No-risk matched betting
Hands down the quickest way to make a lot of
money (well, without breaking the law). Lots of students have genuinely made
£100s from this technique. It's completely legal, risk free, tax free, and
anyone over 18 in the UK can do it (Not in UK? Skip to no. 2).
It works by taking advantage of free bets
regularly offered by betting sites through 'matching' them at a betting
exchange. Matched betting eliminates the risk (you are betting both for and against a
certain outcome).
This leaves you being able to squeeze out the
free bet, which can be as much as £100. Multiply this by how many betting sites
there are and you can quite easily come away with a profit of a few hundred
pounds.
Owen walks you through how to make your first
£13 profit (using a real life example) in this gem of a guide to matched betting. If you know of any better way to
make £50/hr sitting at home, please let us know!
Online surveys
An increasingly popular way for students to
make money is to fill out online surveys in their spare time. Research
companies are always recruiting new members worldwide to answer surveys and
test new products.
For a few minutes of form filling, you can make
a couple of quid which is paid as cash or rewards. You can bag up to £3 ($5)
for some surveys!
A few good ones to try are: Toluna, LifePoints, InboxPounds, Onepoll, i-Say, Opinion Outpost, Panel Opinion, The Opinion
Panel, YouGov, Pinecone, SurveyBods, Hiving, Panel Base, Prolific, Valued Opinions, Survey Junkie, New Vista.
Also sign up for Swagbucks which
rewards you for surveys as well as simply surfing the web, watching videos and
playing games.
Update: See our new full guide to the best paid online surveys!
3. Paid for searching
the web
Interested in earning cash for doing what you
already do online? This has to be one of the easiest methods of making money
online without really any effort or change in your behaviour.
This innovative idea by Qmee.com rewards
you for searching in Google, Bing or Yahoo. You just install a simple add-on to
your browser and when you conduct a search there may be a few sponsored results
alongside your normal search.
Each Qmee result has a cash reward attached -
if you are interested in it simply click on it and collect your reward.
The best thing is there is no minimum to
cashout - our first one was just 72p wired to our Paypal account. You also have
the option to donate it to charity.
Sign up now for free and start earning from
your own searches! Click here to start.
4. Online market
trading
Whilst this isn't necessarily an easy way to
make money, investing in stock markets can be lucrative if you learn to do it
properly and safely. By the same token, you may suffer significant losses if
you don't take it seriously.
Today there is no need to fund the yachts
of Wolf of Wall Street style stock brokers. You can do it all
yourself with the help of online market trading platforms.
Having spent many hours researching this new
opportunity, I've been experimenting with the two biggest platforms: Plus500 and eToro.com.
Both offer free practice accounts.
Overall I prefer eToro with
over 8 million users worldwide. It has been featured in a BBC 2documentary
"Traders: Millions by the Minute" and recently began sponsoring
several Premier League football clubs.
One of the best things on eToro is the CopyTrader feature.
This lets you literally see, follow and copy the investments of other top
performing traders.
Follow George's complete guide to trading on eToro to learn more. I think $200
is a good amount to get the most out of the learning curve by trying out a few
different markets. If nothing else you'll learn a great deal about various
investments and industries.
Please be aware that all trading involves
risk. 66% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with
this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the
high risk of losing your money. This content is for educational purposes only
and is not investment advice.
5. Start your own
website
Interested in generating passive
income? You need a website. It's THE way to make money while you sleep.
Starting a website with Bluehost takes less
than 20 minutes, costs hardly anything and can be done by an 82 year-old. It only takes a bit of plugging on social
media to get your first visitors, and there are plenty of ways to monetise your
site.
Save the Student is just one example of a successful
website, started at university by Owen Burek in his first year, which has since
grown into a full-time and sizable enterprise.
Read Owen's step-by-step guide on how to start a website in 20 minutes. It's really one of
the best assets you can have.
6. Review websites
& apps for cash
Well it seems like you're pretty nifty with a
web browser, so perhaps it's time to turn pro and browse websites as a paid and
fun job!
Introducing UserTesting.com -
a new platform that pays everyday people to review all kinds of websites. Each
review takes around 20 minutes and bags you $10 (£6.50) via Paypal.
Simply sign up here,
complete a test review and look forward to receiving websites in your inbox.
7. The 'Disney Vault'
secret
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures Inc.
To keep demand high across generations, Disney
Studios carefully restrict the supply of some home release classics. They are
locked away in the 'vault' for 8-10 years before being released for a short
unspecified time.
Buy them in this window at normal retail price
and you can turn a nice profit when they go off sale for another decade or so.
For example, in 2011 you could buy Beauty
and the Beast on Blu-ray 3D for just £24.99. In just a couple of years
it was on Amazon for a staggering £74.99!
Importantly, not all Disney releases are
subject to the vault and only the true classics will maintain such demand.
Right now there are just 2 titles out of the
vault which I would recommend snapping up. They are Bambi Diamond Edition Blu-ray and The Lion King Diamond Edition Blu-ray.
8. 'Get Paid To' sites
Similar to making money from online surveys,
GPT sites reward you in cash and vouchers for completing various offers or
activities online.
The most popular sites today are Toluna, Swagbucks and InboxPounds.
New! Join our 'make money' mailing list for the
best opportunities every month.
9. Become a delivery
rider or driver
Got a bicycle, motorbike or car? What about a
Smartphone? That's all you need to make some extra money by delivering food or
people whenever you've got some spare time.
Sign up to delivery specialist companies
like Deliveroo who are always on the hunt for new riders.
They allow you total flexibility to work when you want, delivering food from
restaurants to the customers' door. You can make up to £16 an hour.
Double-up your opportunities by directly
contacting local takeaways and bigger chains like Dominos to
see if they have any delivery jobs going.
10.
Write and publish a Kindle eBook
If students are good at anything, it's
researching and writing. With the Amazon Kindle store, anyone can publish
an eBook and make money.
And the Kindle app is now available on almost
any device (laptops, iPads, smartphones and yes, Kindles) so your global market
is huge!
List your book for £1.49 - £6.99 and you earn
70% of the sale. Considering Amazon is the ultimate selling machine (and
remember people are looking to spend), that is a fantastic deal.
The key to success with eBooks is to create
value, and write non-fiction. Simply bundling information you have researched
and compiled on a common problem (eg. 'secrets' to finding a job) and then
presenting it in an easy to digest format (an eBook) justifies someone spending
a few quid on it.
Another big tip is to have a great cover
designed (browse these)
so it stands out, and once your book is live on the Kindle store it's really
important to get some reviews so it shows up higher in results. Encourage
readers to leave an honest review at the end of your book.
The best thing about this lucrative idea is
that once you've invested the time (say 20 hours), you'll earn a passive income for years to come! For a step-by-step
guide to publishing and earning with eBooks, see "How to write a nonfiction eBook in 21
days".
11.
Affiliate marketing
If you've got a good presence on social media
or perhaps you even have a blog or website, you can start bringing in money
immediately by promoting all sorts of companies, products, services and offers
online.
Sign up as a publisher on the Awin network,
check their offers blog or browse the merchant listings to find something you
think your friends would be interested in, grab your affiliate link and share
it. If someone buys (can be within up to 90 days) using your link you'll make a
nice commission.
To take it a step further, set up a website (read our guide) or a topical Facebook page and invite all
your friends to join it and post your affiliate offers on there.
12.
Mobile phone recycling
You can earn good money and help the
environment by recycling your old mobile phones and other unused devices. Maybe
ask your parents if they have any lying around too.
Head to our page on making money from old phones for the best companies
to use and how to ensure you get all the cash quoted to you online.
13.
Become a 'Clickworker'
The Clickworker.com concept
is based on 'internet crowd-sourcing' where businesses advertise specific,
scalable tasks they need completing quickly. And for us, it's an easy way to
make fast cash from our couch.
There are a variety of tasks, but most
commonly they involve mindless data entry, web research or form filling. You
are rewarded and paid in cash (via Paypal) for the work you do, and you can
choose for what and when you work. Give it a go.
[If you're US based, also try Amazon's 'Mechanical Turk'].
14.
Claim tax back
Many students work part-time or during the
summer months, and others will be on placements or paid internships. More often
than not, if you are a student working during the year, you will be overpaying
income tax.
Why? Simply because few students reach the
personal tax-free income allowance each year but are put on an
emergency basic tax-code by their employers meaning tax is being paid when it
shouldn't be.
To learn more and calculate how much tax back
you might be due, see our guide on student tax refunds.
15.
Get cashback when shopping
I earned this much in 2 years
This is not only a way to make money but also
to save money as a student. If you look at it in a different way then you are
making money with every purchase you would have made anyway, whether it be 10%
or 0.5% cashback.
There are a number of cashback sites out there
which pay you the commission they otherwise would have earned.
We recommend signing up with Top Cashback, Quidco.com and Swagbucks which
are free and offer the best selection of retailers and exclusives.
16.
Part-time job
A part-time job is the obvious first choice,
opted for by most students looking to supplement their student loan. It
provides a pretty steady flow of income and can enable you to gain valuable
work experience.
But good jobs are not always easy to find!
Start with our student job search, then check local
classifieds and your university careers service for vacancies.
It's also worth signing up with CV Library,
a free service which will match your CV with suitable part-time jobs and career
opportunities.
Read our guide to finding a part-time job whilst
studying for more tips.
17.
Gigs on Fiverr
Fiverr is now the world's largest marketplace
for people to make money selling small services (known as 'gigs').
What you offer could be absolutely anything,
from writing and translating, social media posting, playing pranks and teaching to creating music,
voiceovers and short video clips for people all around the world!
The default price is $5 (hence Fiverr..), but
you can attach extra services to gigs for more money. Whilst it might not seem
like much, it can quickly add up and there are plenty of examples of people
making a really good living from the site. The key is to get a system in place
which minimises the time spent on each gig.
But there is another way to profit even more from Fiverr for
potentially far less work. How? By simply reselling gigs elsewhere. For
example, find a decent logo designer then
reply to jobs on Upwork or
even local classifieds. A $5 spend can easily become $50+, and it's repeatable!
If you're not interested in selling at all
there's SO much good stuff you can get done for yourself. Have a browse and
get inspired!
18.
Review music for money
If you love music, make it your business by
reviewing unsigned bands and artists online for cash with Slicethepie.
It can take a while to build up your
reputation but some users of the site have said that they earn £40 a month.
This may not sound like much, but if it's something you enjoy then it shouldn't
be hard work and is another thing for your CV. Money you earn will be in $US but anyone can sign
up and review.
To get started, head over to Slicethepie now
or read our quick guide for more info.
19.
Sell your notes
If you don’t mind sharing your notes with
other students it’s a great way to generate a little extra cash. There are
sites out there that you can upload your notes to, along with your price, and
then when another student downloads them you get paid.
Most of these sites like Nexus Notes and Stuvia are
free for you to list your notes but tend to take a cut of your profit in order
to handle the marketing etc so that you don’t have to go out there and promote
your notes yourself.
You will most likely have to upload PDFs but
it’s worth it for the return and you can submit handwritten notes but you’re
likely to make more money if they’re typed up.
20.
Sell second-hand course books
One great way to make money is to buy other
students' textbooks at the end of the year, and then sell them just after
freshers' week – when the new intake of students know that they need them!
You can either advertise on campus or list
them online very easily on Amazon
Marketplace(just bear in mind they take a commission on books
sold).
Here's 28 other things you can sell right now!
21.
Competitions
Entering competitions of course comes with no
guarantees, but there is a growing community of so-called 'compers' in the UK
consistently making up to £50,000 a year through all sorts of competitions.
Types of competitions available to enter vary
from simple registration forms and Facebook page liking to answering questions
correctly over the phone to being a TV game show contestant. Imagine you made
it onto Deal or No Deal instead of just watching it!
Start by entering our very own monthly student
competition (Like our
Facebook page to see when our next one is)!
Then head to our active
competitions page to enter other free competitions that we
have found. Just note that some of these sites may send you spam so use an
alias email address and opt-out of as many of the offers as possible.
For loads more tips on achieving success and
making money from competitions, read our guide to entering competitions.
22.
Buy and sell domain names
A domain name is just a website address (eg.
'savethestudent.org' or 'mysite.co.uk') and there are lots of extensions (.com,
.net, .co.uk etc).
They cost as little as $0.99 to register
with GoDaddy.com yet premium domain names can fetch
$1,000s if not millions when sold on. In 2007 VacationRentals.com went for a
cool $35m!
Now you're probably not going to come across
anything like that, but you can still turn a quick profit with a bit of
searching. The trick is to find available domain names which have some
commercial value, snap them up and then list them for sale on a site like Sedo.com.
23.
Mystery shopping
Today becoming a mystery shopper is easier
than you think and you can get rewarded handsomely.
There are dozens of agencies that pay you to
visit all sorts of shops and restaurants to feedback on how they are
performing. We've reviewed the best agencies in our guide how to become a mystery shopper.
Tasking apps are another form of mystery shopping,
where you earn rewards for completing small local tasks. It can be a lot of fun
too!
24.
Be an Extra
Do you fancy yourself as a budding young actor
or just that person that walks past in the background shot of an episode
of Eastenders? It could be you if you apply to be an extra in TV or
film.
The pay isn't bad either: £60-80 a day on
average, and you hardly have to do anything!
There are lots of casting agencies that place
willing extras. They make their money by taking a cut from your earnings, so
always ask what that is before you take on work.
Head over to our how to become an extra guide for 5 of the better
agencies, plus lots more advice on getting your first gig.
25.
Sell all your old CDs, games and movies
If you are looking to make a very quick buck,
then selling your old bits and bobs that are cluttering up your room is a good
idea.
The best thing about it is that you can rip
all the songs and films onto your laptop or external hard drive before selling
them. This means that you are only really selling the plastic and artwork!
You can earn anything from 10p to £20 per
item, and the earnings can really add up if you have a large collection. Whilst
you're at it, see if your parents have any 'clutter' they'd be happy to see the
back of.
You can also sell almost anything for free
on Amazon
Marketplace or Preloved and
sites like MusicMagpie will pay you instantly for sending in
unwanted items.
For more tips and places to sell check out our
guide on selling DVDs, CDs and games.
26.
Sell on your education!
Becoming a tutor to other students is easier
than ever. Until recently your market was limited to local face-to-face
sessions, but thanks to online tutoring sites you can go global!
Udemy allows
anyone to create an online course (on literally anything!) and get paid forever
after as users take it up.
You can expect to earn upwards of £10 an hour,
and you don't have to be highly qualified to tutor younger GCSE or even A Level
students. Get started with our guide to making money as a private tutor.
27.
Sell your photos
If you think you've got a good shot and a
little creativity, try uploading your photographs for free to stock websites. A
good starting point is Adobe Stock or Getty Images.
Make more money selling photo subjects that
have fewer search results but you feel would have some demand. It might be a
good idea to test them out in print first yourself (get free photo prints here).
28.
Rent out your car parking space
Some student
accommodation comes with a drive or garage. If you aren't
using your parking space and you live in a busy area then you might be in luck.
There are plenty of people that may work in the city centre and are fed up of
paying through the roof for daily parking.
Or, check out our full guide to renting out your parking space.
29.
Babysitting
It's a classic money-maker, and for good
reason. You get paid (well) to watch TV and not very much else - hopefully!
If you are wondering what to charge have a
look at local ads, but you can expect to be paid over £9ph even if
you aren't trained in childcare.
Aside from advertising yourself, it's free to
create a profile on Care Babysitting.
It really can be easy money (unless you get stuck with the child from hell!).
Our guide to babysitting walks you through the main
considerations. For instance, in the UK you will need a DBS (Disclosure and
Barring Service) check to look after small children, even though some parents
may not ask for one.
30.
Dog walking & sitting
If babies ain't your thing, then maybe canines
are... dog sitting is big business. Students especially are
likely to have free time during the day when others are out at work and worried
about their pets at home.
You could bag around £8 an hour per dog, and
it's also a great way to keep fit.
Join Care Pet Care who
are best for dog sitting and also Tailster who
specialise in dog walkers.
31.
Become your own bank
'Peer-to-peer' lending is the future of
banking. It cuts out the middle-man, passing on higher interest rates to you
and cheaper loans to borrowers. And it's all managed online from the comfort of
your sofa.
Founded in 2009, RateSetter was
the first to reimburse lenders on late payments or defaults through its
'Provision Fund'. Effectively it is designed to be like a normal savings
account. To date RateSetter say no investors have ever lost money, and they are
fully FCA regulated.
Right now you can expect to achieve up to 5%
fixed return, depending on how long you choose to lend for. If you can, go for
the ISA account to earn interest tax-free.
There's no fee to withdraw your money from
RateSetter, unless you lock into a 1 or 5 year higher fixed interest rate where
the early withdrawal fee is 0.3% and 1.5% respectively.
Update: for a limited time also get this £100 bonus when
you invest £1,000 for a year.
32.
Work as a charity collector
Ok, so this job takes a certain kind of person,
as you'll have to take a lot of rejection and be persistent.
But if you are bubbly, personable and reckon
you could sell ice to an Eskimo then this could actually be a great student
money making idea. You get paid commission on new sign ups (typically around
£20).
33.
Rent out your house for filming
Directors for TV and film are always on the
hunt for houses to film in. For instance, a scene for Coronation Street was
recently filmed in the student house one of the Save the Student editors
used to live in!
Not only can you make good money but it's
crazy seeing your own place on TV. Start out by looking at this site.
34.
Rent out your body
If you are comfortable taking off your kit
then why not try life modelling. Sit there in the buff while budding artists
capture your every curve (or pokey bits) in frightening detail! Try RAM, a website
especially designed for these kind of jobs.
You could also get involved in clinical drug trials, but be sure you fully appreciate any
risks attached.
Warning: Do not do anything you are not comfortable with, no matter
how desperate you are for money!
35.
Freelance work
Perhaps you enjoy writing, managing Facebook
pages or doing a little bit of graphic design in your spare time. There are so
many freelance jobs out there that require simple skills or just time that
someone else might not have.
And the best thing about freelancing is
that you can work for clients in the UK and around the world with just an
internet connection from home, to your own hours whilst developing valuable
skills.
A great place to start is with the leading
freelance site Upwork.com.
Or try using our student job search to find freelance jobs closer to
home.
36.
Sell clothes on eBay
Everyone's best friend when it comes to
getting rid of junk is eBay. Online auctions are a sure-fire way to turn that
sleeveless jacket (which came in and out of fashion in a week) into hard cash.
Some eBay sellers look at trends and try to
predict what will be big ahead of the market. If you are good and don't mind
taking a risk then you can buy early in bulk and sell on when the craze hits.
For lots more tips on selling on eBay read this guide.
37.
Sell your stories and videos
If you have an interesting story then you
could try selling it to the papers. It could be anything from sleeping with a
professional footballer to getting caught in a clothes horse!
One of the Save the Student team
was unfortunate enough to have a pigeon fly through and smash their window at
university and sold the story to The Sun for a tidy £50.
You could also film your mates at all times
and send it into You've Been Framed to net yourself £250 and a
few seconds of fame.
38.
YouTube videos
According to recent stats we now watch more
videos on YouTube than searches on Google. And with the recently
introduced YouTube Partner
Program you can now profit from making and uploading
videos. You will receive a percentage of the advertising revenue collected per
1,000 views.
Depending on how successful you are (virality,
subscriber base and topic) you can make a lot of money, and there are plenty of
stories every week of more and more YouTubers making it their career.
For more tips read our guide to making money from YouTube.
39.
Network marketing
Also known as Multi-Level Marketing (MLM),
this is a business model that allows you to generate ongoing income in two
ways: by making a commission selling products and by recruiting other members
who go on to sell. The latter allows you to make money from the sales made by
those you have recruited.
Importantly, this is not a pyramid scheme
(they are illegal) because there is an end goal which involves a customer
buying a product or service of value.
It's also not a 'get rich quick' scheme. You
will have to work I'm afraid! However with the growth of social media, network
marketing is becoming easier and lots of people are now making a decent living
from it.
This is a serious way of making good money on
your own terms and it's well worth reading up on it. I recommend getting "The Business of the 21st Century"
by Robert Kiyosaki.
40.
Source property for wealthy investors
We all know how much money there is in
property, but on the surface (with house prices as high as they are) you might
be thinking this market is off-limits.
Truth is, lots of people make a great deal of
cash simply sourcing suitable properties for wealthy investors who simply have
no time.
The trick is to find properties below market
value (BMV) by avoiding estate agents and instead flyering your area with your
contact details offering to buy houses. Then approach investors with a
no-brainer offer to pass on the details of cut-price property in exchange for a
% of the sale value.
Most cities will have monthly networking
events for landlords and property investors. Track these down, sign up, put on
your best suit and go along with lots of business cards. Or you could start on
LinkedIn or even Twitter to build some initial contacts.
As you might imagine, this isn't necessarily a
quick way to make money but once you've got a few investors in your phone book
it can prove to be very lucrative in the long run. If you're interested, I
recommend reading this book.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
Update. We're increasingly being asked about how to make money
from Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies). This isn't surprising given the
ever-growing hype and stories of kids making millions.
Please don't rush into buying Bitcoin to make
money. It's really important to know what you're getting involved with. Read
our new how to buy Bitcoin tutorial which explains everything
you need to know.
There are many other creative ways to make
money as a student, such as our 50 business ideas.
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