Making Money...For Smart People

I'm still looking for things to do to make some extra income so when I Googled problem solving for money (I like solving problems, I like making money...this sounded like a win-win!), I found these interesting things (unfortunately I don't think I am that smart...these problems look extremely challenging!):

• XPrize  (more about XPrize here)
• Idea Connection
• Top 10 Challenges
• Innocentive
• Solve a Major Math Problem for $1 Million
• Be a Bug Bounty Hunter

Some Ideas for Making $5000 This Summer

I've been thinking about how I can make $5000 quickly, unfortunately with my ideas so far I'm going to be knee-deep in grumbly poker players in a few weeks :/

• Remember that movie War Dogs?  Apparently bidding on government jobs is a thing.
• You can get $1200 if Dish Network ever called you (unfortunately I don't remember if they ever did or not).
• I looked through the list of class action rebates but don't see anything I qualify for.
• I've been looking through the entrepreneur subreddit...but nothing jumps out at me so far.
• And by Googling 'how to make $5000 in a month' I came up with this, this, and this (apparently I'm not the only one wanting to do this).
• There's always busking...

Day 13 of My Money Challenge

I was going to be lazy today and not do anything for my money challenge since it is Sunday but...

• I checked my email and Freelance Switch bought the article I just emailed them a couple of days ago.  That will be $50 when I invoice them after the article is published (it could take a few weeks for the article to be published; I will link to it here when it is published)
• I am updating all of my blogs and websites today (I've seen a slight overall bump in AdSense revenue since I have been posting more frequently, but I think that most of the increase is due to putting more ads on a couple of my websites)
• I will write another article for Freelance Switch today because I am so psyched from the email :)

I'm Psyched for My Money Challenge!

Starting on Tuesday (November 1st) I have challenged myself to earn $1000 during the month of November.  This is what I have done as a way to get a jump start on my challenge:

• When I sent the monthly invoice to one of my clients for keeping her website updated, I mentioned that it was starting to look a little dated and for $200 I could update the layout so it would look more modern.  I haven't heard back yet but hopefully she will take me up on the offer.
• I browsed Kickstarter yesterday.  They let you do fundraising campaigns for all kinds of arts projects as well as for writing. I am amazed at how much money other people have been able to raise for their projects this way!  I may do a campaign for the non fiction book I want to write.
• I am trying to build up the courage to sell bottled water on the Las Vegas Strip next week.  The weather should be pretty warm and it seems fairly simple--we have a cooler and I can buy some ice and bottled water then make about $20 per case that I sell.  Hubby thinks I might get arrested.  I think I may die of embarrassment (I'm kind of shy and not the outgoing type of sales personality that would make someone successful at such an endeavour).
• I'm starting my money challenge with $40.  Hubby won about $800 at poker the other day and gave me $100 (which I think is more than fair as he has been paying all of the bills for nearly a year now).  I used $60 to pay for our cell phones for November (that is the only bill I pay each month) and now I have $40 left.  I think I will use this for the bottled water project then use the money I get from that project to buy pizzas to sell at the university.
• On a side note, also during the month of November, I am going to try to go all Paleo for a month.  My eating habits are now pretty atrocious and I can really feel the way all of the junk I have been eating is affecting my body so I need to try something else...like not having In N Out burger every other day. Yikes.

That's all of now, I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!!

An Expansion on #34

Yesterday, I wrote a post about the 43 Things I Have Learned About Money in 43 Years. Karin made a comment about #34 on the list so I thought I would expand on the idea a bit...
Here's some ideas for making your millions on the internet:

• You can literally take a good idea, do some work on your computer, and end up a millionaire like this girl.
• Don't have a good idea but have an unusual, strange, or bizarre idea? Those can make you a millionaire as well. Check out this blog for inspiration.
• Here's some more interesting ideas for making lots of money online from people who have actually done it.
• And did you know you can make six figures just by posting YouTube videos? I didn't until I ran across this article.
• The power of marketing yourself and/or your passions/ideas/gossip has made many average people rich and kind of famous too. Think Guy Kawasaki, Tim Ferris, Chris Brogan, Perez Hilton, etc.
• And here's some manifestos to get you started: Living Self-Employed Online: The Manual They Forgot to Give You, and 279 Days to Overnight Success.

The bottom line is that if you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting. If you don't particularly like what you are getting, you need to throw some of your ideas out there and see what clicks. Obviously if the first one doesn't work, keep trying, you never know what will "hit" and make you a millionaire. Even if you don't make a million from your ideas, doing new and different things a la the ideas above, has to make your life a whole lot more interesting than it is now. You have nothing to lose so, as Nike says, JUST DO IT!

Realization: Your Crap Isn't as Valuable as You Think It Is

I am almost a week into my quest to raise $1500 to pay my house payment. Today I came to the startling revelation that my crap isn't worth nearly as much as I thought it was!
To date, I have raised $560 (garage sale), $100 (sold couch on Craigslist), and $40 (sold two Sportsac purses on eBay). I have a half dozen other things on Craigslist and I may also sell one of my handguns this week too. Selling all of these things to raise money sure sure has been an enlightening experience.
I think many people over value the things that they have and assume that if they need to raise some quick cash by selling their stuff, they will be able to get around half of what they originally paid for the item. Not true. Most stuff actually ends up selling for around 10% to 20% of the item's original price. Bummer. This will certainly make me pay more attention to both the stuff that I buy from now on and the price that I pay for said items.
From now on, instead of thinking "wow, that guy is making bank from his garage sale" or "wow, that lady sells a lot of things on CraigsList", I will now think "wow...those people are losing money because when you pay $10 for something and then only recoup $1 or $2 when you go to resell the item, it's like you are throwing the other $8 or $9 out the window".
This really drives home the point that for each item you buy, you at least want to buy it on sale. Hopefully you will get the item at a clearance sale where the price is 75% off the last marked clearance price. Ideally, you will buy the item in very good condition at a garage sale or thrift store for pennies on the dollar.

1/3 of The Way to My Goal...and Some Garage Sale Tips

We had a garage sale today and raked in $560! I am one third of the way to my goal! Yeah!

Here's how we run our garage sales:

• A few years ago we made up some fairly big, neon green signs that simply say "Yard Sale' with an arrow. We put ten of these signs around our neighborhood to drive traffic from the main roads and many people who show up comment on the nice bright signs that they followed to our house.


• I put an advertisement on CraigsList yesterday evening so it would show up high enough on the list that people who are looking last night would see the ad and people who check the site in the morning will also see it.


• We start early. Our usual time to open up our sale is 7am and surprisingly there are usually people waiting earlier than that for us to set up. Amazing. We also close early (around 3pm) because we know from prior sales that traffic drops off dramatically later in the day.


• We only hold the sale on Saturday only. Again, from past experience, the biggest crowd of shoppers shows up early on Saturday morning. Sundays are usually really slow and not worth our time.


• We don't do a lot of pre-pricing but rather set up tables with signs "all items on this table $1", etc. There is nothing more tedious than pricing every little item. Of course the bigger and more expensive things get their own big tag (usually made out of neon index cards).


• We put the "big draw" items in the center of the driveway then place tables around it. This helps people who are "drive by shoppers" see things that may catch their eye and make them stop.


• We are always open to making a deal. Yes I want to make some money from our sale but the other main reason we have garage sales is to get rid of stuff. It's not a bad thing to knock off a dollar or so and/or give a discount when people buy a handful of things. We will happily haggle with buyers but draw the line at super low ball offers.


• One person is in charge of the money...it's less confusing that way.


• We try to make the things we set out for the sale look as nice as possible, even if it means just dusting the item off.


• We have a "free" box. Some stuff I just want to get rid of but don't think anyone will buy so we give some stuff away free.

Overall we had a pretty successful sale and cleared out a big part of our garage. The most surprising thing that happened was when a big bus pulled up and let off a bunch of people to shop--turns out the local senior home makes a regular Saturday "garage sale" run for its residents. Wow.