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Cover your car with advertising
Turn your car into a rolling billboard with companies like Carvertise and Autowrapped. They’ll pay you if you put removable advertising decals on your vehicle.
Writer Kat Tretina describes what you need to do at Student Loan Hero. “You can expect to earn from $100 to $400 a month, depending on how much and where you drive”, she says. You are also required to have a good driving record and a vehicle that has its factory paint job.
Even if you’re no longer driving to work, you can still qualify. Many retirees still drive in order to attend classes, shop, volunteer or visit family and friends, for example.
Bonus tip: Watch out for car-advertising scams. Legitimate companies will not ask you for any application fee, and they’ll have a customer service phone line that allows you to talk with a real person. In addition, the company should be the one to cover the car-wrapping costs.
Don’t trust any company that doesn’t ask questions about your driving record, auto insurance, driving routes and type of vehicle.
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Rent out a room in your home
Are you an empty nester? Don’t worry! Someone may be willing to fill the empty space there and even pay for it. A man I know in San Francisco rented two bedrooms to graduate students and had nothing but positive things to say about the decision.
You could also try Airbnb, which blogger Shannyn Allan says has helped her cut her mortgage in half. She earns an average of $850 a month this way. “Not bad for a spare room in a 1,600-square-foot home I wouldn’t have been using,” she says.
Sure, there are some things you need to do on your part: Keep the room tidy, do loads of sheets and towels once the guests leave. But the extra cash could make all these chores worthwhile.
If you’re more on the sociable side, you can provide your visitors with information about the town or even show them around. If not, make it a “Here’s your key, we won’t bother you” arrangement. Some people are just looking for a cheap place to sleep and are not interested in sitting around chatting with the host.
Bonus tip: If you rent all or part of your home for two weeks or less, you may not be required to pay income taxes on the money you earn.
