At some point, most of us have Googled “How to earn money online,” “how to earn money as a teenager” or “how to earn money taking surveys.” And, if you’re like me, you got overwhelmed by the sheer number of search results. Everything from walking your neighbor’s dog to selling lemonade or watching short paid videos may have come up.
But most of these ideas are quite time-consuming and/or reap very few rewards for your time. Over the past two years, I’ve tried out several different ways to save and earn a little money in college, and these are my ten favorite tips that 1) don’t involve getting a part or full-time job, and 2) have actually saved or earned me money! Let’s start with tips that (in my opinion) are easiest, and progress to ones that will take more thought and planning to practice.
- Focus on Your Why-Power & Make It Visible
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Why do you want to save money? Do you need it for rent or bills? Do you want to have extra cash for a weekend getaway? Are you trying to save up for your future education, a place you want to live someday, a grandiose vacation, or another major life event? Whatever your reason is, own it and state it clearly! Write it down somewhere that you will see it to keep yourself going. By working towards your personal goals, you invest in yourself and your future, and you keep yourself motivated!
- Take a Breath & Think Hard Before Making That Impulse Purchase
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Let me set the scene: I’m in Forever 21 with a group of friends. I see an adorable sweater. I am a sucker for adorable and fuzzy sweaters. I spend the next 10 minutes deliberating if I should get it and ask one of my friends for advice. He wisely says, “If you can’t decide whether or not to buy it, you probably shouldn’t.” Mic drop.
I was blown away by how short but wise that statement was (and I did not buy the sweater!). I still hold to that principle – if you can’t decide to buy something, do you really want it enough to purchase it? Ask yourself how you will feel about buying this item three months, six months, or a year after the purchase. Once the initial glamour has worn off, and the item has been removed from its aesthetic packaging (I also love shiny packages), do you think you’ll be as thrilled with it as you are in your imagination right now? So many of my own purchases have not lived up to my expectations, and if I could go back in time, I would definitely save my money and walk away from the checkout lane.
- Create No-Spend Days or No-Spend Weekends
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Some people are successful when they set aside specific days or weeks on the calendar when they won’t purchase particular items, won’t eat out, etc. If you’re someone who is overwhelmed with the idea of strict budgets, try carving out a couple of days a week where you don’t spend. I’ve seen super pretty habit trackers and budget trackers that make it fun to plan no-spend days!
- Create an Email Account for Rewards Programs
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Transitioning into some actual money-saving tips now! I never used to sign up for rewards programs because I didn’t want to be spammed with Bath & Body Works emails in my regular email account. When I started college, I made an email account specifically for rewards and used it to sign up for anything and everything – online newsletters for my favorite brands, rewards programs for restaurants, etc. I’ve scored a couple of freebies, especially on my birthday, and the best part is that I can quickly skim through the emails in the rewards inbox to look for anything worth using.
- Use Coupons & Rebates on Groceries
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There are several ways to save money on groceries! If you shop consistently at a specific store, sign up for the store’s email list or rewards program and keep an eye out for bargains. Or you can pick up the coupon fliers that most stores keep at the entrance.
Also, you can stack store-specific coupons with offers that are non-specific. For instance, apps like Ibotta, Fetch Rewards, Shopkick and Merryfield offer cash rebates or “points” on your purchases. These rebates or points can be cashed out directly to PayPal or redeemed for a gift card depending on the app’s policies. Also, websites like the Krazy Coupon Lady can keep you up to date on recent coupons and deals!
Here’s an example of coupon stacking: You might find your favorite snack bars (regularly $5) are $2 off through an in-store discount. You add an Ibotta rebate for $1.50 back on each box and end up spending $1.50 instead of the regular $5 price.
A final tip – my favorite rebate apps are Ibotta and Merryfield. You can link them up to your store account so rebates are applied automatically (no need to take pictures of receipts to prove your purchase)!
- Purchase & Sell Used Textbooks
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While you can purchase a used book from Amazon or a similar seller, I’ve found that it’s a better deal to buy directly from the book owner. For instance, I monitor the Facebook page for UCF students in my same program, and I’ve bought so many books that cost upwards of $80 for only $20 or $25. It’s a huge discount for me, but it’s also a great deal for the person selling the book, since most buy-back book programs pay barely anything when you sell your books to them.
- Switch To Shampoo & Conditioner Bars
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Not only does this save money, but it’s also an eco-friendly choice! One shampoo bar is the equivalent of 2-3 shampoo bottles depending on the brand. I purchased my first shampoo bar in November and just now finished it up in late February. Normally, I would have gone through at least five shampoo bottles in that time (my hair is thick and seems to absorb shampoo).
A side benefit is that if you fly, you can take your shampoo and conditioner bars with you without worrying about tiny travel-friendly bottles.
P.S. — my favorite brand right now is Ethique! They have a range of shampoo, conditioner and deodorant bars in multiple scents, and their brand’s mission is to reduce plastic waste.
- Buy Second-Hand Clothes
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I grew up thinking that second-hand clothes were the clothes that younger siblings get from their older siblings (think that notorious pink polo shirt that shows up in all the family photos). But thankfully, several businesses are keeping second-hand shopping fun and fresh. Online sites like thredUP feature a huge inventory of second-hand clothes. You can filter by brand, type of garment, discount, price, color, pattern, size and much more. I love that you can save your sizes, and every time you log in to thredUP, you can opt to have only clothes in your sizes show up in search results. Also, I know many people love Poshmark or Depop, although I personally haven’t tried those.
And, of course, you can shop brick and mortar and look at your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, or any other thrift store. Or you could get together a group of friends to do a clothing swap!
- Take Online Surveys
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This one is not always worth it because some sites (not looking at anyone, *cough cough* Swagbucks) waste your time. You spend five to ten minutes thinking you can take a survey only to find out you are disqualified after answering their eligibility questions. However, I can speak to Crowdtap being a great survey site. They present surveys as a series of cards with simple questions. You earn points by answering multiple-choice questions or short-response answers. The coolest thing about Crowdtap is that several items they collect opinion responses on will later turn up in stores. I enjoy that Crowdtap generates questions based on your interests (food, fitness, mental health, skincare) so you get a say in the creation and marketing of your favorite genres of products.
- Practice Cooking & Meal Prepping
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Time to sit down and scroll through those saved Pinterest pins. Try to find recipes that use ingredients you enjoy, are easy to prepare, and are customizable. For instance, if you like sandwiches or salads, try to meal prep ingredients that you can mix and match in your sandwiches and salads to keep the meals from getting boring. Another tip – when picking recipes, I try to go with the same recipe creator for my entire meal prep session. Food bloggers often use the same ingredients in their recipes, so if you pick several of theirs, you’re more likely to find repeated ingredients (or the blogger will include one of their commonly used ingredients as a possible substitution).
Even if you’re already a money-saving pro, I hope one or more of these tips was new to you or gave you a new idea! Although none of these tips will make you rich, they’re some easy ways to earn or save a little cash – plus, several of them are eco-friendly and can be fun (thrifting is like treasure hunting)! Keep your focus on your why-power and have fun as you start saving money!