1. Sell items on Ebay.
- Search your drawers, closets, and cabinets for name-brand clothing, desirable dishes, electronics and anything that will bring a profit even after you ship it. http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/sell-getstarted.html For easy shipping options, check out Ebay's flat rate shipping boxes; although you can often save more $ (and make more $) if you take the time to recycle cardboard boxes from around your house.
- Above all, advertise honestly to ensure good customer reviews and future business.
2. Sell old Textbooks.
- Use sites such as http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.half.com/, and http://www.chegg.com/. If you are attending school in the states, you can also save money by renting books on Chegg.com.
3. Host a Yard Sale.
- Gather everything you have not used in the last 1 or 2 years, and put a price on it. Clean items and organize by type, place in boxes, and have them ready to put out on yard sale day. Choose a date that you think people would attend (payday, non-holiday, etc.). Combine with another family if possible (mark items in different colored price stickers to ensure you get credit for your items).
- Advertise on http://www.craigslist.com/ with pictures. Make brightly-colored poster board signs to post along nearby roads and bring people in!
- Go to the bank and get cash and change in several denominations, so you can make change for customers.
- Make a deal as you see customers considering multiple items (ie. "If you would like all of those Cd's I'll throw in the tapes for free.") It's a win-win situation for you both.
4. Sell your Vehicle.
- It may sound out of the question, but if you are going overseas you will not be driving your car. Consider that if you leave your car in a garage it will decrease in value and probably be in worse shape when you return. Why not use the money toward your education while the vehicle is worth more? By doing this you should not have to take out as large of a loan, or you can set this money aside to purchase a newer car with better mileage or efficiency when you return.
- If you are attached to your car, consider this question, "What will last longer, your car or your education?"
- Have a weeknight or weekend free? Offer to mow a lawn, wash a car, landscape or plant flowers, clean a house, organize a kitchen, or babysit for extra cash. These jobs are not just for teens. The cash can help you with groceries, and you can put more of your paycheck into savings.
- Check your prospective school's financial aid page on their website.
- Scroll through this list of scholarships for one that may fit you. http://www.studyabroad.com/scholarships.aspx
- Do a Google search, and you will come across many very specific scholarships, but be cautious of sites that require your personal information upfront.
- If you have a little extra time, one unconventional method is to use http://www.scholarshippoints.com/. I would recommend you use a junk mail e-mail address, and be careful what personal information you give out to participating web sites.
- First of all, be careful not to take out a loan beyond your ability to pay back. One piece of advice I heard in a recent interview was, "If you borrow more than your expected starting salary after you graduate, you're going to struggle to repay your loans." This does not mean that you pay it back in one year, but that your salary will be sufficient to keep up with regular payments. I recommend listening to the following interview. It is very valuable.
- If a loan is your last option, compare several carefully on a website such as http://www.gradloans.com/grad/.
- Sallie Mae/http://www.salliemae.com/ also offers federal loans, but the interest rate can begin from 2.00% (2.25% APR) to 9.875% (9.37% APR). They provide a helpful Loan Repayment Calculator to estimate your ability to pay back your loan. http://smartoption.salliemae.com/Entry.aspx
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