Finding some extra money

If your budget is stretched to the point of breaking, you may be feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and downright anxious. There are solutions out there that you may not have thought of. Many of these ideas can be done from home, so if you have small children, you don’t have to worry about the extra cost of child care.

- Sell what you don’t need: If you have a lot of stuff laying around the house that you don’t use, you can make some extra money by selling it on eBay. Some items to go through include toys or clothes that the kids have outgrown, kitchen appliances that only get turned on once a year, or books that you’ve already read,

- Direct sales could be an answer: If you like to spend time with friends and can get out of the house once or twice per week (or don’t mind having a bunch of people over at your house), you may want to consider joining a direct sales company. With these type of companies, you pay a fee to join the company as a consultant. The company will send you a starter kit that you can use to start selling their product in exchange for a commission.

- Become a virtual assistant - If you have administrative skills, consider taking on a few hours of work each week as a virtual assistant. If you are just starting out in this field, you can expect to earn around $10 per hour. If you work just 10 hours per week, you can earn an extra $100 per week or $400 per month. Sounds pretty good, huh? These types of jobs can be found through websites such as www.guru.com, as well as on job boards such as www.justonlinejobs.com