8 Ways to Make Money Online when You're Unemployed

When you receive the dreaded pink slip it is easy to panic. Sure there is unemployment but it is generally not even close to what you were making at your old job. There are ways to make extra money online while looking for another job, however. These sights are all freelance-type websites, meaning they don't take out taxes and generally don't report any income in the US until you make $600 or more. Rules change, so ask the individual company to verify.

MTurk

Mechanical Turk is an Amazon site matching up human workers with jobs to be completed. The rate of pay varies according to the assignment, from a few pennies for testing a weblink to several dollars for larger jobs. They are largely repetitive tasks that cannot be completed by machine.

ChaCha

ChaCha is a service that answers questions that customers text to the service. Work at home guides are paid to research and provide correct answers to these text messages.

KGB

KGB is another company that answers text messages. Special Agents are paid a flat rate per text message (usually $0.10) to generate accurate answers for whatever questions customers come up with. This company pays once a month at present with plans to pay more often in the future.

MyLot

Mylot pays for people to post threads and respond to threads on their forum. If you love to chat on message boards this is an excellent way to do something you love and receive a little money for it.

Associated Content

Associated Content allows people to post articles, fiction, poetry and slideshows as well as audio-video files in exchange for payment. Not all items qualify for an up-front payment, but all items that do not violate their terms of service are eligible for performance payments, which are calculated by the number of page views an item receives. Users are ranked using a clout status of 1 to 10, with bonus cash on the performance payments as the reward on the clout ranks of 7 and higher.

Demand Studios

Demand Studios is another excellent home for writers. The entry requirments are more strict but the up-front payments are considerably higher than those at Associated Content. If you can meet their stringent article requirements you will have the opportunity to make some tangible money at this company.

eBay

eBay is a classic website for selling unneeded items. Items can be sold using an auction format or a buy-it-now format. Users are rated with feedback after every transaction, with account closure the penalty for sufficient negative feedback.

Craigslist

Craigslist is another website for posting items and services for sale or barter. The rules are looser here so be alert to scams if you are using this site to buy or sell.

With a little research and determination you can make enough money online to help you through unemployment or financial setback. You may even decide that one of these avenues should BE your new job! Good luck!