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We all like to shop, but the variations are most certainly there, since people’s shopping habits differ in their preference, frequency and medium. However different our shopping habits may be, there is one common fact that unifies all average shoppers with an average income: a lack of money to shop to our heart’s content, without really breaking the budget.
If you can identify with that, then read on as we share a few effective methods to earn money on the side to make your next shopping budget a bit bigger than usual.
In This Post:
1. Earn Cash Online with a SIM Card
No, we are not talking about making sales calls, but a referral program that will let you earn money from home. The Lebara refer a friend program simply requires you to sign up for one of their many plans with an international SIM card (as low as £5/month) and refer it to as many of your friends, colleagues, relatives, family members as you can. You will earn cash online every time someone signs up using your referral code. There is no set limit here, and you can even try this to earn money from home using your social media influence.
2. Write Online
If you are good with your words, have the tenacity to research various topics, and have a good hold over the English language, there is money to be earned by writing blog posts, main page content, technical guides, sales copies, academic articles, and much more. How much you get paid per post/word will vary depending on your experience, your skills, your first language, typing speed, and of course, luck! College students earn cash online through freelance writing all the time, and so can you.
3. Sell Photos Online
There was a time when photographers had to struggle to earn a decent income, and that time has not yet passed completely either! If you are willing to make photography your primary profession, it will take a lot of time, innate talent, training, mentorship, and once again, luck! However, thanks to the digital economy, it is possible to create quite a decent income stream with your photographer’s skills. You can earn money from home by selling stock photos to websites that need them.
All that written content we mentioned earlier needs to be accompanied by media, and no respectable business can use copyright protected images and get away with it these days. As a result, there is a constant demand for new photos across all genres on stock photo sites like Shutterstock, Getty Images, iStock, Fotolia, etc to use in marketing posts, blog posts, and other types of web content. Alternatively, you can work directly with a few websites as their freelance photographer. You will have to shoot specific types of photos that they will order from you, but the pay is usually a lot higher.
4. Sell the Old Stuff
Do you have an outdated laptop lying around somewhere? Is there an old smartphone which you never really exchanged, gave away, or recycled? Now is the time to sell them on sites such as eBay, Craigslist, or even Amazon for that matter. Older stuff usually doesn’t fetch much but, if the items are in good condition, you can expect a respectable offer or two. In any case, if it is lying around and getting older, it is probably losing value and attaining junk status anyway. An exception to this rule would be old stuff which are considered to be collector’s items, or antiques.
If you happen to own a collector’s item, you could earn anything from hundreds to even thousands of pounds from a single sale. Understand that if you do have a collectible, it could be worth much more than you think. Do your research on it before putting a bidding price on the item. Some of the most popular collectibles right now are comic books, vinyl records, old currency, baseball cards, limited edition dolls, and old wine. Some of the oldest and rarest Spiderman comic book editions have been sold for more than US$50,000, while the famous T206 Honus Wagner Baseball Card was sold for over US$1.26 million!
5. Become a Part Time Delivery Driver
During the busy seasons, many gig driver jobs are available for everything from driving for ride share apps to delivering groceries and restaurant take-out meals. These jobs are super flexible and great for evening and weekend hours. Consider DoorDash, this food delivery service is always looking for new drivers in popular metro areas globally.
6. Work Overtime
Companies are willing to pay their present employees quite handsomely for covering a few extra hours per week. It is cheaper for them to pay overtime money to an existing employee, than to put a new employee on the payroll. If there is no opportunity for overtime at your current workplace, try a temp job somewhere else. Do check with the company policies first though because there might be regulations to prohibit you from working even as a temp. These restrictions however, will most likely apply to specific sectors in which your current employer is conducting business and not across all sectors.
7. Use Your Extracurricular Skills
Can you sing or play the guitar? Did you take a therapist’s course somewhere during your academic years? Do you have any expert skills which can be taught to others? If you have the skill, rest assured that there are people out there who wish to learn from you. You don’t even need to go anywhere, since online classes are easier and less expensive to conduct for both teachers and students nowadays.
Finally, if you have a car and some spare time, sign up on Uber, Lyft or some other app cab service as a part-time driver. People who drive their own cars do earn a full time living from them, so rest assured that even a few hours as an app cab driver for a few weeks will help you earn enough cash to boost your shopping budget quite significantly.
These methods may not be able to supplement your main income any time soon, but if you can put a few of them together, you will be able to earn cash online sufficiently enough to bolster your shopping budget in just a few weeks’ time. Give it a go!