Need Extra Cash? Ways To Make Money Online

You obviously don’t come to this site for same old make money free online ideas that you get on the majority of sites on the web.  You come here for fresh, cutting edge ideas.  Here’s one for you:

If you haven’t heard– prices for commodities like aluminum, copper and iron ore are on the rise as demand for them increases thanks to China and India.   There’s definitely an opportunity to make some money off these price increases that doesn’t include dumpster diving for soda and beer cans. 

Again, I’ll use this blogpost to point you toward Craig’s List.  Every CL city listing has a “For Sale” category under that category there are listings for “free items”.   If you check the “free items” category you’ll find lots of opportunities to pick up free “scrappable” items that can earn you some decent money.  Old metal swing sets, bike rims and non-working washers and dryers are made of material that is getting a premium these days from the scrap yard.  Anything with copper in it will get you the most money but that’s hard to find.  Iron Ore and Aluminum are much easier to come by.

If you want to make some quick cash:  Take a Saturday, get up early, check out the “free items” list in your town and go pick up a few things made of metal.  Most people that list free items put them on the curb for pick up, so you don’t have to coordinate anything.  Just drive by and pick up the item waiting on the curb.  Take it to the scrap yard and ring the register.  You certainly won’t get rich doing this but it’s definitely a quick way to make some extra cash when you need it.

To give you a little encouragement, a friend of mine just took a few dead, unwanted lawnmowers to the scrap yard and left with over $20. 

I’ll keep digging if you keep reading!

As we all know, Craigslist.org can be a mesmerizing site unless you know exactly what you’re looking for.  There are lots of categories and lots of deals–some good, some bad. One of the first places I go on Craigslist is to the “Etc” section under the “Jobs” section. This is where individuals and/or companies often list one-time money-making opportunities. Just a few weeks ago, someone needed help moving a few pieces of furniture and offered $40 for anyone who could come and help for two hours. Maybe you’re not into doing something that takes that much physical effort…but a quick $40 for 2 hours of work seemed like a good idea to me.

Survey and Focus Group companies also frequently post on the “Etc” section. About 4 months ago, I answered an ad by a company looking for people to come and anonymously answer a series of political questions. They paid me $75 in cash just to come and tell them what I thought about the upcoming election. Now that I’m on this company’s list they contact me almost monthly with new opportunities. Recently, I did a “hair products” focus group for them and they gave me $150 for only 2 hours of my time. All this from just answering one ad in the CL “Etc” section.

My advice is to check about every 2 days as the ads on CL are constantly updated and changed. Often, these “one-time” opportunities are first come, first serve… and thus go pretty quickly.  Have fun and Good Luck!

I’ll keep posting if you keep reading!