Posted on November 28, 2009 by admin
Why let the company that picks up your recycling get all the money?
With a little of your time, and a few cheap recycling containers, you can earn virtually free money. Here is exactly how to earn money recycling cans.
1) Locate your local recycling center by using google or your local Yellow Pages. These are usually listed in the phone book. You can also go to the following website to locate a recycling center near you: http://earth911.com/.
2) Get large trash cans or bins to use as recycling containers for storing the aluminum cans. Line the bins with trash bags to make collection easier. Also be sure to put a sign on the can that says “Empty Aluminum Cans Only – No Trash”.
3) Make sure the cans are empty and there are no miscellaneous items in with them, separate any other aluminum such as aluminum foil, pie tins, window frames, etc. into separate containers, these items may be worth more depending on the recycling center.
4) Take the empty aluminum cans to the recycling center and redeem them for money.
Click here to find ways to make money keeping electronics out of the landfills!
Posted on October 24, 2009 by admin
Did you just get yourself dug out from under last years holiday credit card bills? Plan ahead this year, companies such as UPS hire part-time workers to help get through the mad holiday rush, each year shipping increases around the holidays, folks buying gifts online, sending gifts to loved ones.
Check out http://www.upsjobs-problemsolved.com/google2 to see if this would be a good fit for you.
Posted on October 23, 2009 by admin
Beer league hockey, mens softball, youth soccer – what do all of these have in common? How about a great way to generate a second income. Referees are needed in almost every organized sport from hockey, to soccer, even flag football. The amount you get paid varies by area and by the sport itself, I know that the Ref’s in our league make $25 per game, and get as many as four games in one night. That’s $100, not too shabby for breaking up a couple of fights and getting a good skate in.
Most organizations require that you have some level of training and certification to become a referee. You can find more information on becoming a referee, by doing a search on google for clinics in your area.
Some resources here in Minnesota are:
Soccer
Hockey
Basketball
Posted on October 2, 2009 by admin
There are many options for starting your own blog and it’s easier then ever. You definitely don’t need any programming skills and although some knowledge of HTML is useful it’s not necessary. Let’s start with the basics.
Starting your own blog using one of the following free blogging sites.
Blogger.com says “The fastest way to understand blogging is to try it out. We’ve worked really hard to make it really easy for you. Just click the link below, and you can be part of the phenomenon that’s transforming web and media to a participatory activity in less than five minutes. Seriously.
What will happen then? Who knows. It might be fun, though.
And remember: Blogger is totally free, and if you have trouble, just click the Help button from any screen, and you can find the answer you’re looking for—or even ask our dedicated support staff.”
Wordpress.com says “You can get a blog started in less time than it takes you to read this sentence. All you need is an email address. You’ll get your own WordPress.com address (like you.wordpress.com), a selection of great free and customizable designs for your blog (we call them themes), 3 gigabytes of file storage (that’s about 2,500 pictures!) and all the other great features listed here. You can blog as much as you want for free, your blog can be public to the world or private for just your friends, and our premium features are completely optional.”
These two options are great but if you want a blog with your own domain name then there are a couple of other steps you’ll need to take. First you’ll have to buy a domain name. There are many companies who sell domain names. Godaddy.com is one of the most popular out there but like I said there are many. You’ll then need to find a company to host your site. Godaddy.com does this as well but again there are many companies out there you can use. From there you’ll need to install a blogging software. Wordpress is probably the most popular (this site was built with wordpress) and many of the of the hosting companies have one click installs.
The Basics for starting your own blog:
Whether it’s with a free blogging site or paid one it really comes down to finding a topic you like and writing about it. You’ll have more fun and it won’t become a chore. Who knows you can even make some money from your blog. We’ll get to that in another post.
Posted on September 30, 2009 by admin
EBAY USERS TRADED $52 billion worth of merchandise last year. While some folks are content to make a few bucks cleaning out their closets, nearly one million people depend on the auction web site for all or part of their income.
My wife has been has been selling items on eBay for a few years. She can be seen combing the local garage sales and thrift stores for items to sell, with a few hours of work each week listing the items and shipping them, she is able to make a few hundred dollars, for a very small financial investment. One of her greatest return on investment stories is the Hanna Andersen dress she purchased for $.25 and sold
for a whopping 250% profit!
You’re asking, how do I get started? Check out this link for Five Ways To Make Money On eBay.
Posted on September 26, 2009 by admin
I did a search on “make money online” and “making money online”, and much of the information out there is just promoting various infoproducts, mostly about Internet marketing. I see why people sometimes ask, “Is anyone making money online besides Internet marketing experts?”
So I put together a list of business opportunities with legitimate companies that:
- Pay cash, not just points towards rewards or a chance to win money
- Don’t require you to have your own Web domain or your own products
- Don’t involve any hard-selling
- Aren’t just promoting more Internet marketing
- Give a good return on your time investment
In the interest of objectivity, none of the links below are affiliate links, and none of them have paid or provided any other consideration for their presence here. These are legitimate companies with business models that allow you to get paid for a wide range of activities.
Help friends find better jobs.
Sites like ReferEarns, Zyoin, Who Do You Know For Dough?, Bohire and WiseStepp connect employers with prospective employees, many of whom are already employed and not actively job-hunting, via networking – the people who know these qualified candidates. Rewards for referring a candidate who gets hired range from $50 on up to several thousand dollars – not chump change. If you know a lot of job-seekers (and who doesn’t these days?), this is a great way to break into the recruiting business with no overhead.
Connect suppliers with buyers.
Referral fees are a common practice in business, but they haven’t been used much in online networking sites because there was no way to track them. Sites like Salesconx, InnerSell and uRefer now provide that. Vendors set the referral fees they’re willing to pay (and for what), and when the transaction happens, you get paid. uRefer also allows merchants to set up referral programs for introductions and meetings, as well as transactions.
Write.
A growing number of sites will pay for your articles or blog posts. Associated Content and Helium will “pay for performance” based on page views for just about anything you want to write about. Articles on specific topics they’re looking for can earn direct payments up to about $200. The rates are probably low for established writers, but if you’re trying to break into the field and have time on your hands, they’re a great way to start. Also, a lot of companies are looking for part-time bloggers. They may pay per post or on a steady contract. Our Weblogs Guide posts blogging jobs weekly in the forum.
Start your own blog.
You don’t have to have your own Web site, or install blogging software, or even figure out how to set up the advertising. At Blogger you can set up a blog for free in less than five minutes without knowing a thing about web design, and Blogger even automates setting up Google AdSense so you can make money off your blog by displaying ads and getting paid when people click on the ads. To make even more money from it, set up an affiliate program (see below) for books, music, etc., and insert your affiliate links whenever you refer to those items. You’ll have to get a lot of traffic to become a six-figure blogger, but pick an interesting topic, write well, tell all your friends, and you’re off to a good start.
Create topical resource hubs.
Are you an expert on a particular niche topic? Can you put together an overview of the topic and assemble some of the best resources on the topic from around the web? Then you can create topical hubs and get paid through sites like Squidoo, HugPages and Google Knol. Payments are based on a combination of ad revenue and affiliate fees. You’ll get higher rates doing it on your own, but these sites have a built-in supply of traffic and tools to make content creation easier.
Advertise other people’s products.
If you already have a Web site or a blog, look for vendors that offer related but non-competing products and see if they have an affiliate program. Stick to familiar products and brands – they’re easier to sell. To promote those products:
- Place simple text or graphical ads in appropriate places on your site
- Include links to purchase products you review or recommend in a blog, discussion forum or mailing list you control
- Create a dedicated sales page or Web site to promote a particular product
They all work – it just depends on how much time you have to spend on it and your level of expertise with Web design and marketing.
Microstock photography.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to sell your photos for money. People are constantly in need of stock photography for websites, presentations, brochures and so on, and are willing to pay for the right image. People generally search for images on stock photography sites by keywords, not by photographer, so you have the same chance as anyone else of having your image picked. Just be careful that you don’t have images of trademarked brands, copyrighted art or people’s faces that are readily identifiable (unless you have a model release), but just about anything else is fair game, and I promise – you’d be amazed what people need pictures of, so don’t make any assumptions. If it’s a decent photo, upload it. Some sites to get you started include Fotolia, ShutterStock, Dreamstime and iStockphoto. The great thing about this is that it’s truly “set it and forget it”.
The above list is by no means comprehensive, but it highlights some of the new and interesting ways to make money online without investing any money, without having a product of your own, and without having expert sales and marketing skills. Most of all, unlike taking surveys or getting paid to read e-mail, the potential return on your time investment is substantial.
Posted on September 18, 2009 by admin
I think all of us with jobs can agree that the thought of picking up a second job at night or on the weekend sounds horrific. That being said, the extra money a second job could generate would go a long way in alleviating some of the daily stresses of life. Even just $10 a day could add up to paying for some of the household bills such as heat, electricity or your taxes.
So how do you get around not having a second job but still create a second stream of income. The following are some ideas we’ve gathered which may help you create that second income without having to leave home.
- Real estate investing: While real estate investing does require some cash up front, the potential is enormous. And the current down turn in the housing market is an ideal time to buy property. I write a separate real estate investing blog that describes my experience with buying and managing single family rental properties.
- Ebay Store: It’s now easier than ever to run an online Ebay store. You can of course acquire products to resell on Ebay. But you can also create an online store to market products that others are selling on Ebay and share in the commissions generated by the sales. To find more information, check out the Ebay Partner Network and the Build a Niche Store (BANS) site.
- Realtor: This may seem like a crazy time to start selling real estate, but in a slow market a lot of the competition runs away. You’ll need an initial investment to obtain your real estate license, but over the long term have the potential to make substantial income.
- Website Design: With the continued growth of the Internet, website design has become a growing industry. Unless you already have the know-how, you’ll need to spend some time learning the technology. But there are plenty of online resources available, and the best in the business can earn a great income.
- Graphic Artist: There are a lot of ways to generate money through graphics. Just the logo business alone could keep you busy if you have the artistic skills necessary to develop cool graphics.
- Virtual Assistant: Virtual assistances today can do just about anything for you that doesn’t require their physical presence. Many virtual assistants from places like India are working full time for people in the U.S. The best VAs can earn $30 to $50 per hour. The starting place if you are interested is Elance.
- Freelance writer: If you have a knack for writing, you can earn great money writing for others. Not sure how to start? Contact bloggers who are always looking for great writing. As blogs grow, they can afford to pay freelancers good money for quality articles. Websites looking to build links also hire freelancers to write guest posts to be published on blogs and websites.
- Home business: The ideas and potential for a home business are limitless. I know folks who run creative memories stores, operate a video business, or sound studio from their home. One of the great benefits about running a home business is that it greatly reduces your initial investment.
- Sell a product: I have good friends who have designed a children’s game and is in the process of producing and marketing it. It’s a lot of work, but they are passionate about the work, and the potential payoff is huge.
- Blogging: Making money online requires very little cash investment and can be done on your schedule from home. This is one of the reasons I’ve started a weekend series on how to make money blogging. We are in the process of walking through how to set up a site, and then I’m going to use my Credit Card Offers IQ site as a working example to show step-by-step how to generate extra income online.
