One Dozen Ways to Earn Extra Money
Sometimes, all you need to bridge a budget gap is a few extra dollars a month. The best ideas for generating extra cash are realistic, flexible, available and possible without a big investment. If you’ve cut your expenses as far as they’ll go, here are some creative ways to put some extra padding in your pockets. However you choose to earn extra money, be sure to get the terms in writing and a deposit or payment upfront.
- Turn your trash into treasure by selling items you no longer want at a garage sale or local consignment shop. At a consignment shop, you still own your items until the shop sells them and gives you a percentage of the sale according to terms set in advance.
- Sell unwanted items on Internet auction sites such as ebay. Under federal law, you must advertise your product honestly and you can’t place false bids or offer false testimonials about yourself in the comments section. You are also required to ship the merchandise within the time frame you specify or within 30 days. Read the site’s terms of service and research any online payment services or escrow services before accepting payments via those methods.
- Moonlighting and freelancing are also tried and true ways to earn more money. Check out sites like www.sologig.com and www.elance.com to find available jobs in your field.
- Consider becoming a mystery shopper where you try certain products or services and are reimbursed for the cost or allowed to keep the merchandise. The Mystery Shopping Providers Association website at www.mysteryshop.org/ has information about available jobs and how to register to be a mystery shopper. Beware of mystery shopper scams and never wire money to the company or someone you don't know.
- Share your two cents on a topic and get back money in return by being paid to take surveys or participate in focus groups. Find opportunities at www.freepaidsurveys.com and www.findfocusgroups.com and use the same precautions suggested above for mystery shoppers.
- If you are handy with a camera, submit photos and videos to stock photo agencies such as shutterstock.com and you will earn at least a quarter each time someone downloads one of your photos. Revenue-sharing video site MetaCafe.com also has a producer rewards program that pays for every 1,000 times your video is viewed.
- If you’re a pet lover, you can make some good money in pet sitting, sometimes upwards of $65 per day. Advertise through word of mouth and you’ll be surprised how many pet owners will be interested in your services.
- People also need help taking care of plants. Earn extra cash by taking care of house plants and even outdoor gardens while people are on vacation.
- Do you sew at home on a sewing machine? Many local clothing stores, particularly upscale stores, men’s suit stores and even dry cleaners, need people with sewing skills.
- Offer to run errands for people and, in addition to getting paid, you can deduct your mileage from your taxes. In 2011, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business is 51 cents per mile.
- Tutor or teach your passion by looking for community centers where you can earn a small fee by teaching a particular artistic, musical or computer skill to a group of people or give individual lessons.
- The start-up costs to join a direct selling company such as Avon or Tupperware are minimal and you can work around your schedule.
