Creative ways to make extra money

[momaste]

I'm a SAHM and full time college student looking to make a little extra money from home. Lay them on me, all your creative ways to make money with a 2 year old in tow!

[mamoma]

If you live in or around a big city, you can check the "etc" and "marketing" pages on your local craigslist. That's where they generally post focus group ads, and the money can be really great ($70 - $100 for an evening is not uncommon). And the two year old is a bonus - a lot of the marketing studies are especially for households with children!

[momaste]

Originally Posted by mamoma

If you live in or around a big city, you can check the "etc" and "marketing" pages on your local craigslist. That's where they generally post focus group ads, and the money can be really great ($70 - $100 for an evening is not uncommon). And the two year old is a bonus - a lot of the marketing studies are especially for households with children!

Haha, I just got off Craigslist and signed up to participate in focus groups with two different companies! One actually had a focus group for moms with toddlers today, but I was too late to get in on it. I'll keep looking - that's a great way to earn a little extra in a short period of time. We are near several big cities.

[superstella]

Sell your used textbooks on amazon.com.

[momaste]

It's my first semester back in 10 years or so, so I only have current text books. I'll sell them after this semester, and will post some non-text books for sale. Thanks for the idea!

[phathui5]

You can also find people to babysit for on craigslist. I do part-time childcare for three different families and occasionally babysit for two others. One of them I found on craigslist, one on another babysitter website, one here on MDC and two are neighbors.

[happy_wife_&_mama]

subbing, because I need ideas too. Would you mind telling how much you charge for babysitting? I would not have the slightest clue what to ask for. I'm not liscenced or anything like that though.

[MamaPam]

I have been writing for Associated Content. Etsy is another idea if you are crafty.

[gratefulbambina]

Mystery shopping, just be aware there are alot of scams out there, but there are alot of legit companies too.

[reducereuserecycle]

can you point me toward a legit mystery shopping company???

[Benni]

You can get paid to do online surveys or write articles for people with websites through sites like www.elance.com.

Check out this website for some ideas

http://justlovinglife.com

Benni

http://www.only-cookware.com

[phathui5]

happy_wife_&_mama,

With individual children, I charge $7 an hour for under two year olds and $6 an hour after they turn two. I charge $9 an hour for sibling pairs. Mind you, this is from my house. It's more if I have to travel.

Babysitting costs vary by region though, so you may want to see what people in your area are paying.

[mrskennedy]

I write for AC too and do a few GPT sites. Don't know how "creative" this is, but it works.

[Dar]

Originally Posted by reducereuserecycle

can you point me toward a legit mystery shopping company???

www.volition.com is the best place to learn about mystery shopping.

I've shopped for a bunch of companies, but I don't remember most of them now. The only one I still shop for is shopnchek, because they always call me when other shoppers flake and offer me bonuses. They do mostly lower-end stuff, but they're sweet and the shops are pretty easy - multiple choice, no narratives, most reports take 15 minutes or less (all online, of course). Last weekend, for example, I got four free meals (two fast food, two at a sit-down restaurant) and $38 cash...

Dar