How to invest and make my own money without a job
Funding an investment account like a Roth IRA requires earned income, which leaves students living off family support or without a job unable to contribute independently. This restriction prevents people from building their own personal savings or generating independent spending money while managing heavy school obligations.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Getting a campus job or working a lot
- 2Reading basic personal finance wiki guides
- 3Asking on public forums or subreddits for tax clarification
- 4Filing taxes jointly versus separately to see contribution eligibility
- 5Using tax software like TurboTax to run hypothetical scenarios
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Theoretically… can my wife open a ROTH IRA and I fund it with my income as she cannot?”source ↗
“Her income falls below the ROTH limit so no backdoor method should be needed for hers.”source ↗
“Filing separately would likely make a big and bad difference in your taxes.”source ↗
“Does it not matter filing separately because we’re married?”source ↗
“Lately, I feel really insecure about money.”source ↗
“I have never had a job and just joined a sorority- my parents are fine with financing me through college, but I want money for myself.”source ↗
“I would get a job on campus, but I fear that I wouldn't have enough time to do that on top of schoolwork and sorority obligations.”source ↗
“I like the idea of setting up a Roth IRA but don't exactly know how it works, or how much money I am guaranteed to receive in a month span.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5How to get a mortgage without a traditional salary or employment history
- 2How to start investing with fluctuating or seasonal income
- 4How to pay credit card debt with no job and leaving the country
- 3Can my retirement contributions exceed my earned income?
- 6How to move out and become financially independent with no family support
- 2How to invest an inheritance when you have no idea what you're doing