Money making tips/ideas?

[XxFranticLovexX]

I need to save about $500 by early April, this gives me about 4 months to do so. I have no form of actual income at the moment (though I am still searching for a job), so I decided to come ask and see if you guys have any ideas. I had to save the same amount last year and it took me 5-6 months to do so and that was with someone helping me. The money used for things in the household isn't mine so cutting back on things there wouldn't really help me out, if anything it would hurt because there would be less leftover that I can collect.

I'm going to go through some things and sell of things that I don't want/need (less clutter, money that I need, and less to pack when I move), but there isn't really that much left to go through. I'm really at a loss for ideas at the moment.

So, do any of you guys have any ideas for things that I could do to try making money? I know that I can, most likely, have at least $200-300, but I need that extra $200 to do some of the other things that I would like to do. I already collect the change left over when we go shopping and such and we don't buy soda/canned drinks for our home so collecting the cans for recycling is out (there are already people who collect them around the community so there are none to collect elsewhere either). Any tips or ideas would be great.

[lyonsgirl]

Babysitting. Leaf raking. Help put up Christmas lights. Help take down Christmas lights. Wrap presents for people. Dog walking. Pet sitting.

[XxFranticLovexX]

Babysitting. Leaf raking. Help put up Christmas lights. Help take down Christmas lights. Wrap presents for people. Dog walking. Pet sitting.

All of these things people do themselves here or get relatives to help with for free. If they can't get it done that way they expect you to do it for them for free. If you ask for pay they generally will act like you're joking then, once they realize that you aren't, ask someone else that will do it for them. :/

[WakeUpSusie]

Quadruple your job searching efforts. It's the holiday season now and SO many places are hiring, even if only temporarily. You would easily be able to save 500 with a seasonal job plus some.

Go out and search/apply all day every day until you get a job. Check Craigslist, they usually post openings. Don't be too picky about what you apply for, it's just a way to make money. If you're really serious about wanted to raise this money you can do it, but you have to really commit to the effort. I've been there. Raised 10,000 in one summer working 100+ a week working three lower wage jobs. It was an exhausting summer but it paid for EVERYTHING during my semester abroad in Ireland plus some. Hard work and dedication pays off.

[AABRCL05]

I would say put more effort into the job search...it is the holiday season and more places are hiring now! Whenever I need to save money, I tend to log onto care.com or sittercity.com and seek babysitting jobs. I can usually find something every weekend for babysitting. Hope this helps!!

[snow_girl]

I agree with looking harder for a job, there are tons of seasonal jobs at the moment. If you really need money then you can't be picky at the kind of job you work at. If it's Mcdonalds for a few months so be it.

[lucybelle]

You could always do medical trials. Or donate plasma.

[XxFranticLovexX]

Thanks guys. ^^
I'm trying on the job searching, I just live in a really small town and I've applied everywhere at least twice in the past two months (some wouldn't let me apply again). I imagine it would be easier if I lived in a bigger area but we have, maybe, 5 major chain stores (the biggest being wal-mart) and they usually hire people and keep them forever.. or so it seems. I've tried all of the fast food places as well (I'm still doing so) and got a call for an interview from one then never heard from them again. Wal-mart isn't even hiring and they always hire seasonally (I know this because my mother and a few other people that I know work there. I applied there anyway though). It's just really difficult finding anything, actual job wise, here because the population is around 30,000 (for the entire county, not just the city) and it's apparently one of the poorest cities in the US. :/

I'm working on making clay charms like these to sell online as well as going to re-gain my food service card to help with searching for restaurant/fast food jobs and maybe sell some home made candies/baked goods for the holidays. I really am trying, even if it my wording may make it sound like I'm not, it's just really difficult here.

[Lucky]

are you a crafty person? never underestimate ebay...

*edit* didn't see your last post, I think doing these things as well as keep looking for at least a temporary job will get you there, good luck!

[LittleVari]

I've had a few friends do the whole Etsy thing and have thought about it myself. But the site seems too big now. It's like eBay, eBay used to be like a great garage sale where you could luck into awesome deals, or sell your gently-used goods and make some extra cash. But now it's all big-time distributors selling new merchandise. Etsy used to be a great place for artists and crafters to put their stuff out there, but now it's so big I don't know how a little start-up store could ever break through.

The market for polymer charms on Etsy is saturated and I think it would be really hard to make a lot of money selling them. They're also time consuming to make and tend to sell for less than $10. And you'd have to make a lot before you could even open your store. If you're creative and you want to give Etsy a shot, make something that stands out from the crowd yet still appeals to them. Stay away from steampunk, fairies, knitted anything, iPhone cases... you get the point. If 1000 other stores are selling the same thing, as a start-up, you'll never stand out enough to attract customers.

The best way I can think of doing well selling on Etsy is to make something kick-ass and unique, use great keywords so people can find your items, and add to your store all the time so you stay in the top of searches (the search list defaults to newest added first). Then market yourself like crazy. It's a lot of work, but if you're not working now, you have nothing to lose.

ETA: whoops, I'm a dork, the search list defaults to relevancy, not newest first. Must be that I always search that way so I'm used to seeing searches ordered that way, I forgot I actually set that myself. Did I mention I'm a dork? LOL

[LittleLionMan]

Hey,

Honestly getting a job is really tough to do these days i am fortunate to have one, but only because I strived EVERYDAY of my week to get one! You have to make it YOUR job to GET a job it's the best way to get money!! I make abot $800 a paycheck as an entry-level phlebotomist and i have enough money at the end of the month to see my babe, and it's totally worth it!!!

Go out there, Stay headstrong, take the world on!!!!!

You can do it

-Alex J.

[charly]

I worked on sales for quite some time. (On the street, and door by door for charity stuff) I earned a hundred euro's a day I don't know if you have something like that where you live though. And you really need to able to handle mean and rude people.

[dglynn77]

If you speak English/another language well, and have basic teaching skills, you can teach online for money. I teach English online during my free hours, and this is how I am making extra money for my boyfriend's visit in February

[Riyko]

the link in my signature is a way i do, but i also sell plasma and use fiverr (good way to make $5 for doing things you are good at for others).