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45 Ways to Earn Some Extra Money
In the personal finance basics series that I’m currently doing, the first step was to earn some money (pretty obvious, eh?). While thinking about going into more detail on this step, I realized that there are numerous directions I can go with this post. I’ve decided to start with a list of ways to earn some "extra" money – outside of your current career/job. I’m going to periodically add to this list and, over time, create a large list of such ideas.
The point of the list is to be comprehensive but not detailed. I will go into more detail on some of the ideas in the future as needed. You can search other blogs or the web to find out more information on the ones that strike your fancy. My hope is that reading through the list will pique your interest in one or more of these ideas or it will get your creative juices flowing and trigger some great ideas of your own (if you have any, leave a comment for others to see too and I’ll put it in a future list).
1. Make Money online
There are numerous opportunities online to make some money as well. Some (like creating an affiliate marketing site) require some skill, time, and/or money but others (like filling our surveys) require none of that. If you decide to pursue some of these opportunities, I would strongly suggest that you do some searches and find reviews from bloggers that have actually done them. You’re trying to make money so you definitely don’t want to fall into a scam – and there seem to be a number of those out there so please be careful. Here are some links to get reviews and information on CashCrate here . at biblemoneymatters , at ChristianPF , and a bunch of stuff at SpillingBuckets.
- Fill out surveys – look into cashcrate.com and opinionoutpost.com
- Use Scour.com for your internet searches
- Review products – check out vindale.com
- Create an affiliate marketing site (or put links on your blog – for instance, the cashcrate, opinion outpost, and scour links above are affiliate links)
- Fashion design at cafepress.com
- Self-publish and sell books at lulu.com
- Write and sell an e-book
- Create and post videos to Revver.com
- Put ads on a website or blog (I’ve made more than 2 whole dollars doing this – ok, so maybe not the best example but rumor has it that some people actually make money blogging)
2. Sell some of your stuff
What could be better than de-cluttering your home and making money at the same time? It’s a win-win-win! (the third "win" is for the person who gets your stuff for a good price)
- Have a garage sale
- Sell stuff on ebay.com
- Sell stuff on craigslist.org
- Sell stuff to a consignment shop or a used kids clothing shop (well, sell your kids’s clothes there)
- Sell DVDs, CDs, and games locally or to secondspin.com
3. Become a "chicken" entrepreneur
Undoubtedly, you have skills that someone else needs. So tap your network and see who will pay you a few dollars to help them out. The list here could go on and on – limited only by your imagination. Most of these you can start part-time (hence the "chicken" adjective as in "too chicken to leave your job and be a full-time entrepreneur") and you never know – it just might lead to a new career. And if you fill a big need or invent a new market, it might become a huge income source.
- Install software
- Troubleshoot computers or networks
- Design websites
- Graphic design
- Internet marketing consulting
- Search engine optimization consulting
- Copy-editing
- Organize closets
- Organize garages
- Interior decorating
- Power wash houses or decks
- Mow lawns/yard-work
- Become a handy-person
- Become a personal assistant or virtual personal assistant
- Become a personal shopper
- Become a personal chef
- Walk dogs
- Clean up after dogs
- Clean houses
- House-sitting
- Baby-sitting
- Photography
- Convert home movies to DVDs
4. Get a part-time job in the evenings and/or weekends
A part-time job is typically fairly easy to get and the hours can be quite flexible. This is a good opportunity to earn some money while getting involved with something you find interesting (all the better if you then get an employee discount)
- Deliver pizzas (you need a car for this)
- Work at Fed-Ex/UPS late at night (money & exercise at the same time!)
- Work as a waiter or waitress
- Work in retail at any local store or the local mall (these jobs are exceptionally plentiful around Christmas)
5. Other
I’m not really sure into which category these fall, so I’ve grouped them here under this incredibly imaginative section name.
- Participate in medical research – surveys and actual research (my wife and I once made $475 in one afternoon by donating a little bone marrow to a research effort)
- Sell plasma
- Participate in marketing research/focus groups (I once made $125 for 3 hours that included some snacks and driving around checking out Home Depot stores)
- Mystery shopping – check out ICCDS.com and checkmarkinc.com
So, I’m stopping here for this first post. The list is fairly extensive but I’m sure I haven’t even scratched the surface. Hopefully you’ve found some ideas you’re interested in pursuing or, even better, reading the list has triggered some great ideas of your own. If you have any other ideas you’d like to share, please leave a comment or send an email and I’ll include it in the next post. If you’ve tried any of these, please let us know how well it worked out.
More detailed information on Making Money Online
As a continuation of this series, I have started provided more indepth information on the Making Money Online section. Check out this post to get a more comprehensive look into how you can make some extra money using CashCrate.
Related Posts:- Making Money Spotlight: Using CashCrate to Earn Some Extra Money
- Eight and a Half Effective but Somewhat Less than Practical Ways to Save Money
- Weekly Bible Verse – Our Ability to Earn Money comes from God
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50 Responses to “45 Ways to Earn Some Extra Money”
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Thanks for the link! There really are a lot of ways out there to make money on the internet. The only thing holding you back is your creativity!
Great post – I got some good ideas out of this… It is truly amazing how many opportunities there are out there…
Good tips to earn a little extra capital …
check out getafreelancer or elance great sites to earn some extra bucks.
You can always try pay per click but be prepared to lose some money
Good list but what about these…
Write articles – lots of companies will pay for well written unique content. Take a look on the freelancer sites and you’ll find plenty of demand.
Sell stock photos – several of the bigger stock image sites will pay for high quality digital images.
Start a blog – blogs which ae well written, regularly updated and full of good solid content tend to get lots of visitors… and those visitors can be turned in to cash via advertising, or promoting affiliate products.
Create an audio product – higher percieved value than an ebook and even easier to produce. Just interview an expert (or several!) in any niche topic, record the interview and sell the recordings as MP3s, or have them transcribed and turned into an ebook too!
Do a teleseminar – If you’re interviewing experts, why not do it as a live call? You can promote their products through your affiliate link and everyone’s a winner!
Build an opt-in list – This is the biggie! Whether from a blog, teleseminars, article marketing etc. capture the name and email address of your visitors and add them to an autoresponder sequence which keeps sending them fresh content and promotions for a residual income!
Bill – Online Business Logic’s latest blog post…Content creation part 5 – Video (Using Camstudio)
@Pete & @ChristianPF – thanks for Stumbling the post!
@PPC Fool – thanks for pointing out those other sites, they look good – have you tried them?
@Bill – really great ideas – thanks so much for sharing them!
It still surprises me how no one ever mentions arbitrage trading when talking about home based money making options. Sports Arbitrage trading is a respectable and reliable method of making money from home which most people still seem to not even know about.
Some excellent tips there. Particularly the ones listed under ‘chicken entrepreneur’.
I found your site on Stumble. This is a great list, although I don’t know about selling plasma. I wouldn’t be able to sit still and watch that process:)
The Passive Dad’s latest blog post…To Move or Not to Move?
Im apart of a program that is free to join, just follow a few simple steps, sign up for a few offers and you get $20.00 sent to your paypal account.
And for every person you sign up, you will get $80.00 sent to your paypal account within a few hours. its that simple.
Thanks for the great suggestions. We can all use some extra $$ these days.
Great ideas here and good for people who say “I don’t know where I can make extra money from”. Still to make money consistently from part time endeavours, you still need to put in the time and effort.
Passive Dad – yeah, some of the ideas are harder to implement than others. Some might find it hard to go out on a limb and setup a small consulting business while others find it hard to watch their plasma being extra from their body. I can certainly understand that one!
AndyS – you are right on – with some of these ideas you can make a little money with only a little effort – but if you want to make a significant amount of money, it will take some effort and perseverance.
Aegist – I have never heard of sports arbitrage trading, I guess that proves your point
Ryan G & grdnrofeden – thanks for the kind words, I hope you try some of the ideas and have some success.
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Hey, thanks for the information. Good information you have
Wow, that is a whole lot of useful information to digest. But I am not sure about Scour’s long term prospect.
Usually, paid search engines drum up strong support and I am sure Scour has good marketing skills, but most change their terms and conditions when it is payment time or just vanish all of a sudden.
jeflin’s latest blog post…Hurricane Gustav Brings Cheers To Oil Market
@jeflin – I agree, we will have to wait and see about Scour. And they just recently changed their payout policy for people from certain countries due to some concerns. I’m a ways off from meeting the minimum payout there, so who knows what will happen if I ever get there!
Open an website and use google ads.
ketchum id…
I discovered your site on faves.com bookmarking site…I like it and gave it a fave for you, I’ll be checking back regularly…
Great suggestions. My favorite is create assets such as a home based business which creates cashflow. This way your one time investment pays off for the long haul. I am not advocating trying to get rich quick, but rather build assets, cash-flow, and wealth slowly and steadily.
Anthony’s latest blog post…Are You Financially Prepared for the Future? (Most Aren’t)
Great post to get someone going. I don’t think we have enough info for the real beginner. Most stuff talks over the beginners head.
Ray The Money Man’s latest blog post…Biofuels Made From Enzymes? Novozymes Says YES!
Good Post.
I love lists like this. The only problem that I have is trying to build up the motivation to actually do something on the list.
Most of the items that you outlined are have little or no start up costs. For someone in debt that is important. I have written a couple of posts about the importance of fitting the potential second income stream with your current lifestyle. The logistics and payoff of something like getting a second job have to make sense. Otherwise your time would be better spent doing something else.
@Until Debt Do US Part – Good point about fitting your alternative income streams in with your current lifestyle. My original goal with this list was to put forward a bunch of ideas to inspire people to just try something or to get them thinking about other ideas that might fit them even better than what’s on the list.
45 Ways to Earn Some Extra Money…
45 Ways to Earn Some Extra Money…
Lots of great ideas, In my search for ways to make a little money on the side, I came across thousands upon thousands of sites claiming that you can earn $1500 weekly in just 24 hours. But after weeding though all of them I came across a website that was upfront about earning potential and the time it would take to earn it. I have been working at it for six weeks and have started to make a small income, enough to pay a few bills.
http://www.beginmakingcashonline.com
Making money online is as tough as nails. There are so many hucksters out there they will first rob you of your money and when they are done, you still have not made a single dime. The formula hardly works for many people and its not for everyone.
How about some normal honest work and studying something worthwhile?
@griff – that’s a good point and I wholeheartedly agree – the goal of this post, however, was to examine ways to earn “extra” money outside of your normal career.
Filling out online servey is bit boring though, especially if you don’t like the subject topic.
I prefer to take the time to monetize adsense sites.
residual income…
I found your site on faves.com bookmarking site.. I like it ..gave it a fave for you..ill be checking back later…
make money online…
Where we live here in Colorado, many people have painted rocks they use for decorative doorstops or paperweights. If you live in an area where you can get nice smooth rocks, you can make them yourself and sell them. You can paint them with flowers, or …
This a good list to start from and get ideas. There are so many ways to make online. The key is knowing how to market your ideas to convert into cash.
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Great site.
Thank you for the list of great ideas, I am making money from surveys and others sites. http://moneymakingnewbies.blogspot.com
I like your common sense approach to the list. I especially enjoy your advice about getting rid of stuff, and I’ve written about that myself.
I used to be a career coach, and when I would give some of these types of suggestions to clients who were looking to do something different, they would look at me like I had 2 heads. I knew that if they could not approach life with new ideas like this to move themselves into a better place in life (for example: horrors upon horrors – actually get rid of some of my stuff??) that they would keep doing exactly what they were doing.
And, they generally did. I’m glad to say I stopped draining myself as well, and have done many of the steps you list myself. And you know what? This stuff works!
Not only that, but I have found that once you start getting rid of unnecessary clutter, you make room in your life for more creative thoughts and activities.
Great post!
@Kathy – thanks for your comment. I love getting rid of unnecessary clutter – lately, getting rid of junk has become one of my favorite things to do!
Making money online is an excellent way to go. Yes, there may be a little learning curve at first, but with the right resources and a little effort you can replace your job’s income. If you’ve felt this as an option for you don’t let naysayers talk you out of it. Those who haven’t had success making money online are usually busy complaining about it and giving up instead of seeking how to succeed and DOING what’s needed to get there. It really is a great option in that it doesn’t take a lot of capital up front, and more importantly can do wonders in giving you hope. The latter I mention, because that is probably the most important thing when your budget is tight and you’re feeling like a slave…
Check out affiliate marketing:
James Martell is one of the honest ones out there.
Also check out PPC Marketing (Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, MSN Adcenter):
Trusted in the Field:
Jeremy Palmer – Awesome, honest guy who knows his stuff.
PPC CLassroom – Anik Singal & Amit Mheta – Two other great guys who really talk nuts and bolts.
Hope this helps some of you. Personally I love the business! It does work!
Alan
Have you ever heard of Gazelle.com? I just ran across them the other day by mention from a friend. From Gazelle’s website:
I briefly looked at the website yesterday and was very impressed. Right off the bat I found 4 “retired” electronic devices of mine they were willing to give me $35 for total.
So you’re cleaning up your crap, being responsible, and making some money! What could be better than that??
DebtFREEk!
Debt Free Adventure´s latest blog post…Monday DFA Tip of the Week – 02/23/2009
Gazelle sounds very intriguing, I will definitely check that out – thanks for the tip!
@Alan – thanks for the info!
Wow! A really informative article. Keep up the good work. If someone reads this and still doesnt get an idea of how to make money then they are truly blind. Hehe! Ciao
Free Video Sharing Sites´s latest blog post…Free Video Sharing Sites – The biggest video sharing site list on the internet
This article is an excellent resource, it must have taken some time to put togther but it will be really useful for helping individuals think about the varied ways in which they can generate some extra income with integrity. I really enjoyed reading it especially as this is an area which i have reasearched and written articles about for some time.
Well this is very interesting indeed.Would love to read a little more of this. Great post. Thanks for the heads-up
ARUN´s latest blog post…Can you buy acai berry supplements in a retail store like GNC or Walgreens?
Great post! Always want to think about ways to save money as well. Cutting expenses can normally help even more. We see many homeowners taking on Roommates to help pay their mortgages too. Always something to help out!
Happy Business!
Thanks! Great ideas. Here is another great site for making cash on the side. Get a fully Certified e-Commerce Website for $10 a month:
http://pagebuzz.com?&agentid=sgfusions
Great stuff and you really have good suggestions here! I think finding out where your passions lie and taking it from there will take you as far as you can go.
Remember…Success is not by chance, it’s by CHOICE!
Cheers,
Genesis Pure Business Opportunity
Genesis Pure Business Opportunity´s latest blog post…Genesis Pure Work From Home Careers
Cool suggestions you have here and great post! Thanks. It’s an excellent resource you have here.
EARN MONEY´s latest blog post…Easy Google Profit
This is a pretty good post about ways to make money online! And I’m glad to see you mentioned cashcrate there.. I’ve been with them for some time now and I’ve earned a decent amount. Great post!
Thanks for the info you have here. Very useful.
Wow, those are definitely some nice ways of earning that extra buck online. Thanks for sharing, these will definitely come in handy!
Cash Makers´s latest blog post…My Internet Payday Review