5 Unique Ways to Make Extra Cash

Times aren’t like they used to be. The economy and job market are constantly changing. Many people are struggling to find employment and make a decent living. For some, this task seems almost impossible and nearly everyone is strapped for cash in these days after the deflated credit bubble. Getting a part-time job or babysitting are common ways to make money, but if you're short on time, try these unique ways to make extra cash.

1. Clean out your garage on Craigslist. The yard sale is being rendered obsolete in favor of selling unwanted items on Craigslist. The advantages are that you do not have to sit for hours in front of your house waiting for people to drop by. Instead, list your items on Craigslist, including a description of the item and a picture. You can have people contact you by phone, text or email. Before you list, take a look at what other people are selling similar items for to get an idea of a price.

2. Recycle scrap metal. Scrap metal makes a surprising amount of money at a salvage yard and nearly anything made of metal is eligible. Take a look at unused pipes, broken auto parts, garden tools, old weight sets, playground equipment and even something as large as an old camper. As long as it's metal, you can probably sell it for scrap. If you have auto parts that are in good shape, sometimes auto shops or auto maintenance stores will buy them from you, otherwise you are better off taking them to a junk yard.

3. Make stuff. It's easy to sell homemade items on the Internet these days, whether it's via Craigslist or a shop like Etsy, anything you can make that is unique and quality could rake in some extra cash. Sewn or knitted craft products such as quilts, pillows, stuffed animals or hats and scarves sell well. Another possibility is handmade soaps, body sprays, oils and perfumes. Craft jewelry such as beads and the like are also popular. If your expertise lies more in the tool realm, you can make barbecues, outdoor fireplaces or smokers.

4. Online crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing has grown hugely in the last few years and there are now a myriad of sites available to perform a variety of small tasks such as surveys, research, translation and more. Sign up for one of these sites and make a habit of spending an hour or so every day getting some extra cash.

5. Sell your old video games. Ever think about selling your old video games? Did you know you can sell your old video games online? For example, you can sell Xbox 360 games online. You can also sell other games from Nintendo, PlayStation or other various counsels. Selling your old games can make you some extra cash. Some games for obsolete systems might even be considered rare and classic and can make you some extra money.

You can do most of this list in your spare time, days off or on weekends to easily supplement your cash flow. These are also odd jobs that your family can help you with or teach to your children to help bring in extra money for your family. They may not sound fun, but it is better to be bringing in some money rather than no money. There are also many other options out there as well. Just make sure you do what is best for you and your family, and what you are the most talented to do and you will be bringing in extra money in no time.

Ways To Make It Big Without Stepping Foot In An Office

Not everyone wants to work at a nine-to-five job sitting in an office all day. Fortunately, there are other ways to succeed. You may, however, have to be willing to learn some new skills or even take a few risks. If you are open to less conventional possibilities, however, there are many ways to make it big on your own terms. Let’s look at four alternatives.

1. Earn Your Fortune in Real Estate

There are a couple of ways to make money in real estate. If you have a little money to invest or good credit, you can become a home or property flipper. This takes some research, as you want to be able to identify properties with good potential for fast turnover. If you can make improvements to the property, or can afford to have someone do this for you, you can often make a fast profit.

If you don’t have money to invest in real estate, you can become a real estate agent and earn commissions on properties you sell. It’s even possible to earn real estate commissions without becoming a professional realtor. Some people make money by “bird dogging” for real estate agents. This is where you identify properties with good potential and tell the realtor about them. You then earn commissions when the properties are sold.

2. Become a Consultant

Consultants can earn a good living and often travel all over the world. This is a good choice for someone with expertise in a field with high demand, such as helping businesses become more profitable. Many consultants specialize in certain areas such as finance, education, entertainment or technology. Consulting is a good business for people who want to live an independent lifestyle and set their own prices. You do, however, have to be good at networking and marketing yourself.

3. Become a Professional Gambler

While gambling is usually thought of as games of chance, there are people who master certain games and make a good living from them. Poker players are the best known examples of this. There are also, however, people who become skilled at casino games such as blackjack, craps or roulette.

If you want to become a professional gambler, you will need a lot of discipline. You’ll have to master your game of choice and find an effective strategy. This is a good choice for people who like the glamor of casinos. You can, for example, find an attractive setting such as Viejas and make it your workplace.

4. Start an Online Business

There are many ways to make money with an online business. You could, for example, start an e-commerce site and sell physical products on eBay or Amazon. If you don’t want to stock your own products, you can use drop shipping. An even simpler option is to become an affiliate marketer, where you earn a commission for selling other people’s products.

The above are just a few of the ways many people have found success without a traditional office job. If you find something that you are passionate about, you have a good chance of making it work. You do, however, have to take the time to learn how to turn your passion into a real business.

Getting the Most Out of Your Savings

money (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Getting the most out of your savings seems to be harder than ever these days. With interest rates incredibly low and bank fines high for any mistakes that you make, it is easy to believe that you’re not actually saving money at all. Before the financial crash, cash ISAs and savings accounts were used by everyone, providing a solid (although not astronomically high) rate of interest that rewarded savvy, money conscious savers across the globe. However, the crash changed the entirety of the world’s financial outlook and now; the way we save is entirely different, with people struggling to accrue any interest whatsoever. Due to this, people have started looking for alternative investment strategies to ensure they get the most out of their savings; here are just three ways you can do just that:

Start an eBay Business

Technology continues to play a greater and greater role in our lives and, because of this, a number of business opportunities have emerged. Recently, we’ve seen online shopping site eBay become the epicentre of the online retail world. A place where you can buy anything from golf clubs to new cars, eBay has something for everybody; all at an affordable price. With over 14 million active users, a prospective audience for your products is huge and, because it’s all online, you don’t even have to leave the house to start earning a profit. Start small with unwanted home items and then build up to business level.

Trade Forex

Another way that you could potentially make money online is by trading forex. Much like you do when you go on holiday, forex is the process of changing currency from one to another, exploiting the exchange rate to make a profit. The markets are difficult to navigate and it takes a great amount of research to ensure that you limit the risk of losing your money. However, unlike an eBay business, the set up cost is low and all you’ll need is a Metatrader account. Very high risk, the rewards for forex traders are high, but there is always the potential you could lose a great deal of money, too.

Invest in Stocks and Shares

The world of forex is very immediate, and if you’re looking for longer term investments, then stocks and shares may be your thing instead. Of course, this is also a potential investment minefield, and it will take a copious amount of research before you begin. But, when you’re all set up, you can monitor your trades without even leaving the house. Something that is ideal for many of us.

To conclude, savings accounts at banks accrue far less interest than they used to and, to get more out of their savings, people have started looking elsewhere. Starting an eBay business, trading forex and investing in stocks and shares are three ways that you can do just that. But, don’t be restricted to just these three things, the world’s your oyster, so have a good look around and invest wisely.

Want to Keep Collecting and Save Money? Here's 5 Places You Should Look

For collectors, it is always a constant task to look for new treasures and add them to a growing collection. This is a pleasant and enjoyable hobby for many, even (and perhaps especially) at an older age. However, at times, it can be difficult to know where to find the best pieces and easily expand the collection, especially if you're on a budget. By frequenting the most popular places to look for collectibles, it can make for a great way to find rare products at a great price. 

1. Antique Stores 

Antique shops are an ideal place to find unique items that are still in great condition and are well-preserved. It can be an enjoyable experience to scour the store and be able to view hundreds of incredible items, while having the opportunity to ask questions about the history of each item.

For those who want to purchase a number of collectibles, antique malls are an ideal place to frequent and find dozens of merchants in one location. This is a great place to barter and negotiate with sellers. If you ever spend over $20 at an antique mall, ask for a 10% discount—you should receive it. This little secret can end up saving you lots!

2. Pawn Shops

Pawn shops only sell items that have value, making it easy to find historic products that can increase in value. Jewelry is a high commodity, along with coins, stamps, and musical instruments for plenty of like items. If an item is too expensive, it's appropriate to ask for a cheaper price, as well as pawn a separate item to be able to make the purchase. If you're looking at boats, vehicles, or aircraft for sale, you should keep in mind that the pawn shop will probably rack up the price higher than they bought it for (so be willing to pay more).

3. Garage Sales

It may take a bit of work and energy to dig through another person's personal belongings, but garage sales are one of the best places to search for valuable finds after people often clean out the garage or attic. Better yet, you'll probably find collectibles at their cheapest here. Precious dolls, pocket watches, and antique spoons are a common find for those who frequent the weekend deals.

For older products, estate sales often sell hundreds of items that may be worth even more they are selling for. Keep on the lookout for items like this. If you live in a neighborhood that doesn't hold a lot of garage sales, go to a local thrift store. You can find things for very cheap there, and quite often there are hidden treasures amongst all the junk.

4. The Internet

For those searching for a specific item to add to their collection, the best place to look is online where a basic search can pull up hundreds of websites. Online sellers often sell specific products, making it easier to purchase a gem for a convenient process that beats driving around town. You can try sites like eBay for online auctions; often you can get a really good deal that way, and you can control how much you pay. If you're looking for larger items, such as collectibles cars or planes, you can try trade-a-plane.com. Sites like these will have Trade a Plane airplanes for sale which you can find for a good price. Make sure you don't outbid yourself and end up paying more than you wanted.

5. Flea Markets

Flea markets are an upgrade to garage sales, making it easy to shop in one place for rare finds that are hard to find in stores. Flea markets are often a place where the work has been done for you by merchants who scour garage sales and then sell their best finds. You can barter here as well and get a good price on a valuable item.

Earn Extra Income Working from Home

While it comes to earning extra income while working from home, the first thing that comes to mind is the Internet. Actually, there are a number of ways to make money online even by using the traditional methods of earning money. Because, at present the scope of earning extra money online while sitting back at home work like as a bliss for a number of people including the housewives, retirees, students and even for the part time office workers. Owning any online business is one of the popular methods of working online from home. The only key to earn money while working from the home is only to focus on enhancing your creativity and skills as these things can only help you to earn money online. Earning some extra money online, you can easily pay off the bills and the debts that you have without any worry. Besides, you can also save the money to build up capitals that will secure your future.

But the great thing of earning money online is that one can really earn a good amount of money only by following a few simple steps. In order to be eligible to run any online business or to work online, you don’t have to be a computer genius. Your skills will help you to discover the things which work online and also the things which you should avoid.

There are a number of options available through which you can earn online. Here in this article, I will describe some of them. Keep on reading to learn more.

• Writing articles: You can start writing articles and submit those to the directories, which will pay up front. Or you can enter into any revenue sharing scheme, which will allow you to earn some residual income from the writing. Apart from that, you can also use your article writing capacity to market your online business as well as to earn lucratively. 
• Working as a courier agent: You can start earning online by becoming a courier company agent. There are a number of reputable courier companies available in the market that provide both cheap international shipping and cheap national shipping facilities to the clients, you can work with any of them and can maintain the details and the data related to the parcel delivery to USA and in any other countries of the world. 
• Setting up your own online business: You can set up your own online business by using the affiliate marketing business models. With the help of these models you can earn money online or you can also use this medium as the source of earning money online on a full time basis. This process will help you to enjoy the residual income online. 

These are just the three proven and popular ways of earning money online. You will find lots more opportunities like selling on eBay and delivering to international clients while searching online. All of those opportunities can provide you additional or even unlimited income. You just have to careful enough while choosing the job in order to avoid the scams.

This article has been authored an expert client analyst from France. He offers great tips Parcel delivery to USA and advices cheap international shipping on the issues of customer service through his articles.

The Four (or Five) Most Powerful Retirement Investment Weapons in Any Retiree’s Arsenal

If I had a dollar for every word I’d ever read in internet articles on retirement saving and investment that failed to provide some of the best advice on the subject, I probably wouldn't have time to write this, what with all the yacht trips and jet setting I’d be busy with. Not that I’m not as big a proponent of traditional investment strategies as anyone in the financial industry. In that respect, and all others, I’m a proponent of playing to your strengths. 

For instance, one of my pet specialties is Qualified Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes or iExpats for British pensioners. Although the details are a little convoluted (and boring) for our purposes here, it’s a tax-saving system and perfect example of taking advantage of a niche financial opportunity. Like lower income savers taking advantage of the “Saver’s Credit” tax reward or looking into any of the preferential financial options available for veterans. 

So what is this sage advice that’s so conspicuously lacking from all those articles? Well, it involves the four (or five) most powerful tools in the retiree’s toolbox (a lot of metaphors happening here): Age, Experience, Time and Wisdom. And hopefully, Passion. Those tools can be employed to build a retirement investment-business that’s not only lucrative but can prove to be a blast as well. Here, at least, is a description of those tools. It’s on your to pick them up. 

Passion. This is the biggie and the crux of the whole system but paradoxically it’s not necessarily entirely essential for success. What I mean is: following a passion into a practical business endeavor is a great foundation for success. If you’ve been fascinated by and involved in, say, antiques, if you decide to start a business dealing said antiquities you’re guaranteed to have more than just a clinical, financial motivation in that business. 

The same goes for any other hobby that can turn into money- collecting coins; classic cars; comic books; firearms and/or other weapons; becoming a fishing or hunting guide; selling produce, preserves, starts or expertise from the time you’ve spent in your award-winning garden; mending or making clothes, or following your eye for fashion and tailoring to the local thrift stores to resell your finds online, whatever. Nothing motivates profit like passion. However, even a keen interest and a level head can succeed where real passion lacks. In the case of a business in which you might be tempted to acquire something or make a decision that’s not entirely economically viable in response to that passion, being dispassionate can even be a benefit. 

Age. Age may seem to be interchangeable with “Experience” and/or “Wisdom” but that’s not strictly the case. One of the benefits of Age beyond the accumulation of Wisdom and Experience, is potential customers assumptions that you’ve accumulated those attributes. Which guide is the average person going to assume knows the local lakes and streams like the back of their hand after years of fishing them- an old-timer or some young whipper-snapper? Who are they going to assign years of worldly knowledge and expertise to? Those presumptions can be used in your favor. 

Experience. This one’s pretty self-explanatory. With Experience (hopefully) comes expertise. Years of indulging your hobby has given you a level of expertise or at knowledge on the subject. Sometimes your pre-retirement job comes in handy as well. Working in contracting, construction, inspection, maybe working for the city or one of the utilities, real estate and a number of other areas may have given you the tools to make good money flipping or renting houses. Maybe you hadn’t previously considered turning your ability to often spot a solid or compromised foundation by eyeballing it into a cash-generation engine. 

Wisdom. Wisdom differs from experience here in a sort of abstract way. It’s like intuitive Experience. Wisdom is what warns you that a deal seems shady; a renter seems untrustworthy; a neighborhood seems set for revitalization; a buy is a steal or a bust; where the trout, bass, buck or birds will be, etc. Hopefully, of course, that wisdom also tells you when your distrust of a renter is based on an old prejudice or snap judgment, when you are just telling yourself that a buy seems like a steal because you want whatever’s being sold and so forth. 

Time. It seems like one of those cruel ironies that after years of working and (hopefully, again) stuffing that 401(k), you’re finally able to quit work, kick back, relax and… become bored. Now that can be put toward your passion, or at least interest, keeping you busy with something fun and getting you paid for it! Nowadays, starting a business often doesn’t even require the investment, time, headache and risk of establishing a brick and mortar space for your endeavor- it can be as easy as setting up a website or logging in to eBay. That saves you more time for your work; if it can be called that. Do you ever regret not following a passion down a career path before you retired? Well, why not give it a shot afterward! 

Mario Vitanelli is a freelance writer and blogger who specializes in international politics and finance, retirement and investment. His areas of expertise include European economic policy and expat pension. When away from his keyboard, he enjoys photography and appreciates the rest of the Vitanelli family’s endless patience with his football dependence.

Turn Your Bad Purchases in Cash

Have you come to the conclusion that you may have a tad of an online shopping addiction? Do not worry; you are not alone…not by a long shot. There are millions of Americans who tend to splurge a little with their online purchases. What’s even worse than looking at your bank statement, which provides documentation of your little splurges, is realizing all those items you just “had to have” aren't even being used! Don't feel ashamed or embarrassed if this has happened to you, and the great news is… there’s a way out!

If your online little splurge items are starting to get a little dust on them or even taking up space in your home, well then perhaps it is time to say goodbye! Don’t get discouraged just yet; you can make a significant profit on your items. From clothes, electronics, jewelry, furniture, or even miscellaneous products…there is a buyer out there for it all, just have to find the right one. What better place to start then where you started your buying spree yourself…online!

The online market is outlandishly vast in regards to shopping and/or buying items. If you are looking to sell some of your old or “old-new” pieces, this can be an extremely lucrative market. Selling jewelry for cash is extremely popular and there are companies and websites galore that will gladly buy your unwanted items…remember to be careful and do your research on the company. 

If you want to get the most buck for your bling, take a look at www.sdjewelrybuyer.com. Now if you are trying to sell electronics or even designer clothing, don’t forget about online sites like www.ebay.com and watch your items fly off your shelves and money fly into your pocket. 

Whatever you’re looking to sell, there is always a buyer out there, it just may take a little extra time finding the right one for you.

Your Budget Will Always Fail If You Don't Have This One Ingredient

Budgeting is the backbone of your financial plan. It's a spending plan that tells your money where to go every month. We all have various reasons to have a spending plan. It can be saving for retirement, getting out of debt or saving for a house or car.

The fuel to make this plan come all together is your income. Budgeting your income channels the money to a future purpose. Now a days money is at a premium, people have lost jobs and income is reduced. On the other hand expenses are going up. My insurance, property taxes, and consumables have all risen sharply in the last few years. The spending plan is tighter than ever.

How To: Create A Budget

The problem is that you don't have the money to save anymore. Your just making the bills and this is the worst time to put money into retirement or paying off debt. In my own situation, my health care used to be paid for at my business. Now the money just isn't their anymore. It now comes out of my income every month. Like me, many others have incomes reduced or eliminated causing a drastic cut back in lifestyle and spending.

The cure for all this is to find other channels of income. Whether it's a part time job or a home based business. If you are thinking you already work 6 or 7 days a week now, how can I work more? You will have to find the way that works in your life. This is not going to be easy. If your fluent in computers build a website and sell something. Have a garage sale on Ebay.

Budgets: Hold Your Nose and Try One

If computers are not your thing then, find a way to use your job specific knowledge and do what you do at work for clients. Starting a business at home will have low start up costs and it lets you test the waters cheaply to see if your idea will fly.

You need the increased income to jump start your goals. We all need to do something on the side. It may grow into to something substantial, it may flounder, or it may make you some money that will give you an income, that will take you into retirement. Don't just sit there in front of the TV complaining. Shut off "Biggest Loser" and make yourself the biggest winner.

Online Budgeting Tool That Keeps Your Data Private Try Doughhound.com

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