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Have you heard of dumb ways to make money? If they’re not, well, at least you’ve got something to laugh about as you get back on your feet. If you’re in a pinch and need some cash, these ideas may be just what you’re looking for.
You’ve heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” And that’s true when it comes to making money. If you want to make more money or want to find some easy ways to earn extra cash without breaking a sweat, then it all starts with leveraging your existing network.
In this post we’ll talk about 11 different ways that you can make money by leveraging your personal connections and networks. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out in your career or if have been working for years – these strategies can help anyone get started earning extra cash!
10 Dumb Ways to Make Money
Before we kick off the list, if you’re looking for ways to make extra money, here are some websites/resources to check out:
- Cliqly: Make money emailing. You sign up for free and get access to 5,000 emails to send pre-written emails to, from the start. You’ll earn money for each person that clicks a link in those emails. Easy! I’ve heard of newbies making upt o$2,500 in their first 2 weeks with this! I made just under $600 in a few weeks, when I started. They also have a referral program.
- Free Affiliate Marketing Ebook: Affiliate marketing is something that can make you passive income. It can make you a full-time income, working part-time but, it’s not instant money and takes some hard work and effort with. I make a full-time income with affiliate marketing, a big chunk of which is passive. There are affiliates that start making up to $10K to $20K per month within a few months of starting affiliate marketing but, everyone’s experience is different and these results are not typical. Check out my free ebook to learn more about how affiliate marketing works and how to get started with it.
- Neighbor: This is a chance to earn income passively by monetizing your unused storage space. If you’ve got extra closet space, a spare bedroom, attic, garage, or other space in your home, you can rent it out and store other people’s goods there for passive income every month.
1. Sell Your Hair
This can be a good option to pursue if you have long hair that you’d like to sell for extra money.
It’s important to note that not all hair is worth selling. It needs to be long enough, and in a style that can be easily cut into wigs or extensions. So if you’re a pixie or bob-cut chick, this isn’t the option for you.
2. Eat on Camera
People love watching other people eat. They will watch you eat a pack of popcorn, or a bowl of cereal, or even a couple of french fries. They won’t pay you much money for this, but you may make enough to buy new pants.
To be successful at eating on camera:
Make sure the camera is on your face and not pointed at the TV set in the background (unless it’s some kind of bizarre movie about a serial killer who murders people while watching reruns). Your viewers want to see your face! This is important!
Don’t get distracted by all those commercials like I do when I’m trying to make YouTube videos from my bedroom in front of my laptop.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from making videos, it’s that what matters most is whether or not someone can relate with what you’re doing—and if there’s no connection whatsoever between them and whatever it is they’re seeing/hearing/reading/listening-to then chances are they’ll just keep scrolling down their feed until something else catches their eye instead.”
3. Join a Drug Trial
Drug trials look for participants to test their drugs. This can be inpatient or outpatient meaning, depending on the study, you may be required to stay there for a period of time or you may be able to do the study from home, visiting the facility for treatment then returning home when done.
These can be high-paying but, each study is different and it can vary a lot.
I used to have a friend who did these studies any time she wanted to raise money fast. She did one study which paid her $1,200 and she used the money to buy her dining room set, for example.
You want to consider if this is something you want to do or not. There may or may not be side effects and these are human studies so there may not be references they can provide you for others that have tried the drug and experienced X Y Z. Drug trial are not for everyone.
Here’s what you want to consider with a drug trial.
- You have to be a certain age.
- You have to be in good health.
- You have to be willing to take risks.
- You could get paid for it, but you might not get paid at all and you might die from it!
4. Sell Your Plasma
This is something my partner used to do when we were broke and in college. Back then, you could earn up to $400 per month or so for donating your plasma several times a month. Now, there are plasma donation centers that pay you up to $800 to $1,200 per month!
While plasma donation is one of the safest procedures in medical research, it’s not exactly a walk in the park.
To begin with, you have to go through some sort of physical and mental testing before you can begin donating. That can take some time if you’re waiting for results or extra paperwork to be processed.
Secondly, because plasma donations are so common (and there’s no shortage of people willing to give their plasma), your payment may not cover all your expenses while giving blood products away—particularly if you’re doing it on top of another job!
5. Take Part in Online Studies
These are studies that are looking for participants, like the drug trials shared above except these are not drug-related in nature. You’ll be testing products, sharing your feedback, participating in a group discussion about a topic, etc. It’s consumer-based research and these can pay up to $20 to $500 each.
Two companies to look into are:
I have personally did this so I can share some insight.
The two studies I did (one for Respondent and one for User Interviews) each paid about $100 each. At least one paid me in an Amazon credit and while they said it would take 3 to 5 days to pay me, I received payment later that day so it was super fast.
These are not a good option for recurring, stable income.
Expect to be selected for a study up to a few times a year, if that.
6. Take Surveys Online
Online surveys are probably one of my least favorite ways to make money. It can be boring and monotonous but, it’s super easy and definitely a dumb way to make money. Anybody can do it and you don’t need special skills to excel with this.
Companies want to know what consumers think about their products or services and so they pay people with the right profile to answer questions about those things.
For example, a company might want to find out how many people in North America have bought a certain product within the last three months and how much they paid for it. They’ll hire someone from their target audience (in this case people who bought that product) to take part in a survey on their website for $10 per 20 minutes or something similar.
Asking you questions about yourself is not all these companies are interested in though; sometimes they also ask you questions related to your friends, family members and colleagues – which means that if any of those contacts fit into their target demographic then there could be more money waiting for them too!
In my experience, there are good days and bad days when it comes time-wise but generally speaking there are several hundred dollars available each week if you put enough effort into finding them all.
Expect to earn around up to $5 to $10 per survey. Some are extremely low paying, paying as little as $0.30 to $0.50 each but, some are higher paying.
Resources to check out:
7. Rent Out Your Parking Space
This is an interesting one and definitely a low effort, hands off way to make some money. Here is what you should know about this:
- There are a number of apps that allow you to rent out your parking space in exchange for cash. If you live in a busy area, this can be an easy way to make some extra money on the side.
- If you have a driveway or garage, consider renting it out when it’s not being used by your car(s).
- You may also want to make sure someone is home during peak hours (as opposed to overnight) so that residents can park near their homes and not have their cars towed away for blocking traffic lanes or fire hydrants.
There are companies you can look into for this, like SpotHero and others.
8. Rent Out a Room in Your House, Apartment Or Even RV
Renting out your room is a great way to make some extra cash. You may be surprised at how much you can earn!
However, there are many things to consider before deciding which route is best for you.
The first thing to think about is the amount of effort that’s involved:
Do you have time?
Do you want to do all the work yourself or hire someone else?
How much will it cost?
Next, decide if this kind of tenant is right for your property.
It is important to screen potential tenants carefully because they will be staying in your home while they pay rent and sometimes even after they move out—so look at their references and background checks before agreeing on any terms!
Also, make sure they have enough insurance coverage so that if anything happens while they live with us (or afterward), we won’t get sued by them later down road.”
9. Get Paid to Participate in Focus Groups
These are kind of like online surveys and studies.
The idea of getting paid to participate in focus groups is a popular one, but the reality is that it’s not straightforward. The amount you can make depends on the type of focus group and whether or not you qualify.
Focus groups typically require participants to meet certain criteria, such as being over 18 years old and having a college degree. The company sponsoring the focus group may also want people who match specific demographics (they’re looking for customers between 25-35 years old).
Focus groups are usually held in hotels or office buildings during the day or evening, so if you’re interested in participating, it will likely be hard for you to find an arrangement that works with your schedule.
10. Become an Egg Donor
If you’re looking for a way to make money that doesn’t involve working, consider becoming an egg donor. If you’re healthy and have good eggs or sperm, it’s possible to make money doing this.
You’ll need to be tested first and sign a contract with the company where they will use your body parts.
These are dumb ways to make money but you have to do what you have to do sometimes.
- The following are ideas that are ill-advised, or at least not the most effective ways to make money. The point is to provide an overview of how easy it is for people to get into trouble when trying to make extra cash—and how costly it can be.
- Not all these methods will be illegal in your country, but some may be illegal under certain circumstances and/or if you’re doing them on a large scale. It’s important that you check local laws before undertaking any of these ventures, as ignorance of the law is no excuse—and could land you in jail! The last thing we want is for our readership to get behind bars because they failed to follow suit with local regulations!
Wrap Up
There are so many ways to make money, but these are some of the worst or dumb ways to make money. If you find yourself in a financial situation where you need money fast, these might be some options for you.
For more ideas on making money, here are some posts to check out:
7+ No-Experience Beginners Jobs at Home
How to Make Money with a Car Billboard
How to make money as a content creator
Recommended Resources to Increase Your Income and Save Money
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Swagbucks
- Surveys
- Watch videos
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- Online shopping
- Discovering stuff online