Eight Ways to Make & Save Money

Since I stay at home full time with my daughter, I am not able to bring home a regular income like my husband does. Even though I don't work an actual job, there are still plenty of ways I am able to help my family either make or save money. Here I've listed 8 different ways to make or save money. I hope that some of these ideas can help you out, too:

1. Write easy how-to articles, reviews, or advice articles at Associated Content. Although some writers here on AC earn good money, others average between $5 - $10 per article. Even though $5 is not a ton of money, articles of 400 words or more don't have to take long to write, and each $5 adds up, especially if you write a lot of articles. Besides upfront payment for articles, you also earn money on every click your articles receive. The more articles, the more clicks, the more money every month you get deposited into your Paypal account from the Performance Payment.

2. Blog for money. If you have a blog that's old enough and traffic-y enough, you may be able to get paid to blog. Right now I use two different paid-to-blog sites: Blogitive and PayPerPost. Each blog post that I complete for them gets me at least $5, which is not bad money at all, considering that a post of 100+ words probably will take me only 5 - 10 minutes to complete. The most I've been paid for a blog post so far has been $20, but even the minimum $5 that I've received is not bad since it's money and that ads up quickly. Each blog company allows me to post a maximum two posts per day for them, although some days there aren't any blog offers that interest me, while other days there are several. You can see how the potential is pretty good for earning a bit of money every day. The slow- and steady-ness of it really helps out with the finances.

3. Use Sunday paper coupons with coupon programs online. My article: How to Get Free & Almost Free Items Every Week was very recently published, and includes 6 steps to getting free stuff and almost free stuff by participating in free after rebate programs and sales + coupons. Check my article for the details to using Sunday paper coupons and online coupon programs to get all kinds of pantry, freezer and bathroom products for free or almost free.

4. Sign up with Freecycle.org. Although you may not have a local freecycle group in your area, you won't know until you look. Being a member of freecycle gets me many free items, and allows me to share items that I no longer need/use/want. Tomorrow morning I have an appointment to pick up some girls clothes for my daughter to wear next year from another freecycler! And I have gotten lots of other girls clothes for my daughter, and also a hutch, a vintage lamp, and lots more from Freecycle.org.

5. Check Craigslist's FREE section. Find your city on Craigslist.org, and there should be a free section somewhere on that page. Denver's Craigslist almost always has a list of new free stuff posted daily, and you don't have to sign up for that site like you do for Freecycle. From Craigslist, I received a free Tony Little Gazelle last year, right when I needed one the most! But you do have to respond extremely fast to free ads, though, if you want something from Craigslist. My Gazelle was promised to someone else before me; they just didn't show up to pick it up and I was next in line.

6. Regularly Shop at & Sell to Thrift/Consignment Shops. Everyone knows about this one, but sometimes we forget to check these places regularly. I have found tons of stuff at these places that I wanted to buy at a regular store and got them for next to nothing. And consignment shops actually buy your items from you if they are in good condition. Here in Denver, we have a Plato's Closet and a Once Upon a Child, just to name a few consignment shops that pay cash for gently used items.

7. Sign up with PaperBackSwap. Post a few books you wouldn't mind giving away, and you'll receive credit to order any book in the PaperBackSwap system for free. Each book you give away gives you one free book to claim. It's great for those books you no longer want as well as for the books you do want.

8. Make and sell homemade items at a Farmer's Market or on Etsy. Although I don't yet make anything that I sell at Farmer's Markets or online at Etsy, I know people that do. My mom, for one, makes and sells her own goat milk soap. She sells it not only at a Farmer's Market every Saturday but she also has sold it to several stand-alone stores where she lives. And she's making a nice profit from her business. Another friend of mine uses her photography and scrap booking skills to make very attractive cards that she's able to sell in local gift shops. Another internet friend of mine has an extremely successful shop on Etsy selling her original artwork and also prints of originals, dolls, pins, tote bags, cards and more. All you and I need is a good idea, to create a buzz about our product and sell it!

Although there are probably many, many more ways to make and save money without a real job, these 8 are at least a place to start if you need to do so.