HOW FAR HAVE YOU GONE TO MAKE MONEY?

By Jill Dickinson

I would like take a pool of hands who have ever tried any crazy extreme ways to make extra cash? If you are like me, as a kid you did everything from babysitting to paper routes and from car hopping at the local root beer stand to selling cards door-to-door.

As an adult, it has been a little different. I am both a stay-at-home mom and the wife of an extreme entrepreneur. He hasn’t let anything stand in his way of trying to realize his dreams in the Seattle high-tech way. With company after company, one selling for 8.6 Million and another making us broke, I had to jump in at times and try to pull us through tough financial times on a shoestring (and with kids in tow) to make our mortgage and feed our children. I always had a little idea that I could run with and make money in a flash.

First, I took eBay and craigslist by storm and not only sold everything of value I owned when we were at our bottom just to get by, but I took it further. I figured out what things were worth and how you could sell them and I started going to every thrift store, Goodwill, yard sale and discount store I could find to resell items. I got so good at it that I would even go through my friend’s things to consign. Do you know many people who can cash in 1,500 dollars in one day at their yard sale? I can and now I have at least three of them a year to get rid of thrift store and second-hand extras that haven’t sold.

Here’s my latest and greatest idea. We’ve all heard of a house swap. We’ve all thought that if things get bad with the economy, we could rent out our homes instead of going down any other route. We all go on vacations and leave our houses empty while we charge up bills while we are away.

What about renting your house out as a vacation rental for a week, two weeks or more? Do it as a one-time deal in a pinch or consider doing it one week here and there to use it as a savings cushion. I just did. My husband was out of his year Microsoft contract at the end of May and we were going to get behind if our 3,000 dollar mortgage didn’t get paid. So, I thought: let’s stick the house on craigslist, pack up and go to Grandmas and rent it out for a couple of weeks for almost 200 dollars per night as a vacation oasis for tourists. We are right up from the Space needle, perfect location, perfect Seattle craftsman, perfect destination spot.

It worked! We did a two week rental, which paid our mortgage and the kids had the greatest time on their “vacation” at Grandma’s in the process! The key is to clean your house so it looks staged, be Zen about having others stay in our home (say ohm…and let go!) and consider it a savings plan if it works. Always do a mini-lease and a damage deposit is a must, use your best judgment and have fun with it.

Be open to making money in unusual ways and in unique places and when the ideas come – don’t forget to take a close look at each one and see it they can work for you and your family.

Jill Dickinson is a freelance writer, Mompreneur, wife of entrepreneur of the Software/Internet variety. She lives under the umbrella of Seattle with her husband, two children, Collie-mix dog, and favorite coffee shop. Be sure to check out her blog, Mom Bite.

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