There are three reasons why I got interested in personal finance. I wanted to know how to save as much of my income as possible, how to spend it wisely, and how to make extra money on the side so I could live my life as an artist minus all the starving.
I’ll be honest, most of my blog posts will be about the first two since I feel like I’ve got an innate talent for putting money away and snagging deals (it’s the Scots in me my dad says).
That being said, the other day while I was scouring the interwebs for finance info, I came across a pretty interesting list plainly titled 52 Ways to Make Extra Money. At first glance, I thought I hit the motherload! 52 ways? I really only need 3 or 4! But after reading the full list, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share the 5 best and 5 worst ideas, and maybe add a few extras to it too. Since I can get a bit wordy, I’m going to break this down into two posts. Let’s start with the best:
1. Focus Group Participant
My boyfriend’s done this before, and he made a couple hundred bucks for just drinking beer with some friends while one of the researchers sat in the room with them. The downside is you’ll almost never be chosen for a focus group if you work for the media, and you usually need to be available during the day on a work week.
2. Be a Mystery Shopper
I’ve done this before, and its sort of a toss-up. The few times I’ve done it, I liked it but the jobs I did were pretty decent. Ordering a bunch of food from a big-chain restaurant, writing a review of the service, and then getting a cheque in the mail paying me back for it all was alright. That being said, I also signed up with a few other mystery shop agencies and their jobs were complete bull****. Sorry, I’m not travelling on a bus for an hour to buy a candle from the Gap for a $15 cheque in the mail. Yes, even if I get to keep the candle.
3. Sell Stuff on Craigslist
I love Craigslist. If anyone says they don’t like Craigslist, they’re not doing it right. I’ve mainly purchased stuff off of Craigslist, but my boyfriend is a frickin’ Craigslist connoisseur and has sold furniture, iPods, audio gear, bikes, etc…. His latest success was when he bought our current TV. There was some promotion going on in which anyone buying a new TV got a Telus PVR. We didn’t need it, so he sold it on Craigslist for $80. Woohoo!
4. Bank Account Opening Bonuses
I’ve definitely done this and made $100 from it. I opened an account with ING about a year ago and stupidly forgot that you can get $25 for using someone’s orange key (mine is 35764439S1 by the way) but they are having and still have a promotion going on in which you receive $100 cash for opening a chequing account with them and switching your work payroll to it. I have two jobs, so I switched my secondary temp job so the payroll would go to that account and a couple weeks later $100 bucks was in their courtesy of ING.
5. Sell Your Body
(IE. Your hair, eggs, sperm, kidneys) I’ve never done this, but I mean if you’ve got some eggs that are going to waste, why not sell them? Don’t need one of your kidneys? That’s why there’s a black-market honey. Sell those useless body parts and start counting the cash. Ok this should probably be on the bad ideas list but whatever.
Personally, I still think the best way to make extra money is to get a second job. The original list by PTMoney did have a few options for second jobs, but let’s be honest, if your older than 21, there’s no way you’ll babysit or deliver pizzas. But working nights at Shoppers or being the front of house staff at events, now those are some more realistic options for supplementing your income.
What other good ways are there to make extra money on the side?
OK, I honestly think your “terrible” ideas are better than the OK ones! Except #4, which is an idea everyone should do all the time. I do 3-4 account bonuses every year. More if I can find them!