11 More Great Ways to Earn More Money

Here's a good comment left on my post titled 11 Great Ways to Earn More Money. I know almost everyone is interested in ideas for making more money, so I felt this comment was worth a re-run.

For me the 11 Great Ways to Earn More Money are the following:

1. If you have pet dogs, stud them, if you are lucky, selling breeds like poodle and chiwawa can augment your income;

2. If you have extra rooms in your house which remain idle hire boarders, there will be plenty of coeds/students who will be interested to lease your rooms at a reasonable fee of dollars. Find one however whom you can trust, check their backgrounds for your own security;

3. If you are inclined to art, make some landscape paintings, have it well framed but your work must be original so that it will command a price, then search for stores who would be willing to post your work for a commission. Once it sells both the store owner and you could earn additional income;

4 If you have some idle backyard, try some gardening. Cultivate the soil and buy some seeds like carrots, tomatoes, potatoes or even grow flowers. If your flowers will bloom try to commission it in the markets or sell your carrots, tomatoes and potatoes for a farmer's price, this can add your income;

5. Learn the techniques of being a clown to entertain children during special occasions. Clowns who are hired to entertain children during birthday celebrations are paid reasonably;

6. Never throw away empty plastic containers, bottles, and cans. There are plenty of groups who are willing to buy those stuffs for recycling purposes. It can however convert your thrash into some dollars;

7. Do not be afraid to buy products under promo items. Companies sometimes would attract customers by giving them some extra perks by providing some promotional discounts as a gesture of customer's loyalty and gratitude. People sometimes berate buying their goods under promotional sale, they tend to have the impression that they are buying low quality goods which is a great mistake. Discounts are money savers as well as earners, you don't have to part additional monies, hence it is earned;

8. Sell all your items at home which are all stock in the warehouse. It can augment your earnings. Do not clutter things in your house, sell them at garage sale. Your neighbors would be interested to buy some of your unused utensils, decors and stuffs. If it is not sale able post them in the local newspapers, it can easily attract buyers;

9. Post a pocket card if you have the time and advertise that you are willing and accepting tutorial jobs for children needing some lesson tutorials. This will add your income and even pay some of your city services;

10. Idle monies must be invested, whether in TDs, trust indentures, treasury bills, stocks, bonds or index funds. Money are like seeds once you plant and invest it, it will grow, grow and grow and you will be harvesting its fruits and interest income. The income then will again be invested and it will again bear fruits until you will be surprised how affluent you can be. The latest news that retirement endowments invested in some firms had earned 900% earnings in its original principal capital is really a very encouraging move;

11. Part some of your money for charitable purposes. If you give ten percent to charitable institutions whether it is the church, orphanage institutions and street children organizations, it will return to you for the nth times. What comes around goes around. If you want to be rich and you want more, you have to give more to your community.

Comments

[Kim]

Frankly, #1 is a terrible idea, and I find it incredibly offensive. There are SO MANY homeless dogs and a so-called breeder who is out to make money is the last person from whom you should purchase an animal. Please think twice before posting financial advice from someone who can't even spell the word "chihuahua."

[FMF]

Kim --

Obviously, I saw the misspelling and left it as is. I believe the person's first language isn't English.

And what's with the (growing?) trend of people being offended almost at the drop of a hat? Sheesh!

For more on this issue, see this post (and my comment on it):

http://allfinancialmatters.com/2008/08/20/a-conversation-with-a-disgruntled-reader/

[MasterPo]

You forgot "Sell a kidney".

[Eric G]

Being offended at #1 is not "at the drop of a hat." Spend some time in a shelter trying to find home for dogs before they are euthanized, and then complain about how sensitive people are.

[FMF]

Eric --

It is at the drop of a hat to me.

The point Kim finds "incredibly offensive" suggests breeding a dog -- a practice that many people participate in, a practice that is legal, and a practice that in and of itself seems to be fine to me.

Now if I (or the commenter) had suggested that we breed a ton of dogs and kill them for fun, then I could see how someone could find that "incredibly offensive." But to be so put off so much by breeding animals for pets seems to be a bit over-the-top to me.

[CB]

I too took offense to the dog breeding. And yes, by breeding dogs you are essentially killing many of them as many end up in the pound, homeless, abandoned, replacing other pound dogs, etc.

It may be legal, but it's unethical.

[Eric Goebelbecker]

Well, it may seem over the top to you, but it isn't to people who spend time working with pets for charitable purposes (see #11) and deal with the results of a backyard breeder who's trying to make an easy buck.

But hey, maybe those extra puppies will be lucky enough to find a home with a $100 budget for medical expenses!

[MasterPo]

People - Lighten up!

While I agree about finding a pet at a shelter if breed and breeding is of little importance, someone only looking for a pure breed or a certain breed isn't going to look in a shelter anyway so that argument fails outright.

[rdub98]

CB,

It sounds to me like you are saying that no one should breed dogs. What happens in 15 years or so when all of the existing dogs are dead? There aren't any breeders, so the supply of dogs is nil basically meaning that we have destroyed yet another species from this Earth.

All kidding aside, there is nothing wrong with someone breeding dogs who knows something about it. I read that, as I am sure a lot of people did, and thought "not for me". But for someone who knows about dogs and about breeding, that could be a viable moneymaking opportunity.

And please don't go blaming the overpopulated pounds and shelters on the breeders. Blame it on the irresponsible dog owners that got themselves into the situation where they couldn't afford the pet anymore. That is like blaming McDonald's for obesity. It's not their fault. It is the irresponsible people who eat way too much of it.

[FMF]

CB --

Because someone buys a dog from a breeder doesn't mean he/she would have gotten a dog from a shelter if breeders didn't exist. There's no way you can logically say that for every dog bred and purchased there's a direct correlation to another dog's (this one in a shelter) death. It's a fcat that some people simply want a "new" dog and that's all they're going to buy.

For a similar (but much more meaningful IMO) comparison, look at all the people that insist on having their "own" children though there are plenty of children in the world without parents and who want a set. Furthermore, even people that do adopt often prefer younger kids to older ones.

I'm not saying that breeding is to be encouraged, that I'd buy a bred dog (in fact, I said the opposite the other day), or that it's a preferrable way to get a dog. My only issue is with the sensitivity every seems to show these days on almost every issue. It doesn't take much for people to find things "incredibly offensive" today.

[MasterPo]

FMF - Excellent example of child adoption.

My wife and I are trying to adopt now. 3 failures. You wouldn't believe the horrors - and the expense!!!!!!

[pink panther]

Unwanted pets are a serious problem. Especially the elderly - what do you do with the animal when the elderly person dies? Sounds great to get an elderly person a pet, but think twice. Trying to get rid of my grandmother's cat gave me an education about how many unwanted pets there were. (I'm allergic to animals and have never had one, so I had no idea how bad it was.) Someone else abandoned a pet in my neighborhood, a cat again, and it had never not lived with humans in its life and was absolutely pitiful. It finally had to be hauled off because there wasn't a home for it. The world definitely does NOT need more unwanted animals.

Learn to be a clown? Is this list serious or a parody of lists like this?

[MF]

I think that encouraging backyard breeding for profit (as #1 on the list seems to be doing) is a bad thing. Not just because of 'unwanted" animals, but because they tend to breed blindly without understanding things like desirable physical and mental traits ideal for a certain breed. It feeds a mentality of "recouping" the cost of the animal they bought.

Most serious, small time, animal breeders typically make very little profit.

Pet breeding tends to be a very polarizing issue, and I'm surprised that you didn't expect a reaction to that post! :)

[FMF]

Pink --

Ha! Check this out:

http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2007/11/make-a-fortune-.html

[FMF]

MF --

I guess so. There goes my 100-part series on "Pet Breeding for Fun and Profit."

[Penelope @ Our Fourpence Worth]

Frankly, while I wasn't "offended" at #1, I cringed as soon as I read it. Breeding should not be taken lightly. Backyard breeders really do contribute a problem to animal overpopulation, which has resulted in state, city and county governments trying to correct the problem by issuing blanket mandatory sterilization laws requiring every pet cat or dog residing within that state/city/county to be sterilized. This kind of law only ends up punishing responsible pet owners (and will most likely have no effect on those who caused it in the first place).

Casual breeding also leads to health and temperament problems. If you want to be a responsible pet owner and breeder, at least have the dog screened for hereditary diseases (i.e. hip and elbow dysplasia, eye problems, heart conditions, and other common genetic disorders for that breed) and seriously consider if the dog's temperament is suitable to pass on. If a dog has temper, aggression, fear or anxiety issues, it is not suitable for breeding and if its puppies are sold, they will in all probability have a hard, and probably short, life.

If a puppy or dog has health or behavioral problems, the new owners will most likely give it up or simply abandon it because they won't want to deal with the cost of vet bills and/or the behavioral problems.

A few other things to consider:

* A dog should not be bred frequently as it affects its health.

* There are many purebred dogs at animal shelters who cannot find a home - not just mixed breeds.

* Breeding dogs need to see a veterinarian regularly to ensure they are healthy enough for breeding.

* The more homeless animals there are on the streets, the more illnesses and diseases there are out there because the majority of them aren't vaccinated. This isn't good for you, your family or your pets.

* Irresponsible breeding means more work for animal control, which means more tax money.

* Mandatory sterilization laws don't care if your dog is a registered, purebred dog. When such laws are passed, every dog over 4 months of age, regardless of pedigree, will have to be sterilized. Even if a veterinarian thinks the sterilization procedure would be detrimental to the dog's health, neither the veterinarian nor the owner would have a say in the matter.

Again, breeding cannot be taken lightly. It has permanent and serious repercussions for the entire community. Dog breeding should be for tradition, love of the breed and the desire to improve it - NOT profit.

[Steph]

I came here after reading suggestion #1, and I see many others have already commented on it. There is a very serious problem with domestic animal over-population. Regardless of your feelings on the individual merits of pet breeding for fun and profit, by breeding a popular breed of dog with the goal of turning a profit, you're contributing to a societal problem in the hopes of making a quick buck.

There are plenty of ways to make money. Some are illegal, some are unethical, some just skate the line. Each individual needs to draw their own line, but I would hope all readers of this blog would give serious considerations to the repercussions of this as a method to pursue wealth.

[Steph]

So does this mean if I want to purchase a purebred dog from a private breeder, I am somehow unethical and contributing to a societal problem? I think not.

I honestly don't think the guy deserves the flak he's getting for suggesting the breeding of animals. If you look at ANY 'let's augment your income' lists, over half are going to contain things that you can't just run off and do willy nilly. If everyone got upset because they don't like a suggestion because it's just not that easy, then every single list would consist of bloggers, investors, renters, farmers, and everyone else dictating all the stuff you have to do to be successful in their field and why everyone else stinks for not pointing that out in the list.

Just my .02.

[CB]

Penelope takes care of most of my rebuttal.

I adopted a Boston Terrier from the Humane Society 2 years ago. She was abandoned on the street, she's a bit wild, but would have cost $2,000 or more in a pet store.

"It doesn't take much for people to find things "incredibly offensive" today."

Well making money off the suffering of animals qualifies for me.

Even if you are for legitimate breeders, this is telling the average Joe to do it, not someone entering shows and holding generations of breeding records. Jumping to a comparison involving adopting children is ridiculous, children aren't being breed for sale.

Here's a good site to check out: http://stoppuppymills.org/

"That is like blaming McDonald's for obesity."

I have a few bones to pick with McDonalds too!

[juanak]

seriously? grow up.

What if the author had suggested selling sperm or egg "donation". Those are a couple of great ways to make a few extra dollars. Not ways that I would choose as there are a lot of un-homed children who need homes. Or maybe your first thought is to write a book or cookbook, everyone's doing that these days, - the upside is it doesn't even have to be good or original. Perhaps, the first thing on your list would be to get a paper route. Heck you could get a second job, or make and sell crafts or quilts, set up a scrapbook or gardening consulting side business, or sell pies/baked goods through business cards. Who knows.

The author may have already experience w/ breeding and that was a natural first option for him. Mine is different. Yours is different. But there are thousands of ways to make more money - some I would never consider, either b/c of my experience/training, my belief/ethics, or my desire/motivation. In fact, most of the stuff on this list doesn't apply to me: no artistic abilitiy, no experience or desire to breed dogs, no extra room in my apartment, no desire to be a clown. Some of the other stuff I had never thought of - like tutoring, that's brilliant since I work with the high schoolers at church already.

Look, among the options choose something, skip over the rest or come up with your own, and let people make thier own decisions.

As a note, I am niether pro-breeding nor anti-breeding, or pro-shelter in this conversation. There ARE tons of great dogs in shelters, but some people want "new" dogs; it's just the way it is. There is no need to be overly sensitive on either side of the arguement.

[Sarah]

Item #1 followed by item #2 made me laugh! I picture some guy with a nasty backyard breeding operation with a houseful of "coeds" who never go to class. Paying lawyers' fees and child support isn't cheap. ;)

[Kaitlyn]

Personally, I find this list hilarious, especially the first and last one. A list that begins with something as unethical as promoting puppymills (I have absolutely nothing against responsible breeders. Backyard breeders are 99 times out of 100 not responsible, they are simply looking to make easy money.) and ends with give to charity.

Also, converting your thrash into dollars? Taken literally, I'm not entirely certain it's legal.

[anna]

FMF...I -know- you can do better with rebutting an argument than telling someone that they're being too sensitive. A person's feelings/sensitivity/emotional response doesn't negate the logic of their position.

Focusing on her stated feeling of offense, rather than her point, deflects attention from the issue she raised to you: is it ethical to breed dogs as a side gig?

(i'm going to let other people answer that, as I don't like dogs!)

[stocksbondsandrock&roll]

Obviously point #1 has been beat to death (insert Michael Vick joke), but yeah, I can't get on board with the promotion of any dog-breeding, much less amateur hobby dog-breeding.

But I think we can all agree that the real crime would be breeding clowns.

[FMF]

Anna --

Re-read my comments. My issue isn't with her opinion, it's that she found it "incredibly offensive". It's ok to feel passionate about something, but it seems to me that people are just waiting to fly off the handle these days (and for almost any reason). As Po said, I think people need to lighten up a bit.

[J-Bird]

Sorry FMF, have to agree with the others on this one; backyard breeding isn't an ethical money-making scheme, in my mind. When done properly, with care and consideration for the physical and emotional well-being of the parents and puppies, I have no problem with breeding, but at that point it often becomes more than a "side job", what with all the visits to the vet and time put in. The unfortunate reality is that far too high a portion of those breeding to make money put little to no thought into the effect of their actions on the animals, and that's not fair to the animals or their future owners.

[Marie]

Although the suggestions on "11 more ways to earn more money" are ideas, but they are poor, and completely uninnovative. Are you serious with being a clown? or gardening? These are hobbies, and not likely very profitable for the most part. No offense, but this is not an entreprenuerial way of thinking.

2. If you have extra rooms in your house which remain idle hire boarders, there will be plenty of coeds/students who will be interested to lease your rooms at a reasonable fee of dollars. Find one however whom you can trust, check their backgrounds for your own security;

Tip:

If you do this, rent out the room(s) by the week. Post free ads on Craigslist. I rent a room in a similar situation and the homeowner is enjoying great rental income (twice his mortgage payment!) plus a vacancy rate less than 5 percent. It never takes more than a few days to fill a vacant room; the weekly rental (and corresponding low move-in cost) make it attractive to poor people like me living paycheck to paycheck. Plus, if your renter can't pay the rent, a weekly arrangement affords you the ability to get rid of him faster than if you were renting the room monthly.

[FMF]

Marie --

Being a clown can be profitable:

http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2007/11/make-a-fortune-.html

[Jenny]

I'm not sure I follow number 7. Is he talking about coupons? Who "tend[s] to have the impression that they are buying low quality goods" when a coupon is involved?

I appreciate the guy's effort, but I'm not sure these qualify as "11 more great ways" to earn money. Advice like "invest" is not exactly new for this blog. The only things on this list I haven't read here before are the stud fees and trying to sell original artwork.

FMF said:

Being a clown can be profitable:

Have you seen the eTrade commercial where some kid hires a clown?

+...and I underestimated the creepiness."

[anna]

@FMF: What I was trying to say is it's fine if you think a person is overreacting, but it's not a valid rebuttal to their point.

She posits that it's a "terrible idea" and that's a refutable or supportable statement. Feeling offended was her reaction because of her position on dogbreeding.

But your response didn't address whether or not she was valid in saying that dogbreeding was bad. It merely questioned why she was so quick to be offended -- that doesn't even note if she's right to be offended at all.

You've only given an answer to the rapidity of her feelings, not her justification for having them. And by giving an answer to her feelings, and not to the point of her argument, you've deflected her critique of your point (that dogbreeding is good.) But deflecting critique isn't the same as actually defending your position.

With that said -- in this forum, you might not want to defend your point (in order to let the conversation continue without imposing your own views) and that's ok too. But ignoring content in favor of delivery isn't the way to construct an argument.

That's why I said I knew you could do better! ;)

[FMF]

Anna --

You're missing MY point. Let me spell it out:

1. I don't have much of a comment on whether or not the idea of raising dogs as an income is good or not. I think it can and can't be a good idea (like almost anything) depending on who's doing it, the care they use, and so on.

2. MY main issue is with what I see as an over-reaction to the issue. That's why I brought it up.

[Anna]

FMF, you're going to be annoyed with me, for sure! :( But I want to be sure that when you think you're defending yourself, you're not actually stepping back from the plate. So please don't take it amiss.

Ok -- take a look at what you said, not what you meant to say. You prefaced the post with the statement that the 11 suggestions were good ideas. So you've already explicitly given your approval for dog breeding before anyone else had responded. You've endorsed the entire list.

Like I said, you don't have to defend your position, once stated (you can do what you like, clearly.)

But, when the poster said that dog breeding was bad, and stated she was offended by the suggestions that you've endorsed. She has a specific reason for her feelings of offense. She's made an explicit point. But you didn't address it.

Furthermore, when you when you critique the fact she was offended you're doing from the position of already supporting the viewpoint she found offensive.

But -- you are in no way addressing her point. It's a deflecting tactic, and I'm bringing it up because I think it undermines your credibility in this discussion.

Actually, it's also a silencing tactic. Because the discussion is to easily derailed to "why do people get offended so quickly" instead of the topic at hand "is breeding good or bad?" And since it comes from you, the person who brought up the topic in the first place, it's definitely a derail. Now the topic is "an over-reaction to the issue." The topic is now the overreaction, and not the issue.

So what I'm saying is that you didn't make a point.

And not only did you not make a point,
your comment was framed in a way that attempts to lower her credibility by implying her emotions are inappropriate and focusing attention on her emotions rather than her logic.

It's like a bait and switch, because she's got to defend two positions now: her feelings and her viewpoint. But you've defended neither your viewpoint or your critique of her.

You said that you "don't have much of an opinion", but by opening this post with "Here's a good comment left...felt this comment was worth a re-run" gives an opinion directly.

What you did is the equivalent of telling someone "I'm not going to listen because I don't like how you voiced your grievance". You've trivialized her viewpoint by stating she's too quick to take offense.

Like I said, I like your blog. But I hate when people I respect go out looking silly, and what happened here is a common but silly way to present a viewpoint, and I know you can do better than that. (no sarcasm, I really think you can do better than that.) It's not the way to frame an argument, it's not the way to rebut or defend an issue, and as a strategy, it makes you look bad and lowers your credibility, as if you can't stand behind your words directly.

As I stated, I don't care about dog breeding in any case. So if you'd stood up and said that you dis/agree for reasons A, B, S and q, then fine. But that's not what happened here.

I realize that this is your blog, and you can write whatever/however you please. But I think that in the same way you seem to hold yourself to a high standard when it comes to your purchases and your decisionmaking (this is the perception I have of you,) that you will also hold yourself to a higher form of discourse than what you have shown here.

If there is a logic behind your viewpoints, work from that position. If not, then work with whatever scaffolds your argument. But when your response to someone else's argument is "why are you feeling like that?" then it looks like you CAN'T defend your own viewpoint.

Seriously. I'm trying to look out for you here.

[FMF]

Anna --

I think you're over-thinking this issue and making a bigger deal out of it than need be.