Earn Money At University Nannying

With the cost of childcare skyrocketing and students with an ever increasing need to have a income capable of sustaining them whilst studying (aka not national minimum wage). Students have for years turned to babysitting and au paring as a great way to gain supplemental income whilst still being flexible to allow your studies.

But it can sometimes be tricky to find nannying jobs as a student with no formal childcare qualifications. Whilst local listed advertisements can be great, especially if you university has a site, and online sites such as childcare.co.uk can help with the search of finding nannying jobs neither are specifically aimed at students.

We recently came across a site called student nannies. It aims to put parents in need of flexible child care in contact with univeristy students looking for work around their studies. They aim to help students find regular work and intern a regular income rather than struggling with zero-hours contracts and the uncertainty they bring.

However, the perks to students extend beyond the new paycheque but also the opportunity to intern and gain CV enhancing opportunities. One user described how she was able to obtain and internship through her networking with her nannying family opening up opportunities that would by have other wise been afforded to her.

The amount you can earn depends on the family and location (London jobs pay more, and there are more London listings on the site), but remember you are entitled to the national minimum wage (if your employer counts you as a worker). The only downside to the site is that it is not shown initially on a listing how much the family are willing to pay. 

Student Nannies advises parents to pay a rate that reflects babysitting in their areas. Outside of London this is about £8/£10 an hour and inside of London £10/£12 an hour. If there is additional tutoring involved in the role then the hourly wage can quickly increase to £25/£30 per hour. This can be a great way to tap into the earning potential of a talent be it playing the piano or maths.

What are you experiences of nannying / babysitting as an income stream. 

Looking for more student friendly jobs check out this list of online jobs 

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If you are new to our blog, we are all about finding new ways for students and millennials to make and save money. Here are some of our favourite sites and products to help you out:

• Start a blog. Blogging is our side-hustle just over a year ago we didn't think I would bring us any income . You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
• Save money with gift cards Whether its for buying clothes, your weekly shop or dining out use Zeek to buy discounted gift cards to get more bang for your buck. 
• Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks is a passive way to earn gift cards. Over the course of a year you could earn $500.  Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded “points called SB” for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. Receive $5 for signing up today.
• Try matched betting. Matched betting is a great way to may easy money online. Despite the name it is not gambling and could see you earn £500-£1000 a month for only a couple of hours work a day see here and here. For your free trial head to profit accumulator or join the Facebook 'getting started' group.  
• Sign up for a cashback site like Quidco. where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free £10 bonus!

*This post contains affiliate links, all opinions are our own*

How to start a blog to make money from home

Are your a college student looking to earn more money? Trying to create a side hustle to boost your income, perhaps your trying to pay off your student loans, get out of debt or establish an emergency fund. Whatever your financial goal blogging could be a great option for you.

Note: This post contains affiliate links

Start a blog to earn money
Blogging can be a great way to earn money and can produce different income steams. Whatever you are passionate about from cooking to music there is opportunity for you to earn money blogging. 

Starting from the bottom.
You might not have much technical knowledge, but do not fret. You don't need to be a master coder or a journalist to be a successful blogger. 

Starting a blog
Starting a blog can feel like and overwhelming process and when I first started I wish I knew what I do now. The internet is full of great resources on blogging but there are a few key elements when starting out. 

Deciding your niche/topic  
what are you interested and passionate about. What do you want to share with in your life to the world, the options are limitless the most important thing is that you have a genuine interest in that area.

Choosing a name
This can be quite tricky and definitely not something to be rushed into as your blog name is your brand, you can even use your own name (Chris and I's surname is Scott which is where SavingScotts came about). Whilst you can change it at a later date it can be a kerfuffle so try to choose something timeless. 

Find a domain name
Once you have chosen your name you want to make sure that a relevant domain is free, you might also want to check that its free on social media sites such as Twitter and Instagram as this will allow continuity. 

Most people will chose a .com version (but you may wish to buy other formats in addition). Head to GoDaddy.com to check the availably of the domain(s) you want. For the beginner blogger they have some great prices including a Special offer of .COM or .CO.UK just £0.99!

Blog host
When you first start out, using Blogger is a great free option and you are able to link your personalised domain to it easily. It allows a significant number of features and allows you to keep your expenditure for your blog log when first starting. 

Blogger also allows easy integration with google Adsense, allowing you to integrate an instantaneous revenue stream. 

As your blog grows you may wish to switch to self hosting on a site such as WordPress.org. The transition from blogger to WordPress is relatively simple, and allows you to make the switch when you are ready. 

If you are looking to move to WordPress I would recommend using BlueHost. If you purchase through my link, you can get hosting as cheap as $3.95 a month! They even have a handy guide on how to move between Blogger and WordPress and their 24/7 support are there to help you through the transition. 

Earn money from home 
Blogging is something you can do from home, around your schedule. Blogging can truly help you gain financial freedom. As a blogger income can come from a variety of different sources including advertising, affiliate programmes and sponsored posts. 
We continue to find google ads to be a solid steady source of blog income and it allows you to start earning from day one. 
For affiliate programmes we primarily use Awin (formally affiliate window) they allow you to keep you affiliates in one place making the whole process simple to manage. 

£5 dinners | Spiced pumpkin soup

We have started a new series of posts on Instagram called £5 Dinners where we will be sharing some of our favourite budget friendly meals. Follow us @savingscotts to keep updated with the series.
We have also decided to post all the recipes on here and there is now an easy to use tab on the navigation bar just for £5 dinners. So you can find all your favourite, easy to cook, low cost dinners in one place. 
Plus save money on your food shop using approved discount gift cards with Zeek. 

This weeks recipe is the perfect way to use up left over pumpkins after halloween and is vegetarian, vegan and dairy free friendly. It is the perfect winter warmer and is less than £3 for 4 portions. It is best served with fresh bread to dip into the soup. It can be made in batches, frozen and reheated when required. 

• 1kg of pumpkin- peeled and cubed (50p)
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (20p)
• 1 onion chopped (10p)
• 2 cm of fresh root ginger- peeled and finely chopped (10p)
• 4 tsp red thai curry paste (50p)
• 450 ml vegetable stock (5p)
• 400 ml of coconut milk (£1)
• 20g fresh basil (10p)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and cook the pumpkin in a roasting tin for 30 minutes until soft.

2. Meanwhile in a pan soften the onion and finer in the oil for 10 minutes

3. Add the red curry pasta and stir for 2 minutes

4. Add the vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

6. Add to a blender the pumpkin and then the liquid and blend until smooth. 

7. Add the fresh basil and serve.

We love to keep all the meal plans and recipes we create in one easy to use binder. 
Plus, by keeping the recipes in sheet protecters means we can re-use them time and time again and saves us printing out several copies. 

   

Make money decluttering with Ziffit

It's human nature to hoard and collect; we've all done it at some point. But having a good clear out can be good for both the mind and the bank balance. When Chris and I got married in January, the best man made a 'prenup' for us, and one of the clauses was about Chris not bringing his mass of DVDs and Games to our small city apartment.

Despite this far more than I would have liked found their way into our new home. After months of asking, I finally convinced him to part ways with at least of few of his older games (that haven't been used in years). Rather than throwing them away we hoped to sell them and make some extra money.

In the past, we have used other selling methods including auction sites, Facebook pages and trade-in apps but have never been fully happy with the process with many reasons and so with nothing to lose decided to give Ziffit a try and we were pleasantly surprise with the experience.

Their selling system was easy to use and only took a couple of steps (and minutes).  Firstly, we downloaded the app on my phone. We then made an account and scanned in the barcodes of the games we were selling. You then choose your payment method from bank transfer, cheque or Paypal (we chose Paypal for the added level of security it always adds).

Ziffit will then email (or post you) a package label for you to attach to the box your are putting your DVDs, games or books in. All you have to do is pack up the items you are selling and take them to your nearest free collection point (ours was less than a mile from our home). You can drop the parcel off at any Collect+ point, you can find these all over the country from post offices, supermarkets to petrol stations. The app will advise you where your nearest collection point, however you can see on Collect+ site  there are so many locations that you could drop them off on the way to work or picking up the kids. Once Ziffit receive your goods you then get paid by your nominated method.

Apart from being a way to declutter and make cash from items lying around the home. Ziffit it much quicker and more efficient than selling on buying pages and on auction sites, you don't get messed around by buyers or stung with selling fees. You see how much you will actually get straight away and the only 'costs' you need to factor in for is the box to pack up what your selling and your trip to the Collect+ point. We were also pleasantly surprised how much our stuff sold for having expected to make much less.

Overall our experience was really positive, and it is definitely an app we would use again and recommend to others as a great way to quickly make money decluttering.

Exclusively for our readers Ziffit is offering a special 15% extra cash on all trade ins so that you can make even more money decluttering your home. Simply use the promo code SCOTTS15.

How do you make money decluttering? Have you used Ziffit, let us know your thoughts. 

Although this post is sponsored all opinions are our own. Sponsored posts help to keep SavingScotts running so we can continue to share financial freedom enabling advice. 

How to find UK scholarships

Finding scholarships to help with the costs of being a student can be a little tricky, but being able to get scholarships during your degree can be such a huge help. Scholarships are not as prevalent in the UK and there are far fewer "full ride" scholarships but they do exist and knowing where to look is the trick to success. 
Even a few hours work in searching and applying for scholarships can pay of hugely and scholarships are great to include on job applications as it shows that institutions are willing to invest in your potential.  
We have both been fortunate to receive several scholarships during our degrees and it has been of such a benefit to us. To date between the two of us we have received £17,000 in scholarship awards, and we are still applying for more whilst we are completing our degrees. That is why we are sharing how you too can find some amazing scholarships to help with the cost of university education. 

The Scholarship Hub is one of our favourite sites for searching for scholarships. We use the free option and have found it to be great, but there is a premium option that offers additional features. The Scholarship Hub allows you to search for scholarships based on subject, university or universal generic scholarships. They have a comprehensive easy to use database for many UK scholarships.

If you are already enrolled in a degree, or know where you are going to apply to the first thing to do is check your university for the scholarships on The Scholarship Hub, while not an exhaustive database it is a good start. If you are unable to find any scholarships on the site specifically for your university's course,  then move to searching your individual university's website.   There may be some more generic scholarships for those who are first generation students or care leavers. You may also find that a department offers specific scholarships, sometimes sponsored by a company. It is also worthies contacting your department office, as there may be scholarships which are not publicly advertised.  In my first year, I managed to pick up a scholarship, which was offered departmentally and not publicly advertised because I asked the school office if there was anything available. Also keep an eye out for posters on campus and emails advertising scholarships.

You can also use The Scholarship Hub to search for Degree apprenticeships and sponsored degrees which involve both an educational and vocational element. They typically take longer to complete, but can mean you can study with little or no costs. For example, KPMG offers a six-year programme where all your tuition and accommodation fees are covered for the duration of your degree, and you have a guaranteed job at the end. 

Degree apprenticeships are a "new" government initiative to allow students to graduate debt free and work during their studies allowing you to gain work experience while studying. They are not really new but just bringing back an old concept, in fact, Rebecca's dad obtained his degree through a degree apprenticeship scheme in the early 1980s through Rolls Royce. 

The downside is that you can expect to spend much of your evenings and weekends studying as the week is spend working.  If the 'typical student' experience is important to you, then a degree apprenticeship may not suit you. Also, not every sector is covered by degree apprenticeships, so this is another factor to consider whether they cover the subject you wish to study as the sectors are STEM-heavy.

There are currently 12 different industry sectors offering Degree Apprenticeships.

• Aerospace Engineering
• Aerospace Software Development
• Automotive Engineering
• Banking Relationship Manager
• Business & Finance
• Chartered Surveying
• Construction
• Defence Systems Engineering
• IT/Digital
• Electronic Systems Engineering
• Laboratory Science
• Nuclear Science

The NHS sponsorship scheme can help those studying accredited Medicine and Dentistry courses.  For those on the usual five-years undergraduate programme, the NHS will assist in the 5th year of study. While those on the accelerated four-year graduate programs the NHS Bursary Scheme will pay £3464 towards the cost of tuition in years 2 through 4. 

Did you have any scholarships whilst at university? How did you find and apply for them?