Making Extra Cash without getting a 2nd Job?

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
I have been looking around at the idea of making extra money on the side without getting a 2nd job. I have found a couple of websites that will pay for you to do certain stuff. Like Mechanical Turks from Amazon, but would take a lot of time to be able to make any type of real money.

I have told my co workers at work that I will wash, wax, vacuum, and detail their cars for $25 each. Which one person has agreed too and as well as my in-laws. I know I could charge more, but I actually enjoy doing it and It doesn't take me too long.

I thought about mowing lawns and stuff but I guess it would make me feel like a teenager going around putting up flyers to mow your lawn and wash your car....you know?

Working overtime at my job now is not really an option...they will let you leave early before it gets to that point if you have been working over. I can work some Saturdays for like 3 hours but they have a waiting list and I have my name down for some time in October. Ideally, I would like something I could do during the week after work for an hour or so or maybe a few hours on the weekend.

Babysitting kids, mowing the grass, helping someone move some stuff, washing cars...that kind of thing.

any Ideas? what do you guys do to make extra money on the side?
 
What is your work history like? Trick is to take what skills/tools you have and let them sell themselves. Where I used to live in blythewood, I had my trusty Hobart welder and a 25' extension cord I'd use around the house. One day a neighbor approaches me, asks if I can repair a handrail. So I did. Next thing I know, I had all kinda friends of neighbors knocking on my door needing something welded and repaired. I also did HVAC for years and through word of mouth I landed a little side job yesterday cutting boot holes in a 100 year old ceiling getting the house prepped for a duct system (which I'll also do), for $25 an hour straight cash and credited fuel and food.

Be good at what you do and your skills will sell themselves. Word of mouth and good recommendation goes a long way.
 
I have worked for a bank for 5 years (first Job out of college) so I guess I could help people balance their check books :) ( you would be surprised at how many people still do this)
I am not mechanically inclined enough to trust myself to work on someone else's car, unless its something easy that I have done 100 times.

I wish that I knew enough about something to be able to sell myself and make some extra cash.
 
There is nothing wrong with mowing lawns as a side business. I used to know a few people who did that. Leaf season is coming up too.
 
What people miss most often when thinking that they need another job or supplementary income is to look at your spending. The old saying "A penny saved is a penny earned" is very true. We budget every dollar and coupon to shave off dollars from the budget. We are essentially a one income house with my "income" from stuff amounting to somewhere between 1/100th to 1/10th of an income. The only debt we have is our house mortgage on a house that is just the right size for a family of 5 and one car payment for my wife's new mini-van. We only picked that up because we were able to refinance our house and reduce our interest and payments down to a point that we were able to fit the car payment into the difference between the old house payment and the new house payment plus the car payment.
 
We live within our means, but having extra cash to go out and eat with or save it for something that we both want or just have extra money lying around God forbid if one of us lost our job. My wife gets an extra $50 check from her job for basically being on call if the need her on the weekend or something, We take that check, cash it and put it away. But a lot of times I am at home and bored and I'd love to be mowing someone's yard or washing someone's car or doing something that makes me feel good and get paid at the same time.

I am always looking for ways to save money, but at the same time... I'm not going to live unhappily because I don't want to spend money on certain things.

Found out my home owners/Auto insurance is up for renewal this month, so I called today to get a cheaper quote for both without giving anything up. Perks of working somewhere that has their own insurance.
 
Buy low, sell high.

Can do it with anything. I scour craigslist (even nc4x4) for stuff I know I can make a buck on. Buy it low and sell it high. I scour the "clearance" section at retail stores as well (agri supply, lowes, etc) and find useful items for cheap and typical can flip for like 50% margins. It doesn't always work out that great but it can.
 
If you lived closer I've been looking for helpers for a long time now wanting extra money. Starting to wear me down trying to carry more load by myself.

No work and too much work is both a bad thing. But the delicate balance is impossible 80% of the time. Sometimes I work 4 hours extra after my 40 hour a week day job all week long then I work all weekend. Talkin 80+ sometimes.

Apply for work at your local Property Management and make your own hours.

My side business list goes on forever and a lot of it is through property management. Took some huge oaks out last weekend then turned around and sold most of it for firewood. Got the mowers packed and ready for another evening today catching up for spending last weekend on trees. Using my box van on Friday after work for a moving job. Then back at the shop this coming weekend catching up on my own work I have lined up.

I like the yard business the best of all of them until something breaks. But I work straight for a property manager so basically have no boss and the check is in the mail the last day of the month. I REFUSE to do yard work for anyone besides my manager and I get asked almost weekly. I was burned both times I strayed and there will not be a 3'rd time.

I mow a couple yards next to other mower dudes that are at least 60+ years old. Actually it keeps me fit. I think I see myself still doing it after I retire?

But I was one of those that was forced to work as a kid. Was like the foods you were forced to eat, you still eat. And my wife still disgusts when I break out the potted meat or sardine and crackers. But I just don't feel right relaxing unless I'm forced to. Just not my thing to do.

More money to me just means more toys. So it evens out in the long run.
 
I'd say just throw the whole idea out the window if your just wanting to work an hour or so a couple times a week. Unless your making good money, at least close to double what you make at your real job than its not going to be worth it. Unless you can't cover your bills then work any and every job you can get your hands on.
 
rockcity said:
Buy low, sell high.

Can do it with anything. I scour craigslist (even nc4x4) for stuff I know I can make a buck on. Buy it low and sell it high. I scour the "clearance" section at retail stores as well (agri supply, lowes, etc) and find useful items for cheap and typical can flip for like 50% margins. It doesn't always work out that great but it can.
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I know this well. Knowing what people are normally on the market as far as car parts go, and finding them yourself from a pull a part or any junkyard can make you a nice penny if you know what some good ticket items are.
 
Since I'm guessing you are decent at math, consider tutoring, either on your own or for something like Home-Hospital for the county schools.
You can ask $20+ per hour, and it's a nice way to meet people in your community, learn some interpersonal teaching skills, and flex your brain a little bit. Plus you are actually doing something helpful to people.
Often people want to do it late afternoons and evenings so it's compatible w/ a 9-5 job too.
You can work for a place like Sylvan, or the school system. County/state will pay more if you have a 4 yr degree. if you go through them, basically somebody else will find the potential students.
This works really well if you have a nearby community college, b/c there will also be adults who are working on a degree and tend to be highly motivated to learn (e.g. really trying).
 
RatLabGuy said:
Since I'm guessing you are decent at math, consider tutoring, either on your own or for something like Home-Hospital for the county schools.
You can ask $20+ per hour, and it's a nice way to meet people in your community, learn some interpersonal teaching skills, and flex your brain a little bit. Plus you are actually doing something helpful to people.
Often people want to do it late afternoons and evenings so it's compatible w/ a 9-5 job too.
You can work for a place like Sylvan, or the school system. County/state will pay more if you have a 4 yr degree. if you go through them, basically somebody else will find the potential students.
This works really well if you have a nearby community college, b/c there will also be adults who are working on a degree and tend to be highly motivated to learn (e.g. really trying).
Click to expand...
This sounds like an awesome idea...but I don't really think I am fit to tutor anyone mathematically. only reason I am good at it within my job is because I have tons of different calculators :)

I am going to start by making some flyers and handing them out in my neighborhood to wash peoples' cars. I have people all the time tell me how good my wife's car looks and I do actually enjoy it and I figure I could probably make some money at it because I rarely see anyone wash their car in my neighborhood and I think its because no one wants to and maybe that's where I fit in.
I am going to keep looking around and see if I can network with some people that I know. Maybe a few jobs here and there. Babysitting is something that I would also like to do and that is something the wife and I can do together on a Friday or Saturday night and make some good money at. Just gotta meet some parents first that have kids and actually want us to babysit them.
 
We used to have a guy that came to our work and asked if he could detail/clean people's car in the parking lot while they worked. I think he charged about $25. They would send out a office wide email saying he was there and usually he worked the entire day. I bet he did more than 10 cars. We even let him hook up to our water and plug in an extension cord. That's been years ago, but I imagine someone could easily make a route out of that.
 
I saw an article about that Amazon Turk recently, and did a little looking into it. Seems most of the 'jobs' would be easy (some of the data entry/id stuff), but you'd do good to make minimum wage at 2 or 3 cents per item.

Buddy does the online juror thing. If you are in a 'busy' area you can make some money at it...sometimes he says a couple hundred over a week, sometimes nothing. Basically, instead of lawyers setting up a mock jury and mock trial to test a case, it's cheaper to provide the case info online, let a pool of online jurors read, evaluate, and vote on it. IIRC, he makes 20 to a hundred bucks per case. They only use online jurors from where a case is located, to get a 'feel' of the local attitudes. There are several sites for this.
 
Look into Uber. You drive only when you want. I've ridden in uber cars a lot and chatted up the drivers. They really seem to like it.
 
I could see a wash & vacuum, for $25, but not Wax! That's like sanding, & That too, I hate! I had my truck detailed, Fully, interior included, a couple months back. Used a local guy in town, that does Great work. Cost me $150, & I was Happy to pay him! That's usually 2 guys working 3-4 hours, on a full detail, with the Shop & Equipment, to get it done.
You might also look into house sitting, or sitting with an elderly person for a few hours, when they can't be left alone. Professional companies get around $16/hour, just to supply a bonded sitter/helper.
 
I would pay good money to get my excursion washed waxed and detailed.... I would say it is 4-5 cars worth at your rate.....
 
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