What To Do When You’re Not Raking in the Dough
When I was laid off a few years ago, I, of course, found myself with free time and less money. I got some extra cash from my unemployment checks and from freelancing, but I thought that it would be great to find some part-time work. Easier said than done. Most jobs took up enough time that I would be off unemployment–but were part-timey enough that I certainly didn’t want to count them as full-time jobs. I thought dog-walking might be a good solution, until I was told that the agency wanted somebody who could commit for a long time and wouldn’t just quit the moment she found a job.
So I went on metafilter and asked–what are some good part-time jobs for extra cash that don’t take up a lot of physical or mental energy? Not only good for the unemployed, but also for freelancers who might need a little extra cash come Christmastime (or any other time.)
Here is the entire thread. Some of the most interesting suggestions were:
I’ve known several people who worked a few hours a week for the local paper inserting those color sales flyers. It was late-night work, but easy and paid okay.
I worked for a bit during my most recent period of unemployment grading standardized tests. If there’s a place near you that does this they’ll probably advertise in local newspapers and on buses like the one here did. This is seasonal work, though.
Newspapers always want people to deliver the papers. You need a working car and it takes place in the early morning, but the work’s hardly what you’d call difficult. I haven’t tried this myself, but some of my friends did during high school — one unexpected bonus is that by 7 AM you’re already done, and you can do other things (look for more/different/better jobs?) with the rest of the day.
Find something freelance on Elance- data entry projects can pay well.
I made money in school as a paid subject for advertising and product feedback. Get $100 to go in, listen to three different commercials and tell them which one you liked and why. Also had product tasting. One was for beer. Got $100 and all the beer I wanted to drink in an hour.
Art school model. Good money just to stand there. Although some times without clothes. Some schools do not allow nude models and you can just wear a one-piece swimsuit.
If you can type well and are good with Word and Excel, there are lots of temp agencies. I’m a floater in a large law firm. There’s no easier work, and the pay is very good.
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