Looking to boost your income?

If you are like me, the economy these days may be prompting you to seek extra income here and there. I recently found an article that was in Woman’s Day magazine way back in 2009. My mom had given it to me right after I had gotten married and was struggling to make ends meet. I’ve pulled some helpful tips from the article to share with you guys. As of right now, I haven’t tried all of these for myself (though I definitely plan to try a few more) so if you try them out and would be so kind – please share some feedback and let me know how it went for you!

Sell your books:

Have books lying around that you can’t seem to sell or don’t need anymore? Check out Cash4Books.net. It’s a family-owned book-buying and selling company that has been going since 2004.

1.      Type in the book’s ISBN number (on the back cover or on the copyright page in the front) and it will tell you if they are buying that book and how much cash you can get for it.

2.      Complete the transaction online.

3.      Print out a prepaid mailing label.

4.      Pack up those books and send them in.

In just a few days, you should either receive a check in the mail or a deposit to your PayPal account. But you don’t have to stop there. If you scour garage sale and thrift stores – you might find more money-making books. Be sure to check which books are selling before you buy though. If your mobile phone is internet-enabled, you can check cash4books.net/mobile while shopping.

*WARNING* While you might hit the jackpot buying a book super cheap to resell at a high profit, remember there are condition requirements. So get familiar with them before you head out.

http://www.cash4books.net/

Join e-clubs:

Most retailers, restaurant chains, supermarkets, drugstores and travel-related companies offer some kind of rewards program to encourage customer loyalty. These rewards come in the forms of discounts, rebates or even free products. So if it’s free – join it! Most times you get something special on your birthday. Check the websites of your favorite restaurants and retailers to sign up. Also look at PriorityClubRewards.com where you can earn points towards free night stays at IHG hotels, air miles, cruises, electronics and more. http://www.priorityclub.com/hotels/us/en/home

Cold Stone Creamery gives you a rewards card and will send you a promotion for free ice cream on your birthday. http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/promotions.html

DisneyParks.com – you might get a free entrance to a Disney theme park for your birthday. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/

*WARNING* Merchants and service providers use e-clubs for sales and marketing purposes. This means you’re likely to receive a LOT of emails from them, so you might want to consider getting a separate email account just for the e-clubs.

Freelancing:

Elance.com is an online workplace where small businesses connect with qualified professionals to get small jobs done. Writers, programmers, graphic designers, marketers or whatever skills you might have to offer – you can bid on jobs and get paid to do what you do best. https://www.elance.com/

Yahoo! Voices (previously known as Associated Content) is an open content network that lets anyone submit content on any subject. If the editors like it, they’ll pay you for it and give you bonus payments based on the number of views the article receives. http://voices.yahoo.com/

*WARNING* Make sure, if you have a daytime employer, that they don’t have any restrictions on you freelancing.

 Auto Insurance discounts:

If you have a teenage driver that is bringing home great report cards, check and see if your auto insurance company offers discounts for such a thing. They might knock as much as 10% off the top if your teen maintains a GPA of 3.0. Or perhaps someone in your household is a teacher? Some insurance companies give discounts to credentialed teachers (too bad they don’t recognize homeschool moms as teacher’s right??) and educational administrators. Some insurance companies might even have a discount for those that have a Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or science related field. And lastly, most insurers will give a discount for having all vehicles on the same company policy.  

*WARNING* Don’t assume that the insurance company will automatically give you every discount available. Speak up and ask about anything you think you might be qualified for that they could offer. Ask for a complete list and remember that not all companies offer the same things.

 Sell your Cell:

Most Americans these days tend to get a new cell phone every 12 months or so. But how can you get money back for the ones laying around the house taking up space? You might be able to sell it on eBay.com or list it on Craigslist.com. But there are other websites out there you might try. For instance – Flipswap.com. Just input the brand and model to see the buyers are willing to pay. You might try CellForCash.com too but I couldn’t get it to pull up on my computer. Both sites are supposed to let you print a prepaid mailing label for sending in your phone. http://flipswap.com/

*WARNING* Before you mail it, make sure you remove the auxiliary memory card, reset the password to 0000 and delete all of your information from the phone or remove its SIM card.

 Selling CDs, DVDs, and video games:

Check out SecondSpin.com. http://www.secondspin.com/ I don’t know much about how their program works. I think it’s similar to the cell phones and books websites.

My mother sent me some other helpful sites that might interest you about saving money and helpful hints:
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

http://frugalliving.about.com/

http://www.livingonadime.com/

 Hope this was helpful! Keep reading and following for future tips and possibly reviews to come.