wealtharticles-ways_to_make_extra_money_without_a_job_part

Ways to Make Extra Money Without a Job, Part Two
One way to make money that I mistakenly left off the “under $100” list last week is selling stuff on Etsy.com. If you are artistic or can make sweets, Etsy has a place for you. Their charges are similar to eBay’s, and on Etsy, remember, presentation is everything. It must look nice down to the smallest detail or it won’t sell. Etsy provides a marketplace for all varieties of handmade items and foods, especially for special occasions like weddings.

But before we go any further, here are the two areas where you can make money that I didn't include, and why.

Freelance writing/selling a book
Yes, I'm a writer, but I don't encourage anyone to follow this path. That's not because I'm afraid of competition. It's because I make less than minimum wage, by the time I count up all the time it takes to craft an article or a story, and unless you have great contacts, you likely won't do a lot better. If you have a passion to write and are willing to work hard, then by all means, go for your dream. But don't imagine you'll be pulling in six-figure advances any time soon unless you are the exception to the rule. According to Barry Ritholtz, even a big advance turns into chump change once you subtract expenses and do the arithmetic to determine your hourly wage.

Stock/Options/Futures Trading
Unless you've made a living at this before, have a background in the markets, or are certain you have the skills required to succeed, please,please do not try trading for a living. Enough has been written about what you need to know and do to succeed that I won't attempt to list any recommendations here (except, of course, for StockTwits). Yes, I trade a little, but I manage risk and only take on what I know I can handle. I am by no means making big money, but I do it because I think I have potential for steady income, and because I truly love doing it. If you want to try trading and don't have a background in numbers or finance, you will have to put in many, many long days, weeks, and months to get a handle on the staggering amount of stuff you need to know. And, if you don't truly enjoy the work needed to become a successful trader, you're not going to BE a successful trader. Trading for a living is NOT easy money! I spend two-three hours every trading day on homework for the next trading day.

Now that we've put that behind us, on to the real meat of the blog post.

Businesses requiring more than $100 but less than $1000 in capital

Costs: vary because you might need to invest in special equipment, check criminal or credit records, or buy liability insurance.

Most of these businesses are ultra flexible, but steady income might take a while to accumulate.

Rent out a room, or storage space, or office space
Not a good time to sell your too-big house? Have an unused garage or storage area? You can make extra money renting out a room or storage space. You can even rent space in your driveway if you live near enough to a busy area where parking is at a premium.
If you have a large home office, consider renting out space and internet access. You provide the desk and chair.
If you leave near or in a major metropolitan area, you can also rent out a room by the night, as a bed & breakfast. Sites such as http://www.airbnb.com/ or www.CouchSurfing.org have instructions on how to get started.

Renting to a stranger, of course, requires that you do things like check criminal records and credit. This is more important for someone living in your home, and less important for someone who's going to park in your driveway. Also, your town or city may have restrictions in place regarding renting any portion of your property, whether by the night or by the month.

Tutor
Tutoring is a natural if you’re a former teacher, because you’ve got all the qualifications you need to instruct younger children or teens. But what if you weren’t a teacher?

If you worked in a scientific, mathematical, or technical field, you could help local college or technical school students. If you are fluent in a language, or know some ancient ones (Latin, Greek, Biblical Hebrew), you could tutor college or even seminary students-many are required to learn to read at least two of those languages. Even a hobby, if it concerns something people would pay money to learn, can be tutored.

Costs vary because local regulations might require you to obtain some sort of certification before you can tutor children.

Businesses requiring more than $1000 in capital
Costs: Mostly start-up capital, which can be substantial. These ideas are not to be tried unless you have either made money doing so before, or unless you have a lot of money to invest. Don't do it if you are unemployed and starting the business would take most of your savings. Remember, there's no guarantee that you'll succeed, and you and your family will need money to live on. So don't spend down your retirement account(s) or leverage your home unless your financial resources are substantial.

Buy rental property
Buying a small rental property and then renting the units is one way to make money. If you need to downsize your home for any reason, you could live in one apartment while renting out the other(s) and retire the mortgage on your too-large house. However, you’ll need excellent credit and enough income to handle the mortgage on the rental property, so this idea won’t work for some, perhaps many. You should also have good handyman skills to avoid hiring help, so think twice about pursuing this path if you're not "handy." Doing most of your own repairs and fixes (and tenants will always have something that needs repairing or replacing) puts more of the rental income into your pocket.

Certain areas of the country have attractive properties at prices much less elevated than they were three to four years ago. However, real estate is a specialized area fraught with dangers, so don’t attempt this unless you know what you’re doing. I’m going to leave it at that.

Franchises
If you are a hard worker who doesn’t mind long hours, then franchising might be for you. If you have experience in the franchise area that interests you (e.g., restaurants, food, watch repair, and so on), then you have an edge that others might not. You are more likely to succeed with a franchise behind you than if you start a restaurant on your own. I don’t mean to pick on restaurants, but they do have an extremely high failure rate compared to franchises.

This idea requires a lot of homework, and I do mean a lot. Things to consider include location, where the nearest similar franchise is, and which one interests you the most, as well as which one you can afford. The average overall investment to start a franchised restaurant runs from about one hundred thousand to a little less than a quarter million. Not all of this needs to come from you, if you can secure a business loan. To get started, check out “Six ways to boost your income”. I have never owned a franchise, so I won’t attempt anything more here except to restate, you must do a lot of homework and work hard for your investment to succeed.

That's it for this week. I've got some links below to explore. Remember, a good rule of thumb is not to pay anyone money for “information” or “details,” regardless of what they may promise in terms of landing a job. I wish you much success and profit!

By: Barriea Balard