side gig

How to Turn Your Expertise Into a Side Hustle

Nick Wharton — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 08:30:33 +0000

As the old saying goes, "knowledge is power," and the rise of the internet has created many opportunities to turn your knowledge into cold hard cash. Maybe you're looking for a new career, or perhaps you're just looking to build a side hustle that will bring in a few extra bucks. Either way, selling what you know online could turn out to be a great little earner for you.

There are various ways to sell your knowledge over the internet, depending on what you are selling and the format you use. A few years ago, it might have required an advanced understanding of technology or a load of cash to get your idea off the ground, but these days, there are plenty of ways to get going with minimal upfront investment — making it easy for anyone with a computer and an internet connection to start a side hustle. (See also: How to Build a Side Business While Keeping Your Day Job)

1. Write an ebook

It used to be that if you couldn't find a traditional publishing house that accepted your manuscript, then you'd have no other choice but to pay to have it printed yourself. Luckily, ebooks have blown the publishing world wide open and have enabled almost anyone to produce and sell a story directly to readers with very few costs attached. It also means that books are extremely quick to create. You can have your ebook ready to go not long after it's written.

To go through Amazon, you can write the ebook in your normal word processing software, then format it with Kindle Create, and create a cover for it in a free design program like Canva. You can then self-publish it through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing.

But for wider distribution, look also at NookPress and Kobo Writing Life, which are other self-publishing platforms. For the widest reach possible, it's best to publish with all of the major players rather than sticking to a single one.

2. Host webinars

Hosting live webinar sessions allows you to share your knowledge to an audience without the need for them to be physically present. It's like a conference or seminar but done on a remote basis, saving learners the cost of travel and accommodation. The real benefit of webinars is that you can interact with your audience as you go, by allowing real-time questions or holding a Q&A session at the end. This ensures that everyone gets exactly what they want from the session.

Webinars can be simple presentations carried out on Skype or even Facebook Live, but more advanced tools will allow you to create better, more engaging seminars. Google Hangouts is free to use and has numerous collaborative features perfect for hosting web sessions.

Alternatively, there are various paid software tools such as GoToMeeting or Cisco Webex that are specifically for designing and conducting webinars. You need to have an audience large enough to make it worth your while, so it helps if you already have a following on social media or a website to allow you to publicize the event. (See also: 13 Ways to Make Money Teaching Your Skills to Others)

3. Become an online consultant

For people with a sought after skill set that businesses want to access, online consulting works extremely well. There are many reasons why businesses prefer to work with online consultants rather than those who physically come onto the work premises. These range from not wanting to upset the workforce with an outsider's presence while still benefiting from a pair of fresh eyes, to the simple reality that it's often less costly to hire an online consultant while still receiving an expert level of service.

It helps to have a niche skill that you have proven expertise in, as this will lend you much needed credibility. Getting started in online consulting can be difficult, so it's vital to use any and all contacts you already have to get your first break. Once you have your first few contracts secured, you will hopefully begin to get referrals or recommendations and see a snowball effect.

4. Provide online tutoring

Online tutoring is a great way to share your experience with people who want to learn one-on-one with an expert in their chosen subject. You don't need to have a degree in education, but you’ll need skills or knowledge in something that people are willing to pay to learn. Subjects like English, math, and science, are particularly in demand. However, it's possible to tutor online on other topics such as foreign languages (or English as a foreign language), or even learning an instrument.

There are numerous online agencies that match people with tutors in their chosen subject, so you won't have to actively search or advertise for clients. Generally, you fill out an application and they decide whether they accept you or not. Once you've been accepted and have registered, they will send you jobs as they become available. (See also: How to Earn $1,000 a Month or More as an Online Tutor)

5. Create an online course

If you have knowledge that you want to spread far and wide, and know there's an audience there to lap it up, then an online course may be the right path for you. Online courses allow you to reach more people than you could on a one-on-one basis, both from a time perspective, and also because you can sell a course much cheaper than individual tutoring.

It's a huge amount of work initially to design and build your course, but once this is done, the course should provide passive income with little to no further effort. There are various delivery methods that you'll have to select, depending on what you want to achieve. Courses that email your lessons to students are easy to set up with providers such as MailChimp, or you can put your materials out in module format with the Udemy marketplace. (See also: How I Made $400 in 10 Days by Selling an Online Course I Created)

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This article is from Nick Wharton of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

6 Ways Millennials Are Working Less and Earning More

Nick Wharton — Tue, 01 May 2018 08:30:18 +0000

The rise of the internet has been a complete game changer in regards to the new money making opportunities it has opened up. Millennials, in particular, are making money in ways that weren't possible just five or 10 years ago. Entire professions have sprung up that allow savvy entrepreneurs to cash in while actually working less than if they had a regular full-time job.

There are plenty of articles out there claiming to show you how easy it is to make millions with very little work. I want to stress that generally this simply isn't the case, and there are no legitimate "get rich quick schemes" on the internet. All of these jobs, even the ones that will eventually provide you with passive income, take a lot of work and dedication to get right, especially at the start.

However, with a bit of know-how and a lot of dedication, it's possible to break free from a life chained to your cubicle working 60 hours a week. Millennials have been at the forefront of the latest developments on the internet, and are continually inventing new ways to earn a living through it. Here are six ways millennials are working less and earning more.

1. Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency has been constantly in the news recently, with analysts and skeptics regularly predicting that it's on the verge of suffering a huge crash. Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding it, and some recent volatility, there are still plenty of people making money from it. There are also many different ways that people can use cryptocurrency to make money, meaning it's a versatile income stream. Essentially, cryptocurrency is a digital asset that uses cryptography as a security measure. Bitcoin is one form of cryptocurrency that has been in the spotlight quite a bit. (See also: Is Bitcoin Still a Thing?)

Simon Yu, CEO of blockchain startup StormX told Forbes, "Millennials are particularly open to embracing new technology in order to create opportunities for themselves — and blockchain, the tech behind crypto, is no different. As masters of the side hustle and challengers of the traditional 9–5 working lives of previous generations, millennials are welcoming blockchain with open arms."

Trading is probably the most well-known method of making money from cryptocurrency, but by no means the only one. Those with an in-depth knowledge of computers can actually mine cryptocurrency, although profits from this are far lower than they were previously. Buying and holding your chosen cryptocurrency is also a popular way to make profits. Rising values have sparked hundreds of stories about how early investors got rich by cashing out their holdings once their value had soared.

2. Online trading

Where trading stocks used to be relatively complicated to get into, the internet has opened it up to virtually anyone. Trading in the stock market can be a great way to make money online, and you need little more than a laptop or smartphone and an internet connection to get going. By being supremely tech-savvy and learning to trade via apps, millennials are getting more and more involved in the stock trading scene. (See also: The 5 Millennial Money Apps Everyone Should Use)

You don't need any specific skills to get started, but it's vital to research properly before sinking your life savings into any particular stock. To get going, open a brokerage account with a reputable stock broker, and then it's a case of finding the right stock that will bring you profits. It's important to know that stock trading always carries a risk, but there are lots of people doing it remotely, millennials in particular, and making it work. (See also: Beginner's Guide to Reading a Stock Table)

3. Drop shipping

Drop shipping allows people to create online stores and fulfill their orders without ever having to actually handle the inventory themselves. The orders are fulfilled either directly by the manufacturer, or another third party, freeing up the seller to concentrate solely on attracting new customers and selling products. There's no need for warehouses full of stock and you don't have to deal with postage and packaging, so you can set up and operate with extremely low operating costs.

Once a store is set up and running, it can take minimal effort to keep it going. Sites like AliExpress have been specifically created for the purposes of connecting dropshippers with manufacturers, and they make the process even simpler because you don't need to source manufacturers yourself. This type of retail suits marketing- and sales-driven individuals who don't want to be bogged down by the manufacturing and delivery fulfillment aspect of running online stores.

This trend has become particularly popular among millennials and Gen Z'ers because of internet marketing skills that have grown naturally over a lifetime of use, and it requires little in startup funds to get going.

4. Blogging

With a few minutes and a minimal amount of cash upfront, it's easy to set up your very own blog. Taking it to the next level and monetizing it will take longer, but it's possible to see a decent return on your investment within a matter of months. One of the most important steps is choosing a profitable niche, preferably one that you're already knowledgeable and passionate about so you can write about your subject with authority and enthusiasm right off the bat.

Once you've built up an audience, there are lots of income streams open to bloggers. Savvy bloggers also create numerous blogs simultaneously to maximize income. Popular moneymaking methods include: recommending products or services to your audience and receiving payments for affiliate sales, advertising on your blog, and creating and selling your own products, like e-books and podcasts.

Because of they’ve grown up creating content on social media and microblogging platforms like Tumblr, millennials are generally savvy when it comes to creating blogs, building their networks, and nurturing those digital relationships to ensure their content is shared by as many people as possible. (See also: 5 Easy Ways to Make Extra Money Blogging)

5. Online stores

Forget about renting space, filling it with products, and waiting around for customers to wander in. Online retail shops allow you to set up digitally with minimal upfront costs, and countless ways to actively drive paying customers to your store. Online stores have become big business, particularly with millennials and the rise of smartphones putting products in customers' hands 24/7.

Setting up is simple thanks to sites like Shopify or Woocommerce, which have easy-to-use templates and models that can get your online store ready to go in minutes. You can sell products you already have, or look for products to sell on both sites. If selling crafty items is more your style, you can create storefronts on Amazon Handmade or Etsy. It's then a case of promoting these stores and their products online using social media platforms. (See also: The 5 Best Sites to Sell Your Arts and Crafts)

6. Ads management

Helping companies unlock the potential of online advertising to increase their reach, and ultimately their profits, has gotten more popular in recent years. Since search engines and social media platforms turn to advertising as their main source of revenue, it has opened up endless possibilities. Facebook advertising, in particular, has become a popular way for people to make money through selling ad management services. It's possible to produce extremely targeted advertisements to a specific audience using the data they collect.

Many businesses are completely unaware of how to use online advertising, and local companies potentially may not even have an online presence, making it relatively easy to sell to them. For a monthly retainer they receive guaranteed, quality customer referrals looking to purchase their services or products.

Millennials are perfect for gigs like this, as they spend so much time on social media anyway, and have an intimate knowledge of what they and their peers connect to in terms of content.

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This article is from Nick Wharton of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

3 Online Affiliate Programs That Can Make You Extra Cash

Nick Wharton — Fri, 29 Dec 2017 09:30:06 +0000

The web is awash with deceptive stories and clickbait ads claiming you can make millions online with little or no effort. So it's no wonder people think earning money via the internet is a shady and fruitless endeavor. However, there are plenty of legitimate methods of making money online, and affiliate marketing is one of them.

There are thousands of reputable companies looking to work with publishers to help promote their products and services. Whether you're looking to earn a full-time salary or supplement your income with a few extra dollars each month, affiliate marketing is a great option to explore. Here are three affiliate programs that can earn you money online.

What is an affiliate program?

Affiliate programs are a form of online marketing employed by advertisers seeking referrals from a wide range of sources. They usually offer a commission, which reflects a percentage of every sale made from the referral link. So if you have a website or a mailing list and you link to a product or retailer using a tracking link, the advertiser will know that that customer came from your link and if they buy, you will be paid commission.

It's beneficial for the company because it receives both advertising and sales leads that it wouldn't necessarily be able to access otherwise. It's also beneficial for you and their other affiliate publishers, who are able to make money from sales without actually having to get involved in handling the transaction. Since all you're doing is essentially connecting people with products, affiliate marketing can be one of the most time- and cost-effective methods to make money online. (See also: 5 Ways to Make Passive Income Online)

How to set up your affiliate program

If you have an established following, whether it's on your company website, a personal blog, or on social media, then it's easier to find an affiliate program you can implement. Some have requirements that you'll need to meet before being accepted as an affiliate, but many are open to anyone and have a very basic registration process.

Once you've signed up, you'll be able to create unique links that allow the company to track them back to you so you get credit for the referrals you provide. It's important to read the fine print to know the limitations of how and where you're allowed to include the links because it varies from program to program. You can then start dropping these links into places where readers are likely to click on them and buy whatever is being advertised. These places include blog posts, newsletters, and Twitter and Facebook posts. (See also: How to Earn Extra Income With Twitter)

One of the most effective ways of making money from affiliate programs is to link to the promoted products or services from your own website or email list. This allows you to build, analyze, and target your audience effectively. It's quick and easy to start a website if you don't already have your own, and it's possible to begin earning affiliate income within a matter of hours once the website is up and running. (See also: How to Turn Your Instagram Account Into a Paying Gig)

Booking.com

As one of the top accommodation booking sites on the internet, Booking.com offers more than a million properties for travelers, including everything from hostels to luxury apartments. The Booking.com affiliate program is also one of the foremost and well used programs around.

Commission is only paid when people book via your referrals and then complete their stay at their chosen property. Because of this, and the fact that customers sometimes cancel their bookings, the payment cycle is often slightly more complicated than those of other affiliate programs, but the platform allows you to easily track and analyze your earnings.

Thanks to the way the commission payments are structured, the more bookings that users make through your links, the higher the commission you'll receive. The rates start at 25 percent and go up to 40 percent once you've surpassed 501 bookings. To clarify, that means 25 percent to 40 percent of Booking.com's commission, so don't expect to get that percentage of the overall cost of the hotel stay.

Amazon

The Amazon affiliate program, Amazon Associates, is probably the best known program on the market. When it launched the program in 1996, Amazon was one of the pioneers of what was a new form of online marketing at the time. Many people attribute a large part of the company's resulting success to it.

One of the reasons that it's so successful is because the program is free and extremely simple to join. The interface is also easy to use. This means that you can start earning money right away once you've signed up. You earn money when a customer clicks on one of the links you're promoting and then buys something on the site. It doesn't even necessarily need to be the product you've recommended.

If they purchase anything within 24 hours, you'll get commission, and even if they just place items in their cart during that time, but purchase them within 90 days, you still earn. This is basically a 90-day cookie for any cart items, which is a very generous cookie duration.

Amazon's main site is renowned among affiliate partners for being a conversion machine, which means that just by providing links, the likelihood of the reader clicking and then buying something is relatively high. With Amazon Associates, you have various tools that allow you to implement the links in different ways such as banners, image links, and text links. You can earn up to 10 percent in fees.

ClickBank

Started in 1998, ClickBank is a go-between entity that connects vendors wishing to market their products and services, and publishers looking for relevant products to promote to their audiences. Whereas Amazon Associates is an affiliate program with a defined fee structure, ClickBank is an affiliate network that takes care of multiple vendors’ affiliate programs, so the commission structures vary. The vendors choose the commission rate, which is typically between 30 percent and 50 percent (though it can range from 1 percent to 75 percent). That’s significantly higher than Amazon rates of 1 percent to 10 percent, but of course, Amazon generates a much, much higher volume of sales.

ClickBank’s products and services, many of which are digital, are different from Amazon’s product line. So, many affiliate marketers will sign up for both ClickBank and Amazon to maximize their product portfolio and potential profits.

Signing up for ClickBank only takes a few moments, and it costs you nothing to join as an affiliate. There's no screening or approval process, and once you've joined, you can start making commission right away. There's a wide range of products for you to start marketing, so whatever niche you're in, you should find something relevant.

The great part about ClickBank is, your account is credited in real time, meaning you can keep close track of how your affiliate sales are performing.

Be sure to follow FTC endorsement guidelines

When promoting affiliate products online or within emails, it's important that you follow the guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission so that your readers and followers are well aware that they are clicking on affiliate links and you will be making money from their purchase. It's simply good business to be completely transparent about the nature of the transaction.

According to the FTC Website:

"If you disclose your relationship to the retailer clearly and conspicuously on your site, readers can decide how much weight to give your endorsement.

In some instances — like when the affiliate link is embedded in your product review — a single disclosure may be adequate. When the review has a clear and conspicuous disclosure of your relationship and the reader can see both the review containing that disclosure and the link at the same time, readers have the information they need. You could say something like, "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post." But if the product review containing the disclosure and the link are separated, readers may not make the connection."

What to watch out for

Not all affiliate programs are created equal, so if you're trying to maximize your affiliate revenues, it's important that you know a few key things that will help you to ensure that you're getting paid for every referral.

Percentage of sale (commission rate)

Of course, the number one thing you want to look at is the commission rate. What percentage of the customer’s payment will you receive? In some cases, there is a flat fee for every sale made, and sometimes you will get a percentage of the total sale. Keep your eye out for "percentage of commission" sales, as this means that you're not taking a percentage of the total sale, but rather a percentage of the company's commission.

Average sale value

Once you know what the commission rate is, it's a good idea to check what the average sale is so that you know how much you can expect to earn (on average) from each sale.

Cookies

Affiliate marketers love cookies! Cookies are small pieces of data retained on computers by browsers that contain various pieces of information in regards to a specific website visit. In the case of affiliate programs, most of the good ones include a 30-day cookie or longer, meaning if someone clicks your link and visits the site, you'll still get paid as long as they return to the site and make a purchase within 30 days. Cookies that linger even longer are a bonus!

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This article is from Nick Wharton of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

4 Creative Remote Jobs That Can Supplement Your Retirement Income

Nick Wharton — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 09:30:06 +0000

For some, retirement is a welcome chance to quit working forever, but for others it can mark the beginning of a new and exciting venture. It could be out of necessity to supplement a smaller retirement income, or a desire to keep yourself busy with a foot in the working world.

Either way, earning money in retirement is an option that plenty of people take, and thanks to the internet, there are jobs that can be done from anywhere in the world. This is especially true for people who have a creative streak. If you're on the lookout for a way to pull in a few dollars using your word or design skills, without stepping foot in an office, here are four remote jobs that can bring in some extra cash.

Blogging

If you plan to travel more in retirement, then travel blogging could be a great option for you. Or if you have some other hobby you’re passionate about, that could be your blog topic. For people who are articulate, skilled at photography, and enjoy sharing information about their passion, blogging can be a creative and fun way to earn some extra dollars. Bloggers earn money in a variety of ways, and though it's by no means a quick path to plentiful riches, you can start to build an income within months. (See also: 5 Easy Ways to Make Extra Money Blogging)

It takes minutes to set up a blog, and once you have the basics in place, you can begin creating your very own online kingdom. Start out with your friends and family and ask them to share your content with their friends and family to give your blog a boost.

The top bloggers on the internet earn six-figure salaries, though clearly not everyone will reach this level. It's not unrealistic to be able to rake in a few hundred dollars per month once your site is established.

Editing

Virtually any written text has the potential to require editing, and these days it's far more likely to be done online than with a pen and paper. If you're a stickler for grammar, efficient at fact checking, and can quickly and accurately knock a piece of text into shape, then you could try your hand at editing. To become a good editor, you should be able to provide objective and useful feedback to help writers improve their work, without being condescending or unnecessarily critical.

There are many places to find editing work online, which will vary depending on the type of content you're working on. Online job marketplaces such as Upwork and Freelancer are good places to start, and allow you to search for and submit proposals for jobs that appeal to you. There are also sites commonly referred to as "content mills" that might not offer high-paying projects, but can be relatively easy to get regular work from as a beginner. Sites such as CopyPress, allow you to go through their training program and earn a certification with them for copy editing, which you can then use to get jobs through the site.

Freelance writing

If you have a way with words and love to share your experiences, freelance writing can provide a great way to supplement your income. There are countless forms of freelance writing, from copywriting to technical writing, so the first step is to find one that suits you. This is different from blogging, in that you'll be writing for other publications, and some assignments may be in print, as opposed to exclusively writing for the web (though there are still endless opportunities to find work creating digital content). It's best to start off with an existing area of expertise that you possess, or something you're passionate about, and then you can expand your repertoire from there.

Many online publications have sections that detail how to make submissions directly to them, as well as information on exactly what they are looking for and how they want it presented. As with freelance writing, online job sites are often a good place to start your search. If you have publications in mind that you'd like to write for, then you can also approach them directly with a pitch.

Earnings vary wildly for freelance writing, and you may be paid per word, per article, or sometimes per hour. Your skill level and the client will determine what you can bill. But in my experience, you can expect to earn anything from a couple of cents per word, up to a few hundred dollars per article. (See also: 22 websites That Will Pay You to Write for Them)

Designing websites

I recently met a retired woman from the U.S. who had been working her way around South and Central America for over seven years. She told me that though her retirement income was enough to support a basic lifestyle, she liked to supplement it by doing extra work along the way. Her part-time hustle was designing websites, a skill she'd taught herself in her free time when she retired.

Whenever she turned up in a new location, she would head out to the local hotels to canvas for work designing or redesigning their sites. Over the time she'd been traveling, she'd built up a good portfolio and found it quite easy to pick up new clients.

Because it's all done online, you can find plenty of web design work that can be done remotely. Web designers can earn up to around $100 per hour, though the average stands at about $59 and it could be $40 at the lower end.

Most websites, particularly for physical businesses, are small and uncomplicated, so even with lower end web design skills, it's possible to create great sites that clients will be happy with. If this is an area you have expertise in, then you can also branch out into bigger projects, but it is still possible to be self-taught and find work.

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This article is from Nick Wharton of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

11 Ways to Make Money on Thanksgiving

Carrie Kirby — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 08:00:06 +0000

In recent years, as the hours of Black Friday shopping have expanded, the topic of work on Thanksgiving has been somewhat controversial. But whether you think malls should be open on Turkey Day or not, the fact is that some of us want and need to earn money on this holiday. If you're not employed somewhere that's paying you to punch a clock, but you still want to make a buck on Thanksgiving, here are some ideas for turning other folks' family day into your payday.

1. Creating homemade invitations

People who are organizing large, elegant gatherings might appreciate having a custom-made invitation to send out. And if you want to be full-service, offer to address and mail out those invites as well. You could also offer custom place cards that match the invite.

You can design the cards on DIY sites such as Vistaprint or Zazzle, or use graphic design software and have them printed at a professional print shop. Make sure to charge enough to cover the printing costs and to have some profit to pay for your time. (See also: 5 Ways to Make Passive Income Online)

2. Event planning

If you're a great host but don't plan on hosting your own Thanksgiving feast, and you're skilled at keeping an organized to-do list, offer your services to overwhelmed, inexperienced hosts who don't have time to put in the prep work. Social media and local family network sites would be good places to advertise.

3. Home organizing

Getting ready to host dinner guests or even take in out-of-town family overnight is when people look around their homes and realize they need to declutter. If you've ever toyed with offering your services as a professional organizer, now's a good time to try it. Organizers can charge between $30 and $80 per hour, according to CostHelper.

4. Deep cleaning

A week or more before the big day, hosts may want to have someone in to get dust bunnies out from under guest beds, clean ovens and stovetops, and wash windows. You can find cleaning jobs through TaskRabbit, which estimates you can charge about $22 per hour for cleaning (although the site will keep a cut), or advertise locally or through family and friends.

Thanksgiving hosts will also want day-of cleaning so that end tables shine and carpets are freshly vacuumed when the doorbell rings for the first guests' arrival. Don't want to rise early? Hire yourself out to wash the dinner dishes in the evening instead.

5. Grocery shopping

Those potatoes and yams aren't going to jump off the shelves and deliver themselves, and some folks get hives from shopping amongst holiday crowds. Sign up with InstaCart or Shipt to pick up and deliver groceries using your own car. Both services say grocery delivery can pay up to $25 per hour, plus tips.

6. Baking

Bakeries are overwhelmed by pre-orders for pumpkin pies around the holidays. If you are a pie expert, you can turn your home kitchen into a baking station for a day or two, and offer Thanksgiving Day delivery to set yourself apart. Homemade breads and rolls are another idea for oven entrepreneurs. Visit a local high-end bakery or patisserie to find out what you can charge.

If you are baking for more than just friends and relatives, check your local laws about selling homemade products. California, for instance, has a "cottage food" law that allows the sale of home-produced baked goods and certain other foods.

7. Renting out your space

A lot of people host out-of-town guests for the holiday weekend, but not everyone has someone to put them up. This is a great time to try listing your spare bedroom on Airbnb, especially if you live in a residential area that doesn't have many hotels. The beauty of this is that you can make money even if you have Thanksgiving travel plans yourself, by renting out your vacant home. I've done the same over the Christmas holiday and had great results. (See also: 5 Easy Ways to Make Good Money From Airbnb)

8. Driving for Uber or Lyft

If you've ever considered driving for Uber or Lyft, the airport crowds on the day before Thanksgiving offer plenty of opportunities to make good money. You can set your own hours in the days leading up to the holiday and will probably have busy shifts taking travelers to their destinations. (See also: How to Earn Extra Money Driving for Uber or Lyft)

9. Pet-sitting

For people who are out of town for the whole holiday weekend, you could visit their home and feed, water, and walk pets, or take pets into your own home. Some hosts will want to send out noisy, excitable, or allergy-causing pets for the day, or even simply pay to have them taken on a long walk. Care.com and Rover are sites you could sign up with to find pet-sitting gigs. Expect to make around $25 a night for hosting a dog. Sign up in advance, because you may have to pass a background check before you can start pet sitting. (See also: How to Make $400+ a Week as a Pet Sitter)

10. Serving and photographing

Hosts with big crowds will also hire waiters, bartenders, even photographers for the big day. These roles will take the pressure off of them so they can focus more on hosting and enjoying time with their guests, rather than running around refilling drinks and taking selfies. Find local opportunities on GigSalad.

11. Place holding

With stores offering big sales opening on Thanksgiving Day instead of on Black Friday, some folks will leave their families to go wait in line. Others will pay someone on TaskRabbit to wait for them. Bring a book!

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This article is from Carrie Kirby of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

15 Ways to Make Money on Halloween

Mikey Rox — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 08:30:10 +0000

Most people balk at signs of the impending fall holidays because they fear what's coming — or rather, going: their money. But this year, instead of removing all the bills from your wallet for Halloween this-and-that, stuff it to the gills with fresh cash using these ways to turn October 31 on its paycheck-draining pumpkin head.

1. Attach business cards to trick-or-treaters' candy

Have a business you want to promote? Get in front of a lot of customers this Halloween by attaching your business card to the candy you're handing out. When parents inspect the candy later, they'll find it and hopefully call you. If you own a restaurant or retail store in town or provide a service, try a 10 percent discount instead of a standard business card. You'll build brand awareness among neighbors that may not know about your business, and you'll spend just pennies on new customer acquisition. (Shout-out to my lovely aunt for this idea. Genius.)

2. Rent out your guest space to tourists

If you've been considering whether or not to rent out your home or spare room on Airbnb and other micro-subletting services, use Halloween as a test run. There's usually higher demand around holidays so you'll likely book with relative ease if you keep your accommodations comfortable, clean, and affordable. This is a great way to experience what hosting travelers is like (without committing to it as a full-time job) while pocketing a little extra income. (See also: 5 Easy Ways to Make Good Money From Airbnb)

3. Sell old costumes online

If you still have last year's kids' and adult costumes, and you don't plan to wear them again, try getting rid of them locally via Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or online selling apps like Letgo. You'll have the best chance of unloading your unwanted garb with great photos and reasonable prices. Start at about 60 percent off what you paid for the costume originally and haggle from there. (See also: Turn Old Clothes Into Money With These 4 Tools and Apps)

4. Charge your friends for a sweet fix

You probably won't have much luck at this as an adult, but if you're a high school or college student, tap into your entrepreneurial skills early and peddle Halloween candy for a price. Everyone is in the sweets-eating mood at the end of October, so seize this opportunity to turn your trick-or-treating stash or reduced-priced seasonal candy bags into a profit. Undercut the competition, i.e. vending machines, and you've got a mini-business on your hands.

5. Sit for parents of children or pets

Many adults like to enjoy the Halloween festivities as much as the kids do, so if you know any parents or pet owners, offer your sitting services to allow them to enjoy the parties to which they were invited. There are several popular services that will help you market yourself, like Care.com for child care and Rover.com for pet care. Each will help you build a profile, tap into the local market, and share your services on social media. (See also: How to Make $400+ a Week as a Pet Sitter)

6. Drive revelers around in your car

I've been a Lyft and Uber driver for a couple years now, and I can tell you firsthand that there's major demand surrounding Halloween. I've made a few hundred bucks on Halloween night alone, and that's only driving from about 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Demand, of course, will depend on the area in which you live, but if there's not a lot to do where you are, drive to another, more popular area where you know people will be partying and therefore need a safe ride home. (See also: How to Earn Extra Money Driving for Uber or Lyft)

7. Host a haunted house

A friend of mine told me that his family charged 25 cents for admission to the amateur haunted house they put together in their own home, but this was back in the 1960s. The inflation rate today would be $2.07, and nobody's going to pay that hefty fee to enter your dungeon of terror, but you could probably squeeze out $1-$2 per family if you create an interesting/scary enough attraction.

8. Set up a trick-or-treating yard sale

Have a pile of junk you'd like to sell? Take advantage of the built-in Halloween-night foot traffic by setting up a small yard sale while you're handing out candy. Provide bags for smaller items, and be flexible enough to allow next-day pickup for larger items that chaperones won't want to carry around all night.

9. Offer your face painting or hair and makeup skills

A quick post on social media about your hair and makeup prowess will likely fill up your Halloween weekend schedule. Expand your reach with a post on Craigslist. Everybody wants to look their best for the festivities, and they'll pay a pretty penny for it.

10. Tailor costumes

Holes in costumes may need mending, or someone might need an old costume taken in, and if you're handy with a needle and thread or a sewing machine, you can pocket a few crisp ones for your work.

11. Pick up a seasonal job as a haunted house actor

Enjoy scaring the bejesus out of people? Local haunted houses and corn mazes are hiring actors to spook guests this time of year, as are amusement parks that host seasonal events, like Six Flags' Fright Fest.

12. DJ a Halloween party

Spin "Monster Mash" and other macabre music by DJing Halloween parties. It doesn't have to be a major affair, so look for kids' shindigs, neighborhood parties, and community center events.

13. Make themed baked goods for last-minuters

I have a friend who makes the most incredible, perfectly decorated cookies, for which she's paid top dollar on custom orders. If you're a whiz in the kitchen, offer your baked goods to neighbors for their parties and maybe even pop into your local restaurants and cafes to ask if they might be willing to put your treats in their cases for a cut of the profits. These are the baby steps to a small business.

14. Chaperone children for trick-or-treating

Sort of like baby-sitting; you'll get paid in cash plus a few candy bars. Parents or guardians working late and therefore unable to take their kids trick-or-treating will be interested in this service.

15. Sell water to thirsty parents

Walking children around for hours on end can really take it out of you. Help adults rehydrate by offering bottled water for $1 a pop, or set up a lemonade/Kool-Aid stand to sell small cups of the sweet stuff for 50 cents to a dollar.

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This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Earn Extra Income With a Drone

Mikey Rox — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:30:12 +0000

I'm a hustler. Not the kind who'll pretend to be terrible at billiards and then run the table and take your money 20 minutes later. I'm too fragile-framed for that gig. Rather, I keep things moving in my life to make as much dough as possible by working smarter. That means monetizing many of the material possessions I have, like micro-subletting my homes on vacation sites, using my car to drive for Uber and Lyft, and renting out my bikes and kayaks, among other lucrative opportunities.

I don't have a drone (yet), but if I did — well, this is how I'd make that little spy copter pay for itself over and over again.

1. Capture contractors' finished projects

Contractors are always seeking ways to get ahead of the competition and put their names in front of more potential clients. Nathan Outlaw, CEO of engineering and construction firm Onvico, says he works with plenty of contractors who use drones to capture the progress of their ongoing projects, as well as the finished products.

"New construction is a great opportunity to make money with a drone," he says. "Get the names of the customer's construction coordinator and the contractor's project manager and call or send an email off explaining your services and how you can assist them in showcasing the project." Outlaw suggests emphasizing how drone photographs can be used to reassure their existing clients and advertise for new ones.

2. Help realtors market their listings

I invest in real estate, so I get to see some of the innovative marketing tactics realtors are using to attract potential buyers on a regular basis. By far, the most impressive is a virtual tour of the home captured by drone. It's usually available right on the digital listing. It opens right up, and you can give yourself a "tour" of the home without ever leaving your chair. This is especially helpful for folks who can't necessarily attend an open house, like those searching for a home in another state. You can find the names and contact info of plenty of realtors in your area to whom you can pitch your services just by riding around town looking for "For Sale" signs.

"Getting a short bird's-eye view of the property makes for a much easier sale and is becoming ever more popular with realtors," says David Attard, a tech writer and drone expert at DronesBuy.net. "This is a good opportunity because demand is growing and does not need specialized equipment. A DJI Phantom or Mavic is excellent for such a job." (DJI is a popular drone manufacturer.)

3. Offer your services to local tourism organizations

Tourism boards are always trying to attract new and repeat visitors, and the best way to do that is to show them what they're missing out on. There's no better way to do that than with a drone. These tourism orgs also usually have healthy advertising budgets, so don't be shy or sell yourself short to get in the door.

4. Provide high-quality memories from weddings

Kids these days are hiring drones to capture fun memories from their weddings and parties from angles that are quite impressive when you're reliving the experience at home. Plus, drones are an instant icebreaker for mingling guests who don't know each other. You can find out who's getting hitched by browsing the engagement announcements in the local paper.

Adds Attard, "Besides weddings, such events as boat races, surfing or other board competitions, or other sea/water based events, festivals and other mass gatherings are all excellent opportunities for filming with drones because of the wide area involved which can be easily covered with a drone." (See also: Earn Extra Income With Your Smartphone Camera)

5. Sell aerial footage to busy commercial properties

Large expanses of land, especially those loaded with amenities and sporting opportunities, are perfect candidates for drone video. Identify these properties in your area — golf courses, beach clubs, and hunting reserves — and reach out to the manager or the marketing team if there is one.

"Talk to hunting reserves and plantations about showcasing their land and showing off acres of dense trees, birds caught taking flight, and deer running across a field," Outlaw suggests. "Show them how your product can attract people to their woods."

It's best to do this kind of work during the offseason when employees have more time to coordinate your services and are actively thinking of ways to market their properties.

6. Assist musicians in making music videos

Local bands without big budgets are often on the lookout for someone who can help them make music videos. Drones provide excellent opportunities to get into this type of work. Same goes for low-budget productions of TV shows, movies, and other video-based entertainment.

A lot of times these productions already have crews assembled, but you won't know until you introduce yourself and present a portfolio of your drone-flying skills and the videos you've made. The earning potential will vary depending on where you live and how frequently productions film in that area, but you could see a substantial payday if you play your cards right near major cities.

7. Inspect roofs for homeowners

If there's anything wrong with a homeowner's roof, chances are they need to break out the long ladder and climb on up there. Not only does that present a certain amount of danger, but a lot of people are uncomfortable with heights.

Marcion Albert, chief editor of NewAwning.com, says drones can solve the problem by taking video showing the condition of the roof. "All sides of the roof are easily accessible with the drone, which isn't the case for a traditional inspection," he says.

What's more, drone photography can protect tile roofs that can get damaged when someone walks on them. "The drone videographer also has the ability to zoom in on each shingle or tile. This is fantastic for documenting any damages to an insurance company, or if you are selling an older home to demonstrate there are no issues with the roof."

8. Review solar panels for damage

The number of homes with solar panels is rapidly increasing, and many vendors offer warranties if a panel is defective.

"The issue is that the homeowner may not know if it is a cracked panel, a loose wire, or simply debris that is blown over the panel without getting on the roof or calling a contractor," says Albert. "A drone pilot can easily take detailed, high-resolution pictures of the panels and their connections so that the homeowner has proof before reaching out to a solar company." (See also: 10 Ways Anyone Can Go Solar and Save on Energy)

Before you get started

There are rules for just about everything, including earning money with drones.

According to Geoff Gelay, owner of RCHeliCam and a pioneer in the drone industry, in order to become a legal commercial operator, you'll need to register your drone with the Federal Aviation Administration and pass an FAA Part 107 test. "The FAA Part 107 is a test that covers basic aviation, some general aviation rules (full-scale aircraft) and some UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) specific material," explains Gelay. "It is also a very good idea to have at least liability insurance covering yourself/your company in the case of an accident."

Obey the law, and make that money!

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This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

7 Surprising Ways to Earn Money Online

Damian Davila — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 08:30:14 +0000

The internet isn't all about cats with attitude, hashtags on social media, and endless Reddit discussion threads. There are also plenty of ways — some a bit off the beaten path — to make money. Here are seven surprising ways you can earn money online.

1. Sell your photos

National Geographic estimated that every American took an average of 322 digital photos in 2015. If you can easily beat that number and have serious photog skills, you should consider uploading your photos to sites that pay you every time somebody wants to download and use your image. Sites such as SmugMug Pro, Shutterstock, Foap, Clashot, and iStockphoto allow you to submit your digital masterpieces for review or you can apply to become a paid contributor. (See also: Earn Extra Income With Your Smartphone Camera)

2. Complete microtasks

If you have some extra time on your hands, rather than scrolling through your Instagram feed, make a little money by writing 50-word product descriptions, transcribing audio, or making sure that uploaded photos don't contain sensitive material. Sites, such as CrowdFlower and Amazon's Mechanical Turk, allow you to find single, self-contained tasks that provide a monetary reward. Initial tasks usually pay just a few cents, but once you obtain higher qualifications you can earn much more. (See also: 6 Ways to Earn More Money — Without Working More Hours)

3. Create an online course

When you're really good at something and could teach it to anybody in your sleep, then you could earn passive income by creating a robust online course and receiving royalties every time that somebody watches your lessons or tutorials, or signs up to the service as a paid student. Some options to build on-demand courses are Skillshare and Udemy.

4. Tutor in real time

Since some students learn better by doing, you also have the option to deliver live tutoring through the web. Sites like Chegg Tutors and Tutor.com are constantly looking for experienced tutors on a wide range of subjects at the high school and college levels. (See also: The 3 Best Jobs for Expats and Travelers)

5. Become a beta tester

Some people wait in line for hours to get the latest smartphone model or video game platform. If you're one of those, ErliBird.com offers you the opportunity to get a sneak peek and provide feedback on upcoming apps, websites, and products. Some assignments require ownership of a Windows PC, Mac, or other specific devices. Depending on your set of demographics and the needs from clients, the site provides up to five assignments per month, each one paying $10.

6. Be a virtual jury member

If you just can't wait for the day to be called for jury duty, you can increase your chances of becoming a juror by signing up for eJury.com. Don't let the late '90s retro design fool you, this site is real and the Texas-based company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Assignments depend on location and demand from attorneys in that area, so it may take a while for you to land an assignment. But when you do, expect a $5 to $10 payment via PayPal. (See also: 13 Ways to Make Money Online That Aren't Scams)

7. Snap photos of help wanted signs

With the Job Spotter app from job search engine Indeed.com, you can accumulate points by taking photos of local job signs with your smartphone camera. For about 30 seconds of your time, you can win up to 150 points for submitting a local job sign. Once you hit 100 points, you can turn that into a $1 in Amazon.com credit. If you're a frequent Amazon shopper, this is a pretty good deal for the amount of time that you have to invest.

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4 Ways to Make Money Doing Household Chores

Kat Tretina — Tue, 30 May 2017 08:30:12 +0000

When it comes to earning extra money, many well-paying side hustles, such as graphic design, require specialized skills, experience, and pricey software or equipment. The requirements can be a major obstacle to launching a lucrative side gig.

However, there are several ways you can make money doing chores you do everyday, for other people. Whether you are a champion at ironing or can always pick the ripest fruit at the grocery store, here are four ways you can make additional income.

Doing laundry

For busy families, the laundry pile can quickly become a mountain. Between work and school, some people struggle to keep up. That means they often scramble to find clothes for the next day. That's a perfect opportunity for you to make money. You can charge families a fee to wash or iron their clothes and do it on your own schedule.

One company that connects side hustlers with clients is Laundry Care. Clients pay $35 per bag of laundry, which is about three loads. Contractors take home a percentage of the fee, and can earn extra money for doing additional services like ironing.

Shopping for groceries

If you don't mind the grocery store, you can make up to $25 an hour as a shopper for Shipt or Instacart. Clients place their orders online through the company apps, and shoppers can opt to fulfill orders that fit their schedules. You can take on jobs that work for you. If you're tight on time, you may decide to just complete one or two large orders a week. Or you can take several orders back-to-back when you need the cash. (See also: 21 Fresh Food Delivery Services That Can Save You Big)

Cleaning houses

If you enjoy keeping things clean, you can earn up to $22 an hour cleaning other people's homes. Rather than having a contract with a large, expensive cleaning company, some families prefer to hire someone as needed. And others just need someone for special occasions, such as when they're moving or having a party. You can make a good hourly wage when you have the time.

If you have professional cleaning experience, and client references, you can sign up to work as a cleaner through Handy.com. Handy will connect you directly with clients and you can select the gigs that match your needs.

If you don't have experience, or want to set your own rates, you can set up an account on Care.com. Families can search for you when they need a cleaner, and Care.com handles the payments and administrative work for you.

Running errands

Whether it's dropping off the dry cleaning or picking up prescriptions, managing and making time for all of life's necessary errands can be difficult. To relieve some of the burden, many professionals hire help to handle those little chores for them. If you have some spare time and don't mind driving or walking around town, you can make extra money without much stress.

TaskRabbit is one company that connects clients with on-demand help. From furniture assembly to making medical appointments, TaskRabbit workers provide much needed assistance. And depending on the job's requirements, you can make over $20 an hour. (See also: Find a Side-Gig at These Micro-Job Sites)

Another service to check out is Postmates. Postmates is an on-demand delivery service for meals, office supplies, and more. If someone's phone charger broke and they need a new one, you can make money by picking it up for them and delivering it. You can make over $25 an hour as a Postmates courier.

Doing extra laundry or running some simple errands can help you pay off debt or boost your emergency fund, empowering you to build more secure finances.

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How I Make $800 on Month on eBay Selling Used Clothes

Kat Tretina — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 09:00:10 +0000

When I graduated from college and started my first job, I was on a strict budget. I was always looking for ways to make extra cash and save money. I built my work wardrobe entirely from thrift store finds. It was while I was thrifting that I stumbled across one of my most lucrative side gigs: reselling clothes on eBay.

How I got my start

I love NYDJ jeans. They're the only jeans that fit me off the rack without tailoring. But they cost about $120 brand-new, which was way outside my budget. I would peruse the thrift store aisles, hoping to find a pair in my size.

One day I did find a pair, but they were three sizes too small. But at just $4, they were too good of a deal to pass up. I bought them, thinking one of my friends would want them. But on a whim, I decided to check how much they go for on eBay. A used pair often goes for $30 or $40. I sold that first pair within a week and pocketed $25, after fees.

It got me thinking about other things I could sell online. Within a few weeks, I was selling about 20 items a week and pocketing $800 a month in profits.

Building this hobby into a business

At first, I started very small. I bought just a few items at a time to sell and had very little in terms of supplies. I mostly relied on free priority shipping envelopes from the post office and printed shipping labels at the library. (See also: From Fine to Fabulous: 7 Ways to Improve Your eBay Business)

But once I had made several hundred dollars from this, I started taking it more seriously and reinvested in my business. I added the following tools and supplies to support the expansion.

Bulk vinyl envelopes for shipping

By switching to the vinyl envelopes and the scale, I could ship for much less money.

A dress form

The dress form made my clothes look better in photographs and helped make them more appealing to buyers.

Professional business cards

I also researched the competition, and ordered business cards with my eBay store name on them.

HTML templates

Another thing I noticed was that other sellers weren't just typing in the item description like I was. They had polished templates. I had zero HTML experience, but I found free eBay store templates, and I learned enough in order to customize them. It made my store look much more professional, and buyers were more comfortable buying from me.

Better photos

Other sellers also removed the backgrounds in their photos to highlight the items better. I mimicked that approach with a site that does the work for you, and I saw an increase in my selling prices.

Focusing on eBay best-sellers

Just about anything sells on eBay. But if you're looking to start your own store, it's a good idea to pick a niche you know well. By focusing on a specific customer type, you can build up your clientele and get repeat customers. (See also: 5 Things You Can Resell on eBay That Make the Most Money)

I've helped new sellers get started on eBay, and one of the most common problems that comes up is when a seller is tempted to sell things outside their niche. You might stumble across a set of china or sports equipment that just looks expensive. But unless you know a lot about that kind of item, you have no idea if it's junk or a treasure. And buying inventory without knowing if it will turn a profit can be a costly mistake.

My niche was women's clothing, particularly workwear. I specialized in jackets, suits, dresses, and cardigans. I'd look for name brands and quality fabrics — cashmere, angora, and lamb's wool — and items in excellent condition. I'd check out thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets, and clothing swaps.

If I thought an item looked to be high-quality but didn't recognize the brand, I'd search for it on eBay. Under "filters," you can search for sold listings. The results would let me know if the item would sell for enough money to make it worthwhile; with eBay's fees, I aimed to sell items for at least four times what I paid for it. (See also: 10 Things You Should Always Buy and Sell on eBay)

Cashing in on eBay

By being diligent, I was able to make nearly $10,000 in one year from selling on eBay. That was money I used to pay down debt and bulk up my savings, and it gave me much-needed room in my budget. You can get started selling without a lot of startup costs or expenses, so you can start making money right away.

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4 Big Business Accounting Tools Every Side Gig Needs

Kat Tretina — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 08:30:15 +0000

While side gigs are becoming an increasingly common way for Americans to bring in extra income, many people do not understand how that additional income can affect their taxes. If you're not prepared, freelancing or working on the side can lead to serious issues with the IRS, costing you thousands in penalties and fees.

If you plan on taking business deductions for expenses, you'll need some tools to manage your reporting and minimize your tax headaches. Treat your side hustle like a small business. Below are four business tools you should use to keep your side gig from overwhelming your finances. (See also: 6 Signs It's Time to Make Your Side Gig Your Career)

1. Business bank account

If you have a side business, you should seriously consider opening a dedicated business bank account. It will make tracking your expenses and profits so much simpler, which makes tax time simpler as well.

Keeping your business and personal finances separate is not just easier, it's also important. Should the IRS ever take a closer look, you want them to see a clear distinction between personal and business expenses, as well as all of the business income you've earned. Jumbling this together with your personal banking is a recipe for confusion and possible contention.

Having a business bank account lends you more professional credibility, too. Asking a client to write a check to your business, for example, feels much more legitimate than having them make it out to your name.

All of the business income you earn doesn't have to stay in your business bank account. You can pay yourself the appropriate amount after considering taxes and expenses. Simply transfer that money to your personal account, and leave the rest in your business account.

2. Business credit card

Similarly, it's a good idea to have a separate credit card you use solely for business expenses. (See also: When You Should Get a Business Credit Card Over a Consumer Card)

By having a card solely for your side gig, you will be able to manage your business deductions quickly and accurately. When you do your taxes, or if you work with a tax professional, you just need your credit card statements to get an accurate picture of your expenses and deductions. Some business cards even offer special reporting tools that automatically itemize your spending for you. This can greatly streamline your accounting process and save you some trouble come tax time.

Many business credit cards offer other unique benefits, such as extended warranty protection and rewards targeted specifically for business-type purchases. They also tend to come with higher limits than personal credit cards. If you need to make a substantial business expense but don't want to dip into your own savings or take out a business loan, these higher limits can be a huge help. They're also a great way to build credit for your business, should you ever need a loan or other financing down the road. (See also: The 5 Best Credit Cards for Small Businesses)

3. Invoicing system

While you can find free invoice templates online and create your own in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, it's a good idea to use a professional invoicing system. Invoicing software tracks clients, invoice numbers, and your profits. They are more accurate than something you create on your own, and they look more professional than the do-it-yourself approach.

And you don't have to spend a lot of money to create polished invoices. There are a number of free and low-cost bookkeeping programs out there that are designed specifically for freelancers and side hustlers. PocketSuite, Freshbooks, and Wave are excellent and no-cost options that can help streamline your business management.

4. Tax professional

While many people opt to do their own taxes, when you add a side business to the mix, a tax professional can be a huge asset. When you're self-employed or freelancing, even on a part-time basis, you owe self-employment taxes, which can be complex and confusing. You'll receive forms 1099-MISC from any clients that have paid you more than $600 during the tax year. If you receive a 1099-MISC, you have to pay self-employment taxes. Not to mention if you add expenses in the mix, you'll want to make sure you are claiming the proper deductions.

Tax professionals can help you navigate paying estimated quarterly taxes, or calculate how much money you need to withhold from your main job's salary to avoid paying quarterly taxes. They can also identify deductions and credits you may be eligible for, such as a home office or education deduction. These are substantial tax breaks that no self-employed individual should overlook. You want to be sure you're claiming any deductions or credits accurately in order to receive the maximum benefit possible. A tax pro can help you do this.

By working with a professional, you'll have overall peace of mind and avoid any surprises at tax time.

This article is from Kat Tretina of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

34 Ways to Come Up With the Rent Before the Month Ends

Max Wong — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 09:00:08 +0000

When you are short on rent, $300 might as well be $3,000,000. Finding the money seems impossible. But don't despair! Here's a list of ways to come up with the rent this month and every month.

1. Call in your markers

Do people owe you money? Now is the time to call in those loans.

2. Return your recent purchases

Did a recent shopping spree put you in this rental money crisis? You can even return unused items through your credit card if the store refuses.

3. Ask for overtime at work

Let your employer and your coworkers know that you are looking for additional shifts.

4. Take over a contract

Is your employer paying an outside contractor for work you could do on the side? Offer to do the job for a flat fee (to be paid outside your regular paycheck).

5. Be a great reference

My husband's company pays up to $5,000 per referral to employees who successfully recruit top talent.

6. Cash in on commuter benefits

Some employers allow their workers to make pre-tax payroll deductions to help pay for commuting costs. Other employers offer money saving commuter perks like free parking to carpoolers, free use of company bikes, or paying for public transit costs outright.

7. Get a second job

This might seem like a no-brainer, but you would be shocked by how many people don't look beyond their 9-5 job for extra cash. (See also: 15 Ways to Make Money Outside Your Day Job)

8. Join the gig economy

Drive for Uber, Lyft, or Caviar. Find a job using TaskRabbit or Upwork. Use Fiverr and Mechanical Turk to find micro gigs that you can complete in minutes. (See also: Find a Side Gig at These 4 Best Micro-Jobs Sites)

9. Create your own job

Every job that I have ever loved I have invented. Find something that needs to get done and do it for money. Babysit for your neighbors. Monetize your DJ abilities. Shovel snow. There are all sorts of long- and short-term jobs that require your skill set.

10. Offer day labor on a farm

Farms are always short on labor. It's a physically demanding way to make a buck, but if you like working outside, day laboring on a farm might be a solution to your financial woes.

Also, a side perk of many farm jobs is access to free produce. Reduce your grocery bills and get the rent paid!

11. Tuneup your finances

Are you paying for services that you aren't using? Go through your monthly expenses with a fine-toothed comb. You might be shocked by how much money you are wasting. (See also: How to Escape the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle)

12. Delete duplicate accounts

Are you paying for multiple streaming video services? Can you entertain yourself with just one? Or, can you suspend or delete all of your subscription services until you get a grip on your finances?

13. Audit your accounts

Examine your bank statements closely. Are you paying extra fees for services that you don't use? Call your credit card company. Are you getting the best interest rate that you can get?

14. Clear out costly apps

There are many free apps and programs that provide a premium service for a fee. Are you using each of the pro versions enough to warrant the extra costs?

15. Cash in your credit card reward points

One of my friends tracks all her reward programs on an Excel spreadsheet so she never misses a perk. Are you leaving money on the table? Can you cash out your reward points for gift cards that you can resell or use to offset other line items in your budget?

16. Sell your stuff

The average American home contains over 300,000 items and many of those can be sold off for cold hard cash. Bonus: If you have been trying to downsize, now is the time to purge your home of unwanted items. (See also: Clear Out That Clutter: 15 Places to Sell Your Stuff)

17. Sell your gift cards

In some states, you can get cash for gift cards with a low balance. But there are a number of other ways to convert gift cards into cash.

18. Sell your collections

Collections can be hugely valuable. But before you hock Grandma's jewels, look around your house for hidden treasures. You would be shocked by the value of your old Starbucks mugs, concert T-shirts, and other random housewares. (See also: 10 Old Knick-Knacks You Can Flip for Easy Cash)

19. Sell your nostalgia

My husband just made $960 selling his old Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Dreamcast games. But even more recent games can have value. Last year, I sold a copy of Kuon, a PlayStation 2 game, for $200.

Vintage analog toys such as board games, Breyer horses, Matchbox cars, Lego sets, action figures, and dolls can all fetch a small fortune on eBay. My friend Steve sold his collection of vintage Blythe dolls for $29,000, enough pay for the down payment on his home!

20. Sell bulky items on Craigslist

Sell bulky and hard-to-ship items like furniture, cast iron pans, and glassware on Craigslist so you don't have to fiddle with shipping.

21. Host a garage sale

My husband and I throw three garage sales a year that net us between $500 and $1,000 annually. Our garage sale inventory consists of random crap we couldn't sell elsewhere for more money. We price our garage sale merchandise to move, typically charging $1 to $5 for just about everything. The way we see it, if people are paying us to declutter our home, they deserve the bargain.

22. Set up a lemonade stand

To augment our garage sale profits, we sell lemonade or brownies for $1 per serving. In cold climates, you can sell hot cocoa or coffee to your shoppers.

23. Trash pick and flip

Are you already a minimalist who sold all her stuff ages ago? Don't worry. You can always sell other people's stuff! Since most rental contracts start at the first of the month, the last week of the month (when people are moving out) is always a great time to scrounge for curbed furniture and other items that renters don't want to pay to move. Sell your found treasures at a garage sale, or use Craigslist or an app like 5miles to advertise your merchandise to local customers.

24. Recycle

Why give the $.05 rebate per can that you paid for to someone else? University campuses and concert venues are a prime place to scrounge for bottles and cans.

25. Sell your books and music

While you will make more money selling your media on sites like Amazon and Half.com, you may not make an online sale in time to help your rent payment. For fast cash, sell your books, movies, and music to brick and mortar stores in your area.

26. Have a plant sale

Do you have a green thumb? Root cuttings from your garden or hook up with a local landscaper for their castoffs.

Or, sell heirloom vegetable seedlings. A package of 25 tomato seeds costs me about $8, or $0.40 per seed. But I can sell my tomato seedlings for $2 each at my neighborhood farmers market.

27. Sell your body, legally

There are numerous legal ways to sell your body for money. You can sell your sperm or eggs for thousands of dollars, but those donations require that your money be escrowed for at least six months and an equally long time commitment. For quick rent money, you can sell blood, platelets, plasma, breast milk, and, if you live in Massachusetts, your poop.

28. Stop driving

Do you have a less convenient, but also less expensive commuting option? Now is the time to learn to love the bus. Save on gas money and car repair costs by walking, biking, carpooling, or taking public transportation to work.

29. Monetize your commute

My friend Duke operates a mobile record store every Friday on his train commute to work. My neighbor knits hats during her daily bus rides. She makes enough money each month with her commuter knitting to pay for her metro card.

30. Advertise with your car

And if you can’t do without your car, make some extra dough by turning it into a rolling billboard. (See also: 7 Ways to Earn Extra Money With Your Car)

31. Rent out part of your house

My brother-in-law rents out his spare bedrooms in his suburban mini mansion to foreign students who are attending the local college. In addition to offsetting his mortgage, his daughter gets free Mandarin lessons. (See also: This Is How You Rent Your Place on Airbnb)

Pro tip: If you can find a housesitting gig at the same time, you can double up your house-renting profit.

32. Become an Airbnb host

Even if you don't have space to rent out, you can still be a host via the Airbnb Experiences program. Airbnb is a great place to advertise your local expertise as a specialty tour guide. For example, a chef could host a two-hour cooking experience or an experienced hiker could host a multiday camping excursion.

33. Leverage your parking space

If you live next to a university, hospital, concert venue, or sports arena, consider renting out your parking space. (See also: The 11 Best Websites for Renting Your Extra Space)

34. Rock the garage

Rent your garage out to your favorite local band as a practice space. Or, if you value your peace and quiet, rent your garage as studio space for photographers, sculptors, and woodworkers.

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This article is from Max Wong of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

8 Surprising Ways a Personal Website Can Improve Your Life

Dr Penny Pincher — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 08:30:15 +0000

The popular book The Martian became a best-seller in 2014, but started out as a series of blog posts by author Andy Weir on his personal website. Andy posted one chapter at a time, and got comments from readers as he posted new chapters. Eventually, he self-published an ebook which was later published in hardcover by Random House and became a big budget Hollywood movie starring Matt Damon. This example highlights some of the benefits you can get from having a personal website where you can publish anything you want in a way that anyone in the world can access.

I started writing on a personal website about four years ago and have discovered a number of ways that having a personal website can be beneficial. It's useful for storing, organizing, and sharing all kinds of creative work such as writing, a personal journal, photos, sound recordings, video clips, and other information that you want to share with the world. (See also: 8 Ways a Side Hustle Can Advance Your Career)

Here are some ways a personal website can improve your life.

1. It's a place to get creative

When I started my personal website, it had been years since I had done any creative writing. I realized that I could easily start a website and publish my writing immediately. That is both scary and exciting, but what did I have to lose?

2. It won't cost much (or anything at all)

It is possible to set up a professional website or blog at no cost at all. I set up a blog on the Blogger platform for free years ago and still use that today. If you want to spend a few dollars per month, you can get a custom domain name and add ecommerce features to support an online business.

3. It's an opportunity to make money

Once I started getting visitors to my website, I realized I could make money. I started selling advertising and placing affiliate marketing links on my site. Affiliate marketing links are links to products for sale that are related to the content on my website, and I get paid a commission if someone buys after clicking on that link. If you are willing and able to produce material that people are interested in reading, then you can make money on the side. (See also: Can You Really Make Money by Starting a Blog?)

4. It becomes a creative portfolio for you

My personal blog has provided a place to showcase my writing, and I have leveraged this to win some paid writing opportunities. Having your own website gives you a way to get those early publications of your work, which can lead to opportunities with other publishers. A portfolio of work is essential when you are seeking new assignments.

You can post almost any type of creative work on a personal website: digital photos, artwork, audio book narration, video clips, crafts, and even technical projects. You can also add a resume, and provide contact information for those who may be interested in working with you. This can help boost your career in almost any field.

5. It helps you learn and practice coding

Although there are lots of graphical tools to create Web pages, I sometimes edit the HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) code or CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) code to make the page work how I want. By understanding a few simple principles, you can gain a deep understanding of how websites really work.

I have also practiced coding on my website by making JavaScript calculators and publishing them on my blog. You can code the graphical interface with calculator buttons and write equations for the calculations with code that is embedded in a script on the page. This is a great way to practice and show off your coding skills in a way that people can use and appreciate.

6. You can get published today, no roadblocks

One of the best things about having your own website is that there are no rules. You can publish whatever you want with no censoring and no gatekeeper. You get to decide for yourself what can be published, even if no one else would publish it. This means that you can become a published writer immediately.

7. You get to perform for an audience

I remember how nervous I was to push the "publish" button the first few times when I was starting my website. I knew that anyone in the world would be able to read my posts and perhaps even comment or send me an email complaining about my content. Writing for an audience pushed me to do my best work, more so than writing in a notebook that no one else could see.

8. You learn how to become more visible on the internet

One of the fun parts about having your own website is looking at the stats to see how many people are visiting. Since you always want to have more visitors, it makes sense to learn how people are finding your website and try to boost your traffic. One strategy is to use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to get more traffic from search results. Understanding SEO can be a valuable skill, both for your own website and as a consultant for other sites. With your own website, you have the opportunity to do experiments to try ideas out and learn what works to boost traffic.

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This article is from Dr Penny Pincher of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

13 Businesses Your Tween Can Start

Carrie Kirby — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 11:00:10 +0000

Somewhere between childhood and teendom, many kids have an epiphany. I remember having it myself. They realize that money gets you things — movie tickets, clothes, and ice cream cones. And you don't have to just ask your parents for money. You can get out there and make it.

For my 12-year-old, the epiphany has been very specific. If she had a few hundred dollars, she could get tickets to Hamilton. Lately, every conversation is peppered with information on how her current entrepreneurial efforts are going, and ideas for new businesses. She's a tweentrepreneur, basically.

Tweens are in a sweet spot for running their own businesses, because unlike little kids, they may have developed near-adult competencies in certain areas — like growing a strong social media presence — but unlike older teens and adults, they probably have a lot of free time on their hands. With all these ideas, it's important to use common caution: Don't let tweens go to strangers' homes unaccompanied, or distribute their personal phone numbers, addresses, or email.

Here are some ideas that she (and I) have thought of.

1. Dog Walking

This is one of the first things my tween has ever gotten paid for. It's a good "starter responsibility" because the tween only has to be responsible for the dog for a short amount of time, and because there is a lot of latent demand out there from people who wish their dogs got more exercise but don't want to pay the $35 per walk that some professional dog walkers charge in my area.

My tween got her first dog walking gig when I answered an ad on a local email group from someone looking for a few days of backup for her regular walker. She earned about $20 for an hour of her time two days in a row.

Now that she has a reference, she plans to solicit more customers through the same list and through friends and family.

2. Petsitting

This can be combined with idea above for an overall pet care business. So far, my tween's petsitting jobs have been unsolicited — a neighbor asked her to come to her house to feed and play with their cats while the family was out of town. This is a step up in responsibility, because besides ensuring the animals' welfare, my tween has to be careful to lock the door behind her every time she visits. She has gone the extra mile by emailing photos and a report to the pet owner every time she visits their home. She gets paid $10 a visit.

3. Pet Cleanup

This could be added to a full-service pet care business. Lots of people hate scooping dog poop out of their backyards or cleaning the cat's litter box. Teach your tween precautions to avoid spreading bacteria.

4. Babysitting

The age when kids can start babysitting is not universally agreed upon, but my daughter's Girl Scout handbook suggested 12, and the Red Cross offers a training course for her age, so I felt my mature seventh-grader was ready.

Luckily, we have a neighbor who was looking for help with her twins, and was willing to train my daughter. My daughter spends much of her time in "mother's helper" mode, reading to one twin while the other gets a bath or vice versa, but she is working up to being alone with the kids for short periods of time. It's also lucky that I am able to be nearby, next door, as my daughter gets her babysitting legs under her.

My tween earns $5 an hour for this job. There is a lot of demand in our neighborhood, since more teens are busy with after-school activities than in the past. She could easily build up a large clientele if she wanted to.

Most kids get babysitting jobs through word of mouth, but if your child is 14 or older, you can help them set up a parent-monitored account on Care.com.

5. Making Something to Sell

So far, my kids have only sold handmade items for charity, but the results were eye-popping. A mom who knows how to make jewelry donated a load of earring hooks and baubles, and taught my daughter's Girl Scout troop to make earrings. During the holiday season, they set up a table downtown and sold dozens of pairs of earrings for $10 each, in just a few hours, netting hundreds of dollars for their cause.

Kids can also sell their wares online with parental supervision. Another girl we know hand-sewed blankets and other items, and sold them on Etsy to raise money for charity. If they make a high quality product, they could even get it carried by a local store.

More ideas for products that a tween can competently make at home: slime, soap (with supervision), greeting cards, crafty gifts, tie-dyed items, food products (in states that allow selling things made in home kitchens), bath products, personalized items, and knitted or crocheted items.

6. Mowing the Lawn

This has not been my kid's speed, but it's a time-honored tradition to hire a neighbor kid to mow your lawn, rake your leaves, or shovel your snow. If you can lend them your mower or shovel, it gives them a leg up. Weeding and watering are also tasks that are hard to mess up.

7. Running Errands

Nowadays, many of us are raising children in car-dominated suburbs or cities where we don't feel safe letting kids out of our sight. But if you're like me, lucky enough to live in a small city that is bikeable and walkable, but also has very low crime, your tween should be able to make a few bucks by picking things up at the grocery store for neighbors, returning library books, and the like.

8. Wrapping Gifts

My tween has been charging family members to wrap presents for the past couple of years, and she does a brisk trade. She saves money on materials by keeping fancy bows from gifts she receives. Next year, she plans to open her business to the public. In our town, a local bookstore allowed Girl Scouts to set up a wrapping table, just for tips, during the holiday season. Especially if her business aims to raise money for charity, local stores might allow this for your tween.

9. Performing at or Planning Kids' Birthday Parties

When I was a child, children's author Florence Parry Heide lived in my town. Through the grapevine, my mother heard that the author was looking for someone to dress up as a clown to entertain at her grandchild's birthday party at her lakefront mansion. Since I enjoyed acting, and needed money, I gave it a try. I checked out some books on how to be a party clown from the public library, put together a costume with my grandmother's help, and showed up at the party to do a few dopey magic tricks, act silly, and generally entertain the kids. I got a rave review from Ms. Heide, and ended up performing at a few other parties around town.

My tween, on the other hand, excels at planning party themes and making pretty cakes. She has seriously considered offering to put together theme parties for families who don't want to do the work themselves, but also don't want to spend $300 or more to host a party at an event space or hire a professional party planner.

10. Assisting the Technologically Impaired

For some tweens, using the Internet to do everything from creating a photo book to setting up a new cell phone line comes naturally. If you have technophobe neighbors, your tween could help out with such tasks for a small fee. Teens who are really computer savvy could even charge for on-call tech support.

11. Garage Sale Concessions

This is a favorite with all my kids, including the littler ones. Whenever we have a yard sale, they set up a table and sell cotton candy, lemonade, baked goods, whatever edibles they can come up with. In fact, the kids beg me to hold a sale just so they can do this.

12. Tutoring

If your tween has the patience and is a good student, they could help a younger child with homework after school or offer extra help in a specific subject. Some parents would pay just to have someone read to their young child for half an hour a day.

13. Becoming a YouTuber

Believe it or not, there are children making six figures a month by posting videos on YouTube. From the looks of that channel, the top cooking show on the site, making it probably involves full-time adult help. But it's possible for kids to make videos of playing Minecraft, reviewing, playing with, and even unboxing toys, or something based on their own ideas, with little to no adult help, and make some money.

If your child wants to make YouTube videos, you should do a safety check on each video before it's uploaded. Make sure there are no clues as to your physical residence, and that they don't share their full name, for instance. It's probably also a good idea to turn off the comments.

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This article is from Carrie Kirby of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

What to Do When You're Sick of Your Side Gig

Kat Tretina — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 10:30:39 +0000

It seems like everyone these days is juggling more work than ever. On top of your full-time job, you may also run one or two side gigs. And while that side hustle can bring in extra income to help pay down debt or boost your savings, managing multiple jobs can leave you feeling run down.

If you rely on that extra income, decreasing stress is not as easy as just quitting your gig. There are other ways you can maintain your income while reducing your chances of burning out.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout is a real condition, not just a buzzword. According to Psychology Today, burnout is a state of chronic stress that can cause mental and physical fatigue, feelings of detachment, and even depression.

If you are experiencing burnout, you may feel tired all the time. Or, you may have chronic insomnia due to stress. Many people have trouble focusing or may have a compromised immune system. In some cases, burnout can make you physically ill, causing everything from gastrointestinal problems to headaches.

Burnout does not occur all at once; it slowly builds over time. If you recognize a few mild symptoms, it's important to take action now, before it's too late. Use these techniques to regain balance in your life.

1. Ditch Some Lower-Paying Customers

While it may seem contrary to maintaining income, one of the best things you can do to manage burnout is to cease working with your lower-paying clients. Many side hustlers and freelancers have clients that simply don't pay very much, but keep them around because some income is better than none. But by spending time on these smaller clients, you're wasting valuable time you could be spending relaxing or pursuing bigger fish.

2. Pursue Only the Golden Geese

Similarly, if you are looking for new clients, focus only on the most lucrative prospects. For example, instead of sending out 10 pitches a day, send only one or two to big-name clients that can afford top rates. You'll land fewer jobs, but the ones you get will be far more profitable. That way, you can do less work while keeping the same cash flow.

3. Hire Some Help

If possible, hire some help. That can mean hiring someone to deliver groceries or baby-sit the kids. Or, it can mean hiring a virtual assistant to help manage mundane tasks, such as invoicing or answering emails. Paying someone to help you a few hours a week can free you to focus on more profitable work and give you more downtime.

4. Set a Schedule

When you juggle a full-time job with a side gig, it's easy to work around the clock. But working at all hours can lead to fatigue and stress. Instead, schedule yourself at least one full day a week with no work at all, to allow yourself to recharge. While you may be afraid to skip work for the day, you'll be surprised at how refreshed you are and how much it may help your productivity.

5. Take a Day Off (From Your Real Job)

If you're feeling overwhelmed, taking a day off from your real job can be as refreshing as a full vacation. If you have paid time off, plan a long weekend and take a day to work solely on your side gig, while still giving yourself some time to relax. Doing this every few months can give you a much-needed break without damaging your income stream.

Working a side gig can be a great way to earn extra income, but it can be difficult to manage your time and maintain your health. By using these tips, you can juggle both your jobs and keep your income streams flowing.

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This article is from Kat Tretina of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: