Need Cash? Ways to Earn Some Extra Money

We are all feeling it. The economy is as I overheard a person say, "In the toilet." I certaintly am not expert on how to change the economy and well, we can only fix ourselves. The thing is with gas, groceries, and utility costs rising, I end up at the end of the month with little leftover cash. It is the "leftover" cash that I use for splurges, gifts, and other investments. I recently found my "kitty" empty. I decided to get creative to find some extra cash.

I promise not to bore you with statistics and personal history. Basically here is how I raised some extra cash recently:

• Sold Books and other Stuff on Amazon. Go through your books and things then you just go to http://www.amazon.com/ and click on "Sell Your Stuff." Amazon is so easy it walks you write through all the steps. Tip: If you list your item just pennies below the "Lowest Price" your item will come up first when someone is trying to purchase the item "used." I did very well with this because I think many people are buying items that are used due to the economy.
• Consigned Clothes I Never Wear. Everyone has a consignment shop in their town or neighboring town. My consignment shop gave me half. That means she kept half of what the item sold for and I kept the other half. It was simple: just pull clothes out of the closet and take them in. Tip: If they are soiled don't bring them. If they are wrinkled, iron them!
• Sold Scrap Jewelry. Okay so I called that place on TV. They send you a prepaid envelope. I know I took a risk using the mail. There are local places, specifically pawn shops, willing to take your scrap gold. Tip: Sell broken jewelry or what's left of a lost pair.
• Roll up The Change From the Couch. I counted up all the change I had lying around my house. I started to take it to the machine at the grocery store but I just was not willing to pay the fee. It took me about and hour and a half but it was fun! Tip: The coin exchange machines as the grocery store charge a fee. They get a percentage of the amount of coin you turn in.
• Sold Old Band Instruments. My children are done with their days of band. I figured out instruments are always needed. You can sell them on Amazon, Ebay, or take them to your local music shop. Tip: Check the instrument thoroughly before selling.
• Amazon Mechanical Turk. Amazon has a website where you can choose to take "Hits." Hits are for sell jobs and all you have to do to get started is create an account. There are plenty of $1 and $2 jobs that require not much effort. I found this was also very relaxing after a stressful day. Tip: Make sure you do the job exactly as requested or they may not pay you. http://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome