How to Make Extra Income

When you train your mind to look for opportunity, it is amazing how much income you can make solving the problems of others.

There are a lot of great ways out there to make money, both short-term and long-term. The Internet in general has opened up the ability for an average person to do really well, and fast-paced lifestyles have opened up the opportunity for other people to fill new needs in service-based side businesses.

Here are what I believe to be some of the fastest and easiest ways to make money. Not all of them are glamorous, but they can help you gain extra income for a better life:

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• The need for extra money and the willingness to do the work to get it.

1. Sell Online:
   
   Whether it's Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist,or your own site, the ability to have a store that never closes is why this appeals to a lot of people. You can make extra money while you're physically at work or even asleep. They do take work, but they're flexible enough to fit into most people's lifestyles. Just do some research ahead of time so you know you are selling something in demand.

2. Start Your Own Writing Business:
   
   You can do this more than one way, based on your skills and background. There's article writing for sites such as Ehow.com, Helium.com and Associated Content. There's also the option of e-books if you're an expert in almost anything. I personally do both and enjoy it.

3. Clean Houses:
   
   I know people who make great money doing this. Basically you can do this by word-of-mouth and build up as many clients as you can handle. If you're willing to do the work and build a reputation, you'll never have a shortage of customers.

4. Mow Lawns:
   
   This is more of a summer side job, but again it's something you can build up into a steady stream of income if you have enough clients. This is assuming you have your own mower or have the ability to use one belonging to the home owners.

5. Have a Yard Sale:
   
   My husband and I did this when we wanted to jump start getting out of debt. It's amazing the stuff we all have and rarely use. Certain things you may want to try looking up on Ebay first, just because it may get you more money. At yard sales, you have to assume that people are there to get a bargain. This is mainly to make a little extra cash and clean at the same time.

6. Babysit:
   
   Most of us have friends with children who would like to have a break every once in awhile. They would most likely rather have someone watch them that they know as opposed to someone they have to screen. Just let people know you're available and charge a reasonable rate.

7. Offer to Teach Something You Know:
   
   I've had some wonderful older people ask me if I would teach them enough about personal computers to get them caught up on how to send e-mail, download photos from a digital camera, etc. If you have any type of skill that's in demand (computers, foreign language, music, etc), you may be able to turn it into extra money.

8. House sit/Pet sit:
   
   Pick up people's mail and take care of their pets while they're traveling. This can be fun and pay well.

9. Build Web Pages for People:
   
   If you have this skill and do it well, it's another field that has a lot of demand. You can do it on your own time and charge a rate based on the complexity of the web page. You can market this to individuals, churches, businesses, schools, and other community organizations.

10. Build a Web Page for Yourself:
    
    Design a site about something you're passionate about and sign up for affiliate programs such as Google Adsense and Amazon.

Tips & Warnings

• These are just a good starting point. There may be something in demand in your local area that I would have no idea of thinking up. Just keeping your eyes open. One person's problem may be your opportunity to give a solution!

Resources

• Index of Patricia Gilliam's Articles (Sorted by Topic--Find More in the Business and Personal Finance Sections)
• Writer's Reference Directory--Updated Version (Has Ways of Making Money Through Writing)
• Patricia Gilliam's Article Blog (For Updates/News/Latest Articles)
• Patricia Gilliam's Twitter Page
• Recommended Reading: 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller
• Recommended Reading: The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• Recommended Reading: Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
• Recommended Reading: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Recommended Reading: The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
• Recommended Reading: How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger
• Recommended Reading: The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
• Recommended Reading: Og Mandino's University of Success
• List of Legimate Paid and Reward Websites (Blog Entry--Only Websites in Main Section Have Been Verified; Investigate All Ad Websites Prior to Joining)
• Books by Patricia Gilliam (Amazon Kindle/Apple iPhone format)
• Books by Patricia Gilliam (Paperback/Adobe .pdf eBook formats)

[sbarry77]

on 10/10/2009 great article and great ideas! Thanks! 5* and recommended!

[lizsunny]

on 9/14/2009 thanks, super advice! if you want to earn real (cash) fast, and legitimate with a free demo play then take a look at www.icashsolution.com

[niteowlgardener]

on 8/19/2009 Really great tips to earn some extra income, thank you. I have tried a few that work, thinking of trying some more from your list.

[mattsaboy]

on 8/11/2009 Great article.. 5 stars recommendation and suscribed. Thanks

[sha4852]

on 8/6/2009 All great ideas, another one for those who live in snowy climates is snow removal. I've helped some of our cleaning customers learn the computer in previous years. I was paid fairly well.