Broke college students love making extra money like a fat kid loves cake. I speak from personal experience, and, by the way, skinny kids love cake too. Like many other college students, my bank account ran closer to empty than full throughout my college and grad school years, but I still wanted to have fun without digging myself into a bigger hole.

There are tons of ways to make extra money, but most college students are simply too lazy to take advantage of them. Fortunately, I’ve put together this list of 5 easy ways for college students to make extra money during the school year. There should be something for every type of college student, from lazy to ambitious, on this list.

1. Open a high-yield savings account

This is by far the easiest (and laziest) way to make extra money. All you have to do is open a high-yield savings account, put your money in it, and wait. Each month you’ll earn some extra cash based on your balance. The catch is that you need some money to put into the account in the first place.

If you get a student loan refund, a high-yield savings account is a great place to put that cash. Why let it sit dormant in a checking account when it can be earning you some extra money in a high-yield savings account? You can also get a $25 bonus from ING Direct when you open an account with at least a $250 initial deposit.

2. Get a part-time job

Enough of the laziness, most college students have lots of free time (even more if you skip class). Whether you want to admit it or not, there’s no excuse for not getting a part-time job while you’re in school. Get an on-campus job at a computer lab if you want a low-key, low stress job where you’ll get paid to do your homework … I mean, supervise the computer lab.

During my last two years of undergrad, I had a part-time job, took a full course load, was in a serious relationship, and still managed to graduate with honors. Of course, even though that worked for me, it may not work for you. The key is find a part-time job that allows you to balance school with work and still leaves you with enough time to hang out with your friends.

3. Sell something you don’t need

Used textbooks, CDs, DVDs, video games, iPods, and anything else you might find on eBay. Chances are every college student has at least one thing they don’t need anymore, so sell it for some extra cash. If you want to avoid the hassle of shipping your items, then sell locally by posting your items on the Facebook Marketplace.

4. Make money online

Everyone has probably seen one of those cheesy infomercials about how easy it is to make money online these days. Well, they’re partially true. You can make some extra money online, and it’s pretty easy. However, it’s not going to turn you into a millionaire overnight (or in a week or in a month). If you put enough effort into it though, you may be able to pay back your student loans with the money you make online. Here is a small sample of the many opportunities out there:

• Complete offers at CashCrate. I’ve made over $4000 through CashCrate since joining.
• Write articles for Associated Content and earn money based on the performance of your articles.
• Make videos, post them on Revver, and get a cut of the ad revenue.

5. Do freelance work

House sitting, pet sitting, tennis lessons, commissioned art works, tutoring, web design, knitting, computer repair, or whatever else you’re good at doing. The beauty of freelance work is that you have the opportunity to do something that you really enjoy, and you get paid for it. The biggest challenge is finding these opportunities (a.k.a. tricking people into paying you to do stuff that’s actually fun).

Networking is your best friend when it comes to freelance work. One of your professors may need someone to house/pet sit while they’re out of town. A friend of a friend may know someone that wants a website. That’s exactly how I ended up getting paid to put together a wedding website for a grad student during my undergrad years.

As summer draws to a close, students everywhere are getting ready to head back to school. Since I finally finished my master’s degree, I won’t be heading back to school this August. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t help kick in a new school year by sharing the 72nd edition of the Carnival of Money Stories.

Teacher’s Pets

Photo by Sister72

While teachers and professors will never admit it, everybody has their favorites. I’m neither a teacher, nor a professor, so here are my favorite articles submitted to this week’s carnival.

• What does afford really mean? at So Cal Savvy. An interesting look into how the word “afford” can mean different things to different people.
• Student Travel: The Start of A Great Love Affair at Personal Finance Analyst. A great list of things you should know about before traveling abroad as a student.
• Keeping A Time Budget Log at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Time = money. Jim shares how he plans to keep a log of how he spends his time.
• Paying $1.00 to use a public bathroom is good. Paying 25¢ is bad. at Budgets are Sexy. Finally, someone is talking about the issue we’ve all been thinking about, “Would you pay to pee?”

Personal Progress Reports

Photo by victoriabernal

One of the best parts of going back to school is getting to catch up with everybody. Check out the following articles to learn about the progress these bloggers have made towards accomplishing their financial goals.

• Our Financial Goals: Savings and Debt Reduction at Prime Time Money.
• One month checkup – July’s Expenses at The Happy Rock.
• Progress Update – July 2008 at Dividends4Life.
• July 2008: Progress Update at Green Panda Treehouse.
• You’re Terminated, F*%#^@! at Poorer Than You.

Money Management Stories

One topic you probably won’t hear much about in school is money management. Fortunately, there’s a thing called the Internet, and you’re looking at it. The following articles cover a variety of different approaches to managing your money.

• How I Budget Part 1 at The Organizing Blog
• Three Principles Of Personal Finance at How I Save Money.net.
• Wallet: Found (and the Beauty of Simple Finance) at Smart Easy Money.
• 7 Ways To Handle Unexpected Expenses and Financial Emergencies at The Digerati Life.
• Improve Savings by Planning for Failure? at Mind Your Decisions.
• My 9 Biggest Money Mistakes at artofthecoupon.com.

Career and Business Stories

If you’re still in high school or college, finding a job or starting a business may be one of the last things on your mind, but it’s never too early to start. Check out these great articles to get a head start on knowing what to expect when you finally do enter the real world.

• Share Your Bad Boss Story at Free Money Finance.
• Get It In Writing at Cash Money Life.
• Entrepreneurs: Is Extreme Frugality A Waste of Time? at erica.biz.
• Ways Not Having a Job Impacts Our Personal Finances at Lazy Man and Money.

Food and Frugality Stories

Photo by bookgrl

We need food to survive, and we need money for food. Peruse the following articles for some great tips on both of these topics.

• $4 ice cream cone – frugal or not? at LivingAlmostLarge.
• How Not to Save Money on Groceries: A Story at Sound Money Matters.
• Save Money Without Feeling Deprived at Cathy Stucker.
• Frugal living doesn’t mean cheap at KCLau’s Money Tips.

Shopping Stories

Back to school sales pop up everywhere around this time of the year. Here are some articles with even more money saving advice while you’re out shopping.

• Hello, I have a convert here at Learning the ropes.
• Now Shopping Rite-Aid at Stop the Ride!
• Amazon’s Friday Sale gives me new appreciation for The Drugstore Game at Chief Family Officer.
• Stress-Free Back-to-School Shopping, teenage angst included at My Daily Dollars.

Credit and Debt Stories

Photo by britany.g

The average college student graduates with credit card debt, student loan debt, or a combination of both. Start reading these articles before you graduate and you may be able to eliminate your debt faster than you expect.

• Three Quick Steps To Get Out of Debt! at FIRE Finance.
• The Reluctant Spouse at not the jet set.
• A Little Adds Up Quick … at Iowahippiechicks Talking …
• Over 40 Million Credit Card Numbers Stolen – Ringleaders Exposed! at Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog.
• Dave Ramsey Shifted My Financial Paradigm at Trees Full of Money.

Investing Stories

Investing is a topic that doesn’t cross the minds of most college students, but it should because time is on your side when it comes to investing. Here’s a chance for college students to do some extracurricular learning.

• Dividend Reinvestment Programs and Direct Stock Purchase – Not So Easy For Canadians at Investing Five Daily.
• Keep Non-Deductible Traditional IRAs Separate at Roth IRA Explained.

Other Stories

Photo by One Hour Photo

Throughout school, I always found the topics that didn’t really fit into the curriculum to be some of the most interesting material. If you felt that way too, then this category is perfect for you.

• How to Schedule Time and Obligations at Almost Frugal.
• Ten Money Questions for Vicki Wagner at Queercents.
• How Do You Know When You Are About to See a Bailout? at PennyJobs.com.
• Digging Up The Water Pipes at Our House at My Dollar Plan.
• Finally Some Relief for Struggling Home Owners at Greener Pastures.
• The $50,000 Escape at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?

Have you ever had someone spend hours trying to explain something to you and by then end, you’re just as confused as when you started? Then you ask them to show you what they mean in pictures, and everything suddenly clicks. For certain topics, I find it easier to explain things in pictures rather than words, because a lot of people are visual learners.

If you read almost any personal finance site, you’ll find advice on why you should start saving as early as possible and why you should avoid debt as much as possible. Sometimes they’ll even crunch the numbers for you and explain how you can become a millionaire if you start saving early enough thanks to the power of compound interest. While this information is great, I’ve always wondered why there are so many more people in debt rather than on their way to becoming millionaires.

After a little thinking and a little doodling, I’ve come up with two simple illustrations to explain why saving money is so much harder than spending money.

The beauty of compound interest is that it grows exponentially. The curve in the drawing above represents the growth of your savings over time. Now imagine the curve as something you might encounter in real life, like a mountain. Saving money is like climbing a mountain. It’s a great challenge that requires a lot of effort and determination. Some people never have the guts to try in the first place. Others may get tired and give up along the way. However, for those people who don’t give up and work their way to the top, it can be extremely rewarding.

Unfortunately, the beauty of compound interest turns ugly when it comes to spending money. The debt curve is basically the saving curve turned upside down, which means that the mountain is now a cliff. Spending money is like walking off a cliff. Thanks to the wonder of gravity, falling takes almost no effort on our part. In fact, a lot of people seem to fall off the edge before they even realize that they’ve gone too far.