Milking the Dollar$

If you’re like me, you can never have enough side gigs going.  Unfortunately, that’s what it takes to get by these days.  However, I know I’m not not alone when it comes to searching for side income.

I get asked on a pretty regular basis how I make money on the side.  This has only become more frequent since the market went south.  It seems like everyone needs to make an extra buck.

Today, I was fortunate enough to come across an article featuring 20 different ways to make an extra $100/month.  I was happy to find a lot of variety in the article, especially when considering availability and individual skills.  Maybe you will be inspired!

20 ways to make an extra $100/month

1. Assistant (in an office)
2. Auction seller (think eBay)
3. Catering staff
4. Cleaner (this is actually has a lot of potential)
5. Clinical trial participant
6. Computer whiz (if you got the skills, this would be a great source of alternative income)
7. Convention center worker (always needed in larger locales)
8. Editor
9. Handyman
10. Mystery shopper
11. Paper deliver (you can possibly make way more than $100 doing this on the side)
12. Pizza deliver (another great side job)
13. Plasma seller
14. Pooper scooper (just read the article)
15. Professional shopper
16. Part-time retail
17. Part-time teaching
18. Temping
19. Tutoring
20. Writing

Out of all of these, I only do auction selling on the side.  Annualized, I probably make a about $100/month or more selling on eBay and Craigslist, so I can vouch that it has potential.  The others though could probably be made to work just as well.

Other sources

Here are some of the ways I make extra cash that were not listed in the article.  My most lucrative one is definitely selling on eBay, but I have found a few other areas cash in on.

• Collecting interest: I make about $50-$75/month from interest alone.  My rewards checking account itself pays about $30 of that.  If you don’t have one, look into them because you are just wasting your money in a regular checking account.
• Credit card rewards:  I am about to receive another $100 check from Chase, in addition to a $20 one from Discover.  The sweetest part is that I have never paid either 1 cent in interest or fees.
• Trading stocks:  I make pretty good money doing this on the side.  However, I must warn you: the stock market is not for the faint of heart!  You can loose all your money before you make a single dime .
• Recycling:  If you know where a lot of cans are, you can always make a little pocket change recycling aluminum.
• Blogging:  Yes, I make money doing this!  Not a lot, but hopefully that will change.

The easiest way

All of these can make you extra cash, but the easiest method is not even listed – saving!  It is way easier to save $100 than to make it.  Everywhere you spend money is also a potential area where cutbacks can be made.  Remember, defense is greater than offense!

While my intention is to focus this blog on strategy and philosophy rather than individual products and services, sometimes I find opportunities to “work the system” which I believe are not only newsworthy, but will also help save you money. With that in mind, I want to talk about a way to use a special offer from NET10 to save a few bucks or even make some on the side.

About NET10

For those of you who don’t know, NET10 (http://www.net10.com/new_customer.jsp) is a prepaid cell phone company brought to you by Tracfone.  Being prepaid, users don’t have to sign any contracts, nor do they have to worry about hidden fees or taxes.  In addition, with NET10 there is no activation fee, which can be done easily over the phone or online at their website.  A summary of NET10’s rates can be seen below:

• $0.10 per minute for local, long distance, and roaming
• $0.05 per text message
• $0.05 extra per minute for international calls to over 60 locations worldwide

As you can see, these rates are very reasonable when compared to other prepaid services.  However, I will show you how to cut that rate significantly for up to 12,000 minutes if you act now.

Working the system

This method of getting cheap NET10 airtime is simple.  The process involves using NET10’s own promotional codes combined with their special offer to get a phone + $30 phone card to your door for $22 (tax may apply in your area). Below I have detailed how this scheme works:

1. Click on the link above or google “NET10″ to direct yourself to their website.
2. Click on the “Buy Phones & More” at the top of the page
3. Now enter your zip code (Note: The two phones that allow you to do this are only available in certain areas. If your area is not compatible with these phones, enter an alternative zip code. For example, these phones are not available where I live, so I entered the zip code 72227. Both phones are available in this area, and I can order them. However, I have to remember to change my zip code back to the one I receive my mail at during the check out process.
4. A list of different phone options should appear after you verify the zip code. The phones you are looking for are the LG 300 and the Motorola v176. Notice it states in their descriptions that each “includes a NET10 300 minute air card.”
5. Click add to cart for whichever phone you like. On the next screen click “proceed to checkout.”
6. On the proceeding screen your order should be displayed. Where it asks you if you have a promotional code type “34567” and click submit. Now enter “44477” and hit submit again. Notice your final price is down to $22.
7. Click “proceed to checkout” and fill in your credit card information. Select Fedex 3 Day Shipping on the next screen and fill out all the information. (Note: The free shipping code should automatically apply)
8. Submit your order and repeat as necessary!

Things to know

Before I leave you at this, there are a few things to know about this particular scheme.

• You can only order two phones at a time. Once, you get a confirmation email from NET10, you should be good to go for 2 more.
• There is apparently a limit on the number of phones one can order. Rumor has it that number is 40.
• Both of these phones are reconditioned.  The ones I have received, however, looked brand new.
• In addition to the free 300 minutes/60 day card, these phones also include another 300 minutes/60 days of service upon activation.  All together, that equals 600 minutes and 120 days of service for each phone you purchase.
  

Profiting from this offer

There are two ways to benefit financially from purchasing these phones in the manner I described.  Each are detailed below:

1. Saving money:  If you are a NET10 customer (0r will be in the future), the money saving potential is obvious. Getting a $30 card for $22 alone cuts the price per minute rate down to $0.073.  However, if you sell the phone (which will fetch you around $10 profit on eBay as of now), the price per minute drops down to around $0.04!
2. Making money:  The idea behind making money with this offer involves selling both the phone and refill card separately.  Expect to get around $13-18 for the phone and $25-28 for the card pin if you sell both on eBay for a total per phone profit of around $12 after eBay and Paypal fees.  That might not sound like a lot, but if you get 40 phones that’s close to $500 in profit!

Final thoughts

As you will see, I’m a firm believer in thinking outside the box to exploit any available offer that can make or save you money.  This whole NET10 phone deal is just that – unorthodox, yet potentially lucrative!  I hope you enjoyed the post and take advantage of these low cost phones while they last.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please post a comment and I will be happy to assist you through the process.