, your network is your net worth. Accordingly, make sure everyone of your fraternities count. The way you help them, they should do even more in return. Make some cash, dear!
- Bets/Organize Paying Competition.
For SHS students, I’m not talking about sports betting, not exactly. Now this is for risk takers. First off, try and organize some sort of competition. Say, a sports competition between two or more groups on Campus. For instance, Soccer games between General Arts, Business, Visual arts, and may be Science students. Ask them to contribute say a certain amount of money. Let them know whoever wins the tournament is given 90% of the money. Let them know the 10% is used settle referees and other things, like the organizers. Additionally, Tertiary Students can go sports betting. Myself, I won a lump sum of Ghc4300 from Superbet. One of my achievements so far in life. However, try not to be greedy.
- Sell/Rent Your Stuff.
For SHS students, one may ask what can you sell/rent for money. Well, what about that you have lost interest in? What of the extra school uniform or the second mobile phone you use? These are just some few mentions. But look into your archives, clothes, apparels, and other personal belongings. You’d sure find something you can list to your colleagues to buy. And of course, this really works effectively for Tertiary students too. The catch point here is to rent or sell your belongings you don’t regard most useful any longer, or depending on the situation, you may even dispose of your most valuable bonafide property for some cash. Meanwhile, don’t forget this is one of the avenues you can make money as a student. Tertiary Students could use e-commerce platforms like 4salegh.com to facilitate the sales if their items.
- Sell your Class Notes & Past Questions.
Here, just don’t give your notes out for free to “lazy” or perhaps “busy” students. During exam periods, these people will go to any length in search for course materials to study. So, make money from such individuals. However, for
Tertiary students, these days, most of the notes and reading resources are provided by lecturers in soft forms. This is quite a bummer. But, I have some good news. Print these handouts in a reasonable bulk and announce in your class group. You’d be surprised. Add your margin and make some extra cash. Thank me later.
- P2P Lending.
This is pretty simple. Peer-to-peer money lending is a form of borrowing people with money where they repay with interest. You can call it friendly loan or anything. You can have colleagues use their valuables like electronic gadgets, footwear, or anything that could validate their creditworthiness. Make some money, beeb.
- Club Money.
Clubs and associations on campus also add up to the very ways from which you can make money. All you need is to join a useful club or association on campus. Let your parents know the significance of these platforms. You can
easily make extra cash from your parents via club activities. For instance, when I was a member of Google Club on campus, we used to go for mobile application development lessons. I’d request for money to purchase tools for
the discourse (although I get some of them for free) from my parents. Now this is just an instance. It gets relative with the type of Club or Association you’re a member of. So, go ahead, and make some bucks.
- Establish an Association/Club.
Besides the above, you can as well become an executive member of a Club or create a club on campus; say a Computer Club, etc. and have your members pay dues. Make sure the club’s constitution allows for allowances for Club Executives.
- Teach Fo Da Money.
Otherwise, if you’re better at clarifying complex theories into simple consumables to colleagues, this is the time to make some extra cash as a student. Identify one of the courses your friends are bitterly complaining about. Device simpler ways to easily express complex terms, jargon, concepts, etc. And of course, you aren’t the only intelligent person; buy yourself a partner. Gather couple of your colleagues and charge them for the session. You could partner with someone influential (in anyway) who could help you mobilize the people. You guys go ahead and agree on a percentage.
Conclusion
Life is really tough after school. Don’t underestimate this cliché. Even for students with “rich homes” there this vibe from within which makes them want to make money on their own. Make your student life useful. Gather enough money from school with which you can establish a business. Buy valuable things you can easily trade-off for money in tough times. For those from “poor homes”, get a little entrepreneurial. Explore beyond academics. But again, remember this article is for educational purposes only. The author is not responsible for any consequences as a result of applying any of the above approaches. Hope they are useful, though.
Written by: Richard Macwoods Owusu
