Five ways to get the most out of your student HELB loan
Ureport
By
Stephen Mutuku
| Jul 28, 2020
Needy and deserving students are eligible for funding by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). It enables them to pursue their dream career. After four years, they usher you into the already shrinking job market with about Sh250, 000 debt.
Irrespective of whether you have a job, you've to remit a minimum amount monthly. Failure to which you attract a penalty of sh. 5,000 per month. It explains the high default rate.
The government further requires you to have a HELB clearance certificate for you to land a job with the Public Service. Technically kicks defaulters out of decent job opportunities.
With the average student receiving between Sh12,000 and Sh26,000 in their accounts per semester, how can they make most out of this money?
Offer a skill
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Offer your skill for a charge. For instance, you can offer photography services during photo shoots or campus events. Shoe repair, cloth fittings, photocopy, and printing, you think of what you can offer. Base it on peoples in needs in your proximity.
Join the Freelance Wave
Full-time students will agree with me that you spend a lot of time-off class. And instead of watching movies or your favorite football club play, you'd love to make a buck for smooth running in this daunting academic journey.
Yes, it's possible. Join freelance sites such as Up Work and offer your services. It could be content creations, virtual assistants, graphics, or even app development; the list is endless.
You only need a laptop and a stable internet connection to get started. You can always tap into the wisdom of veterans in this sector or join various Facebook groups for easy learning.
Start a Blog
In our country, we perceive bloggers as a bunch of idle people with nothing to say. It's a misconception. You can educate people through your blog and earn a buck out of it. The good news is; you need not learn HTML and all those coding languages to get started.
You establish a WordPress blog and build your audience. With time, you can start selling content through it or even use it as a portfolio to showcase your writing prowess.
The internet is full of crap, don't feed it with more. Add value to your audience, and everything will start falling into place.
Teach a Class
Now that you're on campus, you're a top brain. You can tap into this and pitch several schools that may enjoy your Skillset. You can also recruit a class of your own and coach at a fee. It'll help you stay productive and provide some income.
How about V Blogging?
Tits similar to blogging only that your content is in videos and slideshows. With the rise in video content popularity and reducing span in concentration span; videos are the way to go. Viral content will quickly get you an audience from which you can reap the rewards from ventures such as Google AdSense, pay per click, or even advertising content on your platform.
Conclusion
Opportunities knock the door every day. Arise and seize them. Make the most out of your HELB cash to facilitate you in any of those ventures. Be flexible and adopt any other viable idea of your preference. This piece is just an eye-opener. Best of luck.
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