Side Hustles: Finding Additional Funding

“Money Coins” by Negative Space/ CC0 1.0

As a student, finances can be a major concern, especially if you live away from home. It is therefore useful to know that financial help is available for those that need it! This short post will hopefully put you at ease by recapping the main scholarships and bursaries available to you and how to apply for them. 

King’s Living Bursary 

If you require extra financial support, King’s can help by providing extra funding through the King’s Living Bursary. You can receive this if you meet the following eligibility criteria:  

  • Undertaking a first, full-time undergraduate degree or Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) 
  • Qualify for home fee status and Student Finance England (SFE) maintenance support 
  • Have been means-tested by SFE with a final assessed household income of £42,875 or less 
  • Liable for £9,250 tuition fees (exceptions for year abroad/extra mural years or where special fees have been agreed) 

You can check out more at King’s Living Bursary 2024-25. 

Undergraduate and Postgraduate Funding Opportunities  

King’s offer many scholarships and bursaries for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. This is particularly useful for international students who are not eligible for funding from the UK government. You can find all the possible funds you can apply for, along with the application details here, where you can use the filter option to find funding opportunities suitable for you. There are over 90 possible scholarships you can apply for! 

Hardship Funds  

If you feel as though you require some extra financial support, consider looking into the different hardship funds available to KCL students. To apply, you need to be a home student and meet one of the criteria found on the King’s Hardship Funds website. If you’re successful, you can be eligible for £250-£3,500! If you’re an international student, you don’t need to worry. There’s a separate International Hardship Fund that you can apply for, where students can receive up to £6,000. 

Hopefully this post has made it clearer what types of financial help are available at King’s. There’s no harm in applying so make sure to check out some of the options and decide which ones would benefit you most!  

Hirra Yasir
King’s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice

The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts. 

National Student Money Week: Turn Surviving into Thriving

“Bills Money” by Shopify/ CC0 1.0

As university students, most of us have had to skimp and save at some point. And when we compare ourselves to influencers and crypto investors that are thriving, whilst we’re barely surviving, it can fill us with an overwhelming sense of doom and failure.  

But the truth is, you don’t have to make it big to turn surviving into thriving. Small changes, looking for savings, and good habits can lead to big wins!

Daily caffeine kick 

Sleep deprived, caffeine high uni students – like me – are well-known for splurging the cash on a daily caffeine kick, or for an aesthetic post. Whilst you could skip that coffee, let’s be realistic, that’s not likely- so you can follow my tips and save a bit of dough. 

  • Bring your own cup for discounts and rewards: Starbucks will reduce their prices by 25p, and Costa give you two beans (that’s like buying two drinks!).  
  • Ask for student discounts: Blacksheep have £2 hot drinks on Mondays and 20% off the rest of the week. And remember, it’s always better to ask and be refused, than not to ask and miss out on savings. 
  • Cheat the system: If you download the Moves+ app and connect it to a fitness app like Strava or Google fit, it will convert your physical activity into points that you can exchange for coffee (or cake) at any King’s food outlet. To get points extra quick, you can record bus, tube, and plane journeys as a run, and these get added onto your account. I recorded my flight to Tenerife and now have the equivalent of 300 free coffees! 

Fast Fashion 

We’ve all bought that statement piece, only to regret it as soon as we get it home. Fast fashion is bad for your pockets and the planet, but try my little saving tips, and you’ll soon be able to thrive. 

  • Avoid impulsive buying: instead of buying the item there and then, leave it for a few days, think about whether you really like it and if you have items that would go with it. If you still like it, then buy it. 
  • Ask for student discounts: whether you’re online or in-person, student discount can save you a small fortune when it comes to fashion. For example, Hollister have a 10% student discount. 
  • Shop second-hand: it’s even becoming trendy! Why not browse all the charity shops London has to offer or explore the wide variety of fashion on online platforms such as Vinted. 

Cut the cost; nourish the body 

Eating out, like our daily caffeine kick, can drain our bank accounts quickly, and the food we eat out isn’t always healthy. So, try and switch things up to make some healthy savings. 

  • Meal prep and bulk batches: You could make your meals for the week on a Sunday or a Monday. Then you don’t need to worry about what to cook after a busy day at Uni and won’t end up eating out. Making these meals freezer friendly is good in case you over prep or end up eating out with friends. 
  • Save food from waste: Using apps like Too Good to Go can give you some cheap treats and help combat food waste. So, not only are you saving money, you’re saving food! 

You might like to put the money you save into (virtual) piggy-pots for bigger spends like a house deposit, holiday, or emergency fund.  

These savings, however small do add up. The average Londoner spends £2,000 a year on coffee, so even dropping the caffeine kick every other day will save you £1,000. That doesn’t sound like surviving to me – that sounds like thriving! 

Hope Jeffcoat
King’s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice

The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts. 

Side Hustles: Dropshipping

A concept often promoted by influencers, dropshipping has become more and more popular over the past years. We often hear about people becoming millionaires overnight from dropshipping, but is this actually true? Is dropshipping a side hustle worth investing your time in? 

What exactly is dropshipping?  

Dropshipping is the process of selling products without actually having to store or ship them yourself. How could this possibly work? It’s fairly simple; a consumer places an order through the dropshipper’s site, buying the product as per the dropshipper’s price. The dropshipper orders the product from the wholesaler, and any profit made from the difference between the dropshipper’s listed price and the wholesaler’s price is kept by the dropshipper.  

“Side hustle: dropshipping” –  Blackbullion 

What can I dropship? 

In theory, anything! However, it is best to be strategic when deciding which products you want to dropship. Some points to consider when selling products are: 

  • Lightweight – Light or small products are easy and cheap to ship, so you can set flat rates for shipping costs. 
  • Durable – Non-fragile products are less likely to break so returns, malfunctions or damage during shipping become far less common.  
  • Timing – Products that coincide with seasonal or societal events usually have a burst of popularity, e.g. Santa costumes around Christmas.  
  • Competition – Dropshipping is not an uncommon side hustle, so entering an oversaturated market can make sellers less likely to buy from you.  

What are the ethical concerns of dropshipping? 

  • Carbon emissions – shipping products from international locations can lead to long shipping distances, contributing to high carbon emissions. 
  • So, sell from local suppliers! 
  • Poor quality – if you cannot confirm the quality of the product, you may mislead your customers by selling a poor-quality product. 
  • So, test the product in advance! Receive the product from the supplier so you know what you’re selling. 
  • Overconsumption – dropshipping thrives off of hype, which may contribute to overconsumption. 
  • So, cherry-pick what you sell! You can opt for sustainable, recyclable products. 
  • Poor labour conditions – dropshipping products from regions with low labour regulations can result in exploitive wages and working conditions to ship your product. 
  • So, research your supplier! Ensure that the working conditions and wages from your supplier are fair and ethical. 

How can I get started? 

Now’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for; how can I start dropshipping?  

  1. Pick an e-commerce platform you’d want to sell your product on, like Shopify or BigCommerce.   
  1. Make your product interesting. Take nice photos of your product, write a lovely description about it – anything to attract your prospective buyer.  
  1. You can then promote your product on social media, pay for ads online, or email people about your product. You can fund your marketing with the profit you obtain for your first few orders. Note that there are laws and taxes if you meet certain criteria. These can be checked here. 

Warning: it is very important to do your research about the companies you partner with to avoid getting scammed. Criminals may deceive dropshippers to use them to resell stolen goods. You should do your research about any company you’re considering partnering with.  

So, there you have it! A brief guide to how you can use dropshipping to earn an extra source of income, in a safe and ethical way. As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns and we’ll see you in our next post!  

Hirra Yasir
King’s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice

The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.