Persistent inflation, rising tuition and declining household purchasing power have intensified the financial burden on Nigerian university students, many of whom now combine study with informal and digital income-generating activities, popularly called side hustles.This study assessed the level of financial stress among undergraduates, identified the income-generating activities they adopt, described the time invested and weekly earnings, and examined whether time commitment and gender were associated with lecture attendance and type of activity, respectively.A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 338 undergraduates selected by multistage sampling from two public universities in South-West Nigeria. Data were collected with a researcher-developed questionnaire (Cronbach’s α = .89) and analysed with descriptive statistics and chi-square tests at the .05 level of significance.Overall, 39.9% of respondents reported high financial stress, 37.6% moderate and 22.5% low. About one in four students (27.2%, n = 92) engaged in income-generating activities, most commonly sports betting (18.5%), petty trading (16.3%), forex trading (16.3%) and cryptocurrency trading (14.1%); 6.5% reported online fraud. Reported weekly earnings ranged from ₦5,000 to ₦200,000. Among students who engaged in these activities, 76.1% missed lectures at least sometimes. Daily time commitment was significantly associated with lecture absenteeism, χ²(3, N = 92) = 18.65, p < .001, Cramér’s V = .45, and gender was strongly associated with the type of activity, χ²(1, N = 92) = 50.10, p < .001, φ = .74.Financial stress is widespread among undergraduates, and time-intensive digital and speculative ventures appear to compete directly with class attendance. Expanded student loans, structured work-study schemes, financial-literacy and gambling-harm education, and guidance-and-counselling support are recommended.
Keywords: Undergraduates, academic commitment, digital economy, financial stress, side hustle, sports betting
