Another Somebody

Here’s eight REAL ways to make money in your spare time in the upcoming year. Many of these I have done myself and have made extra money doing. And NO surveys! What a scam! Good luck!

1. Be a census taker – “The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting temporary, part-time census takers for the 2010 Census. These short-term jobs offer good pay, flexible hours, paid training, and reimbursement for authorized work-related expenses, such as mileage incurred while conducting census work. Best of all, census takers work right in their own communities. Census taker jobs are excellent for people who want to work part-time, those who are between jobs, or just about anyone who wants to earn extra money while performing an important service for their community.”  Salary is based on your location, but it’s easy extra money that can be made in the evenings and on the weekends. $10.00 – $20.00 /hr.  http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/
2. Mystery shopping – buy stuff and report on your experiences. I’ve actually done this before and if you can find a good company, it can work well. Just expect a long turn-around – it takes awhile to get that first check… Here’s an article from MSN money: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/how-to-become-a-mystery-shopper.aspx
3. Selling digital photos – There are a couple of different approaches to this. You can post your pictures on free sites, and have advertisers find your photos and contact you directly, or post your photos on stock photography sites where users pay for your photo. Here a few to check out: http://www.flickr.com/, http://www.shutterfly.com/,  http://www.shutterstock.com/, http://www.dreamstime.com/, http://www.bigstockphoto.com/, http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php
4. Sell things on ebay/amazon/craigslist – old books, movies, clothes. Raid that overflowing closet downstairs, and make some money selling your old things. You can sell pretty much EVERYTHING these days.
5. Become a pet-sitter – make a flier and advertise in your neighborhood. Most families would much rather leave their pets at home with a daily visit from a neighbor than put them up in a kennel. And, you can charge quite a bit for this!
6. Avon/Pampered Chef – Host Avon or Pampered Chef parties. They’re lots of fun and you can make a sizeable extra income! https://www.youravon.com/REPSuite/login.page, http://www.pamperedchef.com/index.jsp?localeString=en_us
7. Clinical Studies – The U.S. National Institutes of Health are always looking for volunteers for clinical studies. I’ve done this before and have made money in the hundreds for a few hours of my time (and some blood draws). It’s easy, you’re helping the medical field, and may be able to receive new/experimental treatments. http://clinicaltrials.gov/
8. Ehow articles – write articles for ehow.com. Based on the number of hits you get, you get paid! If you have a special expertise, that can be especially profitable to write about…but you can really write about anything! http://www.ehow.com/