12 1/2 Ways to Make Money in
a Bad Economy
By Dr. Jason Cabler
Do you need to make a little extra money because it’s gotten difficult to
make ends meet in this difficult economy? Have you already trimmed
expenses as much as you can, and done everything else you can to use
your money more efficiently?
If so, then one of the best things you can do to get ahead is find ways to
make extra money.
I’ve put together a few ideas you can use to make extra money that you
can implement immediately. You can use these to help catch up your
bills, start paying down debt, for investing, or just for extra pocket
money.
Some of these are just plain common sense, and a few you might not
have thought about, but all of them can help you make extra money to
get by, even when the overall economy is not so hot.
12 ½ Ways to Make Extra Money
1. Become a Wrapper- Ever seen cars rolling around town wrapped in
advertising? Not all of them are being driven by small business owners
promoting their business. Some people actually get paid to have their
car wrapped in advertising and go about their normal daily driving
habits.
Depending on what your driving habits are, where you live, and what
the advertiser is willing to pay, you can make as much as $400 a month
just for driving your car! It might be a little hard to get picked if you
drive less than 800 miles per month and don’t live in a highly populated
area, but it could be worth 20-30 minutes of your time to fill out signup
forms on several different websites to see if you qualify. Just do a
Google search for “auto wrap advertising”.
2. Do You Like Arts and Crafts?
If you're a creative person that has arts and crafts skills, you can make
any number of crafty articles and sell them to friends, family, or anyone
else around the world by setting up a shop at Etsy.com. Etsy is an
internet marketplace for arts and crafts that connects you with people
around the world who want to buy what you make. That’s a lot better
than setting up shop at the local flea market or begging a boutique
owner to carry your stuff!
3. Do Some Freelancing
It doesn't matter if you’re an accountant or a house cleaner, if you have
a marketable skill, hire yourself out to do freelance work on the
side. Unless your employer strictly forbids freelancing, it can be a great
way to make a little, or even a lot of extra money. If you market
yourself well and get busy enough, you could even grow it into a full
time business and leave the 9 to 5 life behind for good. It’s extremely
easy to advertise your services on sites like Craigslist and Elance.com.
4. Do You Have Photography Skills?
Believe it or not, you can make money selling your photos online at
sites like Shutterstock, Fotolia, or istockphoto.com. You may already
have a large collection of photos you could sell, or you can shoot what
interests you and upload them to these sites. Typically, you’ll make
about $ .25 whenever someone buys one of your pics, so you probably
won’t make millions, but realize, each photo can be sold an unlimited
number of times. So if you upload dozens or even hundreds of quality
photos, it could turn into a steady stream of income over time.
5. Have an Extra Room to Rent?
Rent a room or even your entire house to someone traveling to your
city using AirBnB.com. Just list what you have available on the website
and people can sign up for a stay at your home. You're in control of
how much you want to charge per night. Plus, you have the power to
approve or deny who stays in your space.
Travelers and accommodations are rated by the participants, which
allows you to have a better idea of who will be staying in your
house. AirBnB will even send a professional photographer to take
pictures for your listing free of charge to make sure your space is
represented as attractively as possible. Here’s a quick video to show
you how the process works.
6. Buy and Sell Used Cars- This idea will take a significant amount of
upfront money to get started, but you can easily make a very good
return on that money. You can
find underpriced cars- There are
more available than you think- by
scouring Craigslist and other local
sources, or go to an auto auction
that’s open to the public. Find a
solid used car, clean it up, fix any
minor problems, and sell it for a
hefty profit.
To find out the value of a car before you buy it, use KBB.com to find the
Blue Book value. When you find a car that is significantly underpriced
compared to the Blue Book price, that’s a good one to consider.
Once you buy it and get it ready for sale, advertise it on Craigslist or
another local site, and sell it for its true value.
7. Sell Groups of Things Online- Buy items very cheaply at garage sales
or thrift stores such as dishes, clothing, and home décor items. Group
them together in an attractive way, and sell
them as a set on sites like Ebay and Etsy.
Many people don’t have an eye for matching
and color coordination, and this is a great way
to be creative and help others get unusual
combinations of items that they never could
have found otherwise.
8. Write a “How To” Book- Unless you're already a writer, you
probably haven't seriously thought about publishing a book. But with
today's self-publishing revolution, anyone can do just that without
having to submit a manuscript to dozens of publishers and deal with
dozens of rejections from gate keepers who just aren't interested.
These days, you can write what you want,
self publish for little or no cost, and
market it to almost anyone in the world
for instant purchase.
You can even set your own price!
Yes, I know.
You're probably not a writer. That's ok.
All you need to know is how to write an
understandable sentence. You don't have
to be Hemingway or T.S. Eliot. Just be you. What would you write
about? Write about what you know how to do.
Everybody knows how to do something. It doesn't have to be anything
complicated or highbrow, just a short book on how to do almost
anything will work just fine.
Believe it or not, just because you know how to do something relatively
common doesn't mean everyone else knows how to do it. And it
especially doesn't mean anyone has taken the time to write a short
book about it. Find out more info on how to publish a “how to” book
by reading this post.
9. Sell Your Stuff on Ebay
Clean out your attic, your closets, your garage, and your basement and
sell the stuff you don’t use anymore on Ebay or Craigslist. Also, you
could buy stuff at garage sales for next to nothing and sell them on
those sites for a profit. This works especially well for children’s
clothing, larger items, and collectibles. For clothing and smaller items,
you can get them at a yard sale for $.25 to $1 per item, group them
together into outfits or sets, and sell them for$10-$15 or more.
Of course, it’s best to sell things that are in good condition. But I’ve
personally sold things like broken cameras and other electronics on
these sites as well. Many people want to buy broken things just for the
parts.
10. Throw a Garage Sale
I know this is pretty obvious advice, but hey, go with what works.
Especially if you have some large items like furniture or appliances that
you can sell, It’s easy to get them sold quickly if you put the right price
on them. You can make money very quickly with a garage sale, along
with the added bonus of decluttering your house. If there are any
items that don’t get sold, donate them to Goodwill or other charity, and
you can get a tax write off for it on next year’s taxes.
11. Jobs and Gigs On Craigslist
Craigslist has “Jobs” and “Gigs” sections where you can hire yourself
out for skilled positions or odd jobs. On a recent search I saw ads for
people needing everything from a house cleaner, to a Russian speaking
baby sitter, to skilled positions such as writers and virtual assistants.
There are a ton of people out there who need the skills you have.
Craigslist is a great place to start because it connects you with people
who need your skills so much more efficiently than was possible in the
past.
12. Detail Cars
Many times people don’t have the time or don’t want to take the time
to keep their car as clean as they’d like. That’s where you can help.
You can work part time and/or on the weekends detailing cars.
You can solicit your detailing services at businesses with a lot of office
workers, allowing you to detail several
cars in one location while the owners
are working. It’s not extremely difficult
work, and if you do an excellent job
you’ll get plenty of referrals.
We used to have a detailer that came
to my office about once a month and
he would typically do 2-3 cars while he was there. Extra income from
that kind of work can add up pretty quickly!
12 1/2. Deliver Pizzas
Why 12 ½? Because some people just don’t like the number 13.
Anyway, this is an old favorite straight from Dave Ramsey. For years
Dave has recommended that people who are getting out of debt can
deliver pizzas part time. The restaurant pays you and if you’re fast and
friendly you’ll be able make tips from deliveries on top of that.
It’s All About Hustling
Even in this tough economy there is work to be done and money to be
earned. You may just have to find it in places you might never have
thought to look before. You just have to get out there and hustle.
As I’ve said before in the Celebrating Financial Freedom blog, I am
thoroughly convinced that in the entire history of the world, there has
never been a better time to find ways of making money. In these days
where you can sell goods and hire out your skills to virtually anyone on
the planet, you can literally operate a global business from a simple
laptop.
So if you need extra money to pay off debt, or even to make ends meet,
just do a little research, come up with a plan and take action.
You can do it!
The content in the Celebrating Financial Freedom blog and in the above publication should not be considered expert financial
advice. Dr. Cabler has no professional certifications or degrees related to finance. You are encouraged to seek a financial
professional when making any financial decisions.
Copyright 2012 Dr. Jason L. Cabler, All Rights Reserved