I was young and needed extra money, but I didn't want to work at a fast food place again. A family friend ran a small insurance business. The owner wanted to start a process serving business, so I applied for the job. It sounded like fun to find people and give them their court subpoenas.
It was more fun than most of the other jobs I've had. I had to find two people to sue because of an injury from school football (they worked for the school). Both of them had moved to the area without giving a new address. Using my best excuses to call the family and do some local research, I was able to find out that they both worked at the same place.
I went up to each person, asked what their name was, and gave them the papers. They got food. The problem was that the company charged by the hour, and I found these two people quickly, so I didn't make much money. They gave up on the idea for the new service, and with it, my job. So much for doing a good job to get ahead.
When I was younger, I had a lot of odd jobs and other ways to make extra money. People might think that sitting here and typing about old times is an odd way to make money, but hey, it works. Here are some other ways to do it.
You can make extra money by...
Car theft: When I was 21, I was willing to do almost anything to make extra cash. I became a "repo man" when my brother's towing company got a contract to take back cars. It was fun to go looking for cars at night with my brother and "steal" them legally. But unless you live in the right place, don't expect to make a lot of money doing this. Oh, and we did get chased, have a gun pulled on us, and have some other fun things happen.
Making walking sticks: At flea markets, I sold hundreds of walking sticks I made myself along with our other items. I added handgrips made from old leather jackets, which cost about 50 cents to make. I got anywhere from $6 to $26 for them. You might also want to turn a hobby into a way to make money, but most of the time, there isn't much money involved.
Paying for someone else's plans. I put up the money for two friends to buy cars. They knew about cars; I had money. For example, a friend bought and fixed up a Corvette that cost $3,200. Two weeks later, he sold it for $4,200, making us each $500. One of the best ways to make extra money is to let your money work for you.
Rent rooms. At one point, renting out rooms in my house brought in almost $10,000 a year. At this point, I didn't owe anything on the house, so this was a nice income. I had decent renters, and I had built a efficiency apartment on the back of the place for privacy for my wife and I. This is one of my favourite ways to make extra money quickly.
