Making a Little Extra Money?

[Cherokeekid88]

I would really like to try and make a little extra money on the side maybe a couple nights a week without having to get a second job. I can't get over time at my job. My girlfriend only has to work Mon-Thurs (Dental Assistant) and would like to have something we could make a little something extra on. Nothing funny, this is serious. I know there are a couple of websites where you can do surveys and stuff. I could go back and work at the 2nd job I had last year, but I was killing myself and working 6-7 days a week and I hated it.

 

[GubNi]

Most of those websites are scams. While it is possible to get paid, it's not nearly as easy as they make it seem.

Pimping parts on ebay is a good way to make a few bucks if you have a good junkyard around. Items like consoles sell well and the more you do it the more you will learn.

 

[UTfball68]

Blood and semen man.

Most of those websites are scams. While it is possible to get paid, it's not nearly as easy as they make it seem..

No kidding...I tried those in college...and the ones that actually paid anything had to accept your profile, meaning you had to be in the demographic they were searching for. Other ways to get paid were in the form of 'prizes'...meaning you could only redeem what you earned through one of their vendors. Beyond that, most of the surveys I actually qualified for were like 1/20-1 fully penny per survey.

Something to consider though is...become part of a test group for things you do anyway. My girlfriend and I have done that for movie theaters and restaraunts before. While you're not actually getting paid, the expense is covered, thusly, it stays in your pocket.

Pimping parts on ebay is a good way to make a few bucks if you have a good junkyard around. Items like consoles sell well and the more you do it the more you will learn.

This...if you get an eye for parts and then pimp them out on ebay or vehicle specific sites, you can make some pretty good side cash. I do that relatively often with 73-79 ford truck parts. Another thing I target are exotic and luxury car emblems. A few weeks ago, I pulled a dozen or so Caddilac emblems and a half dozen Cadillac hub caps, left U-Pull-It for $12...everything is gone and sold already for $78.

 

[Cherokeekid88]

There aren't really any junkyards around here much. I don't have a collection of anything that I can sell...even if I did, thats pretty much a one time deal. I want something re-occuring. The test group sounds really cool though. How do you go about doin that?

I thought about my girl going into Mary Kay, but we have no friends, so we would make nothing. My uncle used to get me to wash his car once a month for $75, I just want something I can do after work or maybe Saturday morning or just in my free time to make a little cash.

the semen thing..how does that work? can anyone give? is it worth it?

 

[UTfball68]

The test group sounds really cool though. How do you go about doin that??

The movies I did for Cinemark and Regal...both times, there was a sign up table in the entry way that said something along the lines of 'Want to see free movies'...and I did, so I signed up. I was sent free tickets and concession stand coupons via email and redeemed them at the theater. Afterward, I had to fill out a 'rate my experience' survey. I dunno how often they do those offers, it's been about a year since I last did it. My gf, had a similar thing for restaurants in Charlotte...she was offered the opportunity by one of the parents of a child she taught.

the semen thing..how does that work? can anyone give? is it worth it?

I meant it as a joke...but I'd be interested as well.

 

[RatLabGuy]

My boss aparently was a sperm donor through grad school - he went to one of the local banks and gave a "donation"...
Turns out he has magical semen or something, they kept having him come back frequently.
My guess is there's something specific they look for and you just gotta have the right stuff.

Look up research studies at Wake Forest University. Especially MRI and other medical imaging studies, often $100 or so, just a few hours of your time. IIRC the standard pay is something like $20/hr.

Could also sign up w/ a temp agency, then just call in when you want to work.

 

[VortecJeep]

Become a secret shopper. My wife used to do that. But beware, you should NOT have to pay to be a secret shopper. Sometimes you get paid, sometimes you get reimbursed for the stuff you buy. Grocery store secret shops are good because you need groceries anyway.
The funniest one was my wife had to go to a convenience store and a buy a 40!

 

[GubNi]

I don't have anything that I can sell. I want something re-occuring. I thought about my girl

the semen thing..how does that work?

I don't know if anyone else caught this but I thought it was funny.

On a serious note, money doesn't come easy. You need to visit every junk yard around. You may have to travel an hour. The best yard I go to is an hour away, but I easily make the $15 in gas back when I go.

Here's an opportunity for you.

This trash can sells for $25 on ebay and $10.50 on amazon. Post it for sale one ebay and when you get a buyer order from amazon as a gift order so it will be shipped directly to the buyer.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FLAMES-STAN...719?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f086ab5bf

http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Asht...RA/ref=sr_1_47?ie=UTF8&qid=1318934999&sr=8-47

You may shop around on amazon and get better deals like free shipping and there's more than one paint design also.

 

[Cherokeekid88]

I don't know if anyone else caught this but I thought it was funny.
On a serious note, money doesn't come easy. You need to visit every junk yard around. You may have to travel an hour. The best yard I go to is an hour away, but I easily make the $15 in gas back when I go.
Here's an opportunity for you.
This trash can sells for $25 on ebay and $10.50 on amazon. Post it for sale one ebay and when you get a buyer order from amazon as a gift order so it will be shipped directly to the buyer.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FLAMES-STAN...719?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f086ab5bf
http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Asht...RA/ref=sr_1_47?ie=UTF8&qid=1318934999&sr=8-47
You may shop around on amazon and get better deals like free shipping and there's more than one paint design also.

HAHA I like the quote! I like the idea about the amazon thing, I just feel that I would get caught up in it and something would go wrong and id be screwed. I don't want to kill myself by working everyday, but I feel like unless I just get lucky..thats the only way I can make some extra money that is worth it.
First off, I might just go through everything that we have, that we no longer use and try to put it up for sale.

 

[Ron]

I don't want to kill myself by working everyday, but...

Here is a valuable lesson. There are no shortcuts to the top that dont involve tumbling to the bottom. There is never a traffic jam on the extra mile. Anything worth having is worth working for.
Blah, Blah, Blah
I know.....we all come to grips with it at some point, if we don't want to slave until the very day we die, we have to really be a slave at least for a period of time.

If you want more money you have to give more work. Sound slike I hear you say you want more money than the effort you are willing to put out. Think of this way, if you owned X,Y,Z business how much would you pay someone to do whatever. You should never expect to make more than that. When I was hiring folks I used to hear daily, I dont want to work that much and I want to make more....

Famous quote here about labor and wage....

 

[yoder519]

go on indeed and look if any beverage companies in your area are looking for weekend merchandisers. most beer/wine distributors pay a flat rate in a company van for merchanding a certain area on saturdays. my company pays $155 a saturday for abotu 7-9 hrs of work in a company van, or pays by the hour plus milage

 

[UTfball68]

Have you thought about referee'ing youth sports leagues??? Around these parts, they make $20-30/game which breaks down to about $10-15/hr.

 

[Cherokeekid88]

go on indeed and look if any beverage companies in your area are looking for weekend merchandisers. most beer/wine distributors pay a flat rate in a company van for merchanding a certain area on saturdays. my company pays $155 a saturday for abotu 7-9 hrs of work in a company van, or pays by the hour plus milage

Been there done that. I worked for a distributer last year and honestly, the money was good, but it wasn't worth it to me. I was always so tired and had to get up at like 4 in the morning on weekends, no company car and I was slacking at work during the week. Don't want to go back to that again.

 

[Cherokeekid88]

Have you thought about referee'ing youth sports leagues??? Around these parts, they make $20-30/game which breaks down to about $10-15/hr.

I haven't thought about that!

EDIT: Anyone know anything on the pricing of aluminum cans? All we drink is canned drinks and I figured instead of throwing them away, we could keep them and then take them to a recycler when we get a good amount saved up.

 

[trailhugger]

You could save a lot of money by not drinking only things out of aluminum cans...

 

[RatLabGuy]

You could save a lot of money by not drinking only things out of aluminum cans...

Actually that depends on what/when you buy!

We have found that if you look out for sales, often sodas can be had for $2.50 per 12 pack.
If you do the math, by the ounce that's less than 2-liters typically cost.
And waaay less than juice, which is unfortunate.
About the only thing cheaper is water or making your own Kool-aid or Gator-aid etc. But it's hard to find sugar-free kool-aid etc. that doesn't taste terrible
We drink almost exclusively sodas (sugar-free) in cans and water now. And recycle all the cans.

 

[trailhugger]

Dave, Dave, Dave... I'm gonna have to revoke your NC card... you forgot about sweet tea!

 

[UncleWillie]

Become a secret shopper. My wife used to do that. But beware, you should NOT have to pay to be a secret shopper. Sometimes you get paid, sometimes you get reimbursed for the stuff you buy. Grocery store secret shops are good because you need groceries anyway.
The funniest one was my wife had to go to a convenience store and a buy a 40!

Every secret shopper ad I have come across was a scam. A friend of mine did one and he was sent a cashiers check for $2000 was told to cash it and go to Wal-Mart and get a money order for $1800 and write a review on the process. The extra $200 was his to keep.

The end of the month he got a statement from his bank that he was $2000 over drawn because the cashiers check was a fake.

You could save a lot of money by not drinking only things out of aluminum cans...

What NO beer? Heresy I say.

 

[trailhugger]

I said *not only* things out of aluminum cans... I didn't say *nothing* out of aluminum cans.

They do sell it in glass bottles, fwiw.

 

[Cherokeekid88]

Actually that depends on what/when you buy!

We have found that if you look out for sales, often sodas can be had for $2.50 per 12 pack.
If you do the math, by the ounce that's less than 2-liters typically cost.
And waaay less than juice, which is unfortunate.
About the only thing cheaper is water or making your own Kool-aid or Gator-aid etc. But it's hard to find sugar-free kool-aid etc. that doesn't taste terrible
We drink almost exclusively sodas (sugar-free) in cans and water now. And recycle all the cans.

Now do you just put the cans in the recycle bin or do you gather them up and take them to a place where they pay you for the aluminum?
If so, how much are you getting per pound?

 

[RatLabGuy]

Dave, Dave, Dave... I'm gonna have to revoke your NC card... you forgot about sweet tea!

I love sweet tea!
Problem is, thanks to the dentist and keeping a reasonable diet, I can't use that as my "primary drink" throughout the day. Too much sugar!
And I can't bring myself to drink it un-sweet. Just not the same.

 

[Macdaddy4738]

Now do you just put the cans in the recycle bin or do you gather them up and take them to a place where they pay you for the aluminum?
If so, how much are you getting per pound?

Its not much. I usually take the cans to the recycling place when Im home, and its generally 25 bucks or so.

This is 5-7 large garbage bags full of cans. Cans aren't crushed, but still, its a fair amount of cans. Id say generally 3-4 months worth, and my dad and I drink a ton of beer.

Seriously, if you are really this desperate for some extra cash, you should really take a step back and make a budget. Getting quick money is rarely as easy as it seems.

 

[Blaze]

You could save a lot of money by not drinking only things out of aluminum cans...

We have this awesome thing at my house that dispenses water for free. I just go up and turn this little lever and I get water. Pretty cool. Saves me a ton of money on drinks.

 

[jeepinmatt]

I saved up soda cans for a year. Had a 3'x3'x2' box full. Aluminum was $0.60/lb which was pretty good. I got $7. Now I throw them in the recycling bin and let the city reap the profits.

 

[Tech11]

We have this awesome thing at my house that dispenses water for free. I just go up and turn this little lever and I get water. Pretty cool. Saves me a ton of money on drinks.

You fancy city folk what with'n yer runnin water and what have you. Bet you have one of them indoor crappers too. lawseee.