Are you a looking to earn a bit of extra cash on the side of your studies? Fat Lama is the peer-to-peer rental site which lets you rent out your things (fully-insured) to others nearby for cash. We met up with five students who are making hundreds by putting their belongings to work.

Jessica

Age: 22 Course: Economics, UCL Lending: Camera Equipment Makes: £545/month

Meet Jessica. She’s an Economics student at UCL who’s earning a steady income by lending out her camera equipment on Fat Lama. Like so many other students, she was struggling to maintain an active social life whilst making ends meet. When she came across Fat Lama, she listed her Nikon camera. Previously it had been gathering dust in her room in halls; within a week though, she was lending it out to would-be photographers for £40/day. A three-day weekend rental now earns her £120 - more than enough for a Saturday night out in Hackney, to ease the stress of coursework deadlines.

Chris

Age: 21 Course: Politics, KCL Lending: DJ Decks, Speakers, Road Bike. Makes: £210/month

Chris, a part-time DJ and student in London, is also using Fat Lama. In his spare time, Chris produces new beats and mixes but as his third year of uni hit, he lost a lot of his spare time to final year projects. Not wanting to throw them away, he listed his decks on Fat Lama after someone asked to rent them from him for an event. What began as a favour to a friend then escalated as Chris began listing his decks, speakers, spare video games and his bike!

Amy

Age: 20 Course: English & History, Goldsmiths Borrowed: PA System, Projector Saved: £630

Amy used Fat Lama as a borrower to help her plan an epic birthday party on a budget! Amy planned a house party on a tight budget but still wanted it to be the most impressive party yet. USB portable speakers weren’t going to cut it so she rented a ‘club-worthy’ PA system for 2 days and a projector to binge watch films with everyone the next day as they recovered. Saving money on buying one-off items to rent even better quality items and having enough left over for a few extra drinks.

Ryan

Age: 22 Course: Environmental Science, Brunel Borrowed: Projector Saved: £210

Ryan, President of an environmental society, regularly needs equipment when they host their monthly meetings. Society budgets are understandably tight and not wanting to waste money, they were looking for alternatives to save wherever they could. Spending £300 to buy a projector wasn’t really an option, so they now rent on a monthly basis. Fortunately, someone locally was lending theirs for £15 a day - a more suitable price for Ryan’s budget.

Nadia

Age: 20
Course: Engineering, ICL Lending: Toolkit Makes: £90/month

Nadia discovered Fat Lama in quite an amusing way. Her neighbours were also students, and after one amazing house party, their house was a little worse for wear. Knowing Nadia was an Engineering student, they asked if she might have any spare tools she could lend them. She lent her toolkit to them for a day for the easiest £20 she’s ever made. From there she went on to find Fat Lama, where she now rents to other students with occasional DIY needs.

For £20 off your first rental on Fat Lama use code UNIDAYS20