Archive for the 'making money tips' Category
Sell something.
Dig out that old guitar you never play, those CDs you don’t listen to anymore, or your antique toy collection. Go to the pawnshop, put an ad on local internet classifieds, or hold a yard sale in front of your house or on a busy street corner (just display the item with a big sign announcing the ridiculously low price). Price items at half of what somebody would be able to buy them for anywhere else, and you may be able to sell them within an hour or two. You can also sell items online at web sites like eBay, Amazon and Craig`s list.
Enter sweepstakes.
By choosing sweepstakes carefully, you can increase your likelihood of hitting the jackpot (or at least getting a few useful freebies that you can sell, as mentioned above). Search the internet– there are even internet databases, some free and some by subscription only, that can clue you in to hundreds or thousands of sweepstakes. Sweepstakes with smaller prizes can be great because you generally have a more realistic chance of winning. Don’t, however, waste your time entering a sweepstakes for a prize you don’t want and can’t easily sell for a good profit. Enter as many times as possible. The more times you enter, the better your odds. It’s as simple as that. Before you send in a million entries, however, make sure you know how many entries the rules allow you.
Saving Money with Coupon Codes and Rebates
Another great way to make money is by saving it and use coupon codes and rebates for just about everything that you buy online. Here’s a round up of m bargain hunting sites:
- Ben’s Bargains
The godfather of all coupon code sites. This is my Firefox homepage. Ben updates his site all day long with amazing coupons, many of them exclusive, with comments from other bargain hunters. It is also well organized and easy to read. Looking to buy a large electronic item? Keep an eye on Ben’s for a few days and you’re bound to see it. - Fat Wallet
Fat Wallet has become more and more professional in the past few months, but its forums are still rocking with great deals. FW usually has a lot of the early bargains before the other sites, but you have to weed through the forums to get to them. - Slick Deals
SD has a lot more consumer products and less tech than the other sites. It certainly isn’t as extensive as Ben’s, but a good site to check out, nonetheless. - Tech Deals
Again, not as extensive as Ben’s, but a good site for tech-oriented coupon codes and rebates. - Anand Tech
Anand Tech’s forums have a number of active discussions with a variety of coupons and other deals.
Sometimes with rebates and coupon codes you can even make money on items that you buy. Smart bargain hunters resell their items as well. Thanks to my bargain hunting buddies for introductions to shopping cheaply.
Myth #1: I’m a complete financial loser for getting myself into this mess.
Fact: It may be true that you’re responsible for getting into debt, but that doesn’t make you a loser. In fact, it may not be your fault at all. As long as you start working on becoming more knowledgeable when it comes to finances, you will ultimately find success in controlling your debt.
Myth #2: Credit is what got me into this mess.
Fact: Spending is what got you into this mess (debt). Credit was the means to spend. If your problem is spending, then you very well may have spent all your cash. However, credit cards may make it easier to spend.
Myth #3: There’s nothing I can do about it now. My credit is destroyed forever!
Fact: As long as you work, starting today, to rebuild your credit, you’ll eventually get it under control. Rebuilding your credit means: (1) Paying on time; (2) Looking for better credit options; and (3) Learning more about money and credit.
Myth #4: If I cosign a loan for my friend, it has no affect on my credit.
Fact: When you cosign a loan, it’s like you took the loan on your own! It may be true that your friend is the first one responsible for the loan. However, if they default, it’s completely your problem.
Myth #5: It’s fine to give out my credit card number for identification as long as I don’t authorize a charge.
Fact: Never give out your information as a form of identification. When it comes to giving out any personal information, be sure you know exactly with whom you’re speaking. This is especially true with someone on the phone.
Myth #6: If I pay off an old debt, it will be removed from my credit report.
Fact: Most likely, no. In fact, when you pay past-due debts, it restarts the time period that it can be reported in your credit history!
Myth #7: When I get divorced, my “X” will owe half the debts.
Fact: If your name is on the account, then you owe the money! If you have a joint account and your ex-spouse refuses to pay, even if you’ve agreed they would, then you’re next on the collection list.
Myth #8: The government owns the credit bureaus.
Fact: Credit reporting agencies are not owned by the government. Although, there are many laws that dictate how they must operate.
Myth #9: I cannot change the information on my credit report. It’s set in stone.
Fact: You can change the information! The Fair Credit Reporting Act outlines that information that’s not 100% accurate or cannot be verified with 30 days, must be removed.
Myth #10: If I get in debt too deep, I can just file for bankruptcy protection
Complete Online Surveys. Companies who want to know what’s on the minds of their customers are willing to pay for your opinion. Online surveys won’t make you rich, and won’t allow you to quit your day job, but you can make a little extra cash. You may have to pay a fee to have access to these survey sites.
By suite101
Do you want to know how to make money fast – and legally? Here are some tips on how to make fast money. Not necessarily big money, but quick money.
How can you make some fast money ? Here are some tips on making fast money ethically and legally. Any one of these tips should help you make some quick cash. Before jumping into these money-making tips, here are a couple things to keep in mind.
First, these tips are aimed at helping you make money fast. They are NOT going to make you rich. One or two tips should earn you an extra $50-100 over the next week. Implement all the tips, and you could see a couple hundred dollars added to your bottom line. But do not expect quick riches.
Second, you need some planning and a few days to work with. That planning should include ways to start saving money.
If you are in a situation where you need quick cash today, then you’re in a crisis — and you probably need to borrow money from friends, relatives, a bank, or (last resort) a fast cash outlet. This article is aimed at those who have at least a few days (preferably a week) to work with.
1. Offer Seasonal Work to Your Neighborhood and/or Surrounding Area
Use your time off from your main job (which will probably be your evenings and weekends) to offer your seasonal labor services to your neighbors and, time-permitting, residents in close-by neighborhoods. Seasonal work includes raking leaves, mowing lawns, or shoveling snow.
The best way is to blanket your target neighborhood with 200-400 flyers, offering your services for an appropriate amount per lawn, driveway, etc. depending upon its size and the amount of work involved. Make sure your contact information is on the flyer. To expedite results, you can grab your rake (or shovel or lawn-mower) and just go door-to-door, offering your services directly.
If this is “beneath you,” consider how seriously and quickly you need the money. If you need money fast, this is a great way to do it.
If it’s STILL “beneath you,” then TEAM UP with a neighborhood teenager. You can be the one to distribute the flyers and take the phone calls. Your partner can then do the actual labor – based on appointments you set from the people calling in response to the flyer. The two of you then split the money.
2. Call a Local Contractor
Find a local contractor and see if you can hire yourself out as a day laborer. This is a particularly viable option, if you’re the “handy-man” type. There are probably quite a few contractors in your area looking for day laborers to help them build and/or repair houses, decks, fences, etc.
3. Sell Some Stuff
Go through your house, attic, garage, etc. and pick out EVERYTHING that you are willing to part with. Then, depending on the weather and time of year, put signs up around the community that announce your yard sale.
If you have more time, go to eBay, register, and list the items online. Mark Joyner, a bestselling author and co-founder of Guerilla Marketing Network, says to “pick 40 of your items” no matter how “silly or seemingly worthless they are.” Then, review a few books and articles on effective sales writing and marketing and (based on that knowledge) “create eBay pages to sell every one of those products.”
If you have the ingredients, try baking a bunch of cookies – and then call some businesses in your area to see if you can sell the cookies to their employees during the lunch hour.
4. Offer to Distribute Stuff
Contact your local newspaper to see if they have need for a neighborhood distributor. If so, you’re in luck.
Don’t stop there, though. Use your phone book and/or the local Chamber of Commerce to research businesses (retail or restaurant being the best) that market to the general community. Call them up and offer to distribute flyers for them — for a price.
BONUS TIP: See if you can combine Tactics 1 and 4 (handing out flyers for yourself AND for these businesses – at the same time).
The above tips should get you started on making fast cash. However, you need to step back and look at your overall money situation. Better planning will enable you to make even greater money in the long term. And long-term earnings is (or at least should be) your financial objective.
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From Stretcher.com
Earning Quick Cash?
I need to earn some quick money, but I don’t have money to start a business. Do you have any advice?
S.
Assess Your Skills
Here are a few ideas you can try:
- Even adults can earn some quick money by delivering newspapers. It’s not glamorous, but there are almost always routes available near your home. Early morning routes may not be convenient, but they will not interfere with your regular job.
- If you have the skills, you can often find temporary work, such as painting, carpentry, or even keyboarding. Contact an agency that handles temporary jobs in your area.
- Other skills that can help you find part-time work quickly include writing, childcare, and retail sales. Especially before the holidays, stores are always looking for temporary, part-time workers. I’ve also worked at a college bookstore at the beginning of a semester, when they need extra help.
- It doesn’t require much money to start a dog-walking business. You can print up cards or just post notices in local stores, especially groomers and veterinary clinics. Ask permission first.
The bottom line is to assess your skills and interests and then figure out who will use them in your local area.
Act Now!
With the holidays approaching, this is a great time of year to make some quick cash for little or no money invested. If you own a van, hire yourself out as a delivery person or mover. Are you artistic? Wrap gifts or make holiday decorations. Play Santa, an elf, or a reindeer. Be a personal shopper or assistant for someone who can’t get out or is very busy. Businesses are looking for holiday help.
Go Door to Door
There are a good number of people that are way too busy to do basic things like cut the yard, rake the leaves, clean the gutters, etc. Try going door to door, asking if you could do an odd job for a small fee. You might be surprised at the need for it.
Sell on eBay
eBay is a great way to make extra money with little to no start-up costs. I sell on eBay to take advantage of being a SAHM while helping out the family finances. I am able to sell during times when the kids are napping or after they are in bed at night!
Donate Plasma
You did not say how much cash or how soon you need it, but this may work for you. You can donate Plasma, not blood, on a weekly basis. They pay you something like $25 or more on the spot, each time you donate, so you can see how this would add up. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour each time. They extract your blood, remove the plasma, and then put the blood back in. I knew many people who did this back in college for easy spending money. Call your local hospital for information on where the nearest blood bank is located.
Love Sports?
If you know anything about a sport, look into becoming an official. I officiate basketball and earned an extra $3000 in two months last year. This was all from doing grade school and middle school games. In my area, you earn $15 to $30 a game for these levels of play up to $55 a game for HS Varsity. A game usually lasts about an hour and there are games every night of the week and all day long on weekends. Many times, you get paid in cash the same day.
My suggestions would be to look into basketball or soccer first. They are played year-round and start young with boys and girls. After that, I would suggest volleyball since it is also played year-round, but it is mainly still only a girl’s sport in many areas. Baseball is the most expensive to do with the initial costs of the protective equipment.
I do this part time only, but there are others who make more than $12,000 a year from basketball alone, officiating every day of the week.
Try Pet Sitting
If a person likes animals, has pets, and is known as a responsible and thoughtful pet owner, many times, their veterinarian might recommend them for pet sitting for those who do not wish to kennel their animals. However, a person must be absolutely dependable and responsible. Not only are they taking care of the pets, but they are also taking care of the home and grounds as well. Plus, they are representing the reputation of the vet who recommended them! (One must be able to drive to do this, and be able to handle morning hours.)
Clean Houses for Cash
Just run an ad for cleaning houses in the local newspaper or use a bulletin board. You can clean a home in about three to four hours. It is easy and gives you fast cash. Just be sure to clean the kitchen and bathrooms, and then dust and vacuum. Don’t be afraid of it. Just do your best. I usually don’t clean inside of the refrigerator or the ovens unless asked to do so. Use their supplies and charge about $12 to $15 an hour.
Network in Prior Employment Field
I’m a SAHM now, but I used to work in the front office of a dental office. Every couple weeks, I get a telephone call, asking if I could help out in an office. It may be for a week or just a day or two, filling in for someone who’s on vacation or needing a day off. Networking with people in your prior (or current) employment field will get your name around. Many businesses are in need of help, but don’t want to commit to a permanent employee.
Three More Great Ideas
- Have a garage sale
- Sell a marketable skill to friends or family members, such as housecleaning, cooking, babysitting, massages, lawn care, snow removal, and gardening. People are willing to pay for these services.
- Sign up with market-research firms to participate in focus groups. You can sometimes earn $50 or more just by spending an hour to tell a company what you think of their product. Plus, it’s fun!
Consider day labor.
There are employment agencies that specialize in this type of arrangement, and you can get paid at the end of the workday. The jobs you find through an agency can vary, but are usually in construction, factories, offices, and manufacturing. An alternative to finding day labor is to go where other day laborers meet (usually street corners or parking lots) and wait for employers (building contractors, landscapers, home owners and small business owners). If you go the non-agency route, you might get paid in cash. You can also check your local newspaper or internet classifieds to find quick labor gigs, like painting, mowing, or moving work. When considering a day labor opportunity, keep in mind that less formal arrangements could result in you not getting paid or worse, you getting injured without any kind of compensation
Steps
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1
Set savings goals. For short-term goals, this is easy. If you want to buy a video game, find out how much it costs; if you want to buy a house, determine how much of a down payment you’ll need. For long-term goals, such as retirement, you’ll need to do a lot more planning (figuring out how much money you’ll need to live comfortably for 20 or 30 years after you stop working), and you’ll also need to figure out how investments will help you achieve your goals.
- Kill your debt first. Simply calculating how much you spend each month on your debts will illustrate that eliminating debt is the fastest way to free up money. Once the money is freed from debt payment, it can easily be re-purposed to savings.
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2
Establish a time-frame. For example: “I want to be able to buy a house two years from today.” Set a particular date for accomplishing shorter-term goals, and make sure the goal is attainable within that time period. If it’s not attainable, you’ll just get discouraged.
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3
Figure out how much you’ll have to save per week, per month, or per paycheck to attain each of your savings goals. Take each thing you want to save for and figure out how much you need to start saving now. For most savings goals, it’s best to save the same amount each period. For example, if you want to put a $20,000 down payment on a home in 36 months (three years), you’ll need to save about $550 per month every month. But if your paychecks amount to $1000, it might not be a realistic goal, so adjust your time-frame until you come up with an approachable amount.
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4
Keep a record of your expenses. What you save falls between two activities and their difference: how much you make and how much you spend. Since you have more control over how much you spend, it’s wise to take a critical look at your expenses. Write down everything you spend your money on for a couple weeks or a month. Be as detailed as possible, and try not to leave out small purchases. Assign each purchase or expenditure a category such as: Rent, Car insurance, Car payments, Phone Bill, Cable Bill, Utilities, Gas, Food, Entertainment, etc.
- Keep a small notebook with you at all times. Get in the habit of recording every expense and saving the receipts.
- Sit down once a week with your small notebook and receipts. Record your expenses in a larger notebook or a spreadsheet program.
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5
Trim your expenses. Take a good, hard look at your spending records after a month or two have passed. You’ll probably be surprised when you look back at your record of expenses: $300 on ice cream, $100 on parking tickets? You’ll likely see some obvious cuts you can make. Depending on how much you need to save, however, you may need to make some difficult decisions. Think about your priorities, and make cuts you can live with. Calculate how much those cuts will save you per year, and you’ll be much more motivated to pinch pennies.
- Can you move to a less expensive apartment or house? Can you refinance your mortgage?
- Can you consolidate your debts so that you’re not paying as much interest?
- Can you save money on gas, or give up a car altogether? If your family has multiple cars, can you bring it down to one?
- Can you get a better price on insurance? Call around and make sure you are getting the best price you can. Consider taking a higher deductible, too.
- Can you drop a land line and either only use your cell phone or save money by calling over the internet for free with services such as Skype?
- Can you live without cable or satellite TV?
- Can you cut down on your utility bills?
- Can you restrict eating out? Buy food in bulk? Start using coupons? Cook more at home? You might be able to save a lot of money on food.
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6
Reassess your savings goals. Subtract your expenses (the ones you can’t live without) from your take-home income (i.e. after taxes have been taken out). What is the difference? And does it match up with your savings goals? Let’s say you’ve decided you can definitely get by on $1500 per month, and your paychecks amount to $2300 per month. That leaves you with $800 to save. If there’s absolutely no way you can fit all your savings goals into your budget, take a look at what you’re saving for and cut the less important things or adjust the time-frame. Maybe you need to put off buying a new car for another year, or maybe you don’t really need a big-screen TV that badly.
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Make a budget. Once you’ve managed to balance your earnings with your savings goals and spending, write down a budget so you’ll know each month or each paycheck how much you can spend on any given thing or category of things. This is especially important for expenses which tend to fluctuate, or which you know you’re going to have a particularly hard time restricting. (E.g. “I will only spend $30 a month on movies/chocolate/coffee/etc.”)
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8
Stop using credit cards. Pay for everything with cash or money orders. Don’t even use checks. It’s easier to overspend when you’re pulling from a bank or credit account because you don’t know exactly how much is in there. If you have cash, you can see your supply running low. You can even bundle up the predetermined amount of cash allocated for each expense with a label or keep separate jars for each expense (e.g. a bundle/jar for coffee, another for gas, another for miscellaneous). As you pull money from a jar for that particular expense, you’ll see how much remains and you’ll also be reminded of your limit.
- If you need to have credit cards but you don’t want the temptation of having them available to use day-to-day, restrict that section of your wallet with a note or picture reminding you of your savings goals.
- Credit cards are not inherently evil; it’s all about your self control. If you use them responsibly (i.e. completely pay them off every month), you can benefit from them. But the reason most credit card companies make money, however, is because people end up spending money that they don’t have. Unless you are one of the people who can religiously pay off the balance in full every month, you’re better off foregoing the promotions that credit card companies use to lure you in (cash back, introductory APR, airline miles, and so on).
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9
Open an interest-bearing savings account. It’s a lot easier to keep track of your savings if you have them separate from your spending money. You can also usually get better interest on savings accounts than on checking accounts (if you get interest on your checking account at all). Consider higher-interest options such as CDs or money-market accounts for longer savings goals.
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Know where your money is. And how much of it, too. If you accidentally overdraw your bank account, you will incur hefty bank fees; worse yet, the place you paid with that check may slap a bounced check fee on top of that, and send the check in again, resulting in a second overdraft fee from the bank! So just a few cents missing to cover that check could result in over $100 in fees. To avoid that, you should always know how much money you’ve got in your account(s), so you never cut a check for more than what you have.
- Look into checking and savings accounts that pay interest. Also, consider CDs (certificates of deposit) for longer-term savings with low risk.
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11
Pay yourself first. Savings should be your priority, so don’t just say that you’ll save whatever is left over at the end of the month. Deposit savings into an account (or your piggy-bank) as soon as you get paid. An easy, effective way to start saving is to simply deposit 10% of every check in a savings account. If you get a check or sum of cash, say 710.68, move the decimal point one place to the left and deposit that amount: 71.07. This works well and requires little thought; over several years, you’ve a tidy sum in savings. Over decades, you’ll be a millionaire.
- You can set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account.
- Many employers allow you to deduct savings from your paycheck. The money is directly deposited in your savings account so you never even see it on your paycheck.
- You can also have investments for retirement taken directly out of your pay, and the taxes may be deferred with this option.
Easy jobs from home do they exist ?
Whether working from home or working on the line in a factory, work is work. Being at home may seem like a cakewalk compared to standing on a concrete floor, but that doesn’t necessarily mean work from home jobs are easy. Sometimes, it takes long hours and a lot of perseverance.
Work from Home and Facing Discouragement
There are few things as discouraging as attempting to establish a work from home career. Even finding jobs can be a major chore, because the Internet is filled with a lot more than opportunity. It’s easy to find work from home scams, but not that simple to discover viable jobs and opportunities.
Only a true desire to make work from home a true success will work, but don’t expect to find “easy” work from home jobs. It’s important to stay on top of work at all times, to meet deadlines and to do regular job searches. Work from home is highly mercurial, and one employer who offers good pay one day may randomly and inexplicably disappear the next.
Isn’t It Easy to Work From Home?
Many work from home professionals enjoy the luxury of setting their own hours and even determining their own rates, but this isn’t always the case for every self employed professional. Sometimes, especially in cases where the individual in question is just starting out, payment seems very small in relation to time spent. One project may take several hours and come with a paycheck of twenty dollars, and at these times work from home seems extremely hard indeed. But remember to establish a certain level of high-quality, and soon work will begin to speak for itself. Soon, it will be time to demand higher payment for this high level of work.
Easy Jobs That Anyone Can Do?
The whole point of work from home is enjoyment, right? Sure, it’s important to make money – but it’s important to like the work, too. That’s why so many would-be self employed professionals search for quick, easy jobs which can be conducted online. And that’s why so many would-be self employed professionals fail.
Start Making Money
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