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If you’ve just started university then, right now, you might not be thinking too much about making extra cash as you’ll have received a nice student loan payment into your account, yet, the student lifestyle ensures this will be quickly depleted within a matter of months if not weeks.

This is particularly true if you are paying for things yourself, as many young people receive financial help from their parents, for instance with regard to paying upfront for accomodation, but if you’re financially independent it almost necessitates you getting an additional job to fund even a basic lifestyle.

That said, the challenge is that being a student, at least a “good” student is a full time job in itself, and in consideration of how much you are paying in terms of fees, it makes financial sense to squeeze the most out of your education in terms of learning as much as you can and getting a first class degree, as this is of much higher value than any other grade.

Indeed, we must view our education as an investment in our future, because it’s a pretty expensive investment that most would not take as lightly if it were for instance a start-up.  In fact, if you were to invest £30,000 plus into a business venture, or in Forex trading, you would probably take it a lot more seriously than your studies – yet, this is exactly what you are doing… you’re investing in the “start up” of you.

In any event, life at university can be expensive and we must find ways to supplement our student loans – ideally, ways that don’t take too much time away from studying (or partying) and enhance our experience, rather than detract from it.

Here are some simple independent ways to help fund your student lifestyle:

1.  SET UP A BLOG

Today, there’s a very popular internet phenomenon known as the “expert industry” which is also known as influencer marketing.  Now, if you’re at university you might not feel ‘expert enough’ to influence anyone about anything – but when you consider there are seven year olds making several thousand pounds a month, simply reviewing and recommending toys, it’s clear that there’s an opportunity for everyone.

Look, you don’t have to be the most informed person in the world – you just need to be more informed than your audience; and be able to captivate their attention.  Just look at how many young girls are doing makeup tutorials from their bedroom and raking in tons of money from advertisers; both in terms of sponsored product reviews and the revenue generated from YouTube advertising.

In fact, university students are in a fantastic position to become influencers, because this is the market that has the strongest pull in terms of making content viral.  You could set up a blog about anything from coping with social anxiety to healthy eating.

Then, once you have sizable following you can look to monetise it by advertising relevant offers via affiliate marketing or perhaps even creating your own course, or ebook.

Influencer Marketing, as it’s known, is a great way to earn extra cash whilst fuelling your passion and also building your personal brand — just make sure it’s something that adds value to your personal brand rather than detracts from it.

2.  CREATE AN ONLINE COURSE

This leads on from the idea above.  Today, with a smartphone and a decent microphone you can create a captivating online course that people will spend a considerable amount of money to access.

What knowledge and know-how do you already have that you could leverage to teach others; for instance, you might be a great photographer or guitar player, and so, you could create a beginners course in these aspects or specialise in a particular strand of a genre – such as lighting photography hacks, if you have an interest in the more technical side of photography.

Again, you don’t need to be the world’s greatest expert, you just need to know more than your audience which is why starting with beginners courses can be a great idea – particularly as this is where the market is most sizeable.

Today, it’s really easy to promote a course via platforms such as www.udemy.com or www.creativelive.com.

3.  SELL ITEMS ON EBAY

You might have some items you can sell that belong to you or your family (ideally with their permission!)  Though, many students have the time to scour for “preloved” items that are free to a good home, and if they are particularly enterprising, they will up-cycle these items and sell them within their student community for a profit via platforms such as Gumtree or social media.