The economy is sinking fast and we are finding our household budgets stretched to the limits. Many of us are looking for extra ways to supplement our income. Luckily, there are plenty of options available to add to our cash flow.
Sell Unwanted/Under Used Items – Find items to sell. Survey your house with a “stranger’s eye”. View your house, and possessions, as if you had never previously been in your home. What seems unnecessary? What may others be willing to purchase? Gather any items you are willing to part with for cash get selling!
1) Large items – Over-sized, hard to ship, items can be sold at a garage sale, a local consignment store, via an advertisement on Craigslist.com, or in your local newspaper. Selling locally will allow you to sell the item without having to add a hefty shipping fee and without the hassle of packing and shipping the item. Require local pickup or offer to deliver for a set cost. Request cash only as a form of payment and use caution if allowing a stranger to come to your home to pick up a purchase.
2) Collectibles – These will probably receive a higher price if sold on line at a site such as Ebay.com, or in a consignment store, than they will at a garage sale. Research current value on the internet and set your expectations accordingly. When shipping your items package carefully and consider insurance if the item is valuable.
3) Miscellaneous – For many of us the miscellaneous category covers most of our sale-able items. Some may be appropriate for a yard sale and some may work best on line. Do your research to see what sells. I recently had a dress in my donation pile and on a whim looked it up on Ebay.com. The exact same dress was selling for over $50! I quickly moved that item the Ebay.com pile.
4) Donation – There may be items that don’t sell for you in a garage sale or on line. They may be perfectly good items but not worth putting any more of your effort into moving them. Consider donating them to a local charity. A wider audience could bring a buyer, help the charity, and you can have a tax deduction.
Skills/Interests – Take stock of your skills and interests. Consider parlaying them into a money making opportunity.
1) For example, teach a class, walk a dog, clean a house, sew some curtains, cater a party.
2) There are people who can use your expertise and you can charge them for your help!
3) Advertise on public bulletin boards at places such as the church, library, grocery store or school.
4) Advertise on line with sites such as Craigslist.com.
5) Network, tell family, friends and acquaintances that you are available and ask them to help get the word out!
6) Look on-line for sites where you can show off your expertise and earn some money. Sites such as Helium.com offer a great venue for freelance writing and provide compensation.
Creative – Be creative and look outside the box for non-traditional ways to make extra cash.
1) Consider renting out an extra room in your house on either a temporary or permanent basis. Advertise the room on Craigslist.com, or a similar on-line classifieds site, search the postings there for people looking for a temporary room and contact schools directly to find out about placing an advertisement.
2) If you live in a hard to park, area parking spots can be a valuable commodity. If you have an unused spot advertise the space for rent.
Don’t despair. Put your ingenuity, and imagination, to work and you will be amazed with opportunities available to make extra money.