Bears’ Beat Report: Pocket Money

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Many college students have jobs. The income from those jobs could go towards their school tuition and fees, their groceries, or their wardrobe. However, some students, for a myriad of reasons, don’t have to ability to get a steady job. So, I’ve compiled a list of ways that you can get a little bit of extra cash.

First, we have Uber and Lyft. If you meet the requirements for these companies, you can start driving people around for money. This gig lets you set your own hours, so you can work when you’re able, and you don’t have to worry about scheduling conflicts. If you want, you can just work nights and weekends, except that one night where you have a test you forgot to study for. With these options, no one is going to yell at you for not working those nights.

Next, you can donate plasma, a component of your blood. The first time you donate plasma, it can take about three hours, and every other visit takes about half that time. The facility compensates you for your time with a pre-paid debit card. Also, your plasma can help save lives. It’s a pretty cool win-win situation.

If you’re more of an artsy person, you can sell your work online on websites like Etsy or Redbubble. To learn more about that process, I talked to Ali Austin, an artist on campus who runs an online store.

 

“I sell things on Redbubble, which is an independent artist design store on the internet. So, how that works for me is, I draw things and then upload them to the website. The website will print them onto shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, whatever, and so when people buy that, the store itself takes care of printing and shipping everything, which means if someone pays for something that’s five dollars, I get fifty cents of it, but for the amount of effort I’m putting in, I’ll take my fifty cents,” says Ali Austin.

 

Another way to grab a little extra cash is to find some kids or dogs to look after. Babysitting can be a great gig if it fits your personality, and if you can make chicken nuggets. Parents, of both the child and dog variety, will sometimes pay a hefty amount of money for you to chill in their house and entertain their dependents.

 

The last idea I had was for the readers and writers among us. College exists, and that means people are writing papers all the time. All around us. Every day. If you are good at grammar and have afternoons with no plans, offer to proofread and edit someone’s paper for a fee. Just make sure you don’t do anything that could be considered cheating! I’m not taking the fall for you if you get accused of plagiarism.

 

Finding simple ways to get spending money can seem impossible, but if you look at things creatively, I’m sure you can find an interesting way to make a few bucks.