Unconventional Money Making

Wow - All I can say is Wow! I received 100 views in 1 week. That means I have had 1,069 views over the course of less than 4 months. THANKS TO EVERYONE! (Which includes one rando in Alaska, two in Malaysia and another in good ole Canadia. Thanks Eh! ).

Next some bad news - my record last week was less than admirable. I was 12-3 going into the weekend went a DISGUSTING 2-4 in the NFL and 1-5 for the NCAA Bowl Games. I learned two valuable lessons: 1 - Don't trust college kids and 2 - Don't base your bets on the weather. Disregarding NCAA I am now  14-7 on the season which is still mildly respectable.

Now on with the blog:

Tis the holiday season and everyone is SPENDING LOTS OF MONEY! The problem is you may be on a budget. Most people will NOT BUDGET for holiday gifts through the whole year, which doesn't make sense. If you NEED an extra $500 of spending around the holidays (which is low for most parents), you need to save an average of $9.62/week or $41.67/month. If you've saved NOTHING over the 1st 6 months, you're already $500 behind the 

It is MUCH easier to save a little bit over a long period of time than to save a lot a bit over a short period of time. But just in case you need to make some extra money to pay off those credit card that you just racked up a pretty penny on, here are some suggestions:

1.) Secret Shopping

     

     This DOESN'T MEAN shopping when your family doesn't know or secretly spending money you shouldn't. It can consist of MANY different things, with varying pays at different locations. If that is your issue, please go here: http://www.shopaholicsanonymous.org/

     For example, one site I have used to make some extra money is called Trendsource.com or the mobile app, MSI Mobile. In a 3.5 month span I made $150+. The total time it took me, was probably 10 hours. Averaged $15/hour PLUS I got free Papa John's 15 times PLUS for all purchases made, I got credit card points PLUS you can write off mileage for your trips. The overall benefit had to be well above $20/hour. All of these "secret shops" I didn't have to even talk to anyone other than ordering a pizza. The ones where you have to talk to someone pay you $19 and take you less than an hour. Also, once you get comfortable with them, you can FLY through them.

Here are some examples of what I had to do and their respective pays:

Call Papa John's Pizza - Take a few pictures, answer a few question - $18.00

Go to a business in Downtown Columbus, Take pictures of exterior - $7.00

Go to a Kroger's, write down prices of some items - $11.64

In addition to the payments above, I got a Pizza and some cheap groceries.

If you're interested in doing secret shopping, let me know. In 2013 I have made over $2,000 and only worked prior to May really.

2.) Lyft or UBER

    This isn't necessarily for everyone and I haven't personally made any money yet from this because neither is fully operating in Columbus.

    Lyft and UBER are drive sharing websites. What that means is that is if you need a ride someone you can hire Lyft or UBER to drive you there. They have mobile apps which contact the nearest person available that is a certified driver, to come over and pick you up. According to the founders, they are more stringer on safety than most limousine or taxi companies. To add to that, Lyft REQUIRES you to sign in with your personal Facebook account to add another level of safety. 

Lyft currently operates in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento, St. Paul, San Diego, Seattle and Washington DC and you can use your own car.

Uber currently operates in 39 cities internationally and you are provided with a car (to the best of my knowledge).

3.) Selling items on Ebay

    This doesn't necessarily mean you have to dig through a bunch of old stuff and see what you may and may not want to get rid of, ALTHOUGH, that is always a good starting point. An out of the box idea I use every now and then is getting an early upgrade on one of my phones and either selling my CURRENT or my NEW phone. I did this so many times during college, I think I messed up their system because a few times a year I would get something in the mail about an early upgrade.

   16GB Gold iPhone 5S's are selling for an average of more than $630 on Ebay. The cost to buy with a 2 year upgrade, $199.99. That is how you can make a cool $400 profit very easily. All you do is call in, let them know that your upgrade is coming soon (within 3 months works best) and you'd like to upgrade early because the quality on your phone is just not what it used to be. They'll review your account, talk to a manager and get it approved. I haven't been turned down before and actually did this today. I am still 35 days out from the upgrade and told them I wanted to upgrade early for a Christmas present. I didn't even have to call, I simply just talked to them on Chat and it was done in about 10 minutes. I wanted to further review some options, so I told him to call me on Monday so I can decide which phone to purchase. A 64GB Gold iPhone 5S sold for $900, so if I can get it for less than $450, it might make sense. KEEP IN MIND WHEN SELLING ON EBAY - THEIR CURRENT FEE STRUCTURE IS 10% OF SELLING PRICE! ADDITIONALLY, PAYPAL CHARGES A FEE ALSO, if it sold for $900, you lose $90 to Ebay and $26.40 to PAYPAL.

4.) Sports Betting!

I am just kidding, I wouldn't recommend ever TRYING to win money on sports betting. However, here is an interesting thought. According to the LA Times, there are 14 bets out there where someone bet Auburn to win the National Championship at 1000 to 1 odds, two of which, bet $100 on it according to The Las Vegas Hotel. That means they could win $100,000! Even better, if they're smart (and have the wherewithal), they SHOULD bet $42,188 to hedge their bets. That way, if Auburn wins, they win $100,000 less $42,188 or a net of $57,812. If Florida State wins, they win $57,813 total. The other option, is to not bet anything and hope for $100,000 but from what I read, he is going to make the safer decision.

Which provides a GREAT segue into my bets for the week!

As previously mentioned, I am 14-7 on the year following a TERRIBLE performance last week. If I had placed $11 on each bet so far (standard $10 payout), I would have profited a cool $140 this year so far. Alas, I have not and if I did, I am sure it would somehow manage to go the other way for me.

This weeks picks:

New England (PK) at Miami (Under 46)

Baltimore at Detroit (-5.5) (Over 48)

Kansas City (-5) at Oakland (Over 41)

Something to think about in the coming weeks - Five of the top ten New Year's Resolutions are financially related, followed by health. Why not kill two birds with one stone and resolve to FINANCIALLY HEALTHY.

 

Contact me at davids@eqfin.com for a free financial consultation and my "DARE TO COMPARE PROMISE". I dare you to compare 2013's numbers to your 2014 financial year. If I can't make what YOU feel is a significant difference for you financially, I'll give you a $25 Gift Card to a Restaurant of your choice!