Ways to make extra money

In addition to owning Taking Time for Mommy I am also in the book industry. I am owner of a promotional book tour company and an event planner.  If I have any advice for an author it's that to make sure you have a beautiful cover and have that book edited! Many tell me it's expensive and yes it is but this is a business.

Why am I telling you this? Because I wanted to share what I tell them. Sell something…. do whatever you can to get that extra money because it's there.

My husband and I had a very poor period in our lives and we had to get creative just to make ends meet. I still do many of these things, not because I have to but because it's instilled in me.

You can call me Mandie the Can-Man-die. That's right, I collect cans. No you won't see me walking up and down the highways all day but you will see piles separated in my back yard. I actually don't drink soda but my neighbors do and drink a lot of canned beer.  They save them for us, actually several people do.  We make sure to dump and squish the cans before we bag them up. We watch the price of metals and usually take them to a recycling center once or twice a year. It's a few hundred dollars each time we go. It helps with Christmas.

Did you read my article about selling children's items on ebay? You should. Clean out your attic, go yard selling, or buy clearance and resell. It's very easy and can be profitable!

I used to mystery shop too. Yes, it's actually legitimate. You can google places that hire but remember, a legitimate company never asks you to pay money to join.

Have an extra cell phone laying around? I decided to use sell cell when I decided to sell my iphone

If you are a bookaholic like me you can sell your used books on ebay, amazon, and cash4books.com I've even seen book collectors use an app to check book skews when they are at garage sales too to see if the books are in demand! Great way to make extra money. I used to make a couple of hundred a month doing this.

Sell on Etsy.com Do you make crafts? No, don't worry – there are still opportunities for you. I've seen people buy jewelry making supplies in huge bulk and turn around and sell on etsy by the piece or small lots for a huge profit.

There are many more things you can do, just think outside of the box. Just be aware that the IRS will want to know about every stream of revenue you have. That being said, make sure you have a good taxes calc handy so you can accurately report any additional income you generate for the year.