Funny money

None of these will make you independently wealthy or even allow you to quit your day job (unless you get a serious dose of luck along with your ingenuity), but they just might let you get enough cash to fund something special.

If you need cash relatively quickly:

1. Do something (apparently anything!) with your bike. I never would have thought of most of these, but some of them sound plausible (and fun).

2. Turn your car into a moving advertisement. The guys at WikiHow tell you what to do.

3. Teach a class on something you're good at. Most areas have a community center or a YMCA that will allow you to put your class in their monthly or quarterly brochure. Charge enough so that you make a profit.

Longer-term projects:

4. Sell custom T-Shirts (and hats and mugs and more!) from an online store.

5. Help people plan their weddings. You don't have to be a professional or take on the whole job yourself. Just make yourself available to do research or make inquiries, charge less than a full-on wedding planner, and voila, you've created not only a job, but a new industry.

6. Turn old clothes into new ones , and sell them on e-Bay.

7. Market yourself as a shopping/personal assistant. Start out donating your skills to the elderly and shut-in. When they tell their friends and families how great you are, they just might have a job for you, too.

8. Start your own "rent my inflatable jumper for you kid's birthday party" business. It takes a little capital, but should pay off fairly quickly (quicker in some parts of the country, like LA, than in others). Better yet, buy a themed jumper and offer to put on the whole party for more cash.