Picture this: you’ve had a rough week with classes and all you want to do is get your mind off of school this Friday night. Your friends decide to get food and go see a movie or go shopping, and you are ecstatic to go out and do something with them. You look in your wallet and, sadly, you find just $3. You have to cancel on your friends and are stuck in your dorm while your friends are out having a great time. Although you might enjoy being in your dorm, there are some easy ways to avoid this if you aren't thrilled to be in your room on a Friday night.
1. Find a job
The easiest solution may seem like getting a job. While this is a surefire way to earn some extra spending cash, many students have trouble finding a job that will work around their class schedule. Finding an on-campus job can help out tremendously because the campus will know to work around your school schedule. For College of Charleston students, the Cougar Career Center is a great place to start. Here, students can find the link to CougarJobLink in MyCharleston, which is where you can apply to campus jobs online. These listed jobs include working as a Desk Attendant and a Resident Assistant, but there are plenty of other options, too.
2. Apply for scholarships
If you can’t seem to obtain a job or if there are no jobs available, apply for scholarships. There are many scholarships to apply for in order to help pay your college tuition. Even if your parents are paying your tuition, getting scholarships will help them pay, so they may give you some extra spending money.
3. Remember that a job where you can pick your hours is a good job
Get a job where you can pick your hours. This could include babysitting, pet-sitting, or even driving for Uber if you have a car. Charleston is a very diverse city, so there are many opportunities for odd jobs. Check around campus or the city to see if there are any odd jobs you can do to earn some extra cash. There are bound to be parents or siblings in need of babysitters in your classes, so offer to accept the job. A lot of students that live off-campus have pets, so if they work or travel, they might need someone to check in on their pets from time to time. In a metropolitan area like Charleston, there is a high demand for Ubers, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
4. Sell your old textbooks
Let’s face it: everyone has a few textbooks laying around that they don’t use. Textbooks can be expensive, so selling unwanted or unnecessary textbooks to a bookstore or online can be a substantial way to earn extra money.
5. Try tutoring
If you really excel in a class, ask your professor if there is anyone that might be interested in finding a tutor. Tutoring in classes that you have previously taken and received a high grade in is a wonderful job to obtain. Talk to the professor that you had for that class to see if they know of any opportunities for you to tutor other students.
6. Write for an online publication
At least if you write for Odyssey, you can receive 15,000 views on an article and earn $20. This might seem impossible, but if you share your article enough and you get your friends and family to share it on social media, you have a higher chance of getting a wealth of views.
7. Make a conscious effort to save money
Saving money is also a great thing to do. I know that a lot of us feel tempted to spend money on food, Starbucks and other unnecessary things, and sometimes it is okay to treat yourself, but I find that I spend money much too readily. An easy, yet effective, way to save money is to have a box, jar or even just an envelope and place every $5 bill that comes into your possession into it. After a few months, you will have an abundance of money.
Sometimes when you want to do something with your friends, you are unable to due to your lack of money. Sound familiar? These tips will help you earn and save money so that you don't have to be in a situation similar to the one I've described.
