Broke? Here’s 3 Ways To Save Without Working More

So, you’re a broke uni student? We’re twinning.

I am heading off for a three-month unpaid internship in New York soon (hot girl summer, anyone?), meaning my bank account is waving a white flag and begging for mercy right now. So I need cash, and I need it fast.

Here’s how I made bank almost instantly using what I already had, and how you can do the same.

These are not sustainable sources of income, but they are ways to get your $hit together when you need it most.

Cancel Unused Subscriptions

Someone call a doctor because I almost got a HEART ATTACK when I realised how much money subscriptions were draining from my account. Subscriptions became public enemy #1 when I discovered regular withdrawals from my account for my Adobe licence, three different mobile plans (yikes), an app I forgot to cancel, and Amazon Prime.

Sometimes these sites can be sneaky – I swear I’d cancelled most of them!

Here’s my advice: print off your bank statements, take a look through each withdrawal and highlight anything that looks like a subscription. Printing made a big difference for me.

It can be easier to identify your subscriptions when you go on what I call a 'spending fast' – like a diet but for money. Spend only cash for a week (or longer if you can) and take note of what leaves your account – aka, the subscriptions.

If you have an Apple iPhone, head over to your settings, click your profile, then select subscriptions. It will show if you have subscribed to anything on the App Store that requires payment.

Now that you’ve identified your subscriptions, figure out which ones are no longer useful and CANCEL, CANCEL, CANCEL.
 

Expenses/mileage

This tip is for anyone who buys stuff for work on their personal card. At my job, I regularly pay for parking and other random things (I once I had to buy $20 worth of pipe cleaners, please don’t ask why).

Add these expenses up and claim them back.

In the same note, add up that mileage babe. If you’re someone who travels a lot for work, those trips stack up.

Following this tip was the easiest $250 I ever made.

Out with the old, in with the new

In my childhood home, we had a spare bedroom reserved for guests, laundry, but most of all, the stuff no one has touched since 2008. Huddled up in the corner is the guitar I got for my eighth birthday before realising my hands were too small. There’s the percussion set from my days in the school band. There’s my formal dress, although I don’t think I’m quite ready to say goodbye to that one just yet.

What I mean to say is that typically we all have stuff lying around in need of a more loving home. And that means cash for you. Listing these items on Facebook Marketplace or eBay, or trading them in at Cash Converters, is an easy way to make money from things you already own.

Some things to keep an eye out for are:

- Music equipment

- Wheels, e.g., rollerblades, skateboards, bikes

- Electronics

- Any old sporting equipment e.g., tennis rackets

- Quality toys

- Formal or prom dresses/suits
 

Sincerely,

A fellow broke uni student.