College Campuses Closed, Now What? 19 Ways For Students to Make Extra Cash At Home
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Since colleges around the nation moved to online-only courses, it’s a huge change for both students and teachers. Depending on your learning style, online classes can take some getting used to.
Most students have also moved back home as well and with the uncertainties of daily life now, one thing is for sure, making extra money however you can, even when you’re stuck at home can be vital to you and your family.
All you need is reliable internet and a smartphone or laptop. We go over our favorite ways for students to make money, even while at home.
1. Invest in the Precious Metal Industry with Just $5. No Experience Necessary.
Investing doesn’t have to be complicated nor be expensive. You know you should start, but where to begin? How about investing in a material that’s been around since ancient times? Yep, gold.
There’s a reason why people buy gold (coins, bricks, etc) because it tends to shine whenever there’s political, economic, or financial unrest.
But there’s an easier way to invest in gold, digitally, via Stash, a microinvesting app that lets you invest with as little as $5 and takes less than 2 minutes to get started. They’ll even give you $10 to start investing.
They offer thousands of investments which include stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (“All That Glitters” is the gold ETF). You’ll get to choose where to put your money based on things like your personal beliefs, interests, and goals. Their newest feature, Stock-BackⓇ rewards1 lets you invest in brands you spend on with the Stash debit card.2 Purchased something at Amazon? Earn Amazon stock rewards. It’s like cash back but with stock!
Since paper money loses value over time, consider investing in gold, which is obviously popular as jewelry but is also widely used in dentistry and industrial electronics!
2. Play New Games and Earn Branded Gift Cards
The more you play, the more rewards and gift cards you can get. That’s the gist of Mistplay, an app where you can try out new Android games to earn units/gems and make optional in-app purchases. Redeem units/gems for real gift cards, including Uber, VISA, Spotify, and more!
Play as many games as you want since you can earn more gift cards that way. Plus, there’s nobody to compete against! New members get a BONUS of 200 points just for signing up.
And yes, it’s legit and already has 10M+ downloads. Download the app for free and start racking up those gift cards!
3. Get Free Money Back on All Your Shopping Hauls
Check your pockets; check your purse. And keep receipts for your iPhone.
Just grab all your recent receipts from your coffee runs, grocery trips, restaurants, and gas station fill-ups, scan them into Fetch Rewards on iOS, and earn points for free money! Connect your email account, as well, to count DIGITAL receipts from Amazon, Instacart, and more.
Basically, snap a pic of your receipt from anywhere, and that’s it; you’ve got points for money. There’s no minimum spend, no need to select items manually, scan in any receipt from any store or gas station, and it’ll automatically reward you.
It’s free and easy to use and is a must-have iOS app for anyone who buys stuff!
4. Get Paid Up to $225/Month While Watching Viral Videos and Taking Fun Surveys
Founded in 2000, Inbox Dollars has been paying customers for their opinions for over 22 years and counting! They are one of the most trusted survey sites with fun, multiple ways to earn extra cash that set them apart.
“Fast and easy. Love that I can cash out to my PayPal and easily transfer money to my bank account.” – Tefanie P
Take surveys, watch videos, play games, and even read emails for extra cash. Who wouldn’t want to watch viral videos for money and get paid up to $225/month?
Inbox Dollars is a great platform to make a little side money. It’s free to sign up, so give it a try today!
5. Empower Yourself Financially, Especially for Women
Whether you think about it or not, there are important realities in a women’s life.
Gender pay gaps where women make less than men, career breaks where women’s earnings drop significantly after having a child,(*) and longer than average lifespan meaning women need more money to live.
That’s why it’s vital to save for retirement and invest, especially if you’re female and why
Ellevest exists, an investment service and money membership created by and designed for women.
Men and those that identify as non-binary are welcome to join as well but it’s the first company to take on women’s unique set of obstacles when constructing an investment portfolio.
With affordable flat monthly fees starting at $1 and maxing at $9, you can be sure that your financial health is taken care of with personalized retirement planning (Plus and Executive memberships), investments with no asset management fees outside of your membership fee, and discounted sessions with career coaches and financial planners. Membership also includes an Ellevest debit card,* which gives you the option to round up spare change to help you save further** as well as unlimited ATM fee refunds.***
With the current world events, it’s even more important to make sure that your “future you” will be comfortable, so take advantage of the first free month and see how it can help you.
6. Federal Student Loans are Paused But the Best Time to Pay is Now
Student debt in the U.S. totals more than $1.5 trillion and is one of the biggest consumer debt categories since it affects more than 44 million Americans.*
And even though Federal student loan payments are paused and most interest rates are set to 0% via the CARES Act through September 30, 2020, the best time to pay is during this temporary relief period if you can. That’s because however much you send will basically double the payment impact as 100% goes straight towards the principal balance.
You can use FutureFuel to make it easier. It’s a personalized Financial Health platform that’ll help save time and money off your student debt and on average, members save $15,000 off their debt plus shave off 4 years of payment!
Utilize their valuable Round Up feature, which sweeps your spare change directly to your student loans as extra payments. As well as the Giveback feature, where you can earn up to 30% cash back on everyday purchases from 450+ popular brands to use towards your loans!
Give yourself peace of mind and you could shave an average of $15,000 off your loans. We think that’s worth it and it takes less than a minute to connect your loan(s).
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