I’m trying to think of ways I can earn some extra moolah. I really don’t have much to sell, I already work one saturday out of every three in my regular job (and at the moment it’s every other saturday due to staff shortages) and weekends are the only time I get to see my partner since he lives quite far away and neither of us drive.
Working for the ambulance service, I work shifts - mainly I do lates so that’s 11.30am - 8pm and if not then 8.30am - 5pm.
It’s not a desperate situation but a few extra quid would come in handy. And I can’t think of a single thing I can do. Is there any work I can do from home that isn’t a scam? Anything other than a paper round (which would tire me out too much for a job I need to be alert in)?
First person to suggest table dancing is a big dorkus malorkus poopyhead.
Become a consultant. You can make your own hours and people will give you money to tell them things that they already know. At least those are the kinds of consultants who run the inane seminars we’re required to attend from time to time. Surely you’re an expert in some field.
Sorry, that’s all I’ve got. That or begging, but that’s so undignified.
Are you at all artistic? My mother-i-law died reently, and as we were going through boxes of photos and certificates and such, I said to myself, 'Gee, I wish that there were people who would take all this and sort the dross from the gold and arrange it and put it into archival-quality books!"
I suspect such people exist, and I suspect it is something that could be done fairly casueally, from home, if you are the sort of person who is good at making things look professional and attractive. OYU could advertise in the classifieds and such.
lno, you’re skating a fine, fine line. I think you get to be a dorkus malorkus but without the poopyhead bit.
I could be a consultant, but on what? On how to spend too much time on the internet? While I bet some people would pay for that (hey, people will pay for anything if you let them), I’m afraid I don’t know enough buzzwords and get physically ill when forced to use phrases such as “blue sky” and “thinking outside the box”.
Manda_JO - I like to think I’m artistic but I worry that something like that would involve a substantial initial outlay without a guarenteed return. I’ll certainly think about it though. I can develop black and white photos so maybe I could put that to use.
A friend mentioned to me that I could use my sign language skills (it’s my first language). I could maybe tutor deaf students for a few hours a week. I don’t know how I’d go about that but it’s something I’m going to look into.
A business recently opened in our area where a person will come into your home/business and organize you. Fix up your files, organize your closets, pictures- all that sort of stuff. She apparently is doing quite a brisk business.
What about doing e-bay listings for folks who don’t know how to use it well or antiques dealers? When I worked for an antiques lady over the summer, she paid me to do up several ads for her e-bay stuff and take the photos for her. That was fun and easy.
How about small business web design? Any skills in that?
Basic computer instruction? Providing basic training (how to get on the 'net, basic Windows skills) for new computer folks? There’s money there.
I’m not sure how the rules run over there, but I know several CODAs here who took their certification test to intrepret and work part time, on their own hours in a pool of intrepreters.
Most of the intrepreters I had throughout school were other students who were fluent in ASL and used that as a source of income.
I think using sign language is probably the best bet - just because it’s a skill that not many hearing people have. There must be a need for private tutors who can sign.
Can I second (third?) the sign language angle. My friend and I signed up for a term’s sign language course at our local college (not because we need it, but because we reckoned it might broaden our horizons). The course was oversubscribed, and we’ll be doing something else.
It was about 80 quid for 9 lessons, but that was with approx 15 pupils. You might want to contact your local colleges to see if they need more tutors (clearly our local one does).
Well, I can’t do professional tutoring or interpreting since you need to be CACDP qualified and that takes three years of training no matter how fluent you are. The best angle I can work with sign language is as a private tutor, either as a tutor for people learning sign language (ie, people taking Stage 1 CACDP who’d like some extra tutoring in their own time) or as a tutor for deaf kids - helping them with english, maths, etc.
My two main stumbling blocks are that I don’t drive, so they would have to come to me, and that I don’t have any experience of tutoring. Tricky.
You could be a Life Model for a drawing class. (Or a photo class even.) No dancing required! You just have to sit there. Or lounge there sometimes. And not move, that’s the sign of a good Life Model, the not moving.
Of course there’s the whole “naked” angle…
And you need to have a drawing class near you that’s looking for a Life Model…
I’d like to fourth the idea of teaching sign language.
My church has a lady who comes once a week on Monday evenings to teach sign language to anyone who’s interested. I don’t know how much she makes but I do know that it cost each participant about $15 plus the cost of the book she recommended. I’m no sure how many classes she taught/is teaching for that cost. She has about 15 - 20 students, ranging in age from 15 - 70.
Even though you don’t drive, perhaps there is a church or other small community group near you that would be interested in having you teach a class?
(I’m glad you started this thread, I’ve been looking for something to do to earn a little extra moolah myself. Although I work regular hours [9-6] I spend 3 hrs on the rd every day commuting, I tutor for free twice a week a few kids that attend my church, and am a single mother. I am loathe to do anything more outside the house and take any more time away from my kid. I am however, perfectly willing and capable of doing stuff via email or otherwise in home. I’d like to do freelance database/spreadsheet design for small businesses and such but there are already a plethora of people here offering that service. So I’ll be watching this thread closely.)
Sell Plasma In the city where I live you get up to 40$/visit with like 3 visits a month.
Easy Cash:
If there are a large number of research labs fairly close to where you live you can always make money by recalibrating pipettes for people. (It takes only 2-5 min per pipette to calibrate it correctly, companies charge around 40-60$ to do this plus shipping). Downside is you generally need a analytical balance, but if you have access to one through work just do it on your lunch breaks or on your own time.
Dunno if they have this in your area, but what about market research? In the States, you can make $50-75 or more for a couple of hours answering questions about products and whatnot.
Thanks for the encouragement Tansu. I think I’d just be nervous! And if I’d be nervous at teaching you can pretty much guarentee I won’t be modelling for life drawing classes, Mr DeDay. I can tend bar since I did it for two years while I was at school but my late finishing time at my regular job pretty much rules that one out. Alas.
CRorex - an analytical balance? Unfortunately I don’t know what that is, let alone have access to one. As for selling plasma - I’m not sure that’s an option in the UK. I didn’t get any results Googling it. Where would I look?
Gundy - market research is an excellent idea. Don’t tell anyone but I quite like answering market research questions. But I have no idea how to go about getting paid for it. Would I contact companies? Or are there standard places to look for ads? Googling brings up numerous “get paid for your opinions!” sites but I am nervous of scams, although I have found one site, Dooyook, that looks reliable. I’m definitely going to check this out. Mornea - perhaps this is something you could check out too?
I’ve had to turn down evening teaching jobs because my regular job requires occasional travel. That was guaranteed pretty good extra income shot right in the butt (or bum, in your case). I’ll keep thinking.
I think your (sort of) regular work schedule is your biggest stumbling block. It’ll be hard to fit another job in there.
BTW - why is lno “skating a fine line,” but Rue gets a pass?
