How about 10 ideas for making money on the side?
- Mow lawns. My brother was very successful with this, working through the summer on this while attending college. It doesn’t have to be a big production. Just walk down the street with a push mower and ask neighbors if you can mow their lawn for a reasonable price. Two or three a week is an extra few hundred dollars each month and can double as exercise.
- Bake and sell. Bake cookies, pies, some delicious banana nut bread. Sell everything door to door in the neighborhood for 3-5 times what it cost to make.
- Write a book explaining how to accomplish a super specific task. If the task relates to making more money, losing weight/getting in better shape, or accomplishing a specific, technical feat (like building a go-cart from scratch), you’ll be able to show its value even if you’re not a great writer. Compile the book and publish it as an ebook on Amazon.
- Get a part-time job delivering pizzas or catering on the weekends. The pay won’t be great, but it’s probably one of the fastest ways to make extra money. Just make sure to apply for a location near a rich neighborhood (think safety and better tips), even if it means driving further to get to work, and find out before hand if you get to keep all the tips or have to share them.
- Buy stuff on eBay or Amazon and sell it for more money on Craigslist or Facebook. Except do this in the reverse order (sell it before you buy it). When you have the money in hand from the customer, then make the purchase. That way you’re never losing money.
- Sign up for Uber and drive, especially on high traffic days/times, like Derby weekend.
- Buy a bunch of Little Caesar’s pizzas for $5 each. Resell them at outdoor events (particularly ones that don’t have much food available, like lines for concerts) and sell them for $2/slice or $12/pizza.
- Learn some quick magic tricks and then go perform on the street downtown. Ask for tips.
- Tutor kids. Living abroad, most of my friends did this at one point or another. Back in the states, you can post on Craigslist and your Facebook page that you’re available to do it, and pick up a slot or two. You’ll increase the money/effort ratio if you specialize on a specific subject and age group and promote yourself as an expert in that area. Also, think multiple students at once. And meet at a library so you’re not a creeper.
- Build crafts to sell. Flower arrangements from your backyard, hand-painted home-made bird houses, refinished dressers, shelves made from old books, pictures frames decorated with hand prints and seashells, window treatments made from plywood covered with snazzy material from a craft store. Search out your friends and acquaintances. Make the deal before they’re made. It’s more personal that way, custom. And you don’t have to spend any money without knowing you’ll get it back.
