17 Summer Part-Time Jobs To Get You Extra Cash

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Need some extra money this summer? Here are some summer part-time jobs that can net you serious cash! Need some extra money this summer? Here are some summer part-time jobs that can net you serious cash!

Summer is a time for vacations and relaxation. For many people, it is also a time to earn extra money. Getting a part-time job in the summer is an opportunity to make some extra money during the summer.

A part-time summer job is a temporary job during the summer, typically in June, July, and August. Usually, students and teachers, who are off of school during those months, are the ones who work a part-time summer job to earn some extra money.

Summer part-time jobs are a great way to gain work experience and learn about the working world. In addition, if you are a student, working a part-time job in the summer can help you save up some money to give you extra cash to spend throughout the year and supplement your frugal student budget.

17 Summer Part-Time Jobs to Consider

1. Work in Retail as a Retail Sales Associate

A part-time retail job is a great way to make some extra money and work around your school schedule. You may have heard about part-time retail jobs from friends or seen them advertised in the newspaper. Some part-time retail jobs are even just seasonal and only last for a few months. However, the hours are usually flexible, and you can work as many hours as you want.

A part-time retail job is a great way to make some extra money and work around your school schedule. Some retail

2. Restaurant Worker

The summer months are a time of celebration and relaxation, but it also means hard work for many people. The summer season is a busy time for many restaurants, with people coming in to eat out daily.

Summer is a busy time for many restaurants, with people coming in to eat out daily. As a result, many restaurants will hire extra people for the summer months, and some restaurants will have more people working on the weekends.

Working in a restaurant during the summer is a great way to make some extra money. Some people work in the kitchen and some work as servers. They work hard, but they also get to spend time in the summer sun.

3. Camp Counselor

Many people in the United States spend their summers as camp counselors. Camp counselors are responsible for teaching children about nature, sports, and other activities. Counselors also have to be very patient and nurturing as they work with children.

There are part-time job opportunities in different day camps or summer learning programs and events. (You can also work in a sleepover summer camp, but that is not part-time!).

The summer is a time when many kids have the opportunity to camp. Camp counselors play a crucial role in the camp experience. They help the campers make friends and have fun. They also teach the kids new skills and help them grow as people.

Camp counselors are the backbone of the camp experience. Although it is a hard job with a lot of responsibility, it can be fun for the right person. Camp counselors get to experience camp and do all the fun things that campers do.

4. Bartender

A bartender’s summer job is a great way to earn money for the future. The job is a lot of fun, and you get to meet new people all the time. In addition, you get to serve drinks and talk to the customers.

The job is also a lot of hard work, and you have to be on your feet the whole time. You have to be a good listener and make sure that the customers are always happy. The job is a lot of fun, and it is a great way to earn

Bartending is a great summer job for anyone who wants to make some money and have a lot of fun. It’s an excellent job for people who enjoy talking to people and making drinks. It’s a great way to make some money, and the best part is that you can drink on the job!

5. Amusement Park

The amusement park is one of the most popular destinations for families with children. When you think of amusement parks, you may think of fun rides, cotton candy, and sunburns. But what about the people who work there?

Amusement park workers are responsible for keeping the rides safe and operational and ensuring that all visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience. They are also responsible for maintaining the park clean and orderly. Working at an amusement park can be a gratifying experience.

It’s a fun environment with a lot of energy and a lot of different people. In addition, it’s a great way to meet new people and make new friends. But, it can also be a very demanding job. There are long hours and a lot of physical work, and you must constantly deal with large groups of people and kids.

6. Lifeguard

The summer is quickly approaching, and many people are already looking for summer jobs. One popular summer job is as a lifeguard. Lifeguard jobs are a great way to make some extra cash and get a tan all at the same time. Trained and licensed lifeguards can find lifeguard jobs at public beaches, pools, and rec centers.

A lifeguard’s job is one of the most important jobs that one can have, and it is a job that is not always easy. It is a job that requires a lot of patience and a lot of time. It requires you to be on your feet for long periods. But, most importantly, while lifeguarding, you must be able and willing to give your total attention to the job. People’s lives are in your hands, and it is a job that you must take seriously.

7. Office Job

Offices aren’t exactly the fun in the sun jobs that usually are part of the summer part-time jobs list, but many offices hire part-time workers in the summer jobs to help with mundane tasks and to gain office experience. That can be an excellent opportunity to see what working in a specific industry look like.

In addition, some offices prefer to hire interns for unpaid positions, which may not be an option for everyone but can be a good advantage for someone looking to get into a specific industry or workplace eventually.

8. Teach a Summer Class

Summer is quickly approaching, and the kids are out of school. While most people are looking forward to the summer break, teachers look forward to the summer class. In addition, summer classes are a great way to make some extra money during the summer.

Summer is a great time to take a break from the daily grind. However, if you are looking to keep your skills fresh, teaching a summer class is a great way to do so. In addition, teaching a summer class is a great way to keep your skills fresh and make some extra money to help pay for your expenses.

9. Father or Mother’s Helper

Being a mother’s helper is an excellent job if you look for the flexible scheduling that summer part item jobs offer you. Since many parents have their children home more often in the summer months, many parents choose to hire someone to help them out with their children.

Getting a job as a mother’s helper is a great way to make extra cash while watching children but often doesn’t require you to have complete responsibility for someone else’s children. For example, you can help parents take kids to the pool or park or, in general, provide an extra pair of hands.

10. Babysitter

Many working parents find themselves without their usual childcare arrangements during the summer. They need a babysitter to fill in the gaps of their regular childcare. Working as a babysitter during those hours can be a great money-making opportunity. If you have a flexible schedule and can cover those gaps- you can be in high demand during those summer months.

Babysitting is very rewarding and can make you quite a bit of money and give you a lot of flexibility. If you are babysitting the right age kids, you can also have many downtimes to work on your schoolwork (summer courses, for example) or whatever else you want to do. It can be physically and emotionally demanding, but it has a lot of perks as well. There are many hours of flexibility and air conditioning!

11. Hospitality and Tourism

The hospitality and tourism industries are exploding this time of year. With lots of people on vacation and going out to enjoy themselves, hospitality and tourist attractions need all the help they can get. Many of these places look for temporary workers to cover shifts these months and supplement their regular workers.

That is particularly true in high-tourist destinations. If you have a specific tourist city that you would like to visit, check out the job listing at all their attractions and hospitality services and see if you can get a part-time summer job that will allow you also to enjoy the sights and have a vacation you wouldn’t have ordinary have.

12. Landscaping

Landscaping jobs are often available to those interested in a physical job outside, in the sun, and offer a sense of accomplishment.

Landscaping jobs are often available to those interested in a physical job outside, in the sun, and offer a sense of accomplishment. Landscaping jobs are often open to those interested in a physical job outside, in the sun, and offer a sense of accomplishment. In addition, landscaping is a great way to earn income while being outdoors. It can be a physically demanding job, but it is a great way to stay healthy and keep in shape.

13. Golf Caddy

Golf caddies are an integral part of the game of golf. They are responsible for carrying the golfer’s clubs and helping the golfer to find the hole. Golf courses see an influx of players in the summer months and need more caddies to help the golfers play. It is a physical job but can net you some excellent tips, is pretty low stress, and can have flexible hours, making it a great summer part-time job.

14. Swimming Instructor

If you’re looking for a job this summer, you might want to consider becoming a swim instructor. Swim instructors are in high demand in the summer because many people want to learn how to swim. In addition, there are many different levels of swim instruction to teach people of all ages and levels of ability.

You will need to be officially certified and licensed to teach swimming. However, if you can find kids to teach (either in your pool or theirs), this can be a very lucrative part-time job for the summer.

15. Pool Maintenance

Pool maintenance is a job that can be both enjoyable and challenging. There are many different aspects of pool maintenance that need to be done to keep the pool clean and safe for use. For example, a variety of chemicals need to be used to keep the pool clear, and there are also a variety of tools that need to be used to keep the pool clean.

Pool maintenance is a job that can be both enjoyable and challenging. You will need to know how to clean and maintain pools properly, and you may have to purchase some of your equipment to get started. However, you can work on your schedule and at your own pace and can make a nice amount of money in a short amount of time.

16. Tutoring

Summer is a time for kids to relax and have fun. However, not all kids have the opportunity to take a break from school. Some kids are still in school, while others need to catch up on work and learn during the summer months to keep up academically. That is where you come in; tutoring kids during the summer can be a great money-maker, especially for teachers who have the summer off. A good tutor whom kids like and who teaches well can charge a lot of money, and you can take as many or as few clients as you want.

Tutoring is also a job that you can do from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a computer, a reliable internet connection, and a few hours of spare time. You can make a decent hourly wage, and you can work as little or as much as you want.

17. Petsitter

Many people choose the summertime to go away on vacation. That means that lots of people are looking for pet sitters to watch their pets while they travel. Parents often hire a pet sitter to come to take care of their pets while they are gone. A pet sitter will feed their pet, walk them, clean up after them, and make sure they are safe. If you can have the pets board in your home, that is another great way to make a lot of money for a small amount of work in the summer (and you can do it while doing another job or taking some summer courses).

Working a Summer Part-Time Job

Summer is a great time to experience different job opportunities that you may not otherwise have a chance to take. Summer part-time jobs can be a perfect time to make money and build your resume with different experiences. Since many of these opportunities are outdoor jobs, you can get your sun-fix in and make some extra income, all while working part-time, giving you plenty of time to party, do some volunteer work, or just chill.

Getting a part-time summer job can be the right move for many high school students, college students, seasonal workers, or anyone who works in a position that gives the summer off. Using the summer to make some money, save for the future, and gain valuable employment experience – definitely a smart move!

This post originally appeared on Your Money Geek.

How Cash For Junk Cars Works and Most Sell Around $500 Average

How Cash For Junk Cars Works! Most Pay $500 Average

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You’ve likely seen billboards for “Cash For Junk Cars,” jingles played on radio stations, and ads filling magazines, but that marketing barely touches the surface of the cash for cars business. An industry made up of hundreds of different companies capitalizing on a lucrative market of flipping used cars for profit. Here’s how cash for junk cars works and how most pay an average of $500 per car.

How Cash For Junk Cars Works and Most Pay $500 Average

How Much Junk Cars Sell For?

Most companies pay between $100 to $1,000 for used cars, with an average payout of around $500. Some advertise up to $1,500, but it’s rare.

While the car’s condition helps determine the price, the amount is dependent mainly on the year, make, and model of the vehicle. That’s why most cash for junk car businesses can give you an instant quote over the phone.

Now, this isn’t a lot of money, but most people only consider cash for cars after first trying dealerships and private sellers or simply wanted to get rid of the vehicle quickly. It’s typically one of the easiest ways to sell your car.

Average Pay is $500 Cash For Junk Cars

Most cash for junk car companies pay around $500 for used cars. Because once your car is sold, the cash for cars businesses will sell your vehicle for a profit. Similar to how house flippers buy up foreclosed properties to sell for a profit or domain flippers sell domains.

This is usually done by selling at auction if the car is in good condition or sold to a junkyard for parts. Due to their pricing power and connections, cash for car businesses are in better positions to get more for your vehicle than you ever could.

Free Pick Up & Towing

One of the primary benefits of cash for junk car businesses is often they’ll pick up your car and tow it away for free! A perk included in their fee and a nice luxury for selling vehicles that may no longer run. Most towing companies will charge $150 – $200 for a tow.

If you talk to a cash for car company or a junkyard that doesn’t offer free pick-up service and towing, find another offer. Free pickup is a staple of the cash for cars business, and anyone trying to charge you for this service is simply trying to take advantage.

The Process for Cash For Junk Cars

Here is the step-by-step guide to how cash for junk cars works and if you ever considered selling your car, this is what you’ll go through.

1. What You’ll Need Before Calling

Most cash for car businesses have a general number where in 5 minutes, they’ll give you a quote over the phone without ever having to take photos. As long as the information holds true when they pick up the vehicle, they’ll hand you cash and take your vehicle away in minutes. It’s a straightforward process that makes cash for cars so compelling.

What You’ll Need

    • Year, Make & Model of the Vehicle
    • Vin Number
    • Odometer
    • Title
      • If you don’t have the title, it’s not difficult to contact your local Department of Motor Vehicles and request a new one.
      • If the vehicle is so old, you no longer have the title. Some cash for junk car places may still take the car if you show a history of registration and proof you own it. However, this is incredibly rare.
    • Aware if the car can start and drive
    • A running vehicle will increase the value of your car. Yet, it’s not a requirement for many cash for car businesses. The spare parts alone make the car worth something.

2. Get An Instant Quote Over The Phone

Once they have your vehicle’s information, they’ll plug numbers into a formula and identify the best purchase price. The most significant factors are the year, make & model but condition and ability to drive also matter. This information in an algorithm will be able to provide an instant quote in minutes.

Once the quote is provided, there isn’t any room to haggle. Usually, the person over the phone is only allowed to price what the computer algorithm identified.

3. Shopping Around Is Often Not Worth It

Many cash for car companies use similar formulas for providing vehicle quotes over the phone. These algorithms are constantly changing as the supply and demand of cars fluctuate. So once you get one quote, most other companies will provide a similar quote. Shopping around doesn’t often get you a better price.

As cars often lower in value every year, it doesn’t benefit in waiting.

4. Schedule A Pick Up Or Drop Off

Most cash for car companies will pick up your vehicle or tow it for free. If someone is trying to add this as an additional charge, find another company. There are too many companies that offer this service for free to ever pay.

Simply schedule a time to pick up, and as long as the vehicle information you described over the phone is accurate, there shouldn’t be any problems. In a matter of minutes, they take the vehicle and title off your hands.

Alternatively, you can drop off your vehicle at a drop-off location if you prefer.

5. Get Paid

Most cash for junk car companies will pay cash when picking up the vehicle. However, some companies have started to use more checks as it’s easier for bookkeeping.

If this makes a difference to you, simply ask how they will pay for the vehicle over the phone. If cash is crucial to you, shop around to find companies that still offer this option.

6. Contact the DMV for Release of Liability

Most of the paperwork is completed by the cash for junk car company. Still, it’ll be your responsibility to contact the Department of Motor Vehicles in your state for a Release of Liability.

This simple online form lets your state know you are no longer the vehicle’s owner. Otherwise, you’ll continue to receive notices to renew the car and may be on the hook for late fees. Most states only need the vehicle’s VIN and date of sale.

That’s it! A super simple way to get cash for junk cars you no longer want or need.

Cash For Junk Car Example

Why Cash For Junk Cars Are So Popular

Cash for cars has grown massive popularity in the last 20 years because it provides car sellers a whole new way to sell used cars and make money. An easy way to avoid haggling prices with dealerships or the hassle of meeting with private buyers. Cash for Cars brings an extra convenience with instant offers over the phone and free pick up.

Who Buys Cars For Cash?

Many companies have flocked to the cash for junk car market for the same reason people flock to antique auctions. They hope to find undervalued cars and flip them for more money. Many cash for car companies are independent and focus solely on buying used cars, however over the years, many dealerships, mechanic shops, tow companies and junkyards have also created their own cash for car companies to compete in the market.

As it’s a highly lucrative market, hundreds of companies have jumped into the car flipping industry. Even if the car can’t be flipped, the used car part market is also largely lucrative.

What Kind of Junk Cars For Cash Sell Best?

In most cases, the kinds of cars that sell best are Japanese economy cars such as Honda, Toyota, and Subaru. They are relatively inexpensive and incredibly popular on the road. These vehicles are one of the easiest cars to flip because of the low cost and high demand.

The second best type that sells well are classic cars. Their parts are incredibly tough to find, so even junk cars can be extremely profitable containing parts no longer made. Items such as the chassis or the frame only can be flipped for a nice profit.

Common Questions

Anytime someone is selling a car, it can feel like a complex process simply because it’s not something people do every day. Here are some common questions we’ve seen people search for relating to cash for cars.

Is There Any Benefit To Keep The Junk Car Myself?

Since cars lose value every year, there is no benefit to holding onto a junk car yourself. In fact, simply having the car will still require registration and insurance. Even if the vehicle is old and requires little money, it’s still going to cost you something. Including space it takes up.

Often it’s better to sell your vehicle whenever you no longer need it to keep costs down. The only reason to hold onto a car is if you intend to use it in the future or want to attempt to sell it yourself.

Will Scrap Cars For Cash Work?

Scrap cars and junk cars are terms used interchangeably to describe cars that no longer run. These are often ideal vehicles to sell because cash for car companies will pick them up for free and pay you more cash than a junkyard would.

How Do I Find Cash For Junk Cars Near Me?

A quick Google search will find plenty of different cash for junk car companies in your area. Their popularity in every major city will make them easy to find. Try calling a few different companies or dealerships to get a good idea of the price for your junk car.

Where Can I Buy Junk Cars Near Me?

If you’re looking for auctions to find junk cars near you, most cities have several auction blocks with times throughout the year. You can usually find cars at auction that sell $1,000 to $2,000 cheaper than at dealerships. The trade-off is you are buying them as is and often don’t have the same verified inspection process a dealership would have.

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6 Chinese Money Plant Benefits, Care and It’s Epic History!

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Money plants are famous for the exciting myths around their benefits, but their recent popularity on social media has brought a new wave of interest for home offices. As personal finance enthusiasts, we can’t help but cover the benefits of money plants, different types of plants considered “Money Plants,” and their exciting history around wealth. Money plants are famous for the exciting myths around their benefits, but their recent popularity on social media has brought a new wave of interest for home offices. As personal finance enthusiasts, we can’t help but cover the benefits of money plants, different types of plants considered “Money Plants,” and their exciting history around wealth.

6 Chinese Money Plant Benefits

These are the most widely known Chinese Money Plant benefits on the internet. The benefits apply to both money trees and money plants (more on the differences later). We’re not here to say if they’re right or wrong, but simply enjoy the lore around these fun plants!

1. Brings Prosperity and Wealth – Money plants are most widely known to bring good luck and wealth to the homeowners that take care of the plant. The healthier the plant, the greater prosperity it will generate!

When you give a clipping of your money plant to friends, it’s believed that you are giving your friends wealth and prosperity. The clipping will grow with little effort and bring great joy to whoever receives your generous gift.

On the other hand, some lore suggests a power to growing a money plant from clippings stolen from another homeowner. In this case, the thief will gain wealth while the previous homeowner will lose their wealth. It’s like stealing someone’s luck, so some homeowners are protective around their money plants.

2. Reduces Marital Problems – Whether it’s the calming nature of plants or the unique properties of this plant, money plants are known to minimize marital problems.

The five-leave patterns of money trees relate to the five fundamentals of Feng Shui, so many people associate the properties of money trees with the properties of Feng Shui. In this case, money trees kept in the southeast direction of the home help maintain peace and a healthy environment for marriage. This positive environment reduces bad luck, thus providing good fortune and wealth for your marriage.

3. Creates A Positive Environment – This is similar to #2, but we wanted to stress that you don’t need to be married to enjoy the positive environment that money plants create. Plants brighten the atmosphere of any room. Studies have shown that biophilia or viewing nature can positively impact people’s health, so having an actual plant in your home can only help create a more positive environment. You’ll feel calmer, happier and those feelings will lead to a more positive life!

4. Health Benefits – There are many myths around the health benefits of money plants in reducing stress, providing an atmosphere, and bringing calm. Often referred to as biophilia, viewing nature has many health benefits. Many hospitals are filled with photos of nature because it helps feel good and improves recovery.

PLEASE KNOW we’re speaking to the calming effect these plants have. Some plants considered money plants are, in fact, poisonous if ingested. Often they won’t kill you but will cause vomiting and illness symptoms if ingested by dogs, cats, or tiny humans. Check each species of the plant before bringing it into your home.

5. Purifies The Air – In 1989, NASA was involved with a study that tested plants’ ability to filter the air onboard space stations. It was a small study and contained a controlled environment, but the study showed that plants clean the air! Further studies showed that plants could help remove harmful gases in the air, which helps improve health. These studies created a surge of house plants during the 1990s.

Later, reviewers argued you would need hundreds of plants in your house to achieve the same level of air quality that the small NASA study achieved. However, if we take the benefits of money plants to heart, any in your home could improve your health and wallet!

6. Helps Fight Radiation In Your Home – Many people often forget a small amount of electromagnetic radiation radiates from the gadgets in our homes. From wifi, phones, TVs, and more, we’re bombarded with signals regularly. In most cases, these signals are harmless and nothing like standing next to a nuclear reactor. However, some people claim to have electromagnetic hypersensitivity and express symptoms such as headaches and sleep disorders when surrounded by these EMF fields.

Luckily money plants and other anti-radiator house plants help absorb these electromagnetic fields with no harm to the actual plant. You’ll see some people place their money plants by their computer, wifi router, and TV. Their money plants help protect them from the EMF radiation they may be hypersensitive to. Cool right!

Money Plant History Around Wealth

History around the Money Plant has several iterations, as any myth does, but all these myths agree that it started initially from the Money Tree. A petite Asian tree that, when its stems were intertwined, the tree would continue to grow in this pattern on its own.

The unique braided stem of the money tree stirred massive popularity and speculated many myths around its mysterious nature. Some of these myths connected the tree’s five-leaf pattern and the five fundamental Feng Shui elements (wood, water, fire, earth and metal), which symbolized good luck and good fortune. While other wives’ tales speculated, its leaves resembling the shape of paper money could bring wealth to the home.

Types of Money Plants

Numerous plants represent wealth and prosperity as wive’s tales have spread over the years, and it’s easy to get confused. We find it simpler to focus on the Money Tree, whose leaves are said to represent paper money, and the Money Plant, whose circular leaves are believed to represent coins.

 

Pilea Peperomioides (Chinese Money Plant)

Pilea Peperomiodies is the botanical name of what many consider the Chinese Money Plant due to its circular leaves resembled the leaves of the Money Tree but in the shape of coins. Other names for this plant include the coin plant, the friendship plant, the pancake plant, and the UFO plant.

This plant is excellent for beginners as it’s easy to care for, usually only grows 12 inches tall, and maintains beautiful dark green leaves to decorate any home!

The Chinese money plant creates lots of little offshoots to collect and give to friends. However, getting your hands on one can be difficult as not many nurseries keep this plant in stock. We’ve found the Chinese Money Plant on Amazon as the best option to start with a single plant.

Chinese Money Plant Care

To help your Chinese money plant care, beginner houseplant owners need to keep their money plant in a bright room but away from any harsh rays piercing through windows. Usually, watering once a week will be perfect in well-drained soil. A rule of thumb is the 2” of topsoil should be dry between waterings. Also, consider periodically rotating your plant so it’ll grow symmetrically.

To help gauge the health of your plant, here are a couple of guidelines.

Money Plant Leaves Turning Yellow

If your money plant leaves turn yellow, it’s likely due to overwatering, or your pot isn’t draining well. Your money plant roots could be waterlogged and may rot in the damp soil. Simply let your soil dry out before you water again, or if the problem continues, you may need to replace the soil.

Money Plant Leaves Curling, Drooping and Wrinkling

When your money plant leaves are curling, droopy or wrinkling, it’s likely thirsty for water. Think of it like a sponge wringing itself out to get every last drop of water stored. This plant needs lots of light, but direct light may be harsh and drying it out. Give the poor fellow a deep watering.

Give Money Plant Cutting To Friends

These plants are perfect for giving to friends as they produce lots of little offshoots that can be easily separated to place in a new pot. Simply find an offshoot on the edge of the massing and get enough of the offshoot that includes some roots with a clean sharp knife. Place the offshoot in a pot at least 2” wide and care for it as usual. Give it as a perfect gift to friends and wish them a good fortune!

Pachira Aquatica (Money Tree)

The Pachira Aquatica is the botanical name for the Money Tree and one of the most popular indoor houseplant trees. As we stated in the history of the money plant, the Money Tree and its mysterious ability to braid its stems are what started the myths bringing owners good luck and good fortune.

Another reason leading to its popularity is its easy care. The money tree needs little water (once a week), will grow in most pots, growing up to eight feet tall.

An exceptional little tree for people to start their house plant collection, the money tree will bring a little wealth to your life. We’ve found several retailers selling them online and found the Money Tree on Amazon one of the best places to start your money tree journey.

Money Tree Care

The money tree is easy to care for as it requires little water (usually once a week) and loves bright light while avoiding direct sunlight. To help grow the money tree, add fertilizer no more than once a month.

To help gauge the health of your plant, here are a couple of guidelines.

Money Tree Leaves Turning Yellow

If your money tree leaves turn yellow and fall off, it’s usually a sign of overwatering or a problem with the light. Remember, the money tree only needs water once a week, so if the soil is always wet, the roots may be waterlogged and leading to root rot. Let the soil dry completely before watering again, and feel free to prune any overly yellow leaves on the tree.

Overwatering is usually the problem, but it may be over or under-lighting. Make sure the tree is placed in a bright area of the house while avoiding direct light.

Money Tree Shriveled Leaves or Trunk

If the money tree has leaves shriveling up or its trunk becoming wrinkly, soft, or shriveled, the problem may be underwatering. Think of it like a sponge where the tree is trying to wring itself out for any last water storage. Use this as an indicator to give it a deep watering.

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4 Side Hustle Ideas for a Little Extra Income

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Extra money is always a bonus, but it also shouldn’t come at the expense of your well-being. A second job can be a great earner, but you shouldn’t work yourself to the bone in order to have extra finances. Instead, thinking of great sideline jobs you can do at your own pace and during your own downtime can be a great (and fun) way of earning extra cash when you need it.  Extra money is always a bonus, but it also shouldn’t come at the expense of your well-being. A second job can be a great earner, but you shouldn’t work yourself to the bone in order to have extra finances. Instead, thinking of great sideline jobs you can do at your own pace and during your own downtime can be a great (and fun) way of earning extra cash when you need it. 

There’s always the potential for certain side hustles to turn into long-term, stable jobs as well, depending on your commitment and success. 

If you’re searching for that all-important side hustle inspiration, here are some ideas you might want to try. 

1. Furniture Upcycling

Not only is this a fun pastime for those wanting to keep their hands busy, but it’s also a potential money-maker if you’re particularly skilled. Furniture upcycling is not only a fantastic way to earn a little profit, but it’s also putting old goods to better use and reducing waste impact. 

You can seek out old or second-hand furniture and give it a new lease of life by updating it, or perhaps even completely transforming it if you have the skills. You can then aim to sell the new items for more than you paid for them (you may even be able to find some old furniture items for free!). 

2. Write a Book 

You may be thinking this is a little ambitious for a side-hustle, but you don’t have to have aspirations to be a bestselling author to make money from your writing work (though, of course, if you do want to become a bestselling author, writing on the side is a great place to start!). 

Writing a book for extra income can be done in many ways. You should mainly think about the areas you can make money from and which are in demand. Writing non-fiction books for areas you have expertise in, for example, is a good way to use your existing knowledge to potentially earn some money. You can find guides on how to write a book for non-fiction purposes, or if you feel as though you’re onto a winner for a fiction book, you can always try self-publishing with the potential to earn royalties! 

3. Selling Handmade Items

You may already have a beloved hobby that sees you making unique pieces; this could be anything, from artwork, acrylic work, making your own jewelry, knitting, and more! Anything you’re already skilled with and which you can make means the potential to sell and earn some cash. 

4. Write a Blog

Blogging is a great way to let your creative juices flow (with a little less pressure than writing a book!) and build on your writing skills. There’s potential to earn money with successful blogs if you build your online profile enough, and you can also look for guest post submission opportunities to build your expertise. 

Let’s Get Earning

Do any of these appeal to you? Just remember, you don’t need to have these skills from the off in order to make money or protect your financial future. You can work on building any of these skills and more in order to set yourself up for extra earning down the line.

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How to Sell on Poshmark

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how-to-sell-on-poshmark Some people see Poshmark as a way to purge their closets and get some cash when selling some of their old clothes, while others use this platform as a full-time income generation stream. Flipping items is one of my favorite side hustles. I’ve been using Poshmark for three years. It’s one of my favorite platforms to sell clothing on. If you’ve been contemplating using Poshmark for either purpose but you’re not sure where to start, then this is the guide for you. Selling on Poshmark can be a very profitable venture, and I’ve written an article to make sure you know everything before you get started. Let’s get to it. 

What is Poshmark?

In essence, Poshmark is a social marketplace. Founded in 2011, the platform has a reputation for connecting people while offering a straightforward and fun approach to buying and selling accessories, shoes, and clothes. As a buyer, Poshmark connects you to people who sell items you love and enables you to shop from them conveniently. On the other hand, if you have used or new fashion items to sell, Poshmark also connects you with millions of potential buyers. 

What Kind of Items Can You Sell on Poshmark? 

A few years back, Poshmark was a niche marketplace focused on female clothes, shoes, and luxury handbags. However, today, Poshmark features four listing categories – men, women, kids, and home. You may list items such as wall art, kitchen accessories, etc., in the home section, while the men, women, and kid’s area include listings such as clothes, pants, sweaters, and more.  

Items that sell best on Poshmark are cheap or trendy or designer clothes. Items that are in demand sell faster on the platform. According to a recent report I read about Poshmark best-selling brands, Mother, Nike, Levi, and Kate spade came out on top. So, you might want to consider selling items within these spaces.

What Fees Does Poshmark Charge for Selling?

Firstly, Poshmark charges no upfront fee. This denotes that you can list your items on the platform and no charges until the item sells. The fees on Poshmark are straightforward: it withholds 20% of any item sold for over $15 and $2.95 for items below the $15 mark. Although this seems slightly higher than other platforms, I don’t have a problem with it at all. 

What to Know About Poshmark Shipping? 

Poshmark charges a flat rate of $7.11 for every shipping. Whenever someone orders an item and pays the required shipping fee, Poshmark sends you an email that contains a shipping label. Print the label, attach it to the package using tape or other adhesive materials, and take it to the post office. Although you can use USPS priority boxes for the packaging, a regular brown box should do the magic. Poshmark handles all the shipping costs, so you don’t have to go back and forth with customers about shipping fees. This alone, I believe, is a worthy reason to sell on Poshmark. If you’re a newbie when it comes to selling clothes online, Poshmark makes it easy for you.

Social features of Poshmark 

Poshmark Listings Sharing

Sharing is arguably the most frequent way sellers’ buyers interact on Poshmark. Besides the commercial features of Poshmark, using this platform gives a social media feel. It allows you to interact with buyers by sharing yours as well as other listings multiple times daily. This act increases your chances of getting discovered by buyers, gets you more followers, and converts more prospects to buying clients. I recommend sharing items at least once per day. When I first started with Poshmark, I didn’t do much sharing or anything. One day I decide to get serious with it and started sharing other people’s listings. Doing that allowed me to get more followers and make more sales. 

Posh Parties 

This is an exciting feature that every beginner should leverage on Poshmark. The posh parties are virtual shopping parties that enable buyers to shop for specific items.  They drive engagement and sales within the Poshmark space. It lets you showcase your items if they meet the party’s guidelines and themes as a seller. The theme may be as specific as a particular brand name or as generic as men’s fashion. For instance, someone may host an Adidas posh party, so you are to post only Adidas-related items on the space as a seller. These parties are very effective sales-driving strategies. 

Payment and Protection 

Poshmark protects its transactions with posh payments.” This feature covers the interests of both the buyers and the sellers. For buyers, it guarantees that they receive the exact version of the item they order. Once they confirm the item’s receipt by updating the information on the application, Poshmark releases the payment to the seller. This process takes about an average of three days after delivering the item. Poshmark releases funds to your individual Poshmark account, which you can then withdraw to your traditional bank account. 

How to Sell on Poshmark

Selling an item on Poshmark is straightforward and easy to understand. You can either sell using your mobile phone or using their website. I will go over the steps below. 

  1.   Download the Poshmark app

Your first step is to download and launch the Poshmark application. On launching the app, you can go ahead and set up your profile with the following steps. 

  1.   Take Pictures  

Use your mobile phone or any camera to take pictures of the items you intend to sell. Just like several other online eCommerce platforms, clear images are a given. You must ensure that the pictures you take have appropriate lighting and high quality from multiple angles. Poshmark permits up to 8 pictures for items. 

  1.   Fill in Description and Titles

Represent your items with the best possible word descriptions without leaving any details out. Besides, ensure that your title is accurate and tally with the item you intend to list. Be completely honest – if there are some issues with the goods, ensure that you include that information while listing your goods. If someone is interested in an item, they will purchase it even with minor defects.

  1.   Check Relevant Boxes, Set Your Price, and List the Item

You must ensure that you tick every relevant box to select categories, sizes, and colors. On doing that, you can then go ahead and set your price. Then, list the item. 

  1.   Share

As mentioned before, ensure that you constantly share your items – at least once daily, depending on how much you want to sell. If you’re going to sell more, increase your sharing frequency.

Once someone buys your item, Poshmark sends a shipping label to you via mail. Print this document, tape it to the package, and take it to the nearest post office for shipping. The buyer has up to 3 days to confirm the receipt of their purchases. Failure to do so within this period will make Poshmark mark the item as received automatically. 

That’s it. You’re done. By following this guide, I am confident that you’ll start making enough cash from Poshmark as soon as possible. I don’t sell the most clothes online, but for many months Poshmark is the second-best online selling platform for me. Make sure that you check it out and get started!

108+ BEST AFFILIATE PROGRAMS TO MAKE MONEY IN 2021 (GREAT FOR BEGINNERS)

108+ Best Affiliate Programs To Make Money in 2021 (Great for Beginners)

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Affiliate programs dramatically increase revenue for bloggers/influencers. Here are the best affiliate programs based on revenue & popularity

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How Much Do Twitch Streamers Make? How to Make Money Streaming

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If getting paid to play your favorite games sounds like a dream, you should consider starting a Twitch stream. Of course, before embarking on any new online venture, you need to ask the important questions: Is it lucrative? How much do Twitch streamers make, and is it worth your time to become one? Are you looking for a new way to make money online? Do you also want to turn your love for video games into a profitable side hustle? Let’s understand how much do twitch streamers make before you begin.

If getting paid to play your favorite games sounds like a dream, you should consider starting a Twitch stream. Of course, before embarking on any new online venture, you need to ask the important questions: Is it lucrative? How much do Twitch streamers make, and is it worth your time to become one?

To answer these questions, we have to start with the basics. Here is everything you need to know about what Twitch is and how streamers make money with the platform.

What is Twitch?

Twitch is an online platform dedicated to live streaming. It began as Justin.tv in 2007 as a way to let anyone broadcast content online. Gaming quickly became one of the top categories for both viewers and creators, so in 2011 the category was separated from the original platform and rebranded as Twitch. In 2014, the original Justin.tv shut down, and the Twitch portion was sold to Amazon.

Although most users are still gamers, the platform has expanded to include an array of content creators. You can find artists, fitness enthusiasts, computer builders, and a wide variety of niche entertainers live streaming their content on the platform. The possibilities are endless.

Streaming on Twitch is a popular and rapidly growing side hustle. The number of Twitch users doubled during the pandemic, with people turning to online work for both an outlet and a way to make extra money from home.

How Do You Make Money as a Twitch Streamer?

To start making money on Twitch, you first need to get your stream set up and organized, and then you need to work towards becoming a Twitch Affiliate.

To achieve this, you need to stream for at least 500 minutes on 7 unique broadcast days in the last thirty days, have at least fifty followers, and maintain an average of three concurrent viewers over the thirty-day period. This sounds easyenough, but it’s more complicated than it seems to get three or more people to watch your stream regularly. There are some tricks to it, and if you work hard at it, you can become a Twitch affiliate in less than thirty days.

How Much Do Twitch Streamers Make?

Once you achieve affiliate status, you can start earning money by playing your favorite video games. There are four main ways that affiliates make money: subscriptions, cheering, affiliate marketing, and ads.

Subscriptions

Most Twitch Affiliates first start earning money with subscriptions, commonly called subs. Subs are a way for fans to show support and appreciation. There are three subscription levels, and streamers make different amounts of money based on what tier someone subscribed with.

  • Tier 1 – $4.99
  • Tier 2- $9.99
  • Tier 3 – $24.99

The revenue is split with Twitch, so streamers will only make half of each sub’s subscription cost (i.e., $2.5 for every tier 1 subscription). Most fans only subscribe at the tier 1 level, so most streamers make about $2.5 per subscription. If you only get tier 1 subscribers, you would need approximately 425 subs per month to be above the Federal Poverty Level. According to Twitch Tracker, only a little over 120 streamers meet that criteria. It’s important to note that Twitch Tracker is flawed, as only streamers who have volunteered to disclose their statistics are featured. However, it’s the only source of data available.

One cool thing about subs is that all Amazon Prime users get one free subscription per month with their Amazon Prime membership. If you are a new affiliate, you can probably get some family members and friends to subscribe to you with their free Prime sub. That’s the easiest way to start making money on the platform.

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Cheering and Bits

Cheering is another easy and popular way to earn money on Twitch. Fans can buy bits, Twitch’s virtual currency, and then “cheer” with them when their favorite streamer does something complex or entertaining. Bits are only worth a penny apiece (though it costs more than that to purchase them, as Amazon takes about 20%), and most fans cheer in 100-bit increments – though that’s not a requirement. Fans can cheer as little or as many bits as they’d like.

Twitch streamers can also monetize with bits by adding extensions to their stream that allow viewers to pay for a particular action to happen. Most of the extensions will play a specific sound or make something pop up on the screen. Each streamer controls how much each action costs and usually sets them between 50 and 100 bits.

Ads

One way that Twitch Streamers can make a paltry amount of money is through ads. Once a streamer reaches affiliate status, a pre-roll ad will automatically start playing when new viewers check out the channel. Twitch shares the ad revenue with the streamer, but unfortunately, if you don’t have many viewers, it will be so low that it’s almost negligible.

After doing the math based on my own streams and revenue, I determined that most Twitch Affiliates earn about one cent per average viewer. New affiliates who only get between three and ten average viewers per stream will only make between three and ten cents in ad revenue per stream.

However, as your average viewership increases, your share of ad revenue will increase as well. Streamers who can draw fifty or more average viewers can make 2-3 cents per viewer, and streamers who draw huge crowds can make even more. Even so, ads are not the primary source of income for most streamers.

Affiliate Marketing

A final way that Twitch Streamers make money is through affiliate marketing. Once you become an affiliate, you gain exclusive access to Amazon’s Blacksmith program, which is really just the gamer’s version of the Amazon Affiliate program. The advantage to joining the Blacksmith program is that you earn higher commissions on certain items, and you don’t get kicked out after three months without a sale.

With the Amazon Blacksmith program, you can set up an extension that adds your affiliate links directly to your stream. If viewers click those links and make a purchase, the streamer will earn a small commission.

Affiliate marketing is not limited to the Amazon Blacksmith program. There are various affiliate programs designed specifically for streamers; and others that lend themselves to streaming. Streamers can drop an affiliate link in the stream chat, in a panel, or even in their discord server.

Although it’s possible to make money via affiliate marketing as a small streamer, it’s not likely to be a top income source. To earn money with this method, you need to attract viewers, and those viewers need to click your links to purchase an item. If you are only attracting a handful of viewers each stream, the odds that one will click your link and make a purchase are incredibly low.

 

How Much Do Streamers Make with These Methods?

Even with all of these monetization methods, the harsh reality is that most streamers won’t make a lot of money. Small streamers may get a handful of subs and a few cheers, but they won’t make enough to quit their day jobs. Although there is no solid data on how much Twitch Streamers make, the reality is that most don’t make a lot. Many streamers don’t even make enough money each month to reach the payout threshold of $100.

The streamers you hear about making millions of dollars, like Ninja (here’s Ninja’s Net Worth) and Disguised Toast, graduated from Twitch Affiliate to Twitch Partner.

What is a Twitch Partner?

A Twitch Partner is a streamer who can draw an audience. Partners have contracts with Twitch that give them exclusive access to various tools, including more emotes, priority support, and access to special promotional opportunities to help grow their channel.

To apply for the Partner Program, you need to stream for 25 hours on 12 different days and reach an average of 75 viewers during the last 30 days. Unlike an affiliate, a partnership is not guaranteed. Twitch manually reviews all applications to its Partner Program to decides whether the applicant is a good fit. Many streamers have to apply numerous times before they get accepted. Twitch doesn’t offer any further clues about what they are looking for in Partners outside of saying they want streamers who will be role models for the community.

According to Twitch Tracker, there are about 46000 Twitch Partners. That means less than 1% of all streamers have reached partner status, where streaming on Twitch becomes profitable.

How Much Do Twitch Partners Make?

Twitch Partners make money in much the same way as affiliates, with subscriptions, ads, cheers, and affiliate marketing. However, as they have far more average viewers per stream, they tend to make a lot more money on these four methods.

There’s also one additional way that Twitch Partners make money, and that’s through sponsorships.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship is when a brand pays an influencer to promote their product. As Twitch Partners can draw a large audience, brands like to pay them to use their items and sell them to their viewers. Some Twitch Partners have been sponsored by gaming companies, clothing companies, chair companies, and various other industries. Top streamers make the majority of their income via sponsorship deals.

Although it is possible that you can score a sponsorship opportunity before becoming a Partner, it’s not likely. Please be careful of any company that claims to offer a sponsorship but makes you pay for the product in advance. In that case, you are not a partner, you are a customer, and the business is preying on your desire for brand sponsorships to sell you their products. Please don’t let them take advantage of you.

How Do Twitch Streamers Get Paid?

Twitch affiliates get paid the month after they reach the $100 payment threshold. If you reach $100 in your account during May, the payment won’t be processed until the 15th of June. It generally takes 3-5 business days to process, so you should receive the payment around the 20th of June. The payment will cover all of the money you earned in May as well.

Unique Ways to Make Money as a Streamer

Although most Twitch streamers make money via the methods addressed above, they aren’t the only ways to make money. There are a variety of ways to make money online using your Twitch stream as a marketing tool.

Donations

Donations are the easiest way for non-affiliated streamers to start making money. All you need is a free Streamlabs account and a PayPal account. Streamlabs has a menu that allows you to configure your PayPal information securely. Once you have that setup, you need to add a link to it in one of your Twitch panels. Viewers can then click on the link and send money to you directly via Paypal.

Keep in mind that although the setup is easy, getting people to donate to you is not. As a small streamer, it won’t be easy to convince a few viewers to donate. However, difficult doesn’t mean impossible, and if you are creative, you can find ways to entice viewers to donate.

Discord

Some streamers make money by monetizing their discord servers. Many who go this route offer access to the general discord for free and lock specific channels so that only those who pay can view them. These locked channels may offer exclusive access to content in a popular streamer’s discord or additional partnership and collaboration opportunities in a stream growth discord. Others don’t offer any free access and make users pay for a general invite. They may even offer tiers so that higher-paying members can access more content.

Others may monetize their discord servers with affiliate marketing and merchandising. Instead of having people pay to join, they draw their Twitch viewers. Then use the server as a sales funnel for their products.

It’s not easy to monetize a Discord server. It can be challenging to grow the server to a point where people would want to pay to access it. However, for those who don’t want to rely solely on Twitch for income, it can be worth the effort.

Merchandising

A lot of gamers create branded merchandise and use Twitch to promote these items. Gamers may create merchandise with their catchphrases, emotes, or logos on them. Although some create the products themselves, most utilize print-on-demand platforms to handle sales and delivery. A site like Teepublic is perfect for making an online store to display and sell your gaming merchandise.

Other streamers use Twitch as a way to advertise their freelance services. Graphic designers, crafters, and artists of all types broadcast their creative process to promote their online business. Users who show interest in the work can pay for commissions on platforms such as Fiverr.

Youtube

It’s weird to say that Twitch streamers monetize via YouTube, as the two platforms are technically competitors. However, many streamers use both. Although it’s against Twitch’s terms of service to live stream to both platforms simultaneously, you can upload content to YouTube that you streamed on Twitch after 24 hours. Many streamers use Twitch for a live platform, then edit and upload the videos to their YouTube channel. This allows them to monetize both platforms and lets them reach a larger audience.

How Much Do Twitch Streamers Make?

Showcasing all these methods of making money online with Twitch is to answer the big question. How much do Twitch streamers make? And clearly, the answer is that it varies wildly. There are so many money-making opportunities on the platform that it’s impossible to say how much streamers make average.

However, one constant and important thing to remember about streaming on Twitch is that you will not make money quickly. It is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Many gamers decide that they want to turn their hobbies into a side business and think they will earn a lot of money immediately if they plug and play. That’s not the case. If your primary goal is to earn extra cash in your spare time, streaming probably isn’t the best option. Instead, it would help if you looked into side gigs like pet-sitting, driving for Lyft, completing chores with TaskRabbit, or freelancing with Upwork. These side hustles are great ways to make extra money quickly.

Streaming is not an easy way to make money. It can be extremely profitable, but you need to put in a lot of upfront work to start earning any money. However, if you are a passionate gamer and serious about building a community, it’s a gratifying undertaking.

This article originally appeared on Your Money Geek and has been republished with permission.

How I Made $80 A Day Being A Movie Extra

How I Made $80 A Day Being A Movie Extra

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This is easily one of the most creative ways to earn extra money if you have the opportunity. I did this in college and will go over everything from how I signed up to be an extra, how it went, and as the headline suggests, how I made $80 a day being a movie extra.

Movie Extras Are The Non-Speaking Background People In Movies

This is not a guide on how to become a movie star, I have no idea how to become the next Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts. I’m strictly focusing on how to become one of the non-speaking people in the background of a movie because all those “normal” people in movies are all paid to be there. These people are called movie extras. Their job is typical to be the “normal” people in the background of movies.

How I Stumbled Into Becoming A Movie Extra

During the fall/summer of 2009, I worked as an intern in a Landscape Architecture firm in Des Moines, Iowa (don’t pronounce the “s”). This was the year Iowa had a number of tax advantages for movie companies and many of those companies made their way from Hollywood to Iowa to shoot big-budget movies.

Iowa Movie Tax Credits Attract Big Hollywood Actors

My design firm was located on the second floor of a build with vacant space on the first floor that a casting company set up temporary shop. It wasn’t a grand Hollywood looking renovation, but rather a modest set up where you could tell they were only in Iowa for the tax reasons. Yet still professional. Don’t think creepy abandoned building.

It was a big deal in my office that this casting company opened up shop, so about 5 of us during lunch went downstairs and checked it out. The casting company was super friendly and asked if we’d want to submit our info for potential projects. We were like giddy schoolgirls thinking this was our chance to become famous, of course, we said yes.

Signing Up To Be A Movie Extra Was Easy

Now since then, I’ve heard people spending hundreds of dollars on headshots and all that. For me, it didn’t cost us anything. It was a quick 15 min process where we filled out some forms that were primarily about our physical descriptions “height, weight, hair color, eye color, etc.”. Afterward, they took a couple photos “headshot/body shot”. Just our regular look/style, no Zoolander Blue Steel or anything.

My First Project (aka Movie)

About a month after we all signed up, I got a call on my cell phone. Mind you, this was a month of hearing nothing, so the call was unexpected. I guess this is the way it goes. You sign up and wait.

The call was brief and happened a while ago, but this was roughly how it went.

Casting Agency: “Hey Andrew, this the Casting Agency (I don’t remember the name), we were going over headshots with the director of a new movie and we liked your look. Would you be available to be an extra, a non-speaking role, on May XX (don’t remember this date)?

Me: “Oh Hey! That’s cool! What movie is it?”

Casting Agency: “It’s called “The Experiment” with Adrien Brody about the Stanford prison experiment. You know about regular people taking on the roles of prisoners and guards for a psychological experiment. We’re shooting a scene at a café, it will be an all-day shoot and we’ll pay you $80 for the day. Are you available?”

Me: In my mind, I’m thinking HOLY MOLY I’m going to be hanging out with Adrien Brody, this is awesome. Yet I played it cool. “Yea I can be there”.

How Being A Movie Extra Actually Goes

It was easy to spot the café where I needed to go. It was an upscale coffee shop in the middle of a nice strip mall in an up and coming part of Des Moines. I recognized it right away because it was surrounded by large trucks lugging movie equipment and barriers that stopped people from going anywhere near the coffee shop. Needless to say, this coffee shop wasn’t getting any actual customers, it was completely rented out and filled with silent movie extras already inside miming fake conversations to look “normal”.

Apparently, a trick with experienced movie extra actors, those who get there extra early to get the best parts closest to the action. I didn’t know this.

After I parked, I walked up to the café but was sent around to the back alley where the cast/crew area was set up. It was there I met about 10 other extras who were eagerly waiting to be told what to do.

Waiting was the keyword because the life of a movie extra is primarily waiting around all day.

The first 4 hours of the day were the crew setting up the café, checking the lighting, and running through the scene without actually filming. As the “additional” movie extras, we waited patiently for someone to tell us what to do and tried to catch glimpses of the café whenever the alley door opened. Some people (who’ve done this before) brought books, but most of us gossiped about what was going and sharing stories of other movies they’ve been in.

As An Extra, I Only Did One Thing All Day

About 5 hours in, the assistant director asked for some people. My hand shot up instantly. I was dying of boredom. I didn’t know what needed to happen but anything was better than sitting.

My job was to walk in the background outside the cafe so there was normal movement outside the window. In a straight line, I had to walk 20 feet. That was my moment of movie glory!

To give you a mental description. The scene was a mental flashback of the main character in this coffee shop. So while you would see the hero in the coffee shop talking, surrounded by “normal” looking movie extras in the coffee shop. There was a view of the window looking outside, probably in the corner of the shot. That was me, I was one of 6 people walking on the sidewalk past the coffee shop to make the outside look “normal”.

I sat 5 hours, to do a 5-second walk outside a coffee shop window in the background of the background of the actual café scene.

After I did my walk, well a couple of times for a couple of takes and after the assistant director told me how to make my walk look casual. I was done and went back to the alley.

The only other activity came at the end of 7 hours when they were packing up to do a night club scene. They asked for volunteers who wanted to join and while I offered (along with everyone else), I was the 7th person when they only needed 6.

That was the end of my acting career. The moral of the story, movie extras need to show up early and act fast to get in the good scenes.

Remember Your Scene May Get Cut, Mine Did

If you ever watch movie commentary, some actors remember doing some of their best work in scenes that never made it into the final movie. Well, I bought the 2010 “The Experiment” movie online, even though you don’t really own the digital movies you buy. I recognized numerous Iowa qualities, but my coffee shop scene never made it into the movie. Yet I still got paid.

They Handed Me A Check for $80 That Day

I remember when they were packing up that day. I asked if they needed anything else. They were super nice, but said no and handed me a check for $80. That was it! However because I showed up and was there if they needed me, I got paid.

I totally should have invested that in 2009 like Warren Buffet, but didn’t.

If You Want to Try Being A Movie Extra, Here’s What To Do

Many elements of my story are pure luck, but don’t let that deter you from trying. Check websites of professional (non-sketchy) casting agencies in your area. They’re most likely in larger cities. Ask them point-blank that you’re interested in being a movie extra and what you need to do. I’m not sure it’ll be as easy as taking your photo and done, but each casting agency will let you know.

Once you’re in their database, you’ll be on their list for a while and will never know when or if they’ll call. Each new movie may be looking for something different or something you uniquely have. There is no way of knowing.

In fact, I received a call from the same casting company 4 years later having never spoken to them since. They called in 2013 after I started my job in Denver and asked if I could be in LA in a week. I immediately thought about how random it was but kindly responded no. In hindsight, maybe I should have tried it, but either way, it’s a unique way to make money and a fun experience.

How To Become An Amazon Affiliate – Like We Did!

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I'm not going to downplay it, being an Amazon Affiliate is great. It allows you to share products and each time someone buys a product from your link, you earn a commission. So we'll give you a step-by-step guide into How To Become An Amazon Affiliate so you can earn extra money. We know how because we already set it up for ourselves! #sidehustle #personalfinance #fire I’m not going to downplay it, being an Amazon Affiliate is great! It allows you to share products and every time someone purchases a product from your link, you earn a commission. So we’ll give you a step-by-step guide into how to become an Amazon Affiliate. We know how because we already set it up for ourselves!

Benefits of Being An Amazon Affiliate

We became an Amazon Affiliate to earn a commission on the Amazon products we were already linking on our website. Afterward, we started to earn real money that has totaled nearly $500 so far from our affiliate sales!

That’s just us starting off! It’s nowhere near what other sites are making with their affiliate sales.

Websites like ThisIsWhyImBroke.com, an Amazon Affiliate example on our 50 Successful Amazon Affiliate Examples list were making $50,000 a month from affiliate sales! It’s now likely a lot more as they’ve only gotten larger.

In 2015 the websites The Wirecutter and The Sweet Homemade a combined $1.5 Million in e-commerce sales. There is a lot of potential here!

You Need A Website

Amazon doesn’t want you to add Amazon product links in social media accounts or in email links. They want their links to be a natural part of your website, so you NEED a website.

Not a third-party platform like blogger or anything. Those third-party sites have their own rules that restrict how you can use your own content. Plus they will plaster your website with ads to generate themselves money off your own content. You should have your own website you control.

Luckily setting up a website nowadays is incredibly easy, cheap and still remains one of the best ways to make extra money for you. Our guide to Starting Your Own WordPress Blog/Website was built for people wanting to make extra money blogging.

Our recommendation is to start your website/blog sooner rather than later (here are 106 website ideas). The longer your blog exists, the more preferred treatment it’ll receive from Google as an established blog.

 

 

How To Become An Amazon Affiliate – Approval Process

The approval process on how to become an amazon affiliate is pretty straight forward, which they call “Amazon Associates”. We’ll run through the sign-up form to give you an idea of what it looks like!

  1. CLICK SIGN UP

    First, go to the Amazon Associate Homepage and click “Sign Up”. You’ll be asked to either sign in with your existing account (that’s what we did) or Create An Account.

    For us, as an existing Amazon member, I used my same account. No information crossed over, they just use your account to identify you. Sign Up Page

  2. ACCOUNT INFORMATION

    This asks for general information about you or your business. It’s your name, address, and telephone number.

    Basically, Amazon Associates isn’t available in every country, so they want to begin by verifying your location is in an approved area.
    How To Become An Amazon Affiliate - Account Information

  3. WEBSITE AND MOBILE APP LIST

    Amazon would like to know which website is yours. This is where you enter your website name. They’ll review your site to verify the content matches their guidelines. Add them here (yes, you can have multiple websites under your Amazon Associates account).

    When you enter a website, they will ask you to confirm that none of your websites are geared toward children under 13. You will not be eligible to display banners, widgets, special links, or other ads from Amazon Associates if your site has a kid focus (cartoons, kid toys, etc.).

    How To Become An Amazon Affiliate - Website and Mobile App List

  4. PROFILE

    This is where you tell Amazon a little more about your website. You’ll provide a website description, what type of items you’re planning on promoting, how you currently drive traffic to your site, and how you currently market and monetize your website.

    You’ll end with “You Agree to the Terms and Conditions of the Associate’s Program Operating Agreement“. We linked to it here in case you want to read it beforehand.

    They want to know you’re a legit company and how you plan to use their affiliate program. This is all understandable. How To Become An Amazon Affiliate - Profile Form

    If you’re wondering about that first question “What is your preferred Associates Store ID”. All your affiliate links will have a unique identifier in them to identify you. These are typically the name of your business in some variation. Depending on what you enter.

    Here is what our unique Associate’s Store ID looks like. This is displayed in the URL anytime you click on an Amazon link from a website associated with Amazon Associates.

    Amazon Associates - Example Amazon Affiliate Page

  5. START USING ASSOCIATES CENTRAL

That’s it! You can start right away while they are reviewing your application.You may notice they added some numbers or changed your Associates Store ID slightly. This is just because it has to be unique.You can enter your payment and tax information at this point, or wait till after you made a couple of sales. You want to try to make some sales soon though. They state that if you don’t make a sale in 180 days, they’ll deactivate your account and you’ll have to reactivate it. Honestly, though, it’s not that difficult to reactivate your Amazon Associates account.

It’s really nice that they let you start right away! The process on how to become an Amazon Affiliate is really easy. How To Become An Amazon Affiliate - Start Using Amazon Associates

Now Explore & Create Some Links

At this point you have access to the entire Amazon Associates interface, so let’s give you a quick peek to what this looks like.

On the main dashboard the most important metric is the “Earnings Overview” this graph represents how many times people have clicked on your links and the commissions you’ve earned so far.

Amazon Associates - User Dashboard

In the graph above you can see there are an average 10 Amazon Associate links clicked on every day, but no affiliate sales in the last 30 days. It happens…

Fastest Way to create an Amazon Affiliate Link.

While the Amazon Associates interface has some nice tools, it’s not the quickest way to create Amazon Links for your affiliate account. The quickest way to build an affiliate link is while you sign in to your Amazon Associates account, go directly to the product page you want.

You’ll notice a new thin toolbar at the top of your Amazon product pages. Amazon SiteStripe is a mini toolbar that’s easy and excellent at creating affiliate links for your Amazon Associates Account.

Create Amazon Associates Link

You may notice that I circled some of the gibberish in the URL.

This is the item number, the unique identifier Amazon uses to identify its products. Typically when you go to an Amazon product page, you’ll see a really long URL. That’s basically all useless. You can delete all that extra stuff after the item number and it’ll be the same page. Removing all that extra stuff is a clean way to build your Amazon links.

That’s it for how to become an Amazon Affiliate, you have a link you can add to your site and start making money!

Careful, Your Amazon Affiliate Will Be Deactivated If…

Amazon is known to deactivate accounts without warning and making it terribly difficult to reactivate your account. To avoid this, follow these well-known rules of the Amazon Associates program.

  • Don’t use your own affiliate links to make personal purchases
  • Don’t use affiliate links in emails, social media, eBooks, or anything except your personal website or YouTube channel.
  • Avoid using any kind of link shortening like Bitly. Amazon links can be long and that’s ok. Amazon has its own link shortener service like in the image above. It works great!
  • Simply don’t ask people to click your links to support you or offer incentives for clicking your links.
  • You can’t use Amazon’s trademark. You may be working with them but you do not have permission.
  • Amazon is constantly adjusting their price so if your website doesn’t include the latest price. It’s considered false advertising and breaks their terms of service. It’s safer to avoid mentioning the price altogether.

We can all admit that the Amazon Associates program has many rules so be careful. We’ve personally found it best to play it safe and only add Amazon Associates text links to our blog.

 

 

How Successful Bloggers Make The Most Money With Amazon

We’ve been fortunate to collaborate with many successful bloggers with Amazon Associates accounts. While most of their success involves building a great website, we’ll share some of the great tips they’ve offered.

  • From Day 1 Build An Email List – As a website owner, your email list is the most valuable thing you own because you can notify your readers about new posts. Unlike social media which will limit your announcements, email lists reach your entire audience.

Most bloggers use ConvertKit as their email service, it’s made for bloggers and incredibly easy to use. This will give you the tools to add email signups on your website, manage all your email subscribers and let you send out creative emails to your audience. Use this ConvertKit Referral Code to use the service for free until you exceed 1,000 email subscribers.

  • Create Posts People Are Already Searching For – Before you spend hours writing 20 blog posts, find out what people are currently searching for on Google. There are tools like SEMrush that let you type in your blog idea keywords like “Southern Wyoming Fly Fishing” and it’ll return with how many people search for that term on the internet every month and the number of other articles on the subject.

The trick is to find popular keywords that have low competition. Use this referral for a free trial of SEMrush to discover the perfect keywords for some future blog post ideas. This will help you build popular posts, which attract more people and more people equals more affiliate revenue.

  • Promote Great Posts – Sometimes you put in a lot of work for a great post with some perfect affiliate links but no one visits your site. Consider some of the many great and cheap promotion opportunities on Fiverr. It’s a hub of SEO specialists, social media promoters, and copywriting gurus who will help you out for as little as $5.

Good Luck Future Amazon Associates!

Affiliate Marketing continues to be one of the best ways to make money. Yet, Amazon is only one popular affiliate program, here are the 108 best affiliate programs to consider when building your website. There is no limit to the number of programs you can join.

Glad this gave you a little insight into how to become an Amazon Affiliate! Please share this page with your friends who you think should join the Amazon Associates program and sign-up for our email list below for future updates to the program!

Teespring Review: Make Money Designing Custom T-Shirts

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Teespring Review - Make Money Designing Custom T-Shirts

Teespring Review: Make Money Designing Custom T-Shirts

This is the second time I ever tried Teespring, but my first time writing a Teespring Review. As a designer, this is a fun way to earn extra money by designing fun tee shirts and other gear. You essentially design funny/clever t-shirts and then market them to be sold.

What is Teespring?

Teespring is a legit website where you can design custom tee shirts and other apparel such as hoodies, socks, mugs etc. using their proprietary online design software. Once you create a custom design, you can share a link with your friends who can buy your t-shirt design directly on Teespring. The money, printing and shipping are all handled by Teespring.

The difference between Teespring and other custom t-shirt design places is the shirts aren’t actually made until you have a minimum order.

This way you don’t have to buy a bunch of shirts you’re not sure will sell or not. Thus filling your garage full of crappy shirts. All you do is create the design and TeeSpring handles all the orders, payments and shipping once a minimum amount of shirts are sold. Then you as the designer get a small profit off the orders sold.

Is Teespring Legit?

Absolutely! We’ve personally used Teespring and found numerous positive reviews about the company. They’ve been around for years and built up a solid reputation. Even Forbes mentioned them as a great way to make money by selling well-made t-shirts and other gear.

Yes, Teespring Pays You!

The biggest bonus to Teespring (and why I wanted to write this Teespring Review) is that once you get the minimum amount of orders. You as the designer get a cut of the profits for creating the design!

Teespring handles all the heavy work (collecting money, printing, shipping), but since you are the one that created the shirt design and marketed it, you get a portion of the money made. Of course, Teespring takes their share, but you get yours too.

It’s a unique sidehuslte if you’re a creative type that can create some clever t-shirts and market them.

How Does Teespring work?

Head over to Teespring and hit “Start Designing”. It’ll ask you to create an account with them. It’s just the basic name, email, and password. They don’t ask for any payment information when your first setting up an account or first creating a shirt design.

You’ll then be asked to “Pick Your Canvas”. They have a number of options since they originally started. You can create unique/clever designs on a wide variety of items including:

  • Canvas Prints
  • Beach Towels
  • Phone Cases
  • Wall Tapestry
  • Posters (12″x24″) & (24″x36″)
  • Flags
  • Indoor Pillows
  • Socks
  • Apparel
  • Stickers
  • Tote Bags
  • Mugs

I am going to focus on t-shirts for this Teespring Review since that’s what they’re famous for.

I select apparel. This takes you immediately to their online design software where you can create a completely unique t-shirt design from scratch.

It’s a bit intimidating, I just created a basic word print design (I find inspiration from Amazon’s funny shirts). I obviously didn’t get too crazy, but you have a lot of options for what you can do including uploading your own custom designs.

I was impressed with the variety in Teespring’s online software program, it really was impressive. It’ll work great for beginners if you don’t have your own design software like Adobe Illustrator. This is what their online software looks like.

Once you finish a design, Teespring will let you set the price for how much you want to sell the shirt for. You could set the price for $50 per shirt if you’d like. It may be more than people want to buy a shirt for, but it’s up to you.

You’ll start off with Teespring’s recommended sell price.

In addition to what you set the price at, Teespring will show you how much of a profit you’ll make based on the number of shirts and the selling price. So simple economics, the higher price you set and the more you sell, the more profit you’ll make. In the Teespring Review example below, if 7 shirts are purchased, I would make $70 or $7 per shirt if I sell for $23.99.

After you set the price, you will create a profile on your new shirt design. This is what people will see when they view your shirt on Teespring.

  • T-Shirt Title
  • Profile
  • Custom URL

Take some time with this. Giving your campaign/shirt description a clever description can really help sell shirts to people on the fence.

If you want to check out the t-shirt design I did for this Teespring Review, go to Teespring.com/i-am-a-blogger-teeshirt where you’ll have the option to buy. It’s very basic. I like to set the bar low for you to create your own amazing shirt design!

That’s it. Now anyone can see your shirt and buy it. The biggest thing from here is sending the link to your friends, post on your blog or share with your social network to buy the new shirt.

A popular strategy I’ve seen, create a clever t-shirt idea for a specific niche of people. For instance, the famous “Don’t worry I’m a ______” tagline. To give an example, I’ve seen “Don’t worry I’m a Nurse” and people created specific facebook ads for people who listed their occupation as “Nurse”. I believe it’s been really successful.

Teespring Review Pros

  • You only have to create the design, Teespring will handle the creating/paying/shipping info on their end. This is a huge space saver from the days you had to store tee shirt inventory in your garage.
  • You get paid per t-shirt. You can set your own price for your designs and that profit goes to you. So if you LOVE creating tee shirts, you can make quite a bit of money.
  • Their design software is pretty easy to use.
  • If you’re organizing shirts for a large group, you can create the shirts on Teespring and have everyone pay on their own via the link you send. Way less chaos.

 

 

Teespring Review Cons

  • Even if you create the best t-shirt design ever, you have to market it completely on your own. Meaning you have to email it to all your friends or create Facebook ads to drive traffic to Teespring’s website for people to buy your t-shirt. You’re basically selling Teespring’s t-shirts for them.
  • You’re limited on the amount of space you can design on the front/back of the shirt. This makes it easier for Teespring to print onto shirts, but prohibits super creative designs that take up the entire shirt. So no sleeve designs or anything like that.

Teespring Review Conclusions

I like the idea of Teespring. It allows you to quickly create a custom t-shirt design to share with all your friends for them to buy. However, it doesn’t seem to be set up for a permanent side hustle. There are a lot of better/easier ways to earn more money.

Once you create the t-shirt design, it takes A LOT of effort and marketing dollars to get those shirts to sell. So unless you have a particular network of people who are willing to buy a specific t-shirt, I wouldn’t recommend this as a permanent side hustle.