By Paul Savident

Whether it’s to buy reference books, pay for increases in household bills, buying a new t-shirt, or simply splashing out for an extra drink or two at the student bar, it is always good to have that little bit extra in your pocket.

RentMyItems.com, the new online marketplace where you can rent household items to colleagues and other registered members in the local community, may be an answer for some financial constraints. Currently offering up to two months free listings, there are many items that you might have sitting around in your room or home, which you could list and earn money from, and here are ten ideas to get you started:

Text books: text and reference books never seem to be cheap, so why not rent them to friends and colleagues at your university? Whether it be last year’s ones which you no longer need, or this year’s that you want to keep but might not need on your shelf, rent the book out for a week or more and gain some extra cash.

Bike: a cheap and convenient way of getting around, even in those cities not known as ‘bike towns’, so if you have one and you don’t use it daily whey not rent it out on a daily basis to someone who might want to?

Printer: essential for printing the seemingly endless documents required at university these days, though why not rent yours out to those who don’t have one and need one? It might be that it can be rented for half a day and add some cash to your pocket, while solving a problem for someone else.

Dress/Suit for Uni Ball: every now and then smart clothes are needed, so why not rent out items in your wardrobe, or those not required anymore from other members of your household, and make an extra fiver?

Sports equipment: one of the most little-used general purchases that sit around under-utilised is sports equipment. Whether a tennis or badminton racquet, bench-press, skipping rope or bullworker rent for a few hours, half-a-day or a few days and make your spare exercise equipment work a bit harder for you.

Scientific and other specialist equipment for projects: expensive items and often ones that get used for part of a degree rather than through the whole time. If you have a microscope or other specialist equipment gathering dust list it and let it focus in on your finances.

Futon or Blow-Up bed: bunking on floors for your colleagues and friends could be a thing of the past if you rent a spare travel futon or blow-up bed, just don’t charge your own guests! Let others have a more comfy stay with friends and colleagues and earn some cash from your mattress – but don’t hide any under it!

Beer-making Kit: there are always good intentions to save a bit of money when buying a beer-making kit. What usually happens is that it will sit around unused. Why not rent it out and make a bit extra for that additional pint at the bar. Why not also ask for a pint of the special brew when complete – two pints for the price of none.

About the author

Paul Savident (www.savident.com) has some twenty years of customer-focussed sales and development in a wide range of industry sectors including entertainment, web, personal/brand management, finance and the food sector. Paul has recently launched www.RentMyItems.com a new online marketplace where users can rent their little used or unused items to others within their own community, and make a little extra cash to make tight budgets stretch a little bit further. Paul continues to be central in the funding/financing of a number of businesses including technology, new media, publishing, micro-generation, entertainment and film and TV production.

About the company

RentMyItems.com is an online UK marketplace, launched in September 2011, which facilitates person to person renting of items owned among friends, family and communities. Rentors are able to list items that they own which will be made available to rent from other individuals in their community (Rentees), and derive personal income from the rental of those items.

www.RentMyItems.com  

www.savident.com