Money 101

Money in college is hard to come by therefore you need to save or find a part time job to get by. There will be unexpected things you want to do including go to a party, buy a new outfit for a sorority or fraternity recruit dinner or order food from dominos because you are tired of the cafeteria food. You will need money for all of these because asking mom and dad all the time is not showing them how your become independent. I hope you find my ten tips helpful and are able to use them to your own benefit. 

How to Get Money:

1. Get a Part-time Job-

This can be on campus or off campus. I am currently looking for employment which is hard in Pleasentville, NY. There are not many places in town and local places are not hiring because they do no get many customers some of the places such as the many pizzerias , fro-yo places and Starbucks. But on campus jobs are perfect for employment if you have work study. The jobs I wanted I unfortunately didn't qualify for which was in Pace Perk and Pace Mart which are student run business which only employs business majors. I wanted these jobs because I enjoy jobs that deal with sales and provid customer service because I enjoy interactions with other people. There are other jobs in offices on campus but to me they are boring because filling paperwork and making copies is not exciting to me. But hopefully you have better luck with finding a job therefore I will provide the link: http://www.pace.edu/career-services/campus-student-jobs

2. Sell unwanted things on eBay- 

Before I went to college I sold a few unwanted pieces on e-bay and surprisingly they sold. On eBay's website they say how it is fast  and easy and can be achieved in three steps. 

Step 1: List it- It's easy as taking pictures, describing your item, setting the price and selling.
Step 2: Ship it- When your item sells, ship it to your buyer. Print with eBay labels and get discounts on shipping. ( You do not pay for shipping unless you want to. ) 
Step 3: Get paid- Its free to sign up for Paypal, the fast, easy and safe way to get paid on eBay.

I have always had a great experience using eBay and I created a Paypal account because I did not feel comfortable putting my credit card information in. Paypal is safe because if someone wanted to buy from you they send the money to your email address that you set up on Paypal. This then enables you to send it to your bank account or keep on Paypal which some stores and online websites allow you to use Paypal as an alternative payment. 
According to eBay the top 8 selling items are electronics in order: 1. Smartphones 2. Tablets 3. Cameras 4. Video Games 5. Game Consoles 6. Headphones & MP3 Players, 7. Laptops and last but not least 8. Anything
You can literally sell ANYTHING on eBay which is great because you can get cash FAST. 

3. Become a note taker- 

When students have a disability sometimes disability services will contact professors and ask for volunteers in the class to take notes or websites like StudySoup are outlets that are available for all students that want to get notes from a class. You can get paid as much as $300 + on your notes and study guides. This is in no way cheating or not allowed. 

How does this work? Three simple steps ( Don't you love how I break things down? )

Step 1: Create a FREE StudySoup Account 

Step 2: Upload your notes, study guides and set a price

Step 3: Open your online store and start selling

Unfortunately the classes I take this semester would not have helped me to become a successful notetaker because StudySoup recommends students that take lecture classes because there is more chances of your notes being bought. I take classes with class sizes ranging from 10-18 students so this outlet will not be beneficial for me. 

4. Sell Last Semester Books- 

DO NOT SELL YOUR BOOKS IN THE SCHOOL BOOKSTORE!! This is the biggest mistake I made last semester I purchased my English110  textbook for $50 and I only got $10 in return from selling it back to the Barnes and Nobles bookstore on campus. I expected to be refunded at least $35 dollars. Therefore at the end of this semester I am going to sell my books back on eBay, Amazon and or Chegg because I will profit more. Selling your old books are good because you can use the money to buy the materials and books you will need for the upcoming semester. 

5. Recycle- 

My roommates and I started recycling bottles and we are slowly getting money. I make sure that I get bottles that can be recycled because the water brand Smart Water can not be recycled in NY therefore I stick to Dasani and grocery store brands that can be recycled in NY. Each bottle you recycle you receive 5 cents, so for 20 bottles you will get $1.00. This is something quick and easy to get money because you are probably throwing away your cans and bottles when you can help the environment as well as get cash. 

How To Save Your Money: 

1.  Attend Events- 

On campus events typically have free food which is usually pizza or catered food from local restaurants wanting to get pubicilicity and spread awareness about their services. This is something I always take advantage of because the cafeteria food is not always appealing.Dominos is typical catered at events on campus because it is cheap and is not messy and everyone usually likes it, you can never go wrong with a chessy bread. 

2. Apply for scholarships-

Scholarships and grants are forms of aid  you do not have to repay them or earn the funds by working. Scholarships and grants are offered by Pace University itself, federal and state governments as well as private organizations. Choose from the list below learn more about the different types of scholarship programs available to Freshman, Transfer, and Graduate students.can save you thousands of dollars. At Pace University there are a variety of ways you can get money to pay for your tuition. You can get scholarships for practically anything. This is a link for more information on scholarships available at Pace University. http://www.pace.edu/financial-aid/content/scholarships-and-grants

3. Create a budget and stick with it- 

 This could help you avoid making careless purchases including online shopping ordering take out and parties, you need to keep track of your spending. Plus, it’ll help control what you’re spending your cash on. Because your funds are limited you want to save as much as you can. I have found this really helpful for me I plan every week how much I am going to spend and correspond with my mother and my bank account to ensure my account will have sufficient funds when I make my purchases. For example if I want to go to the city on a Saturday I know the Metro North is $20.50, then I will probably put $10 on my metro card, and ensure I have enough to eat out unless I ate prior to the trip and brought snacks. For a trip like this I would be $50-$60. But if I were to go with a friend that drives I would be able to save $20.50. You can create a FREE budget on excel and ensure your saving those coins :) 

4. Do Not Become A Taxi- 


If you own a car do not become a taxi driver for all your friends this will put a MAJOR hole in your pocket. Gas is not cheap and to fill up an average small car is about $30 to fill up a 12 gallon car. This can become a problem if you are low on cash. Pace University provides transportation into town where there are a few dining options as well as the train station. On your bill transportation is a mandatory fee which is about $200 that can not be waived. Therefore you should use the shuttle service because you are technically paying for it.

5. Use your meal plan- 

Yeah the cafeteria is not always that good and there isn't much of a variety because there is only one small cafeteria. At Pace University the basic meal plan is $1600 which rolls over ever semester. You can not get a refund for this money if you do not spend it all. So i suggest that you use the money and not get take out so you can save some cash for another time. 
My favorite thing to get from the cafeteria is a caesar salad and a mango-strawberry and banana smoothie.