I'm looking for ideas and search did not return any results.
What do you do evenings and weekends for extra income.
Thanks, Joe
What do you do evenings and weekends for extra income.
Thanks, Joe
extra income
- Thread starter jorton
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Sell junk that is lying around on Ebay, beer money anyways.
ebay works for me. i made like 6 grand this year off ebay selling junk around the house my house.
i also sell junk for other people, who are not computer literate enough to use ebay. i take 50% of the profit of the sale, although i pay entirely for listing, insertion, and final value fees of ebay and paypal, so in reality i take about 45% of the profit.
i also sell junk for other people, who are not computer literate enough to use ebay. i take 50% of the profit of the sale, although i pay entirely for listing, insertion, and final value fees of ebay and paypal, so in reality i take about 45% of the profit.
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Ebay is great. One of my former computer customers (free lance sales and customer service/installation/repair) had an antique shop (rented and lived in the upstairs appartment) and made very little REAL MONEY given the rent on the shop (her husband had a fair income). She dicovered ebay and was then able to sell far more stuff by just going to flea markets and posting there. It worked. The main people who have profitted off of ebay are Fed Ex and Big Brown.
Yeah, I sell alot of crap on ebay. I get the sunday paper as soon as it comes out on saturday...and look at the ads. There's usually a few things on sale for less than what they're going for on ebay. I buy all the store has, and put 'em up on ebay.
I also run a few websites, with alot of advertisements. They make me about $200 a month in completely free money...I don't have to do a **** thing. Right now I'm looking at buying 2 acres of land and charge people to store boats and RVs there. $800 a month for the land...about $50 a month per vehicle.
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Working in the morgue nights and doing taxidermy on weekends.
Just kidding!
Just kidding!
see mori - I kneeeeewwwwww it all along! (all these bodies with missing pinky's)
My friends in college used to say they would grateful if they were dead.....then I saw the Dead at UCSB gym. Awesome.
My friends in college used to say they would grateful if they were dead.....then I saw the Dead at UCSB gym. Awesome.
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Lists of things I've done for "extra income".
Worked part time at a"rent a bay" in the mid 70's
Flew in lobster from Portland Maine and vended it on Fri, Sat, Sun (or til sold out) in the late 70's/early 80's- worth about $200 a week in mad money. Made obsolete by the evolution of the seafood market. Lobsters are routinely transported to just about anywhere. Losses were costly by tasty if you caught them soon enough. Required long hours due to having to be at certain support vendors sites (produce, etc.). That is, it was a very long day that started the weekend.
Did the "event" route on weekends selling a PA favorite "funnel cakes" (fairs, larger horse shows, outside semi-small name outside concerts, festivals, flea markets etc.) Fairly lucritive ..but a decent amount of capital investment (equipment, van, etc. and lots of setup time). $700 average a weekend during a fair weather summer. Mileage racks up pretty quickly as does the lack of leisure time. This you can evolve via the use of trailers (etc.) until you see how much you're going to be able to reinvest.
"Redoing" vacant apartments. Painting, carpet cleaning, mudding, etc. Not great by pro labor rates ..but @ $350-400 a unit (you buy the approved paint) that me and the wife could knock out on a weekend (about 20 hours to do a decent job at a not too unreasonable pace)..it wasn't bad.
Made "window" mirrors (I can't think of what you would call them). Basically looking for windows with "character" and turning them into mirrors. Sold them semi wholesale or on consignment. Variable yield ..but easy enough to do. The trick was finding a cheap glass man that would cut the funny shapes without banging you on the cost.
Labored for an "on the side" construction electrician. "Mr. Hold it" ...running conduit, yadayadaya. Usually a piece of the quoted fee that he negotiated with the customer. Not too bad. You pick up a few retainable skills with this.
Now if I had investment money ...and had not gotten as lazy as I have (actually I term it "beat") ..I would lay out the money for a high dollar carpet cleaning setup and cultivate it on the weekends until I could quit my main employment. It's actually quite cheap when compared to most "franchise" type investments and doesn't require you "full time" to make it work. You merely schedule all appointments on the weekend (I'm booked until Sat evening ..I can fit you in on Sunday maybe if that will work - type thing). You also develop commercial accounts that ONLY do this type of thing in the evenings. This typically requires a work partner ..so it helps if you have either a "team player" spouse ...or a like minded buddy that also wants to cultivate a way out of the "squirrel cage rut". Requires long term commitment/investment type mentality.
There's also the method of picking up part-time work in whatever your hobby/distraction happens to be. If you're into home improvements ..hit up a lumberyard/home center. You then get the inside track on your personal projects for cost. You also get all the "on the side" contractors "when they have time". That is, you develop alliances of need. Same with a weekend job at AutoZone/Napa/etc. and such.
Get your realestate brokers license or become a sales associate. Just do the evenings and weekends. Take what it yields. Lots of driving and need to be "groomed/poised". Those more "manipulative" prosper the most, albeit at some personal rationalization for self image.
I have other examples of "ventures" that didn't require anthing but my time on the speculation of potential income ...but they are mainly random "fell into" type things.
Me ..now? I don't want to do anything for the sake of spending more. Right now ..I'd rather just be debt free and manage that way. As you can see ...I've already 'been there, done that" for many many years and just don't have that drive any more.
Old gas grills? Cast aluminum. Just have a good pry bar and leave the frame. Look for bulk day notices in the paper. Drive around and scrounge. This guy made about 20-25k a year. He was naturally motivated to seek out this valuable scrap and developed keen seeking skills. If he found a demolition site ..he was in hog heaven.
Requires virtually no skills and a pickup truck (gloves and minor tools - develop "aids" as you evolve).
[ September 19, 2004, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: Gary Allan ]
Worked part time at a"rent a bay" in the mid 70's
Flew in lobster from Portland Maine and vended it on Fri, Sat, Sun (or til sold out) in the late 70's/early 80's- worth about $200 a week in mad money. Made obsolete by the evolution of the seafood market. Lobsters are routinely transported to just about anywhere. Losses were costly by tasty if you caught them soon enough. Required long hours due to having to be at certain support vendors sites (produce, etc.). That is, it was a very long day that started the weekend.
Did the "event" route on weekends selling a PA favorite "funnel cakes" (fairs, larger horse shows, outside semi-small name outside concerts, festivals, flea markets etc.) Fairly lucritive ..but a decent amount of capital investment (equipment, van, etc. and lots of setup time). $700 average a weekend during a fair weather summer. Mileage racks up pretty quickly as does the lack of leisure time. This you can evolve via the use of trailers (etc.) until you see how much you're going to be able to reinvest.
"Redoing" vacant apartments. Painting, carpet cleaning, mudding, etc. Not great by pro labor rates ..but @ $350-400 a unit (you buy the approved paint) that me and the wife could knock out on a weekend (about 20 hours to do a decent job at a not too unreasonable pace)..it wasn't bad.
Made "window" mirrors (I can't think of what you would call them). Basically looking for windows with "character" and turning them into mirrors. Sold them semi wholesale or on consignment. Variable yield ..but easy enough to do. The trick was finding a cheap glass man that would cut the funny shapes without banging you on the cost.
Labored for an "on the side" construction electrician. "Mr. Hold it" ...running conduit, yadayadaya. Usually a piece of the quoted fee that he negotiated with the customer. Not too bad. You pick up a few retainable skills with this.
Now if I had investment money ...and had not gotten as lazy as I have (actually I term it "beat") ..I would lay out the money for a high dollar carpet cleaning setup and cultivate it on the weekends until I could quit my main employment. It's actually quite cheap when compared to most "franchise" type investments and doesn't require you "full time" to make it work. You merely schedule all appointments on the weekend (I'm booked until Sat evening ..I can fit you in on Sunday maybe if that will work - type thing). You also develop commercial accounts that ONLY do this type of thing in the evenings. This typically requires a work partner ..so it helps if you have either a "team player" spouse ...or a like minded buddy that also wants to cultivate a way out of the "squirrel cage rut". Requires long term commitment/investment type mentality.
There's also the method of picking up part-time work in whatever your hobby/distraction happens to be. If you're into home improvements ..hit up a lumberyard/home center. You then get the inside track on your personal projects for cost. You also get all the "on the side" contractors "when they have time". That is, you develop alliances of need. Same with a weekend job at AutoZone/Napa/etc. and such.
Get your realestate brokers license or become a sales associate. Just do the evenings and weekends. Take what it yields. Lots of driving and need to be "groomed/poised". Those more "manipulative" prosper the most, albeit at some personal rationalization for self image.
I have other examples of "ventures" that didn't require anthing but my time on the speculation of potential income ...but they are mainly random "fell into" type things.
Me ..now? I don't want to do anything for the sake of spending more. Right now ..I'd rather just be debt free and manage that way. As you can see ...I've already 'been there, done that" for many many years and just don't have that drive any more.
I'm glad you mentioned this. Forget ebay. Just collect junk. I didn't do it, but one of my fellow waste treatment operators was a "scrapper".
Old gas grills? Cast aluminum. Just have a good pry bar and leave the frame. Look for bulk day notices in the paper. Drive around and scrounge. This guy made about 20-25k a year. He was naturally motivated to seek out this valuable scrap and developed keen seeking skills. If he found a demolition site ..he was in hog heaven.
Requires virtually no skills and a pickup truck (gloves and minor tools - develop "aids" as you evolve).
[ September 19, 2004, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: Gary Allan ]
Put the wife to work.
I'm in the same boat. Cash poor. IRA and 401K OK.
Seriously Gary gave a really thoughtful answer, with plenty of experiences, some I have done....most were a wash at best. (Well the electrician gig was for my Dad, no pay, and the lesson was worth: I've never had to hire one, saving HUGE money)
Amsoil is OK if you live in an area where there is some farming, well drilling, pumping, industry, etc. This will make it profitable. Selling on the web is a wash at best. But I love supporting BiTOG.
A Home Depot/Lowe's type of 2nd job is something I'm always thinking of. It would probably kill me.
Wife is doing the EBay thing. Not bad. She is a stay at home Mom now, which is HUGE plus - but she has some powerful credentials and could be earning more than I.
I'm in the same boat. Cash poor. IRA and 401K OK.
Seriously Gary gave a really thoughtful answer, with plenty of experiences, some I have done....most were a wash at best. (Well the electrician gig was for my Dad, no pay, and the lesson was worth: I've never had to hire one, saving HUGE money)
Amsoil is OK if you live in an area where there is some farming, well drilling, pumping, industry, etc. This will make it profitable. Selling on the web is a wash at best. But I love supporting BiTOG.
A Home Depot/Lowe's type of 2nd job is something I'm always thinking of. It would probably kill me.
Wife is doing the EBay thing. Not bad. She is a stay at home Mom now, which is HUGE plus - but she has some powerful credentials and could be earning more than I.
forget ebay, go half.com!* Cruise the yard sales for books/movies/CDs, textbooks are the best. Enter just the ISBN and put it in your "inventory". Someone buys, you get an email saying where to send it. Twice a month, money winds up direct deposited in your account. No dealing with emailing customers, checks in the mail, guessing shipping fees, etc.
I've gotten boxes of current textbooks for
*part of ebay
I've gotten boxes of current textbooks for
*part of ebay
http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.cgi?cpid=1171701029&domain_id=1856&meta_id=1
One of my favourite books is well and truly beyond my reach.
To think that we were introduced by a former boss who came in one day with a copy and said "Marshall, do you think that this is worht anything ?".
I guess my poker face gave it away.
Good book 'though.
Well since it hasn't been posted, I'll go ahead and. Hope not to get flamed for it.
http://www.lube-direct.com/bussops.html
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No flame here. MLM (Amsoil or otherwise) is a viable way to create a second income. It's been maligned by some within the organizations that attempt to pawn them off as "get rich while others do your work" type thing.
95% of most small businesses fail within the first 3 years ..so MLM's don't fair as bad as some would think in that regard. They require virtually no capital investment of any substance and can be managed quite well without having a degree in business managment (some basic intelligence is highly recommended).
[ September 21, 2004, 01:06 AM: Message edited by: Gary Allan ]
Think I'll check the clasifieds for bulk day notices. Are those sprinkled through the whole paper or is there a dedicated section?
Going garage saling for books, too. Sounds easy with all the garage sales around here every Saturday.
Some interesting replys in this thread. Turns out this site is a good place to look for ideas, with so many experienced members here.
Thanks, Joe
Going garage saling for books, too. Sounds easy with all the garage sales around here every Saturday.
Some interesting replys in this thread. Turns out this site is a good place to look for ideas, with so many experienced members here.
Thanks, Joe
For extra income, I mow other peoples' yards. The first year, I lost money because I had to buy some extra equipment ( blowers, weedeaters, etc.) but since then, I probably make around $200/week. Best of all, I employ my teenage daughters during the summer.
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