I was looking for ways to make extra money, but didn't want the usual jobs. Being just twenty one at the time, I was willing to try almost anything. So when my brother's towing business got a contract to repossess cars, I was ready to be a "repo man." Soon I was prowling in the night with my brother, looking for and legally "stealing" cars. He could only pay for each car we took, so we had a lot of motivation to find them and get them. At various times we were chased by a crowd, had the window of the tow truck pulled out, and had a guns pulled on us. It was fun at the time, but the following are some less dangerous ways to make extra money. Selling Things To Make Extra Money Camping at a desert hot spring one winter, my wife and I met a man who sold used stuffed animals on the side of the highway. He buys the stuffed animals at thrift stores. At first, he even got the stores to give him the animals, with the agreement that he would return with the money or the animals the next week. Some small towns sell a vendor's permit cheaply ($18/year, for example). Otherwise he just set up his stand until he was chased out of the county. He was never fined, and claims he sold $4,000 worth his first month. Perhaps he was exaggerating, but because of him we sold used stuffed animals in our flea market stands with some success. Walking sticks were a better seller. One summer I sold over a thousand dollars worth alongside our other items. I made them quickly, adding handgrips made from recycled leather jackets. They cost about 50 cents to make, and sold for $6 to $26. While at the flea markets, we discovered why so many people were pulling things out of the piles of stuff on the curbs of our town during spring clean-up. People throw away good radios, furniture, toys and more. Others run around gathering it up to clean and sell at flea markets. It cost them gas for the car or truck, and usually around $10 per day for a spot at the market. Business Investing To Make Extra Money I used to put up the cash to buy cars for a couple different friends. They knew cars, I had cash. My brother saw a repossessed truck for sale for $900, for example, and knew it was worth at least $2000. I put up the money, the truck sold for $2100, netting us $900 after expenses. We split the profit. $450 on a $900 investment in ten days is a decent return. An acquaintance of mine used to find fantastic buys on used restaurant equipment. If he had looked for more than just what he needed for his little coffee shop, he could have easily made a few hundred dollars extra money each week, just buying and quickly reselling ovens, coolers and display cases. As my own example shows, you don't need to know much about the value of things to make money investing in them for resale. You just have to know someone who does know enough. Then you just put up the money and collect your share of the profits. This has to be one of the easier ways to make extra money. |
