The Save Money Blog » Making Money Tips

Ways to Earn Money When You Are Broke

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:56:52 +0000

This is from an article that I am came across some of these suggestions were basically too silly to publish but a few of them made sense or if a different slant was put on them they could make sense. For example, a few of the suggestions are about making items and selling them. A friend does this every year at flea markets and Christmas shows and does quite well.

1. One way to get money is to have a yard sale and sell items
that you are getting ready to toss away because you don't want
them any longer.

2. Get cash surrender from life insurance policy.

3. Go to a pawn shop and pawn some jewelry.

4. Take the lawn mower house to house and mow lawns for a fee.

5. Paint house exteriors in spare hours. Charge prevailing rate.

6. Gather vegetables from your garden and sell at road side
stand.

7. Baby sit for profits.

8. House sit for vacationers, get extra by up keeping grounds.

9. Do typing for fellow students or fellow workers for a fee.

10. Read books and do reports for a fee for students.

11. Research any subject (in library) for $25 a page.

12. Make Christmas wreaths during holiday season to sell, using
discarded boughs from your own and neighbors Christmas trees.

Earn Freebies with SwagBucks

admin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:01:34 +0000

So today I was reading through some freebie sites and came across a forum discussing SwagBucks. It's a site where they offer random points for using their search engine and you can redeem the points for prizes or draw tickets for prizes. Just install their toolbar in your IE of FireFox, user their search engine for your surfing needs and you can gain dollars. The search results are returned by Google and Ask. I just joined today and I already have enough for a $5 Amazon gift card.

So nobody gives anything away for free. I believe that for sure. So what's the catch? There is no catch. They are using a couple of pay per search engines where they are being paid for you searching terms and in turn they are paying it back by giving you random points for goods. If you are going to use a search engine you are probably going to use one of them anyways so why not give it a shot.

Let me know how it is working out. They also post bonus codes that you can redeem for points but I haven't caught on yet. Please let me know if you come across any.

Join up for SwagBucks and start earning points.

Where Is Your Skill Level At?

admin — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:27:15 +0000

I just flipped through about 400 tv commercials this morning and a large number of them were for things like techincal institutions or schools and thing like truck driving school and retraining programs. I got me to thinking that there are a lot of people out there that don't have the skills or education to get themselves out of debt or to get a head in life. At some point if you are always behind because you have a dead end job or you have no where to go in your current company you should seriously think about upgrading your skills. Besides what I mentioned above there are always nigh school courses, online and snail mail courses you can do in your spare time or even seek out apprenticeship opportunities or something of the sort.

Yesterday at a social event I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen in 10 years at least. He was doing small jobs that didn't pay much and could barely afford rent. Now he has a really good government job and is doing well. I asked him what happened to turn things around. He basically said he was tired of being poor so he went back to school to get a good business edcuation and things went from there. Point made, if you are stuck then unstick yourself.

There’s Money in Those Books

admin — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:06:32 +0000

I blogged awhile back about how the summer might be a good time to get online and buy your text books before the school rush starts. Yesterday I was rummaging through the basement looking for an old back pack when I cam across three boxes of old books that I had acquired in my university days. They are just sitting in my basement collectiong dust. I am not reading them and I won't be reading them any time soon. So why not trade them in and grab a little cash? I am in a small town and there are several used book stores and a store that specializes in trading and selling used text books. Next week when I get a chance I am going to take them in. Even a little money is better than just having them sit on a shelf in a box.

Making Money with Garage Sales

admin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:49:41 +0000

Back in July I discussed with you how you can earn a couple of bucks by having your own yard sale. If you are looking for some extra money you probably have it sitting in the attic, basement or out in your garage. Remember, one mans garbage is another mans gold. Let's look at it from another angle.

What if you looked at other peoples garage sales as a money making opportunity? You can find things like a table lamp, baby clothes, sports gear at a yard sale for next to nothing. You can then turn around and sell that item of Craig's List, Ebay or Kijiji and maybe make a little extra money.

If you are so inclinded go to a couple of yard sales and scout out some items and then check the various online selling sites and see what they go for compared to what you can buy them for. I bet you will be suprised in the difference in prices. Just a thought, if you have some yard sales in your neighbourhood it never hurts to check.

Saving Your Money at Tax Time

admin — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:12:40 +0000

You work hard every year to make a little extra spending money off of the internet or maybe working at a hobby or small business. Why then would you throw it all away at tax time? When you are claiming extra income you are allowed to write off you business expenses such as domain name purchases and webhosting. Your expenses go further than this, you have hardware and software, heating and utilites at your house, a percentage of the square footage that you use as your office, cell phones and perhaps even mileage in your car for your trips to the bank or your accountants office. The bottom line, keep all of your receipts for tax time.

I pesonally use a chartered accountant. I keep all of receipts and track it all year and then present them to him to tally up my taxes. His small fee, it's a business expense and I write it off. I could probably do them myself but with tax law changing every year I leave it to the professionals.

If you own a few domain names making some money start thinking about all of your expenses and if they relate to your business and keep all of your receipts for tax time. Who knows, you might even safe enough to get that nice car or even look into small business opportunities.

Using the Internet Wisely

admin — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:33:14 +0000

My car recently picked up a bit of a nasty rattle in the door and it not being overly old I went to the internet to looks to see if there were any recalls or bulletins on the manufactures website. There were none but it got me thinking, how many of us actually use the internet to research information that might be beneficial to us. In this new technology age there is so much information at our finger tips it's insane. Take for instance recalls on products, group claims for things like mesothelioma or other faulty products, recalls or maintenance bulletins on our vehicles. I guess the point I am making is, if you have a problem with an item or something isn't working out the way it should then jump online and see if you can find some more information. If you aren't satisfied with something chances are you are not alone.

Turn Your Hobby Into Money

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:33:33 +0000

My hobby was always playing around with computers and even to that end I got into websites a little too late to be a serious player. That doesn't mean that time has left you behind. I work with two ladies that took their love for handcrafted jewelry and turned it into a nice profitable little business. It gives them a nice piece of extra income that they can use at Christmas, for a summer vacation or anything they want really.
If you have a hobby or something which interests you take some time and research it out on the internet. Find out what kind of costs it will take to get into something like making jewelry or wine glasses and research where you can sell it and for how much similar items are going for. You would be surprised just what’s out there. With sites like ebay and craig’s list you could have no problem turning a hobby into a money making opportunity. There are also local flea markets and craft shows or even local free newspapers where you can place your ads. The possibilities are endless.

Pay Off Debt With a Yard Sale

admin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:40:00 +0000

So you are stuck with a maxed out credit card and some pretty high interest payments or you have a bank loan you need to get rid of. Why not get rid of some of the junk in the basement or that you have in storage? One mans garbage is another mans gold. Everybody has something in their possession that is taking up space that you can sell for a few extra bucks. So have a look around and see what you can muster up. It may seem like a lot of work but most local newspapers have a yard sale kit you can get. They will advertise it and show you have to have a great yard sale. Get rid of that junk and help yourself pay off that extra debt or even put it towards a vacation or help yourself stay out of debt.