How to Make Extra Money When You Have a Full-Time Job

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“Never depend on single income. Make investments to create a second source.” –Warren Buffett

Many of us try to figure out ways to make some extra money when we have a full-time job and are stuck with a fixed income. It is not that we will go travel around the world (I wish!). 😊 The money comes and goes, right? There is always something to pay off, something that needs money to be done, like some unexpected expenses, a dentist problem that is not covered by the health insurance, a car that needs to be fixed, credit card payment, the roof of the house that needs to be reconstructed before winter, student loan payment, mortgage payment… you name it. (Related: Simple Little Tips to Save Money in Your Daily Life)

Before you start stressing out over money problems, take a deep breath first, and then focus on what you can control and how you can solve the problem. There are a few things you can try to make some extra money, which I am going to list below and talk about a little. Probably every single suggestion in the list will not work out for everyone, but I am sure there will be at least one thing you can try and see how it goes. 

Get a roommate

Do you have a spare room in your house or apartment? If you have a house/condo or apartment (or if you rent one) with a spare room, getting a roommate will help you with the expenses, i.e. mortgage or rent, plus the utilities.  

Rent a room in your house or apartment temporarily

A friend of mine rents a room in her apartment to tourists who visit the town. This may not be such a bad idea for you to start with because it is temporary, usually the price is either daily or weekly, and it brings more money than getting a roommate. You can try this for a while to see if it works out for you or not, and if it doesn’t you can stop any time you want. You should rent the room a little cheaper than most decent hotels in town. Some people prefer to stay in houses or apartments because they don’t like staying at hotels or some people simply enjoy staying in a home environment because it is a different experience to them—especially if they are from another country. If you live in a touristy area, this is something you may want to take under consideration. Advertise both on local real estate web sites and global web sites, like Craigslist, and see what happens.

Become a seller on eBay, Etsy or any other online shopping web site(s)

You can sell anything you can think of on eBay (of course, restrictions according to their terms and conditions apply). You can even sell broken stuff ‘as is’ for the parts. Look around and make a mental list of things that keep space and you don’t use anymore, such as, clothes that are in mint/good/fair condition, gifts that you never used, books, DVDs, kitchen stuff that you already have two-three sets of, you name it. Don’t keep them. Start selling on eBay or any other online shopping web site that people prefer to use in your country. If you go by eBay, you need to build trust at the beginning and work on getting positive feedback for a little while, but it won’t be hard to accomplish as long as you are an honest seller. Why eBay? Because it is global. You are not restricted to your country or city, unlike Facebook groups or the local Craigslist community.

Etsy is global too, but a little bit different. It has started out as a sales platform for crafters, but I am seeing all kinds of stuff now. Honestly, I haven’t come across anything used or second-hand, so I guess they don’t do that (maybe they do?). Etsy sellers set a fixed price for their products whereas buyers can bid on what they want with eBay and try to close the deal much cheaper if they get lucky. Do you want to put your goodies up for a bid on eBay or do you want to set a ‘buy it now’ price? You can do both ways or either way on eBay; however, I would recommend putting something up for a bid on eBay only if what you want to sell is highly on demand or rare to find. Give a shot to both web sites and see which one works better for you and go from there.

Don’t stop when you are done selling your stuff from home. You just warmed up. 😎 You can find many, many things to sell on eBay or Etsy. Keep an eye on discount stores, deals, coupons and buy whatever you can find when they are very cheap and way under the real market price. Then put them up for sale, but make sure to price them just a little lower than the real market value. You can even find new clothes and shoes that still have the original tags on at Goodwill stores. You may get lucky if you are willing to spend some time to search.

Goodwill stores may have new stuff for cheaper. Look into it.

Remember, what you have found to sell might be something ordinary to you, but it might be something that is not easy to find for some people. Especially in a big country like the US, there are many people living in the middle of nowhere who depend on online shopping rather than driving some number of miles to go to the store. 

There are online tutorials on how to start selling on eBay or Etsy (phrase it as you like) if you search Google. 

Go for a garage sale (a.k.a. ‘yard sale’)

Since my blog is global and people from all over the world get to read my posts, I would like to explain what a garage sale (also known as ‘yard sale’) means for those who are not familiar with this concept. Garage sale is something that allows you to get rid of many unused things in your home at once. You can think it like a flea market, only takes place at your house. It usually happens on weekends and is held in the garage of your house or your yard. Holding a garage sale is quick where only cash works, and it is a clean and painless business both for the seller and buyers. I know many people who follow garage sales on weekends. They go from one garage sale to another and start very early in the morning to find good stuff for a cheap price.

A typical garage sale being held in the front yard

Put a price tag on every single item and set your rules, like whether or not you are willing to

negotiate. Advertise your garage sale within the local community via web sites, like Facebook, Craigslist, etc., and put some signs around the neighborhood with the location and dates clearly stated. Holding a garage sale is going to provide you some quick cash over a weekend. Most people usually organize a garage sale twice or more in a year, depending on how much stuff they got to sell. If you don’t have enough stuff to hold an attractive garage sale, you can organize a joint garage sale with a friend (or more) and make it look big enough to get attention. 😉

Here is a video on Garage Sales-101: Tips to turn your garage sale into a successful business.

PS: Living in an apartment might be an obstacle for you unless the management might give you the permission to hold a garage sale in front of the apartment, but usually the chances are very slim. 😐

Join Facebook local community groups to sell your stuff

If you don’t want to deal with online web sites or organizing a garage sale to sell your stuff, then local Facebook groups might come handy to you. Just take nice pictures and write good descriptions, and you are good to go!

Post on Craigslist to sell your stuff

Craigslist is pretty popular especially in Northern America and some European and Asian countries. That being said, it did not make the same impression in some countries. Let’s keep in mind that Craigslist (this is the main URL: http://www.craigslist.org/) is a global web site. If you click on the link, it probably will re-direct you to Craigslist’s landing page of your country/region. For example, if you live in Rome-Italy, you should end up with this link: https://rome.craigslist.it/?lang=en&cc=gb (in English). If this is your first time getting to know about Craigslist, simply click on the link above and see if it works for you.

Selling your stuff on Craigslist is easy. Make sure to put it under the right category of “For Sale” section so that your post will not get flagged. When a post gets flagged, Craigslist removes it without a warning and usually doesn’t let you post again within 48 hours or more. That is how their algorithm works. As always, at least one nice picture and a well-written description make all the difference to get noticed.

Buy to re-sell

Free furniture on the curb

I actually have seen people making a living out of this. What do they do? They hunt down free or extremely cheap stuff around. And then, they fix them up, refurbish them and sell them. Usually they get stuff like small furniture, clothing, anything that can shine with a little painting or fixing and TLC, even cars. This is their job, believe or not. Well, if you have a talent to fix up something, you can try to fix and re-sell anything you feel comfortable to deal with.




How do they find stuff to fix up and re-sell? They keep an eye on moving sales, garage sales, local Facebook groups, and of course, Craigslist. 😁 






Look at the picture below. This is a screenshot of free items listed on Germany-Berlin's Craigslist-Free Stuff section. 

 

Become a private tutor and advertise yourself on popular web sites

Are you fluent in another language? Are you good at math, physics or chemistry? Are you a good writer or editor?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above, here is what you can do. Draft a good advertisement and put it up on a highly popular web site. In the USA, that is probably Craigslist (yes, once again). Mention where your expertise is coming from (your background, like education or occupation) and why you are qualified to be a tutor. If you are a good writer, you may help out students or anyone to write essays, articles, speeches, projects, etc. There are tons of people who are in need of help, and they are really willing to pay money to improve their skills and also get some help with school work or their job. Suppose someone just landed a job and now needs to improve their skills with MS Office or learn another software program that the new job requires. This is where this person might use your services, for example. You can be an awesome driver both with automatic and standard cars, which can easily make you a good private driving instructor. Just think about what you are good at.

Being a tutor brings good money. You set your own hours because it is pretty flexible. If you are a good tutor, you establish a good reputation and people recommend your services to other people. One thing to keep in mind though; it is not consistent. When people are done, they are really done. You will need to find new students. Also, last-minute cancellations may happen occasionally with tutoring business.

Pet-sitting and/or babysitting

You can make good cash in just a few hours by babysitting. Some people need someone occasionally or on a regular basis to keep an eye on their kids. They need someone to babysit so that they can run their errands or go out with friends or whatever. Some people might need a sitter especially on weekends so that they can work. If you like pets, you can also try pet-sitting. 

Become a freelancer

You might be a good writer, editor, designer, programmer/coder, etc. It can be data entry, typing, evaluating a product, anything you can think of. Whatever you are good at, just advertise yourself on a popular web site. 

Turn a hobby into money

Do you make something as a hobby, like jewelry, soap, candle, etc.? Do you knit or sew? If you are a talented crafty person, craft or make whatever it is and sell it. I once bought a fabric case for my sunglasses from Etsy. It was handmade and made out of canvas with a beautiful design and elegant color. The seller whom I had bought the glasses case from had had many of them, all handmade, up for sale on Etsy.

Isn't this cute? :-)

If you are a good tarot reader, go for it! Why not? Etsy welcomes tarot and fortune readers. It may sound crazy, but people do make extra money out of it.

Take paid surveys

Paid surveys are quick and they pay little. You can make some money over time but not very quickly. Each survey you take will buy you a cup of coffee and maybe something to eat with it—more or less. 😊 Allow between 10-30 minutes for a survey and let your earnings add up. You can withdraw the collected money whenever you need it. Some survey companies send you products to evaluate before the products go on the market. Your demographic background and habits determine what type of surveys and/or products you will get, so you will have to go through a screening process with each survey site.

Simply search Google with a phrase like “paid surveys.” If you live outside of the US, you may want try something like “paid surveys for _____ (the name of your country)” both in English and in your own language and see what comes up.

Can you bake?

You can bake cookies, cakes, pies, muffins, etc. and sell them. Many people don’t have time to deal with baking on special days, occasions, celebrations or when they want to entertain. You can take pictures of your mighty work and put those amazing pictures of your baked goods up on your Facebook page, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter (or whatever) and advertise your work. I know quite a few people who hold a full-time job during regular work hours and bake cakes and make some other desserts on weekends. They are quite busy and they make good money, well, extra money.

Become a personal assistant

There are a lot of people who run a small business from the comfort of their houses while they are a full-time mother or have a life on their own. It becomes harder for them to handle everything, so they occasionally look for a personal assistant. They might use your help to type, edit, write content, maybe handle their web page, manage their social media accounts, do some data entry, sell their products online , upload videos/pictures related to their home-based business, whatever it is; the possibilities can keep going. You can do this on weekday evenings for a few hours or on a weekend day, for example.

How to find a job like this? Search web sites where most classified ads are posted in your area to find out if there is any person looking for an assistant first. Then go ahead and do you part—write up a good advertisement for yourself telling that you can do this, this, and this (list whatever you are good at) for someone who needs extra help for their business. Proofread it, then go ahead and put it online. 

“Don't let money run your life, let money help you run your life better.” –John Rampton

Anything else?

There are a few other things that might be an option for you. For example, you can rent your car on weekends, you can guide tourists in your area, especially if you live in a touristy area and speak another language fluently, you can work as a waitress/waiter on weekends for restaurants in your area that might be looking for extra help on busy days, shovel driveways when it snows, mow lawns, get some house painting jobs, etc., etc. It all depends on what you can do, how and when you can do it. 

My two cents for you

I am a person who likes experimenting things and see what works and what doesn’t. There are a few things in this list that can be done at the same time without interrupting each other. I would start with them, build them up and go from there. First of all, like or not, sign up for those paid surveys, as many as you can. A little money is better than no money. It is just a survey that doesn’t take up much time. Then, sell everything that keeps space and you no longer need or use. Start local and list your items. You list them once on those web sites or Facebook groups. Or, just organize a garage sale. Once it is up there, people find you. It takes care of itself. Then you just need to interact with people. 

Meanwhile, whatever it is that you can do, do it. If you can write or code, then get some paid tasks as a freelancer. If you can bake, work in your kitchen, bake and sell. If you have a hobby, do it whenever you have time and sell it in addition to everything else. You set your own schedule with your own hobby, and you get to finish and sell what you have made whenever you can. While you are doing all of these, you can also rent your car for a few hours when you don’t need it, get a roommate or rent a room temporarily in your house, for example. Don’t be afraid of trying. You have to take the risk to figure out what works and what doesn't. Whatever doesn’t work out for you or gives you a hard time, well, this is your life and you are the one who is in charge. Drop it or get rid of it and keep going. Maybe there will be something that will work out just fine and solve your extra money problem.

“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” –Zig Ziglar

Good luck already! ;-)

If you have any other tip or tips for making some extra money, please leave a comment below and let me and everyone who is reading this know about it. Thank you. 😄

You may want to check out my article on simple and powerful tips and tricks to save money in daily life.

My blog has no boundaries. I share any information I find and topics on daily life. Stay tuned for more. See you next time.

DISCLAIMER: I just wrote things up from my heart and as sincere as possible. These are the things I have seen and watched, even more, I have tried over the years (some of them), which provided positive results. I am not an expert on this topic, and there is no guarantee that any of the listed items above will work for everyone. Listen to your guts and go with the trial-and-error method. 😊