One Money Design

Interested in making some extra money to help pay off your debt or build savings?  Phil @ PT Money recently reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in contributing to his new FREE eBook: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money.  So I wrote about different ways in which you can make extra money while also building relationships and helping your community!

It doesn’t require anything more than a little bit of brainstorming and motivation to make some extra money.  Phil’s done the brainstorming for you in his eBook.  You just have to download it for FREE and get started!  So, go download Phil’s eBook!  I hope you enjoy my tips.

Money Making Tip #1: Swim Lessons OR any kind of sports or academic lessons!

We all have special skills or talents.  For some it’s athletic and for others it might be academic.  Either way, using these skills can help others as well as make you some extra money.  As an example, I was a collegiate soccer player.  During the of-season I coached competitive youth soccer teams and gave private lessons to youngsters who wanted to accelerate their learning further.  I grossed over $500 per month for coaching a couple of teams and giving private lessons on the weekend.  Not bad especially if that $500 can be applied to building emergency savings or paying extra on debt.  How would I go about it today if I wanted to do the same?

1.  Do some digging and find the major competitive sports clubs in your area.  You can probably do some searching on the internet and find them pretty easy.

2.  Contact the directors and see if they need a coach for one of their youth clubs.  Again, in the competitive leagues, these are paid positions.  I’ve seen some clubs, depending on the age group; pay in excess of $200 per month for two practices and 1 game per week.

3.  Market your background and skills.  Once you’re coaching a team, the private lessons are easy to find for competitive players.  Check around to see what others are charging, but you can probably get at least $20 per hour.

Whether you want to take an academic approach for students, or use athletic talents, I like the idea because you’re helping the community and getting something in return to help achieve your financial goals.

Money Making Tip #2:  Mow your neighbors’ lawns

Another great way to help your local community, connect with others and make some extra money is by starting a yard mowing business.  Did you know that many neighbors are now paying $30 (more or less) for lawn care service per week?  For various reasons, people are just too busy to take care of their lawns and if you have the right equipment you can make some money.  Consider this approach:

1.  Create some flyers that say you’re planning to start a neighborhood lawn mowing business and that you’ll perform the basic lawn care neighbors may be used to getting through a service for a ½ or ¾ of the price. 

2.  Announce you will offer one free mowing per month to the lucky winner of a drawing as a contribution to your customers and neighborhood.

How much extra money could this amount to for you?  Well, 3 lawns each week at ½ the price of a $30 lawn mowing service would be $15 per lawn or $45 total per week.  That amounts to an extra $165 per month (minus the free mowing). 

Your money making possibility increases based on the number of lawns you want to mow each week and also how much you charge.  For someone who is serious about getting out of debt, mowing one lawn per day may just give you the extra boost on your debt snow ball that you need.

Money Making Tip #3:  Change the oil in you neighbors’ cars

Most people don’t change the oil in their own cars these days because they either don’t have the time or don’t have the skills.  There are plenty of quick oil change services around that charge in advance of $30 and that’s where most people in your neighborhood go each month. 

You may not be a mechanic, but do you know how to change the oil in a variety of different types of automobiles?  Perhaps you’ve always changed the oil for your own automobile.  If so, there may be a great opportunity to save your neighbors money and make yourself some extra money. 

As you marketed mowing yards, the same business model could be applied to changing the oil for peoples’ cars.  Personally, I’m not handy when it comes to auto maintenance, so I do end up paying a mechanic much of the time to change my oil.  I would definitely sign up if my qualified neighbor would come to my house and change my oil for half the price, or even ¾ of the price while also saving me a trip to the quick service!

BONUS! - Money Making Tip #4:  Become a neighborhood event organizer

Organizing and holding a quarterly neighborhood gathering can make you some extra money and help connect the community.  One of the things we love about our neighborhood is the quarterly gathering.  Hamburgers, hotdogs, cookies and all kinds of treats are offered to families at a reasonable price.  On a day with nice weather, there will be over a hundred people getting together to get to know others in the community and have some fun.

So, your opportunity is to organize the event.  How would you go about this idea?  Perhaps determine what a hamburger catering service might cost which is what our neighborhood uses.  Try to list out the catering as well as any other costs and shop around for the best deals possible.  Then, determine what your sign up fee is per family and organize a small marketing campaign with flyers. 

If you can create a good business model for hosting these types of events you could offer it in nearby neighborhoods.  Most people don’t have the time to organize such events and if you can create a reusable model, it can become quite marketable.  You might become known as the go – to person for hosting quarterly neighborhood gatherings!

What’s your opportunity in terms of making money?  It’s tough to tell on this one unless you do some figuring and shopping around on catering.  But expenses could be cut, if you’re willing to become the hamburger person and supply all the food (hint:  food clubs) yourself.  I think there is some potential here to make good money per neighborhood and possibly make enough to give back to the community with a special gift or donation.

Note:  Does your neighborhood have a Homeowner’s Association (HOA)?  Well, why not become the contracted quarterly event planner for the HOA?

What ideas do you have to make extra money while helping your community?

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