It’s never too early to start thinking about financial independence.
As a student, it may seem like you have decades of school and living expenses ahead of you before getting your first paycheck. But don’t get caught up in the trap of thinking it will take decades to hit your financial goals.
Taking action financially is just as important as taking action academically or athletically.
You can learn to invest, create a side hustle, and pay down debt while earning an education that provides you with greater opportunities for future success.
How To Be Rich As A Student
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A quick search on the internet will reveal hundreds of articles, blogs, and businesses claiming they can teach you how to invest in stocks or create passive income online.
Here’s the reality: there are no shortcuts to financial success, and if someone claims there is a quick fix, run away.
Just like any other skill in life, becoming financially literate requires practice and dedication; however, it also requires you to take action at the right time.
If you make small steps towards your financial goals each day, they will add up over time.
Here’s what you should start doing today:
Affiliate Marketing.
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a small commission by promoting products or services online.
For example, if you own a website and mention that you love a certain product or service, you will earn a small commission if someone purchases that product through your link.
This is a great way to monetize your site and earn an income without putting in too much upfront time or money.
It takes just a few minutes a day, and there are hundreds of affiliate programs available that work with any blog topic, niche, or industry.
If you don’t have your own blog yet, you can start by quickly setting up a website page or social media account to share links.
How to do it.
You can start promoting products and services on your blog or website by:
Finding affiliate programs for your site.
There are many free networks you can join that provide access to hundreds of different affiliate offers.
Do a quick Google search for “your topic + affiliate program” and add the results to an Excel document so you can track your progress.
Promoting affiliate offers on relevant pages of your website or social media profiles.
The best way to find great offers is by checking out industry websites and forums, searching for individual product sites, and reading reviews from other users.
Once you’ve found a few programs you like and trust, try promoting them on your site.
Making It Work For You.
You’re probably wondering how much money you can make with affiliate marketing, but the reality is that earnings vary widely based on your website or social media audience, blog traffic, quality of posts, and online offers.
However, if you spend at least 1-2 hours a day promoting offers on your site, you could earn a few hundred dollars each month and reinvest the income toward your other financial goals.
Building Passive Income Streams.
Passive income refers to money that is earned without actively participating in the work that generates that income.
This can come from many different sources, but one of the most popular ways to create passive income is to invest in the stock market.
You don’t have to be a finance guru or know Warren Buffet’s secret handshake to start investing in stocks.
The simplest way to get started with stock trading is by choosing an online broker and opening an account directly from your checking account.
How to do it.
Choose a broker: There are hundreds of online brokers and choosing one can be overwhelming if you’re new to stock trading.
Many brokerage services offer educational resources and free investing trials, so take advantage of those opportunities before making a decision on who to work with.
Buy an ETF: An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a marketable security that tracks an index, a commodity, bonds, or a basket of assets like an index fund.
ETFs experience price changes throughout the day as they are bought and sold.
Open your account: Opening a brokerage account is typically free and easy to do online. If you’re not sure which broker to choose, check out NerdWallet’s comparison of the best online stock brokers to help narrow your search.
Invest: Once you have a brokerage account, you can start investing in the markets by transferring money from your bank account into your brokerage account and making trades using that money.
Keep reinvesting any dividends to buy more shares and track your performance over time with free investing apps like The Stock Market Game.
Getting Your Money To Work For You
It’s easy to spend any unexpected income as soon as it lands in your bank account, but that immediately decreases the amount of time you have to grow and keep that money working for you.
Spending a couple of hours planning out how best to leverage an extra few hundred dollars each month will dramatically improve your financial situation.
Take some time to sit down with a piece of paper and pen (or the Excel document you created) and map out how much money you make, what you spend it on, starting balances in each savings account, and which accounts are earning interest or dividends each month.
You’ll be shocked to see how easy it is to find $5 here and $20 there that can be used to pay down debt, gain interest income, or invest for your future.
Now get out of the house, start making money online, and get on with your life!
Some Tips On How to Be Rich As A Student
As students, we are usually short on cash.
However, there are ways for us to be rich without worrying too much about money. Here’s how:
1. Don’t spend your lunch allowance on overpriced meals, snacks, and drinks at the school cafeteria or canteen.
2. Instead of buying expensive textbooks, photocopy the pages you need from your friends’ books or the school library.
3. Don’t waste money on online shopping. Instead of spending money online, accumulate your money and make use of it later for something more important like paying the tuition fee.
4. Avoid buying expensive things or spending money on expensive activities that are of no value to you, instead invest in your future self.
5. If you’re thinking of buying a new laptop or iPad, don’t. They are usually overpriced and not worth the money.
6. If you prefer driving to class or work, don’t buy your own car just yet. Car is a liability. Not an asset. Try to manage without it for now.
7. Always look for opportunities to work while studying especially online jobs that you can do in your free time. Make great use of the internet! There are tons of ways to earn income online these days without having to pay any fees.
8. Avoid buying clothes just because they are on sale or cheap. Think of your future.
9. Learn to cook at home instead of eating out all the time. Your wallet will thank you for it!
10. Develop good study habits and a tight schedule for studying to avoid wasting time idly surfing the internet or social media accounts.
11. Try to minimize your expenses by living a simple life while you’re still in school. You can always upgrade once you start earning more!
12. If you have money, invest it instead of spending it on things that you think can make you happy or things that you think are a priority.
Many people become rich during their 20s-30s because they have a clear vision of how to be rich and they’ve been working towards making their dreams come true.
Before your 30th birthday, sit down and take some time to list all the things you want to achieve and work towards those goals.
Sometimes, we tend to waste our time on things that don’t really matter and never bother to look at the big picture and set short and long-term goals for ourselves.
When you do finally become rich, remember that money isn’t everything! Don’t spend your time worrying about how much you have in your bank account. Instead, use that time to focus on what you can do with the money you have.
Be rich today and enjoy life while it lasts!