Need to Earn Extra Money?
There comes a time in most people’s lives that one needs a little extra money. In my own experience, I’ve dealt with this on more occasions than I can count. Here are some fairly well known ways that can help you get started to earn extra money.
10 Ways to Earn Extra Money
1) Start selling Your Stuff using eBay or Amazon. Most people have at least several hundred dollars worth of items laying around that they don’t realize people are willing to pay for. If you don’t already have an eBay account, start one. (You also need a PayPal account) Go through old items and check sold items on eBay to see the most recent sale prices. To do this, type in the name of an item in the ebay search bar, (ie: antique Coke bottle) scroll down on left side and click “sold items”. List your item below that price and set your auction time. Use proper spelling and punctuation in your description and be very honest about the condition. Search YouTube for “how to” videos if you aren’t sure about shipping terms. Steer clear from assuming your item is a) worth nothing and b) worth a lot. EBay can be funny. Sometimes what you think is worth something is worth only a couple dollars, and sometimes the opposite. Get searching and be sure to look at everything you can think of. I once looked up measly flimsy curtain rod brackets to buy and found them on eBay for way too much. I found some old ones in my closet and realized I could actually sell them for more than I would ever assume they were worth.
2) Make something and sell it. Are you creative? Maybe you have some old scraps around and can use a skill to create something. Put it on social media and see if you have any interest from friends. I once got some Christmas balls and stuffed them with potpourri, hot glued some pretty ribbon on them which I had in a closet, made matching themes, and brought them into a local pub one night to see if anyone needed Christmas gifts. It turned out a guy in the pub was too lazy to shop and offered me $100 to buy them all. I made good money off them, just in time to buy Christmas gifts. Get creative. Sell locally, on Craigslist, or eBay.
3) Return bottles : Sounds minimal, but every bit helps. Recycle used soda pop bottles for a little cash. See if anyone you know wants you to swing by and take their bottles off their hand. Some people who have large collections of beer bottles might actually be glad to get them out of their way. Don’t be afraid to ask!
4) Offer to help someone for a low price. Put it out there to your friends that you’re looking for work. There’s no shame in admitting it. Sometimes people are more likely to offer you small jobs if they realize you’re not overly trying to sell yourself but really do need the work. Be confident though, and know your ability level. Be honest with someone if you don’t think you’re the right person for the job.
5) Sell books : Bookscouter.com offers money for books. Get the ISBN code and enter it in search, and it’ll tell you if they’ll offer you anything for it.
6) Do you have a YouTube channel? Create an AdSense account and get accepted by Google. Go to YouTube and monetize your videos. See training for this on YouTube. You’ll need to meet a minimum earnings before Google pays you, but you’ll make some extra money by allowing advertisers to place ads on your videos. There’s no shame in this. Ads are huge and most people, though they get annoyed, can accept that you are doing it to earn some extra cash after you’ve put so much time in to creating your videos. Note: this method takes time to build up and works best with high traffic channels.
7) Research online surveys: Put a little time into research. If you’re not sure if the company who is offering cash for your surveys is legitimate, go to Google and type “[company name] scam”. Read up on any company you sign up for. Online surveys may not pay much, but it is some extra cash you didn’t have before.
8) $5 Skills: Create an account on Fiverr. You can make $5 per skill if someone buys what you’re selling. You can add add-on skills for a little extra. This could be something as simple as showing someone how to make a new recipe on a personalized video recording for just $5. Or, you can do an article edit, or something like that. I also heard that someone sold their ability to write someone’s name on a piece of rice!
9) Freelance your skills: Check out freelancer.com or wahm.com (work at home moms) to see if there is anyone looking for the skills you have, so you can earn money from home.
10) Junk Investing: Hit some garage sales with a minimal amount of money, and flip items for profit. Take $10 – $20 with you to some garage sales. Tell yourself you’ll not spend more than this amount. Stay local so you don’t waste a lot of gas. Research on eBay for what category of items you want to search for. Leave very early to catch the best selections. Move quickly and stay focused at garage sales and don’t be tempted to buy something because you want it; Think like an investor. If you’re not sure if something is worth money, pull it up on your eBay app and check sold listings. If you see it sold recently for a good price, make an offer. Most people need money and that’s why they have garage sales; to declutter and pay bills. Remember to stick to your budget. Don’t let the owner talk you in to spending more than you originally planned. Don’t act coy. Just say, “this is my offer and I am pressed for time. You can sell it now or wait for someone else who is willing to give you more, but this is my firm offer.” If they squabble, move on to the next item or stop back later and see if it’s still available.
Items that sell well on eBay:
Electronics, old books, auto parts, collectibles, theme decor, original art, mint condition magazines, out of print or hard to find books, game consoles, craft supplies, tools, war memorabilia, clothes in good condition, baby stuff, nascar, sports, religious items such as rare or vintage bibles, dishes, limited edition, firat edition, signed popular books or albums, and tons more. Remember though, even if you find something you think is useless such as old model vacuum cleaner bags, you might try to sell them just to see if there’s someone looking for what you have.
Things that don’t generally sell as fast for as much:
Dirty items
Common or unknown books
Broken items
Common CDs
Unmarked porcelain
Common or easy to find items in the home
I hope this helps provide you with a few extra ways to earn a little honest cash. Every little bit helps!