Cover Story
Ways to earn money!

By Hafsah Sarfraz

Ahhh! I finally did it. Got your attention. Well, yes the topic today is how to earn money and I know everyone wants to do it. I have never in my life seen a person who doesn't want money.

Gone are the days when earning money was something only the adults could do. Today, the teenagers and young people are so mature and aware of different things, for instance economic pressures, that they realize the importance of earning money in various ways.

I always thought that the only possible way to get some money was to make a request to your parents or siblings until I saved enough money to buy my favourite model of cell phone. It was then that I realized that if I could save so much money from my pocket money and eidies, I might make a lot of it if I started earning.

To earn money, you need one thing and that is motivation. Without motivation you can never make an effort to do something that would reward you with money. For example, if you like a specific gadget, for instance an iPod, and your parents are not willing to get that for you, you can buy it yourself  if you have the motivation to earn money.

Let's look at some different ways to earn money in today's age!

Writing for Magazines

Well, this is of course one of the major ways of earning money without leaving your home. It improves your writing skills, gives you recognition, appreciation and earns you money at the same time. This is one of the best ways to earn money and will make your parents and teachers proud of you!

Though it's true that not everyone can write, you can improve your writing skills by reading a lot.

So, start reading lots of magazines, as it will not only enhance your vocabulary and improve your language skills, but it will also help you in coming up with ideas and topics. If you have a topic in mind, make pointers relevant to that topic and note them down. Once you have enough points, start writing the article and you can elaborate the points as you go on. Put an effort to make the intro and the end catchy and interesting and you are done with a great piece of writing! Send it to your favourite magazine and voila get money!

One disadvantage, however, is that you won't get the payment for your article instantly; you will have to wait for some time. So, if you need money urgently this is not the best possible way.

Give tuitions

If you are studying in high school currently, I am sure you can teach those younger than you. So why not do that? Gather a few kids from your school or locality and fix a time for giving them tuitions. You can talk to their parents and ask them to send the kids to your home. If it's possible for you, you can also go to their place. Teach them and give them a little help with homework. In return, you will be rewarded with something you want; MONEY!

However, you will not be able to earn money before at least one month and you might not be paid so well since you are still not as qualified as the professional tutors. Try to find children from classes 3 to 7 or 8 who don't require professional help and just want a little assistance.  However, after establishing your reputation as a good tuition teacher, you will be in a position to demand the tuition fees in advance!

Teachers are given great respect, but at the same time they have great responsibility, too. So, make sure that you fulfil those responsibilities if you opt to give tuitions.

Lucky Draws and Prize Bonds

Yes! Go for them. I mean why not? Who knows you might be very lucky and end up earning a lac or even more. However, don't get too disheartened if you don't get it because it all depends on your luck. But then there's no harm in trying! So I suggest that you try and look out for different lucky draws and prize bonds around.

Term papers

Writing term papers is another way to earn money! It started a few years back when different companies started employing people on the Internet. These companies invite people to send their resumes and select them on the basis of their qualifications. It is not very tough to get selected, and the work is also not very difficult. However, I have never liked the idea of writing term papers since it is a waste of a person's talent.

They don't pay a lot and don't even give credit for writing the piece. On the other hand if you have good writing skills you can write a book or articles for magazines and get recognition, fame and appreciation along with money!

So, I suppose writing for publications is better but then a lot of people really like writing term papers since it's comparatively an easy home based job. So, if you think you can do it, all you need is good writing skills, fast Internet connection and time. Search on the net for companies that hire and send them your resume!

Pocket Money

Well, this is certainly not earning money. It's just a way to get money. But what you can do is to save half of your pocket money, so that you can spend it when you really need it. However, it takes time to save pocket money to buy a gadget or an expensive thing. Besides, pocket money is usually spent on daily needs and by the time the month ends we are already in debt!

Internet jobs

Today with Internet at our disposal, we have a lot of different opportunities and can earn money easily! There are many Internet jobs available, which include advertising revenue, auctions, freelance work, commissions or affiliate programmes and sales of products and services (E-Commerce).

Surf the Internet and find the most suitable one for you. Start working instantly and earn money!

Internships!

Today, the youth has a lot of opportunities, especially those living in big cities and metropolitans of our country. There are many firms that invite people for internships that range from a week to two months! In the end, they reward you with a certificate and a handsome payment at times. So it is a great way to earn money while getting experience side by side. Find an internship that suits you and earn money from it.

Blogging!

A blog is a form of an online diary. Remember the way we used to write our daily diaries a few years ago? Now people blog instead. If you are not blogging, you are lost! An interesting factor of blogging is that you can earn money from it. Yes, it's true! Different blogging sites work differently. A few of them pay you a certain amount every time someone visits your blog.

One way by which many people get started in blogging is opening an account at www.blogger.com, a website owned by Google. Once you have opened a free account, you can publish your blog and give the web address to all of your friends. Anyone and everyone can view your blog. This is the first step to start earning money fast. The more friends you have, the more public your blog becomes and the more people visit it, the greater amount of money goes into your pocket!

On Campus Jobs!

Some schools and colleges even provide jobs on campus such as Teacher Assistants and pay as much as 5000 rupees monthly! Colleges usually do that, so if you are one of the college going students, you can even opt for an on campus job. Look out for such opportunities around you and avail them if you find them. On campus jobs are hard to get since they look at your academic abilities and a lot more things, however, they offer great experiences and opportunities to learn new things everyday!

Stock Market

One day I told this cousin of mine that I earned 5000 rupees through writing and he told me that he earned 80,000 through KSE! KSE stands for Karachi Stock Exchange. I almost died of shock that day and realized that the stock market is a great way to earn money. You will have to be very patient if you opt for stock market and let me add that there is an equal chance of a loss! So, stock market is indeed a very risky way, but if you don't invest much and remain patient, hopefully you will be rewarded with a good profit! Go for stock market, while I try to get a treat from my cousin. But be sure that you do it under the guidance of a seasoned stock market investor.

And if nothing works, then simply beg! Not actually! Since I have detailed so many different ways of earning money, I'm sure at least one of them will surely suit you! So, select the most suitable way or ways and start working. Remember, that an empty mind is a devil's workshop, so don't let the devil build his workshop in your head. Don't waste your time and work in your free time. It's better to work and earn money than waste hours and hours on watching television everyday! Believe me, when you earn something you become the happiest person alive; the feeling is incomparable. Happy earning! Enjoy! :)