10 Things Around the House That Can Make You Money
Welcome back!
When times are hard, we need to get resourceful for ways to make money. Most people think that all they need to do is work a 9-5 job but realistically, this only fills a third of your waking life. You have plenty of time and ample opportunity to make extra money. It may not be pleasant or even that easy but if you need to make the bills, working extra jobs will not kill you.
My wife and I have chosen to work two jobs while we work out of our little hole. We may even continue once things get better, it’ll be great to have money to put away for a rainy day or a future vacation. We highly recommend doing extra work with your spouse, you work together and spend time together that you would otherwise just spend on the couch, watching TV.
You don’t just need to do these things if you’re hard up. If you have a trip planned or have set a goal for something you want to buy, working odd jobs can help you achieve your goal faster. Goal fulfillment is always sweeter when you know you’ve worked hard for it.
A lot of these jobs are not formal business, just something you can do to make extra cash with minimal investment. Feel free to add your tips to make extra in the comments below.
So, without further ado, here are 10 things around your house that can make you money.
1. Lawnmower + Weedwacker = Lawn Care Business
This one is pretty simple. Grass needs to cut and there will always be people too lazy to do it themselves who’d rather pay someone else to do it. How do you find those people? Ask within your own personal network. From there you can make connections to other people who need lawn care. If all else fails, ask your neighbors, or hell if you really are hard up, just go door to door and ask people if they want their lawn done for say $20 cash. It doesn’t take long to cut grass. Easy Money. Especially if you live near a more affluent area.
2. Computer = Document and IT Business
Most people don’t think that they can use their computer to make money. We’re going to avoid talking about get-rich-quick web ideas (like blogging, review writing, etc) and focus on more practical things. If you’re a good typist, you could easily make extra cash doing word processing work. Make MS Word pay it’s fair share. This can be especially lucrative if you live near a college town. All you need to do is post flyers on the local campus and you can build a steady income typing papers or dissertations. You can also make excellent money doing research and giving writing help.
You can also use your computer to sell things (book, dvd’s, etc). We will have a blog entry in the future talking about the best ways to sell things online.
Here’s a sampling of the things you can do with your computer for extra cash:
- Resume writing
- Rent it out for use
- Document Printing
- Computer Maintenace/Repair
3. Car = Delivery and Taxi Service
When I think of my car, I’m reminded of an analogy an uncle told me once. You’re stuck eating hamburgers, but that car — it eats steak, every night. Cars are a black hole of costs, especially now with rising fuel prices.
Well, it’s time to make that care earn it’s keep. The quickest and probably easiest way to make money with your car is to get a paper route. If you can handle getting up early, you can make good money delivering papers in the morning.
Some other car usage ideas:
- Chauffeur for People who Can’t Drive
- Rent it out when you aren’t using it
- Local deliveries for companies
4. Cabinet of Cleaners = Cleaning Business
While I was growing up, my father ran a cleaning business (which he still does). One nugget of knowledge he taught me was that if you know how to professionally clean, you can always make money. He was right (our night job is janitorial work).
If you have a decent attention to detail, a cabinet full of cleaners and time, you can easily start a cleaning business. Use the same strategy you would in a lawn car business, inquire within your own network then post advertisements locally as well as going door to door. Charge a reasonable rate and you can easily get a steady income cleaning people’s houses, cleaning offices or public areas.
5. Washer and Dryer = Laundry Cleaning Service
Most washer and dryers spend most of their time lying around, doing nothing. Put ‘em to work. There are lots of people out there who don’t have washing equipment at home who have to go to the laundromat. People usually hate going to the laundromat. Put ads in the local paper or post flyers at the local colleges, there are plenty of students out there who don’t have time or are too lazy to do their laundry. Charge by the pound, like the cleaners do. Wash, fold and maybe even deliver and people will love the service. The trick is to undercut the local cleaners.
6. Ladder = Handyman Services
Even though it’s a tough economy, gutters still need to be cleaned, houses still need to be painted and roofs still need to be repaired. Anyone with basically carpentry knowledge and willing to get their hands dirty can make money doing odds jobs for people around the neighborhood. If you don’t know how to do something, there are excellent resources on the internet available to show you how. Youtube is a wonderful resource. Tap it.
7. Empty Yard = Organic Farm
If you have a huge yard, then you probably have the space to start a garden. I’m not suggesting plow up the whole yard, just a small portion. It’s time for the return of the Victory Garden. Except you won’t be growing the food for yourself (though you can). Most towns now have local farmer’s markets where people can get fresh produce. For the cost of a bunch of seeds and a backhoe, you can plant a mini-farm in your back yard. Grow things in season and price them reasonably, you should have no problem selling them at a local market. You could also grow organic produce and sell it to people you know.
If you’re city or town allows it, get a couple chickens (they are very cheap) and start offering organic and free range eggs. People love farm fresh eggs and will pay for it. Chickens are relatively low maintenance and they are fun as heck to be around.
8. Stove/Oven = Bakery
This is a similar strategy to planting a garden. Do you have a dish or type of pie that people are always begging you for? Well, monetize it. You’re market already exists. Put your stove and oven to work making baked goods that you can turn around and sell at local farmer’s markets.
9. Empty Bedroom = Rental Property
This is a pretty radical way to make money that most people would rather avoid. If you have an empty bedroom (especially one with an en-suite bathroom), you could rent it out to a lodger. This was a pretty common practice in the early twentieth century, especially during wartime.
Just make sure it’s someone you know or can verify the character of the person. You don’t want a stranger in your home. Charge them a flat monthly rent along with a percentage of the utility bills. A bonus is you’ll also have an extra set of hands around the house in case you need help with anything.
10. Hose = Car Detailing Business
If you have a hose, soap, vacuum and a brush you have a car detailing business. People invest a lot in their cars (see above) and like to keep them nicely maintained. It only takes a couple hours to detail a car and doesn’t take much work to make one look nice, as long as you know what you’re doing.
If you don’t fancy washing a ton of cars, you can always run it through the local gas station car wash (for $5-$6) and then detail the inside and outside yourself (just don’t tell them that you did that). Again, tap your local network of friends and family.
Feel free to leave your tips to make money with what you have around the house in the comments below!
