Since today is INCOME TAX RETURN DAY and most of us are shaking our heads about what percentage of our income we are required to give to Uncle Sam every year, one of the topics at the forefront of most people's minds is how to make
MORE MONEY!
Face it, outside of Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and George Soros, who can't use more money?
So
how do you find more money?
Where do you find more money?
The possibilities are endless and all around you if you just take some time and think about it.
Now many bloggers will tell you that you can make money online quite easily by reading emails, doing surveys, being part of a research panel and that sort of thing....just click on this link and go sign up.
Yes, you can make money this way. I don't consider this a very lucrative way to get cash.
It takes little skill but it takes A LOT of your time filling out surveys, clicking on links, reading emails.
And all the ones I've ever tried or heard of make you spend a lot of time jumping through their hoops to make anything substantial. Some bloggers promote these ways of making money because they want you are a referral, meaning if they recruit you, they make something when you sign up through them.
And most of these internet moneymaking deals don't pay you in cash but in gift cards. You can't fund a 401K with a gift card...lol
And the ones that do pay out in cash don't offer you enough 'work' per month to make a difference in your bottom line.
Now I am not talking here about Mystery Shopping. That's a whole other story from what I hear. If you get in with the right company & you have the availability, you can make significant income.
Besides your regular job(if you have a regular job), you could get a second job....also called a side job or a side hustle.
That second job can take many forms-working at a regular business in your off hours, as a cashier at Target, waiting tables at Olive Garden, restocking shelves at Bath & Body Works, or any other of the endless possiblities out there.
This type of second job can be good in that you put in the time, collect the paycheck and go home. Beyond the stress while you are at the job, you don't take this kind of job home with you like you may a regular job. But usually you need to be pretty flexible and available to work the hours your boss needs.
Or that second job can be working for yourself, at your own business. If you have a hobby, you can parlay that love of whatever it is into a business. Usually you can make money via a
product or a
skill.
Products
Have a love of tying flies?....sell those flies you make to flyfishing people all over the world via internet or locally at a specialty sporting goods shop or via word of mouth or Craigslist.
Do you sew or do ceramics? Stitch or paint up some inventory of goods and hit the craft show circuit.
Love to cook? Get a food cart and hit the county fairs & carnivals to sell refreshments to hungry fair-goers this summer.
Skills
Are you a wiz at math or can play a musical instrument? Parlay those skills by offering tax preparation to the math challenged adult, math tutoring to school students needing extra help or offer music lessons.
Another teaching outlet is to find a local Adult Education program and offer to teach a class in a subject you are proficient in to night time learners.
If you are a cooking fool offering in-home chef dinner services to folks too busy to cook.
Another way to
find money is on eBay or Craigslist or a local online Sales site. If you have stuff you no longer need or use, go sell it and recoup some cash. It's a win/win situation doing this. You add to your bank account and you get clutter out of your life!
Notice I didn't say
make money by selling on eBay, etc.
To actually make money on these sites is quite difficult now. To make money you need to make a profit. If you are selling items on eBay that are used that you bought for retail price which is higher than what you can get for them used, you are NOT making a profit on them(except in rare situations like items in such high demand that they sell used for more than they cost new at retail price).
You are making money true, but you are just recouping a portion of what you paid for it in the first place.
I think it's so deceptive(not maliciously so)when bloggers post that eBay and such are great ways to
make money. They are great ways to
turn stuff into money and recoup some of what you have spent in the past.
But don't look at eBay as a way to finance your life.
Unless of course you are buying things low and can sell them on eBay for more than what you paid(on clearance at retail or for dirt cheap at a yard or estate sale, etc)...plus all the fees(eBay, auction management, Paypal, photo sites, packing supplies, paper & printer ink, etc.)you need to pay. And don't forget that when someone pays you for the item and shipping via Paypal, the amount they send you as the part for shipping costs will NOT cover the full amount to ship, because Paypal takes a portion of those funds with the portion of the funds sent for the payment on the item.
So how have I found additional money in the past?
Since I know how to sew, I have sewn for people who can't sew. I made gowns for a high school chorus, I did alterations on clothing for neighbors, I made costumes for a production at a dinner theatre, I served as a wardrobe mistress for a local opera company. I was going to teach sewing lessons but that particular time it didn't pan out. I made drapes for Industrial Shows and for a big name Shoe Designers Fashion Show in Manhattan. Back in the '80's when the Cabbage Patch Dolls first came out, I couldn't sew doll clothes for them fast enough to sell.
I also have some skill at painting and crafts. I have sold painting at art shows, I have painted ceramics and sold those at craft shows, I taught art lessons to kids. I made assorted crafty Christmas ornaments, Wreaths, Pillows, Quilts and sold them as craft shows as well. When my Native American ceramic pieces did well I taught myself how to make intricate Dream Catchers with sinew, leather, beads and feather to augment my sales.
I have bought items and resold them on eBay for a profit, though this was a much easier thing to do about 6 years ago. I don't recommend this to anyone nowadays unless you really know what you are doing! You can easily lose money trying to do this now.
While in college, I matted and framed art posters for the Admissions Office, I assisted an Art Show curator in putting up an Art Exhibit, I hemmed dresses & jeans for other students, I typed research papers for a blind student, I tutored someone's Haitian nanny in reading English, I read and sorted play submissions & sewed costumes for the Theater Department.
Almost anyone can find something they can do, or teach or make that someone else will pay you for.
Have you had any luck turning a hobby or skill into a side job or even a career? Leave a comment and let us know what and how you did it!
Sluggy
