25 Ways to Make Money Today

Wise Bread lists 25 ways to make money today. I divide these up into three groups: things I have done to earn money, things I haven't done but would do to earn money and things I'd pass on even to earn a buck. Let's start with the ones I've actually done (along with my comments):

• Sell some stuff -- Who hasn't sold something to make money? This is exactly the idea I was talking about when I wrote Make and Save Money by Getting Rid of Your Junk.


• Mow lawns -- I used to make a good amount of money mowing lawns. Now I'm an employer of a lawn mower (my son.) I like it better the way it is now. :-)


• Make lemonade from lemons -- I tried this and sold maybe three glasses of lemonade.


• Scoop up your change -- We have a change bin that holds all of our coins. Every once in a while we dip into them for some extras here and there.


• Return unopened, unwanted or broken items -- We take back stuff we've purchased and don't want all the time. But this isn't really making money, is it? Isn't it just getting back money you already spent?


• Recycle -- We recycle all the time, but just don't get paid for it.


• Monetize your blog or website -- I've done this, though all my earnings go to charity. That said, it might not always be that way.


• Wash cars -- What kid hasn't done this one?

Now here are the ones that I haven't done but would be willing to do:

• Rent useful space -- I could rent my home either to a person (like a college student) or as a storage location for someone with too much stuff. Anyone do either of these?


• Walk dogs -- My daughter does pet sitting and there's a lot of money to be made if you work at it.


• Become an online juror -- Guilty! That will be $25.


• Take paid surveys -- I'd be willing to give my opinion for money. The key would be how much money for how much time. All the paid survey offers I've gotten are something like $1 for a 30-minute survey. No thanks.


• Become a tutor -- Just like pet sitting, I think you can make decent money at this as long as you work at it (and build up your business.)

Now here are the ones I wouldn't do:

• Hit up Goodwill -- Too much time sorting through stuff and then selling it.


• Have a bake sale -- No one wants to eat anything I'd ever bake.


• Become a street performer -- Ha! Really?


• Beg -- Closer than being a street performer, but I'll pass on this one too.


• Donate your sperm -- Uhhhhhh.....


• Sell event tickets -- Like a scalper? Seems shady to me.


• Gamble -- Isn't this a money-losing idea?


• Sign up for medical tests -- My health is worth more than $30.


• Dumpster dive -- No way. Gross!


• Become a delivery service -- Sure. I bet I'd be able to blow UPS and FedEx out of the water. Not really.


• Donate plasma -- Maybe I would do this, but I don't know where I'd go, how much I'd earn, etc.


• Go fishing -- There's no money to be had here. Plus I hate fishing -- it requires too much patience.

I think I prefer my own suggestions for making more money.

How about you? See any ideas above that you either use or would be willing to try to make some extra cash?

Comments

[cmadler]

"Become a street performer -- Ha! Really?"

If you have any sort of applicable skill (music performance, juggling, dancing, etc.), busking can bring in some extra money and be more fun than sitting in a room by yourself practicing (not that you don't still need to do that too).

[olivia]

I've found that donating blood/plasma doesn't pay. Sure they'll take it from you but they won't pay you for it, at least in my area. I assume the reasoning is the same as why they don't pay you to give blood, if you need the money that bad, they probably don't want your blood.

[Kelly@GoodMoneySense]

When I need a few extra bucks quickly I usually do one of two things; first, I ask friends or family who have kids if they would want a night out to themselves, and offer to babysit for a night. This is the easiest and quickest way to earn some cash, and it goes right into your pocket that night without much effort (unless you're taking care of some brats, in which case the gig might not be ideal). Another is to look through my closet and find some clothes that I either don't want or don't wear anymore, and bring it to a store that buy's and sells used clothes, like Plato's Closet. As long as the items are in good condition, and are somewhat fashionable, you can make some quick cash for simply cleaning out unwanted clothing.

[Jon]

Scalping tickets is not always shady. For instance, in my city scalping is legal, but must be performed off stadium property. They can sell for any price they want (as long as they have a street vendor license which must be displayed. otherwise it must be sold at face value), but it's always negotiable.
Scalping is an example of supply and demand. They take the risk and buy a bunch of tickets and then sell for a markup. Many times the markup fee isn't any more than what you would pay Ticketmaster for their outrageous fees.

[Luis]

Some of these ideas are not money making in my book. Either there needs to be a net gain or an eventual return on investment.

[BD]

I've done dumpster diving. Not to make money, but to save money by getting things I need out of the dumpster. Hey, free stuff! I once got a really sweet futon from a dumpster.

I've actually considered begging before, but haven't been that hard up...yet.

Selling stuff works only if you have extra stuff to sell. Normally, if you have a ton of stuff that's sellable, you probably don't really need the money in the first place.

I live in a desert right now. Fishing is a no go. But when I was in Florida, I used to try to fish to have something to eat. I decided it wasn't worth it. Once you buy bait and hooks, you really don't save much money if you manage to catch a fish.

I'm not healthy enough to give blood or plasma. Autoimmune disease.

Mow lawns... no lawnmower, so no go.

Selling lemonade? Do people buy lemonade from adults? I know I wouldn't buy lemonade from an adult. I only buy it from kids who are trying to earn money, because they're kids. And even then, I've probably only bought lemonade from a kid's lemonade stand no more than a handful of times in my entire life.

Walking dogs or being an online juror might be good. I've never even heard of online jurors until this post.

[Carol]

I've moonlighted do per diem medical social work. That was fine until managed Medicare came into the picture. But seriously, try to find something you really would like to do then try to do it part time. I'd work part time in a book store, or cooking.

[Jo]

I know my friend has donated plasma for cash. But it was a lengthy process, like an hour or two, and she got like $20. So if you are hard-up, eligible, and got time I guess it works. She didn't do it too many times.