# What Have You Done to Earn Some Extra Money? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448 "2007-08-30T01:23:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/1 "2007-08-30T01:23:51Z")
Please tell me about part-time jobs or work-from-home opportunities that went especially well for you. Is there such as a thing as a job you can do from home for an hour in the evening and earn $50-$100 per week? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/2 "2007-08-30T01:28:45Z")
I’m starting to think there’s money to be made blowing republicans in public restrooms. Doesn’t exactly fit the “home” criteria, but there’s drinnking water and toilets nearby. Almost like home. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/3 "2007-08-30T01:29:27Z")
I’ve sold my hair to a wig shop for extra cash a few times. Pro: Feeling all Little Womenish Con: Incredibly low hourly rate when you calculate how long it took to grow that foot and a half of hair. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/4 "2007-08-30T06:21:28Z")
I do some odd jobs around my apartment building and they knock off some rent- and better yet they haven’t raised my rent for years. (Knock on wood! 😛 It’s a job you pretty well _have_ to do from home. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/5 "2007-08-30T06:23:52Z")
I sold my blood plasma in Florida once when I really needed money. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/6 "2007-08-30T06:36:29Z")
I perform weddings on the weekends. Actual belief in a religion not required. Averages an extra thousand or two a month. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/7 "2007-08-30T07:45:47Z")
I used to do magic on weekends, for a couple of thousand a month. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/8 "2007-08-30T07:56:46Z")
eBay. If I set my mind to it, I can make a few hundred pounds a month on eBay, but it’s quite hard work, because the items I sell are mostly hand made. And I do a bit of freelance chef-ing once in a while, which pays fairly well, but isn’t a regular thing. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/9 "2007-08-30T12:07:07Z")
I will watch your house, I will watch your children, I will clean your house, I will help you move. ---
**Author:** ![Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki_Tikki_Tavi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/10 "2007-08-30T12:10:51Z")
I clean an office twice a week. No special skills required, just a stomach that’s strong enough to stand the bathrooms there. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/11 "2007-08-30T12:14:12Z")
Mystery shopping. Try [www.volition.com](http://www.volition.com) for a list of reputable companies. I currently write two articles a month for a parenting publication in another state. The editor lets me keep reprint rights. I resell or retool articles to other pubs bringing my total to about $300 a month. ---
**Author:** ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/12 "2007-08-30T12:16:34Z")
I do freelance translating, proof-reading and editing. However, I am a professional translator\ editor. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to someone who simply happens to be bilingual or speak another language to a high level. Pros: I love translating, editing and writing and it does bring in a fair bit of extra cash. I also get to extend my current areas of expertise. Cons: The original texts can be incredibly badly written. The translations which I proofread are sometimes incomprehensible without the original text. And the client usually wants the order yesterday, so it’s not a steady hour every evening - sometimes there’s nothing, and then all of a sudden there’s six hours worth of work which have to be done in one evening. Can take time to build up a client base. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/13 "2007-08-30T14:06:49Z")
I work in an office and I clean the office building (which includes 3 bathrooms) for $60/week. I only have to do it one day a week so it’s easy money. I’d like to try to find additional stuff to do. I may look into editing papers for college kids in my town. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/14 "2007-08-30T14:17:25Z")
Bartending can be very lucrative for just a few shifts a week. I used to pull down abour $300 a week working just 2 nights (and that was 10 years ago). ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/15 "2007-08-30T14:37:16Z")
Also Mystery Shopping. I do it sporadically but if you do it regularly you’ll get a reasonable amount of money. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/16 "2007-08-30T15:02:53Z")
[QUOTE=LavenderBlue] Mystery shopping. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=zelie zelerton] Also Mystery Shopping. I do it sporadically but if you do it regularly you’ll get a reasonable amount of money. [/QUOTE] _boggle_ That’s for REAL? I always assumed it was a big scam, and/or that you had to buy stuff yourself. I didn’t know you could actaully _make money_ from doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/17 "2007-08-30T15:23:28Z")
I made about fifty quid out of the Amazon Mechanical Turk thing, but I was quite lucky in that there were a large number of HITs available that were just glance and click. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/18 "2007-08-30T15:26:36Z")
Pet sitting or baby sitting. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/19 "2007-08-30T15:30:38Z")
I’ve done translations. Been looking into becoming a professional translator, too. Due to the lack of a translation degree (they didn’t even exist when I was in college) and to the Spanish love of diplomas, I can’t get a “real job” in translation unless it’s through a friend, which is how I got the ones I did. Some of it was from German (technical German written by foreigners, so I had to open the dictionary very few times) to Spanish; company materials so “burn your eyes after looking at it” confidential that they didn’t want to give them to an external translator. Some was for a friend who was working on his AgrEng PhD and for several of his teammates. At one point his boss decided to use a “real translator” instead. The smirk in my friend’s face when he brought the article to be retranslated, along with the reviewer’s notes saying things like “isnt’ this supposed to be in English?” was priceless. A lot of the people working in translations are “letters” people who don’t know the difference between waterfalls and cataracts (both “cataratas” in Spanish). ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448/20 "2007-08-30T15:38:52Z")
[QUOTE=Equipoise] _boggle_ That’s for REAL? I always assumed it was a big scam, and/or that you had to buy stuff yourself. I didn’t know you could actaully _make money_ from doing it. [/QUOTE] Yes. It’s for real. The pay isn’t great (typically around $10 a shop) but I’ve strung several together at once and made money. I used to mystery shop sometimes at Newark Airport. They’d assign me 10 - 15 shops at once in a compact area. At $10 - $15 a shop plus a $5 reimbursement that was a long but lucrative day. More typically I’d go the mall to do 4 - 5 $10 - $12 shops. At other times I’ve had a great meal completely paid for with the only thing expected in return a written account of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-done-to-earn-some-extra-money/417448.md?page=2)