Time to make most of what we already have
The current belt-tightening is just another example of how the economy seems to work. First comes the boom, when people spend more than they should on things that don't make them happy. Then comes the bust, when everyone gets scared, stops spending, and believes the world is ending.
And it doesn't have to impress us. We all have more resources than we realize or use. As the biblical prophet Elijah said to a starving widow, "What hast thou in the house?" We can all create our own micro-economy, irrespective of what is going on in the country, using the proverbial pots of oil we didn't know we had.
For example, do you have a home that is costing you money and, perhaps, reducing in value right now? Make money out of it. Your driveway or garage can be rented out on Web sites such as Craigslist.org or Parkatmyhouse.com. You can rent a room, or rooms, out to students, visiting professors or local business people. In cities where space is scarce, you can even rent out your loft or basement for storage.
Simply having a lot of spare time on your hands is a valuable, saleable commodity that others would pay for. One of the divisions in Western society now is between the haves and have-nots of spare time. If you are time-rich, then why not offer your services to busy professionals to sit in their home on a weekday waiting for the plumber or for a sofa to be delivered?
You can even make money out of bizarre things such as lost luggage. The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama auctions off lost luggage from around the world every week. Anyone can visit, buy a suitcase, and sell it and its contents on eBay! And what about selling your snapshots online? Various Web photo agencies have sprung up that will take good photos from amateurs. Try the UK-based Picturenation.co.uk, which will sell your photos, or Scoopt.com which will even take on snaps from cell phones if they are of news events.
The Internet has created hundreds more money-making opportunities and there are many more to come. For pocket money you can take part in online surveys such as Toluna.com, get paid to search with sites such as Winzy.com, use cash-back sites such as Ebates.com to get money back when you buy goods online.
You can be the first to comment on this story.