There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to make money without a job. It wasn’t always necessary to have a job to get by in this world. Only in the last century or so, has working away from home been seen as the normal situation for those in the workforce.
Until the Industrial Revolution a couple of centuries ago, there were many more people making a living at home doing whatever needed to be done, than those who had employment. Blacksmithing, accounting, banking, tailoring, shopkeeping and more, were common employment, but more were engaged in farming in a way that’s obsolete in today’s economy. Growing and making most of the things they needed, they bartered or sold their excess for other things. Cash from these sales brought money to buy what wasn’t available otherwise, like salt, sugar and tobacco.
Today, every thing we need and use, own and borrow, is measured in money, so it would be difficult to go back to that way of living. Not many of us have the room or the knowledge necessary to raise our vegetables, meat, wool and wood for heat.
If you’ve lost your job or need to increase your income, that old fashioned way of thinking can make a difference. A quest to make money rather than find a job can help.
Here are thirteen ways to make money without a job. Your situation may be different so not all of them will work for you, but something will, or will jumpstart your creativity.
Do you do needlework? Offer to do custom work. For instance, knitted or crocheted items can be marketed to grandparents for their grandchildren. Craft or yarn shops need people to knit and/or crochet swatches of yarns so the customers can see what they look like. Creating for consignment shops near the holidays can be quite lucrative.
Sell what you can grow. Whether that’s herbs or Christmas trees or tomatoes or native hay, plan to have an excess and sell what you don’t need for yourself. The more the excess, the more you have to sell. Be sure to check local laws. Selling or exchanging a few pounds of apples or a dozen decorative ears of corn won’t be a problem most of the time, but be sure first.
Recycle in seriousness. Not just aluminum cans (although do include those!) but copper, aluminum, brass and so on. You may have some on hand already, in the form of old copper wiring or aluminum wheel covers or gadgets. Keep an eye out at garage sales for things like brass lamps and ashtrays, beaten copper decorations, aluminum pots and pans. Familiarize yourself with the way these metals look so you can spot them. Stay up to date on prices so you won’t buy an item then find out you can’t sell it for as much as you paid.
Offer your services to others. This can include pet sitting, shoveling snow, raking leaves, washing windows, ironing, detailing car interiors, watering a garden or houseplants when the owner is on vacation, and so on. People who work all day are often glad to pay someone else to do some of these things for them. Be that someone.
Do odd jobs for businesses. Stores need people to offer samples, usually a couple of days a week. Some stores need someone to clean the parking lot once or twice a week, or to shovel snow from the sidewalks in front of office buildings. Set up displays or clean the office.
Be a garage sale. That’s not a typo. You have things that you don’t need any more and you probably can find a lot more than you think. Resell, too. Go to garage sales and be very picky about what you buy at what price. Some things don’t sell because it’s the wrong time of year, or because they need to be cleaned up or minor repairs need to be done. If it’s legal in your area, dumpster dive or “sidewalk shop” (go through neighborhoods the night before trash pickup). There are many good items bound for the landfill. Rescue them; someone wants them and will pay you for them.
Work on commission selling things for others. EBay comes to mind, but there are other options. Craigslist, a local swap shop or friends and family can be the buyers for things that someone else wants to sell but doesn’t want to deal with the details. Charge a commission based on a percentage agreed upon ahead of time.
Care for children. You must be trustworthy and probably only people who know you will hire you for this. Pick up children after school and keep them until their parents get home from work, or take them to school in the mornings. Parents whose schedules don’t mesh with school will appreciate this service. Also, be free for babysitting at odd times, overnight or whenever needed. Again, check the local laws to make sure you’re not offering anything illegal. In some states, you’re allowed to babysit regularly for a certain number of children without a license.
Seasonal opportunities: Crafts of all kinds sell when people are looking for gifts. Woodwork, needlework, paper crafts like handmade cards and gift tags, quilts large and small, leatherwork and on and on. Look for craft shows, but don’t overlook selling by word of mouth. Your costs will be lower and you could sell just as much. Other seasonal opportunities include decorating (and undecorating afterwards) houses for a holiday, delivering gifts, making costumes and wrapping gifts, delivering phone books or flyers, taking polls or working elections.
Running errands and driving services can bring in some money. You can take elderly people shopping, do the shopping for them and deliver the goods and run other errands for, not only the elderly, but busy moms and dads.
If you have a digital camera, you may be able to sell photographs to microstock agencies. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to have a good eye for unique or interesting scenes. After agreeing to their terms of service, upload your pictures, specifying keywords so that potential customers can find them.
If you’re musically inclined, sing or play for functions and gatherings for a fee. Make a tape, put out the word to caterers, party and local events planners. Don’t forget family reunions, birthdays, anniversaries, graduation parties, wedding receptions and even funerals. Make yourself known anywhere you can.
Write. Here on Associated Content and many other places on the internet are opportunities to write. If you know a topic well, write about it. If you’re interested in a topic, research it then write about it. As you search for writing opportunities, you’ll find more and more places that need content. Don’t give up if you don’t succeed at first. It takes a little experience to know what to write about and how to write it for the internet.
And there you have it – the first few hundred ideas on how to make money without a job. The rest is up to you.
