Ten Ways To Make Some Dough…

Money, moolah, fetti, green stuff, cash, cheddar, paper, benjamins, and the list goes on. There are a lot of names, nicknames and slang terms used to describe money. This is probably due to the fact that money plays a vital role in our lives. You need money to do just about anything. Some people have to have it…some people do things…do things…do bad things for it…Sorry I couldn’t help it I had the O’jays song stuck in the back of my head.

Seriously though, even though the old cliche says that the best things in life are free…most of the fun stuff cost money. with that being the case we thought we would share Ten Ways that you could earn some extra money, regardless of age. Most of these ideas you can start doing right away. For those of you who are parents, these can also be great for you to use to help teach you children about money.

If you know of some good ways to earn extra income (family friendly and kid safe) then feel free to add to our list by leaving a comment with your ideas…we would love to hear about them.

1. Sell Some of Your Stuff: Auctions, Garage and Rummage Sales are big things these, and online auction sites such as Ebay have made it easy for one man’s trash to become another man’s treasure. A great way to earn extra income or simply get money for that new toy or item you would like to purchase is to get rid of some of your old stuff. Rather than throw things away sell it and earn some extra cash. If you don’t have access to a computer or the internet, simply have a yard sale or a garage sale and trade those old items for some cash.
2. Offer Your Service(s): Offer to help out around the house, above and beyond your normal chores around the house. Offer to help clean up after your parents or siblings. Don’t be greedy with your pricing and be sure that you are giving your best, if they are pleased with your work you could have repeat business and a pretty decent stream of income coming in.
3. Use Your Skills: Are you good with computers and technology? If so you could make money by designing web pages for your friends and family. Web designers and computer programmers make a lot of money because a lot of people use the web and a lot of kids these days are making a lot of money by trading their computer skills for cash. Perhaps you could help a family member with setting up their computer at home, or offer to tutor family members on how to use the internet. A lot of people are into online communities such as myspace, which allows the uses to create a custom profile page, there are people making money by charging a small fee for creating cool custom profiles and web pages for other people. If you have a knack for computer program you could design and test computer games. What ever your computer skill is…come up with creative ways to trade it for cash.
4. Save The Earth: and make some cash at the same time, by recycling. a lot of people are looking for ways to help preserve the earth and are becoming environmentally conscious. You can do your part by collecting recyclable items such as plastic and aluminum, even newspapers and cardboard. As kids we would go with a family member to a popular park and collect the plastic cans, and would make some pretty good pocket money. Check with your neighbors and family members for recyclable items, you could even make it easy by providing them with a box or crate to put the items and you could collect them at the end of each week. Don’t forget to check with your local businesses(you might need help with this if they have a lot of stuff for recycle) Not only will you be providing a service for the community and the environment, you will be earning some cash that you can feel good about!
5. Go For a walk: and take the neighbors dog with you! Offer to walk the neighbor’s dog. This is another way to make some money and provide a much needed service for your neighbors. Neighbors with busy schedules or impaired abilities are perfect candidates. Be reasonable with your fees and as always be courteous and provide a good service. Be mindful to make sure that you only offer to walk dogs that are manageable…don’t agree to walk Cujo because it might not be worth the money you could make.
6. Get Crafty: Use your arts and crafts skills to create unique items that can be sold at auctions and yard sales or even online. Online shops such as cafepress allow people to make money off of their creativity and artwork, you can set up a free store and upload your own artwork to be applied to t-shirts and other items that can be sold. Or you can create unique bead projects such as necklaces and bead bracelets, be creative
7. Become a tutor: Offer to help tutor some of the younger children in your neighborhood. Check with some of the teachers at school to see if they know of any students that might need a little extra help with some of their schoolwork. Working as a tutor can earn you some extra money, but it can also look pretty good on a college application or as work experience.
8. Do Some Yard Work: like mowing lawns or raking leaves. During the winter season you can shovel snow. Concentrate on doing a really good job so that your work will speak for you. A well kept lawn can have curious neighbors seeking your services.
9. Deliver Newspapers: We can’t overlook this one, seeing that some newspaper delivery people make as much as $200 per week. With a little determination and some hard work having a successful paper route can be put a nice hunk of change in your pocket.
10. Bake a Cake or some Cookies or something: Are you good in the kitchen? Why not have a bake sale. Bake some goodies and try giving a few away and create a demand for more. Capitalize off of your neighbors and families sweet tooths, the extra money that you can make from baking can be really sweet.

Our list isn’t exhaustive, but hopefully it got you pointed in the right direction. When trying to decide what to do to earn some extra income, just remember to consider one of the Laws of Money: Do what you love and the money will come to you.