Everyone is strapped for cash in university, but there are ways of making and saving money available to us today that past generations would have never dreamt of. A side hustle is a way of making money on the side of another job or school, or just a way to earn extra beer money. It brings in some income and is usually something you’re passionate enough about to work on in your spare time, and can include anything from babysitting to selling used textbooks on Facebook Marketplace.
Side hustles are becoming increasingly popular with our generation. If you find some free time in between classes, you could deliver a few orders for Skip the Dishes or DoorDash, freelance as a tutor for Chegg.com, review music for budding artists at Slicethepie.com, start sending premium snaps on Snapchat, or offer rides on Poparide.
Someone majoring in electrical engineering could tinker with their printer on the side to try and create an ink cartridge that lasts for more than a couple months. Some students sell their used textbooks on Books2Go, others go door-to-door offering to rid homeowners of pop cans and water bottles, and others make and sell T-shirts, or walk dogs on Rover — the list is endless.
Side hustles can be time consuming, but there are other ways of putting cold, hard cash in your pocket without you having to lift a finger. If you have a couple hundred dollars from Christmas lying around in a savings account you can invest. You’re wasting potential returns by opting for the below one per cent (on average) savings accounts pay out. You might get a slightly higher interest rate with a Guaranteed Investment Certificate, or GIC, though there generally is a minimum investment requirement. You lend your money to the bank for anywhere from three months to five years for a very low interest rate. The biggest benefit with GICs is the 100 per cent guarantee of getting your money back.
A common complaint of students is they have no money to invest, but if you have a couple dollars a day for a latte, you can instead take that money and invest it. Investing two dollars a day sounds ridiculous, but there are various firms nowadays that’ll automatically invest it for you. Wealthsimple can deduct five dollars a day from your checking account and invest it for you. Five dollars a day for six months adds up to about $900. Imagine how much that could amount to by the end of your studies.
Wealthsimple will not only allow you to trade commission-free, but they can also invest your money into a balanced portfolio of stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, mutual funds, and commodities like oil. For those who are risk-sensitive, it would make more sense to choose a portfolio with 80 per cent bonds and fixed income, and 20 per cent stocks. If you want unlimited gains, you could settle for 80 per cent stocks with 20 per cent fixed income. For those in the middle, the best choice is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a compilation of the top 30 companies in the U.S. economy.
It’s okay if you don’t have enough money to buy one share of Tesla; with modern brokerages you can invest in any of your favourite companies with as little as one dollar. Most people get scared by phrases like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, but with a balanced portfolio, you won’t have to worry. If there’s a market downturn or recession, you’ll get the chance to buy double the shares at half the price. The Dow Jones closed at $8,776 in 2008; it’s now on pace to hit $30,000, increasing more than three-fold in just over a decade.
No one’s good at everything, and everyone’s good at something. It could be anything from painting your neighbour’s garage to buying a few shares of Microsoft. Try looking for something you’re good at and will enjoy, or at least hate less than your day job. There’s a side hustle out there for all of us.
Image: Kayt Hine/The Cascade
