How to and How Not to Make Extra Money

For those of you interested in making extra money, I recently ran into three pieces on the subject -- two that tell how to do so and the other that gives thoughts on how NOT to make extra money (in fact, you'll lose money with it.) We'll start with the loser idea -- work-at-home schemes. Here's the take from a local TV station:

"Anything work at home related, 99.9% of them are problematic in our opinion. There may be good ones out there but they're few and far between and we haven't found them yet."

Vander Meeden says the complaints vary from those who've tried the offers. "I gave them my deposit and got nothing back. The training I had was generic and didn't do anything for me. I don't have any accounts. I didn't make any money and it cost me $300, $400, $500."

I've never tried any of these because I suspected that they were scams. Guess I was right. Anyone out there ever tried any of these? (think "make money by stuffing envelopes" ads.)

The second piece is a list of time-tested businesses that rake in the dough no matter the economic times.  The list includes:

• Wire Communications
• Metal Ore Mining
• Support Activities for Water Transportation
• Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing
• Grant Making and Giving Services
• Basic Chemical Manufacturing
• Land Subdivison
• Poultry and Egg Production
• Support Activities for Rail Transportation

All I can say here is that you can get rich by doing something no one else wants to do -- that's what this list is saying to me.

The final piece lists the ten most profitable businesses to start:

No. 1: Accounting Services
No. 2: Legal Services
No. 3: Dental Services
No. 4: Specialized Design Services
No. 5: "Other" Health Practitioners
No. 6: Outpatient Care Centers
No. 7: Insurance Brokers
No. 8: Physicians' Offices
No. 9: Medical And Diagnostic Labs
No. 10: Depository Credit Intermediation

I find it funny that insurance brokers are the only ones on the list that don't really have to have a huge amount of extra education/training/skill. Think the guy selling you that insurance product is doing ok for himself? Yep, he sure is.

There are some interesting thoughts/information here, but nothing really for the average person who's looking to supplement his/her income. For that sort of person, I recommend you check out 11 Great Ways to Earn More Money.

Comments

[Hannah]

Nice post! It really saddens me to think that people still fall for those "work at home" scams. I should go into Metal Ore Mining... if only I had around $100 million for an initial investment!!!

[Minimum Wage]

What do you think about online (re)selling?

There are businesses which will sell your stuff on eBay for you. You bring them the item and they do all the work.

Or maybe you can actually buy things and resell them. I have found a niche where specialized knowledge helps me find underpriced items which can be resold profitably.

This is one area where brick-and-mortar dealers have a distinct advantage. I first tried reselling coins but found it very hard to do online since there are so many buyers you can't find profitably underpriced items, but if you had a physical store location (like a coin shop), you'd have customers bringing you underpriced stuff.

[dogatemyfinances]

Two words: Wedding. Photography. I'm trying to book a photographer for my wedding, and they all charge $100 an hour, at least. That must be the biggest racket in town for $2K in equipment.

[Amy]

$100 an hour for wedding photography! What a deal!!! A bride should be so lucky. Maybe this varies by location, but we paid $400/hour for our wedding photographers, although that included 2 (very talented) photographers, the wedding album, and a few other "perks." And although this type of expense goes against much of what is preached/practiced on this blog, I don't regreat it for a second. I *love* our wedding pictures, they are like works of art, and they are the one thing we will have forever to remember that big day. (Photography is the one wedding expense a couple should splurge on, IMHO).
Sorry - a bit off topic. I just couldn't resist.

[beloml]

With wedding photography, as with everything else, you get what you pay for. Good photography requires enormous skill, talent and experience. Combine that with the heightened emotions of the typical wedding day, and you realize it takes a special personality on top of a special skill set to do a good job. After all, the photos are the only wedding-related thing the couple will have once the wedding is over.

[keithmateo]

"Biggest racket in town" at $100 an hour? Try shooting a wedding and providing good work for the client. The equipment that a professional wedding photographer uses adds up to more than $2k: computers, multiple cameras, expensive lenses, accessories, can easily top $15k. Expenses such as maintaining the website, professional association fees, software upgrades, continuing education, etc. also have to be considered.

I also have to mention the long hours spent on a computer editing pictures, and the amount of time it takes to learn how to shoot well.

I work as an Actuary and years ago I used to shoot weddings. I would guess that most wedding photographers are not getting rich off the craft.

[Evan]

Keeping on the topic, I think if you are creative at all starting a website is a great way to produce side income.

I bought and set up www.RealCash4GiftCards.com for less than $100! Even if it fails (which I don't think it will) that is less capital than I spend monthly to go out to eat!

Most hosting sites have website building programs so you don't even know how to program!

[Karsten]

I think at some point in their life, people looking to make extra money has been scammed one way or the other. The trick is to keep going in spite of the knocks you get, and learn from them.

Like the previous commenter - I have found that it's actually possible to make money online, and if you do it right and learn from the right people, it's actually quite easy to use the internet as an extra income generator.

[John]

One of the ways you've mentioned to make extra money is to turn a hobby into a business. I did this, on accident, but it's a nice supplement to my income. I get to help people interested in the same things that I'm interested in, it's fun, and I get to make a little money on the side. The key is to find a niche that isn't filled.