5 Awesome Ways to Make Money for College

The rising cost of college across the country is causing many people to look for alternative ways to pay for their education. In my opinion, every little bit counts and raising extra money for college is something everyone should be doing.

Whether you have secured a student loan or have a small savings already built up, there are ALWAYS more costs associated with getting a degree, so in this post I’m going to discuss 5 awesome ways to make money for college.

EBay – Your Junk is Someone Else’s Treasure

Virtually everyone is familiar with EBay these days, and some people have even purchased items on the platform. It is the “yard sale” of the online space.

The beauty of EBay is that you can reach a much larger audience than just your local neighborhood. Someone across the country may be extremely interested in your grandmother’s antique tea set and place a bid to purchase.

Taking a weekend to comb through your house and find items that you personally may consider to be just junk is easy to do. You might be surprised how much stuff you can pull together. Clean up the items (if necessary) and take good photographs from several different angles.

Even if you think NO ONE would ever buy this item, take the time to list it on EBay and you might just find out that there are people out there that would pay good money for it.

I remember one time I listed a plastic Sesame Street toddler kitchen set and I thought to myself “this will NEVER sell.” But not only did it sell, it actually went for a very large amount. So don’t ever sell your stuff short.

Besides collecting things from your own closets, you might also consider asking family members or neighbors for donations that you can sell. Most people are more than willing to help especially if you tell them that you are trying to raise money for your college.

Amazon or Shopify – The Power of Wholesale

Another great source of money is building your very own “store” online within the Amazon or Shopify platforms. Both are extremely credible and many people are making a living selling items wholesale.

There’s a bit of a learning curve with both of these platforms, but there is also plenty of training available to anyone who wants to get started.

This means that you don’t have to have your own products like with EBay. You can partner with trusted wholesalers and even build a store that is dedicated to a particular niche. For instance if you are into outdoor activities like camping and hiking, you could create an outdoor supply store.

The basic idea is that you build a store online and then source your products through wholesalers or dropshippers. The dropshipping scenario would mean that you would not have any overhead or inventory to store or ship. That would all be done by the specific dropshipper.

While this is a more complicated process, there are thousands of people who have dipped into this market and are doing quite well. Some even have enough income to quit their jobs and make it their full time career.

Referrals for Cash – Build up a Huge Referral List and Bank

Referral income is a real thing, and by utilizing the many referral programs available you can accumulate a lot of money in passive style income.

Here’s how it works:

You sign up for a referral program (I’ve listed some of the BEST below), then you simply refer friends, family or social media contacts to join the programs. These referral programs then PAY you for each referral based on the program policies. Some have better pay outs than others, but they are all worth signing up for!!

• Paidviewpoint – Super easy survey site that pays for referrals 
• Amazon Prime Membership
• Swagbucks
• SmartSheet (earn $50 when Referral purchases a plan)
• Slice The Pie – earn 20% of referral earnings
• Wealthy Affiliate – BY FAR THE BEST!! (earn $23.50 per month for each referral)

I love the referral earnings because you are essentially bringing in the referrals and then generating a substantial passive income. I recommend signing up for these referral programs (most of them are free to sign up) and letting others earn money for you.

⇒ PRO TIP: Paidviewpoint and Wealthy Affiliate are by far my favorites and earn me the most money each month. Check out my Payment Proof HERE

Freelance Work

For those that are willing to roll up their sleeves and put in some work, there are several online workplaces that cater to freelancers. Freelancers are basically people who have a specific skill set (like data entry or translation, for example) and offer their services to others for a price.

Some of the better freelance websites are listed below:

• Upwork
• Freelancer
• Guru
• TextBroker
• Fiverr

Most Freelance sites allow you to set your own rate and you can also pick and choose the jobs you want to do.

Affiliate Marketing Business – MY TOP CHOICE!!!

All of the ways of making money for college that I have listed so far are great for making extra money and saving towards college expenses. But my TOP CHOICE has to be building your own Affiliate Marketing Business. Not only can you earn money for college, you can set yourself up to have a passive income career far into the future.

You may think that building a business is difficult or beyond your expertise, but in reality it is fairly simple to start up. To be honest, Affiliate Marketing is how I earn my living online. I used to work as a tax accountant, but decided that I wanted to stay home with my kids and also travel the world. Affiliate Marketing has allowed me to do both and earn a substantial income in the process.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MAKING MONEY WITH AFFILIATE MARKETING:

If you are unfamiliar with what Affiliate Marketing is, you can read my previous blog post here. In this post, I explain what Affiliate Marketing is and how you can make money with it.

If you already know what Affiliate Marketing is, but you don’t really know how to get started, check out my #1 Recommendation. It is FULL of ALL the training and support that you will need to be successful and make money!

Start Early and Save Up

Whatever strategy you decide to go with (and I recommend going with several), earning money for college is something that anyone can do.

The great thing about the ways that I have listed in this article is that each of them allow you to earn money now (for college) but also continue earning through college and beyond. Wouldn’t it be great to finish college and already have a substantial stream of income coming in even before you land that first job?

My advice to anyone looking to earn money for college is to start early, keep at it, and save as much as you can.

Comment below what strategies you are using to save money for college or if you have any questions about the programs I’ve listed here.