- Have a garage sale. This one is obvious. It is summer after all, and if you are home anyway, why not? Recently thrift shops and charities have had to go begging for second hand merchandise because people are either hanging on to their old stuff in case they need it, or they are selling it themselves. The market for cheap, used, usable goods is very hot right now. If you spend some time preparing by tagging all your stuff with prices and advertising your sale, you'll get better results than if you don't plan it out. Don't forget to set yourself up with a box of change before you start, and think about what you want to do with the stuff that doesn't sell. If you donate it, get a receipt to take off your taxes.
- Pawn stuff. Pawn shops have seen a huge uptick in merchandise over the past six months, but most of it is crap. If you have anything of actual value that you can part with, now might be the right time. It depends on how hungry you are. Stuff they like: gold, diamonds, newer electronics, good bicycles, guns, musical instruments. Stuff they might take but aren't so nuts about: DVDs, CDs, video games, broken stuff, really old stuff.
- Sell your blood. Ick? No, actually it helps people and they will pay you for it. What you are really selling is your blood plasma, the clear stuff that your red blood cells float around in. To find a plasma donation center near you go to http://www.pptaglobal.org/ or http://www.pptaglobal.org/plasma/find.aspx. According to maddhubber's hub on plasma donation, you can make up to $260 per month this way, and you will help a sick or injured person in the process. Check out madhubber's hub at the embedded link to find out everything you ever wanted to know about how it works and then some.
- Cash in your unwanted gold jewelry and old coins. I see these ads on TV all the time, and I always ask BIll, my best friend and roomie, where do we keep all of our 'unwanted gold jewelry and old coins'? Because I can't ever seem to find them. He can't find them either. It's a mystery. In the event that you actually have gold that you just don't want, you can indeed cash it in for less than it is actually worth. A pawn shop will also do this for you. Some people really do happen to have tons of jewelry they don't wear and coins that pile up, so if you are one of those people then...
- Cash in your change. If you throw away pennies, (and lots of people do, believe it or not), stop doing that and start saving your change. When you get enough of it, roll it up yourself (don't go to one of those change machines--it will charge you 8 cents on each dollar you dump in there). Put an address label and your phone number on each roll. Then take the rolls to your bank or supermarket office and ask for cash.
- Pick up some freelance projects. With so many people out of work, freelance job boards are pretty hot right now. If you can write, or if you have web design or programming skills, financial skills, clerical skills, or any other kind of skill you can market remotely, go to www.elance.com, www.guru.com, or www.odesk.com and check out the project listings. On a good week I have been able to pick up between $100-$500 this way, depending on what's listed and how aggressively I go after the work.
- Place an ad for errands, laundry, yard work, or dog walking. You don't have to print up business cards and hire an accountant to work for yourself, you just have to be willing to work and get the word out to people who need help. One of my kids picked up $50 a week doing laundry for elderly people in her own home (she picked it up and dropped it off for them), and I weeded perennial gardens for a summer and had no trouble staying busy just through word of mouth. Post a flyer at your local supermarket and/or community center, or place a cheap ad in the newspaper.
- Sell your crafts. Do you make something that other people are always asking about? Consider making lots more and then sell it on consignment at local second hand stores or sell it directly from a booth at your local farmers market or online. I know a woman locally who earned a decent living selling decorative bird houses and chachski at craft fairs five or six times a year. She'd make a bunch of the cutesy stuff, rent her table, sell out, start over. Repeat as necessary.
- Rent out a room. If you own your home or are buying your home, think about how you could rearrange your space to make room for a boarder. Lots of people are having housing issues right now, and while you do want to be careful about who you let into your personal space, taking in a boarder can help both you and the person who lets the extra room. Decide ahead of time what you will offer and what will be off limits so there isn't any confusion over privileges and boundaries.
- Borrow against your life insurance. Do you have a whole life policy that you never think about and that you ought to cancel because it's a total rip off (in terms of actual interest earned and so forth) but that you never got around to nixing? You may be able to borrow against the equity you've built up in that puppy, or in other words, borrow the money from yourself and then pay yourself back. Dig that thing out and call the carrier and ask. You may be pleasantly surprised.
10 crazy ways to make money
Make money with Your body
I am starting this serious to show You how many ways is out there to make some money Legaly of course. With the economy the way it is and people looking to earn extra money, I thought I would write an article on some ways (legal, of course) that you could earn some extra money using just your body. Some of these methods might not be available to everyone and some may require more effort than others. Some may provide a fairly consistent source of extra money while others may be less frequent. Regardless, these methods can provide a fairly substantial amount of extra cash in these tough times.
1. Make Money Selling Your Plasma
This is by far the easiest and most common way to make money a little extra cash using just your body. To be eligible to donate your plasma, you must be between the ages of 18 and 65 and weigh at least 110 pounds. There are several different plasma donation companies that collect your plasma and pay you for it. These plasma collection companies will sell the plasma of many donors to drug companies that will purify it into blood protein products that can be used for hemophiliacs, burn victims, and others who need life-saving treatment. You can donate up to twice per week and make anywhere from $200 to $500 per month.
2. Make Money Volunteering for Medical Research
There are several companies which specialize in performing clinical research for pharmaceutical companies. Medical schools and universities also routinely look for volunteers for clinical research. Usually these “volunteers” are actually compensated for their time quite well. One such company, called Covance, has a location in my state of Indiana. They are looking for volunteers for several clinical studies and are willing to compensate from $1025 up to over $5700 for staying at the facility for 22 days.
You may not qualify for every study and it may take some effort searching online for some of the available opportunities, but it could be well worth it. Several studies will pay from $100 to $300 for one day. The more involved the study, the more lucrative the compensation package. It is certainly possible to make some good money doing a few studies each year. I even ran across a site that offered a strategy for making anywhere from $24,000 to $34,000 per year while allowing time between studies to wash out the effects of any study drugs. Truly fascinating!
3. Make Money Selling Your Hair
One of my daughters donated her hair to Locks of Love which is an organization that makes hairpieces for children suffering from cancer or other causes of hair loss. Little did I know that you can actually sell your hair. One popular online site recently posted a record for a hair sale at $2600 for 37 inches (that’s over $70 per inch). Wow! The average person grows hair at a rate about 0.4 inches per month. So, it would take quite a few years to grow 37 inches worth of hair. But, if you already have long hair and need some quick cash, it is certainly something to consider.
4. Make Money Selling Your Sperm
Needless to say, this one is for guys only. Although it sounds like it should be fairly easy to make money is this fashion, it can actually be quite difficult to be accepted as a donor. Only 5 percent of applicants eventually qualify. If you do qualify, it is possible to make anywhere from $100-$250 per sample. Many sperm banks will pay a base “commission” per donation and then a small payment for each vial that is selected for use. Ultimately, there are limits on the number of children that can result from your donations. It is possible to make approximately $6000 through this route..
5. Make Money Selling Your Eggs
It’s the ladies’ turn now. Again the application process is grueling and only 10 percent of ladies wishing to donate are actually approved. Once approved, a donor can receive anywhere from $5000 to $10,000 per donation. I saw that one lady had donated 4 times! The donor will take fertility drugs to stimulate the production of several eggs at one time. She will be closely followed medically and undergo a minor surgical procedure to retrieve the eggs when they are ready
6. Make Money Being a Surrogate Mother
Another way to help infertile couples is by becoming a surrogate mother. Needless to say, this requires quite a substantial commitment on the part of the surrogate. The process to become a surrogate is also involved and would be expected to consist of physical and psychological screening. The anticipated compensation for about a year’s worth of effort is on the order of $25,000 with the potential for a small amount of bonus pay (only $500) for each multiple delivery.
7. Make Money Selling Your Breast Milk
Believe it or not, if you have recently finished breast feeding or produce extra milk, there is a market available to you. Through the internet, buyers and sellers of breast milk can find each other. There is even a site specifically designed with information regarding this subject and a classified section. It appears that the going rate for breast milk is $2 per ounce. Since the typical 6 month old baby requires about 32 ounces of breast milk each day, it would be safe to assume that the average lactating female can produce about the same amount. At $2 per ounce, that could be over $60 each day provided enough buyers could be found.
8. Make money in body advertising
Rent out your body and place a tattoo somewhere that will advertise a product. This sounds like a fun and cool idea. I just had to include the link for this website,leaseyourbody.com. The nice thing is that these tattoos are temporary. Unfortunately, it doesn't look as if any advertisers have signed on yet. So this option is still in its infancy. But, who knows?
9. Make money donating plasma
Let me tell you right now: I think donating plasma is an amazingly great thing to do. It’s a safe and easy way for people to help others while making some extra money. I’ve known poor college students that might have been homeless college students without plasma donation. And one time at the plasma center I met a single dad who told me he’d been giving plasma so he could put gifts for his daughter under the Christmas tree.
Without plasma donors like this, hemophiliacs, burn victims, and many other people in need could die waiting for essential transfusions.
This is a great example of a Win-Win situation. But I’m sure you have questions about the process before you roll up your sleeve and let a phlebotomist take your precious plasma away.
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