Student life is one the most exciting periods of a person’s life. You can meet new people, attend various lectures, travel the world and, hopefully, understand what you want from life. Burning out the midnight oil one night and visiting a college party the other night will most certainly carve into your memories. At the same time, the finances to cover the basics such as food and accomodation are hard to gather when you can only work part-time and have no degree. Finding your first source of income is a major step forward. Here is a guide to help you earn and save money to maintain a better quality student life.

Preemptive Saving: Scholarships

A great way to save money during student life is to negotiate the possible expenses by applying for college scholarships. Many of them are offered across the country and internationally for US and Canadian citizens. Getting a scholarship is a great idea for those who haven’t necessarily got the funds to begin their post-secondary education. There are many organizations that allow this to happen.

One way is to apply for OSAP. They are a government-run program in Canada. Their mission is to simply assist those students who wish to pursue their post-secondary academics. They offer free assistance to students with high academic results.

St Lawrence College offers a mixture of grants and loans to numerous students to supplement their financial situation in the case of their post-secondary education. They do not intend to meet all educational and living costs, all students are expected to help pay for their academics.

They usually offer a payment plan, which is almost like a loan. Basically borrowing money from them. You must be enrolled onto a program of study (certificate, diploma or degree), have a completed admission application form from the college (which is also approved by the college), agree to the terms of the payment plan, and agree to a schedule of installments (scheduled times to pay a little back, each time).

Find a Part-Time Job

Only a few people are lucky enough to obtain scholarships. But, everyone is able to work to sustain a high-quality student life. Most part-time jobs are not time-consuming, and often do not require any expertise or work experience. Companies usually pay part-timers by the hour when working during the day. There are multiple choices for this option, here are the most popular ones among Canadian students:

• Teacher/Private Tutor
• Photographer
• Waiter/Bartender
• Customer Support Representative
• Child and Pet Care Assistant

You can see current part-time jobs available for students here.

Start Blogging!

Blogging is becoming increasingly popular by the day. They allow you to get paid per advertisement on your blog posts. It does, however, all depend on how popular your content is, and how many posts you write. There are thousands of successful bloggers out there who make a living from their articles and maintain a good quality of life.

The problem with blogging, however, is that it is not as easy as it seems. Writing interesting posts requires a lot of creativity and consumes time. Besides, student bloggers need to communicate with their followers and subscribers since it greatly defines the popularity of their content. All together, it results into weaker academic performance. As a student blogger, you should consider asking experts for help with writing essays, lab reports, literature reviews, research proposals and even courseworks.

The amount of money you earn all depends on the number of subscribers who follow the blog. It requires a lot of creativity and charisma, you need to be a public person. All these aspects define your blog’s income. Bloggers with thousands of followers can earn up to $19K per year as a minimum if they are successful. As some highly successful bloggers earn up to $79K per year.

With blogging, enthusiasm equals fortune. Writing very little will most likely get you a low income, as writing high amounts of blog posts equals to a potentially high income. It all depends on you as a person. Keep your posts interesting, trustworthy, friendly and professional. Most likely people will read your work. Also, it is always best to keep your blog posts under a certain field, rather than about random topics for a better result.

Final Words

Applying for scholarships is a good idea to those who have some financial difficulties and would like to attend college or get post-secondary education at cheaper rates. On the other hand, a lot of students are not lucky enough to receive an OSAP grant, so part-time work is the best option. Blogging is also an excellent idea for creative people who wish to get their way through college in the comfort of their own home. Whatever you choose – good luck with your funds and studies!