If you asked anyone to characterise the typical university student in a few words, ‘broke’ would inevitably be one of them. From selling old clothes to taking on a part-time job, students are getting creative about that burning hole in their pockets.

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in a predicament many a university student has faced before: I was completely and utterly broke by the middle of the month. Now, a limited income is something that all of us face to some degree or another, but not all of us end up without a cent to our names.

How did we end up here?

It is an inescapable (and more often than not, very true) stereotypical assumption that university students are completely penniless – or at least, they will be at some point or another in the duration of their studies. Apart from tuition fees and textbook prices rising rapidly every year, the expenses of food, petrol and entertainment are forever munching into our wallets. For many of us, a part-time job is not an option as we are already swamped with academic (and social) commitments, and most interesting internships are unpaid anyway.

Pondering the series of events that led me to this specific point was of no use to me – an extra brownie at the campus coffee shop, those beautiful new winter boots or that electricity you had to buy because your digsmates neglected their duty, all play their part in decimating your finances quite efficiently – but a foolproof plan of action was imperative.

If you can’t stand the heat, get into the kitchen!

There have been many, many ingenious different plans students have concocted to get themselves out of financial trouble. When I got home after my profoundly humbling realisation, I walked to the fridge. Inside, I saw some overripe bananas and remembered a recipe for a vegan banana loaf I had once baked. Banana bread? Perpetually hungry students? I saw the shadowy outlines of a plan emerging…

That afternoon, I baked two banana loaves, selling them to hungry digsmates at a large enough profit to purchase the necessary ingredients for four more loaves – after this point, capitalism ran its natural course and I supported myself off my delectable goodies for the rest of the month.

Less enterprising ventures include borrowing money from friends (which I do not recommend, if you don’t want to spend weeks dodging them because you keep forgetting to pay them), getting a part-time job bartending or waiting tables (friends who do this are not people any longer – they are now zombies), selling old clothes and other possessions (this is a good idea, but it can be very difficult to get rid of that strange stuffed duck your gran insisted on giving to you five years ago) or just asking your parents for more (in my opinion, this is not advisable – if you want to stay in university as an autonomous human being, show them you can!)

Avoiding the inevitable

Although these aren’t foolproof tips for never being broke again, following this advice could put it off for another couple of months:

•  Identify something you are good at, such as English, or tennis, and look out for tutoring or lesson opportunities.
•  Babysitting, walking dogs, and doing freelance writing are also ways to earn some extra income.
•  Make, bake, fix, sew, edit and sell! Identify areas in which friends and fellow students might need some help – be it in editing essays, patching torn clothes or in filling their tummies.

Distressing as it might be at the time, running out of money is an experience that teaches you so much about who you are, what you care about and believe in and what you can do when you put your mind to it.

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