The B-schoolers aren’t the only ones effected by the recent economic downturn.  It turns out undergrads are too! Instead of offering advice on how to save money, this week Bwog on a Budget returns with a special money-making feature. 

The long and the short of it is simple: Bwog is broke.  Given our economic state, there’s little sense in discussing how to save money since there’s no money to be saved.  Yes, indeed the time has come for Bwog to make some money. But when the times are tough, finding work is hard.   And finding work is especially hard for Columbia students, who not only prefer not to waste their talent doing remedial labor but also have their cumbersome class schedules to take into account.  And while the minority of employed folks may receive a steady flow of cash each month, by October 18th, September’s paycheck certainly must have diminished.

Bwog’s done some research and discovered that Columbia’s most lucrative resource is just where you’d expect to find lucrative things and people.  Tucked away on the second floor of the business school library is Columbia’s Behavioral Research Lab.   If you are desperate enough, Bwog understands and suggests you sign up to receive the Behavioral Research Lab‘s bi-weekly announcements. 

At the end of each week, the Behavioral Research Lab sends out listings of the studies scheduled for the week to come.  Participating in the studies requires very little effort or time commitment, give or take about half an hour.  Just think in the time it takes you to walk to the Chase on 109th and back, you could make anywhere from five to twenty-five dollars by participating in one of these studies.   Fifteen minutes of your time might seem worth more than eight bucks, but consider this: eight bucks easily covers the cost of a fancy drink at Campo or any other little treasure your frugality prevents you from purchasing.   Right now, your plate maybe full with midterms, but come the end of the week you’ll want to celebrate and wouldn’t it be nice to have an extra twenty bucks?

And if you’re one of those types who derives mindless satisfaction from filling out forms and checking boxes, then you might even find the studies enjoyable.  Studies usually consist of unobtrusive activities like answering questionnaires, responding to prompts or completing easy tasks with a group of other participants.  The aim of most of the studies at the Behavioral Research Lab is to analyze consumer trends and spending psychology, so if you don’t like mass marketing and all that jazz this might not be the occupation for you. 

But if you’re like the rest of us and could use some fast cash, participating in behavioral research studies offers an easy and efficient way to up your income without finding a job or anything mature like that.