Making Money

How to Earn Big in the Gig Economy

February 19, 2020 By Trey LaRocca Leave a Comment

Nowadays, the “side gig” has become all the more common. While many still maintain full-time work, the independent contractor has become a staple in the US economy. The good news is, you don’t have to give up your full time employment to take part in the gig economy. For many people, it just takes the form of monetizing a hobby they already do in their free time. The difference between those who strike gold, and those who don’t, is effort. Not only in your work ethic, but in your online presence and scheduling. To make sure you maximize your earning potential, here are some great tips on how to earn big in the gig economy.

Focus

One big mistake a lot of side-hustlers make is spreading their focus too wide. Casting a wide net can seem useful at first, but long-term business comes from building a book of business. The best way to do this is to begin by focusing in on one particular skill you have, and hitting it hard from the get-go. You can diversify later, but if you want steady income, spend your first months developing a clientele and a good reputation at one trade. Use that initial endeavor as the anchor for your independent work, and you’ll find yourself ready to be your own boss much sooner than if you spread your efforts around many different jobs.

Online Presence

Getting clients for your side gig is more than just posting ads. While it is vital to have adds up on all relevant sites like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, having a central point of entry is extremely important. Instead of just dropping your contact info on each ad, get ahold of a cheap or free web domain and create a site for your trade. This way, you can direct people to a website focused on you and your portfolio. Now, instead of saying “they did great, I found them on Craigslist,” your clients can send a link to their impressed friends and family. Now you are dealing with a faster referral process, and much less competition. The site will also provide more space for you to explain what you do, and how well you do it.

Scheduling

Consistency is key. If you have a set schedule of when you can get jobs done, make it public and stick to it. One of the biggest issues people have with independents is reliability, and you can be the one to change that impression. Having this schedule public will also serve to reduce friction in the customer acquisition process. “Can you do 6pm on Thursday?” leads to a close much faster than “When are you able to come by?” As with anything, the more information you give at the onset (without overloading) the less they need along the way. When it comes to business that more or less has to finds you, a fast initiation process can make or break you. People are usually asking around many different ads, and the person who can close them the fastest will usually win the day.

Different Ways To Earn Money Online

February 13, 2020 By Susan Paige Leave a Comment

Advancements in technology have brought about many positive changes in the world today. For as long as you know how to use it wisely, technology plays an imperative role not just in social activities but even that of employment and career needs as well. When you browse through the Internet today, you’re sure to find many websites that offer jobs. More often than not, too, these websites offer legitimate ways to earn a good living.

In this article, you’re going to learn about the many different ways for you to earn money online. Some you can do on your part-time, while others can be done as a full-time employee, only that your home is your office. You’ve only got to filter your options based on that which best matches your needs, preferences, and schedule.

Taking Online Surveys

Taking online surveys is one of the best examples to earn money. But, often, the pay isn’t as high. You have to take so many surveys before you can come up with a stable and good withdrawable amount. With taking surveys, therefore, this is something that you should do on top of another online job, or on top of a day job that you do at the office.

The good thing about earning through taking online surveys is that these are often very easy to do. Plus with paid survey sites, you can also complete and accomplish them during your idle time. Rather than wasting time being unproductive online, use that time instead for a money-making opportunity through taking online surveys.

Be careful though – a lot of surveys take a good deal of time, and don’t necessarily pay out a lot.

Use A Mobile App

Leveraging the app economy means taking advantage of the services offered in mobile apps. If you wish to earn money, you can also use these apps. Depending on the kind of app, it’s up to you to match it with the skills that you have for you to earn. Common examples of mobile apps that are popular for this reason are the following:

- Inbox Dollars – This is an app that you can use to earn by watching TV, shopping, and taking surveys.
- iBotta – Earn by shopping? iBotta gives you cash back for purchasing featured products by major retailers. An excellent way to go about with this is to sign up for iBotta and check its offers first before you head out to shop for your needs. If there’s anything that you can buy through this app and get cashback for. One important to factor to consider that iBotta isn’t going to make you money, per say. It just reduces the amount your groceries cost.
- Swagbucks – This app also lets you earn even while you’re sitting on your couch. Through surfing the web, answering videos, shopping, or taking surveys, you’re paid cash or given a gift card.

Get Paid For Searching The Web

If you’re the type who loves to search the web during your free time, why not get paid each time that you search? This is one of the easiest ways for you to earn an income without making any changes in your routine or lifestyle. But, like answering surveys, this also isn’t the most sustainable option. You can do this on the side, along with a better-paying job.

Sell Your Photos Online

Selling your photos online is an excellent way for you to earn a passive income. All you’ve got to do is to post your photos on sites such as Shutterstock. Each time that another user downloads or needs your photo, you get paid a royalty for it. The great thing about selling your photos online is that you don’t even necessarily have to be a professional photographer. If you love taking pictures and you’ve got so many pictures to share with the world, then why not do so. That way, your photos don’t just stay stagnant. You get to earn from them, too.

Dinksfinance has an excellent review article on how to make money as an amateur photographer. Read it if you get a chance.

Trade Online

Trading online is one of the most lucrative ways to earn through the web. The only downside to it is that this stuff is extremely serious. You need to first have at least a minimum background in trading before you get right into it. Otherwise, you could be a risk for serious financial losses.

Here are some rules to follow:

- - Always have a trading strategy
  - Stay informed with the latest updates in securities, trading methods and securities regulations
  - Determine the particular trading style that you’d like to use
  - Risk only the amount that you can afford to lose

Sell Your Stuff Online

Selling your stuff online can either be some of your used stuff to earn extra income or new things, such as through running an online business. If you take the time to look through websites online, you’re going to find so many sites selling many different things, such as ThreadUp, for instance. If you’re a fashion enthusiast who loves to create your own clothes, this is a good place for you to start. Read through this article to learn how much you can make with ThreadUp. Other good sites are ebay and Facebook marketplace. Craigslist is becoming less popular.

In social media sites also, there are online shops already multiplying like rabbits. This is how in-demand online shops are today.

Running an online store is an excellent way to earn an income because the capital doesn’t have to be as substantial. You don’t even need to have a physical warehouse or a physical store. While at the comfort of your home, you can manage and start to earn an income. If this is managed well, and it grows, your business can even become a stable source of income not only for yourself, but for your family.

Start Your Blog

If you’re a writer or love writing, starting a blog is a perfect fit for you. The great thing about starting a blog is that you don’t have to face the screen all the time. You can do this on the side, along with another job. That way, whatever you earn from your blog is already an extra income for you.

With blogging, however, you need to have patience. As you start, you still have to work really hard to build steady traffic to visit your site. With the right effort and determination, however, you can slowly begin to build financial stability through your blog.

To help you along this line, here are some tips for you remember:

- - Have a unique blog name
  - Choose a blogging platform that you best prefer
  - Create a theme that matches the niche of your blog
  - Choose a niche that you’re comfortable writing regularly about, such as a finance blog, if you used to work in the field of finance
  - Always write about relevant topics

Don’t forget, blogging is not easy money, you’ll likely need to work at it for a year before you see any serious results.

Download And Sell Courses Online

This applies to you if you have a field of expertise that you’re specializing in. For instance, you used to be a professor before you had to take a leave. You can even be an expert in fashion design, photography, blogging, Vlogging, or content creation. Whatever it is, there’s an opportunity for you to create classes or courses and sell them online.

As working online has become quite in-demand, so also has the clamor for students to take online classes. This means that as the demand for online courses stays steady, so too will the need for professors and other experts to teach courses online. People often want quick and easy approaches to learning new subjects, so there is plenty of room to

Start Affiliate Marketing

Working as an affiliate marketer has a necessary prerequisite to it. Before you can start with affiliate marketing, you’ll first need to have a blog or a Vlog up-and-running with a steady following or audience. You only become attractive to companies looking for affiliates when you already have a strong audience. That way, you can be successful in influencing people to buy the particular product or service that you’re promoting.

Affiliate marketing means that companies pay you to advertise their products and services on your blog. You can be paid with a certain amount of commission for every sale made while using your link or code.

Generally, affiliate marketing works well when you’re also promoting products and services that fall within the niche of your blog. To be more successful, here are some tips to remember:

- - Be passionate also about the products or services that you’re promoting (e.g., you can’t promote a resort well when you don’t even love traveling)
  - Always track the progress of your affiliate marketing
  - Learn from other affiliate marketers who are more successful than you

Conclusion

Earning a stable income online may seem like a difficult thing for many. There are even those that dread the idea, as many make it out to be more complicated than it is. But, the truth is it isn’t. Working online can, in fact, sometimes be easier than having to commute and report to the office on long, traffic hours. Just like any other job, though, it also requires some discipline. You have to set your time, such that you’re still productive and don’t end up slacking just cause you’re home. Whether you’re looking for something part-time or one that can sustain your family in the long run, there are many opportunities for work online. This list comprises only a few of them.

For more excellent lists of ways to make money, consider these other Saving Advice articles:

Thirty-Eight Easy Ways To Make Extra Money

Five Ways To Make Money On Your Phone

One Hundred and Two Ways To Generate Extra Cash

Where to Find Rare Game Pieces for Albertsons Monopoly

February 12, 2020 By Amanda Blankenship 553 Comments

If you’re familiar with the Albertsons’ Monopoly promotion, then you know it’s no secret that your chances of winning the jackpot prize are extremely difficult. This year, the big cash prize is $1,000,000 once again. But, don’t get your hopes up; the odds of winning aren’t great. This year though, they are a littler bit higher!

Finding Rare Game Pieces

In order to win one of the bigger rewards, such as the vacation home, luxury car or home makeover, you need to find rare and semi-rare pieces. These change every year, and with the competition just starting last week, it may take some time before all the rare pieces are revealed.

However, there are a few places to look and a few things for you to know when beginning your search for rare Monopoly pieces:

Get creative. Leave no stone unturned when searching for these items or leads. Many blogs share the full list of items as well as continuously update as the promotion continues. We suspect you will be able to find more of these by the end of February or beginning of March all over the internet. People seem to really ban together for this event as it is knowingly challenging to fill your game board. Some online forums we found were on YouTube.com with a search for Albertsons Monopoly.
Get out of the area. You probably will not have much luck if you only shop in the participating stores in your area. If you are really dedicated to winning this year, you are going to need to shovel out some gas money and consider taking a road trip or two (both long and short) to increase your chances of finding these rare game pieces. As a reminder of the game rules, you can even make a small purchase in order to receive a ticket, but there are exceptions such as no tickets provided with purchases of tobacco products and lottery tickets.
Start early. The sooner you start, the better as you will believe to collect more over time. However, expect to see a large distribution of tickets in April since the contest ends May 5. You may be able to lock in some last-minute prizes at this time and having some decent tickets to trade will help your chances.
Share the wealth. There are participants who are willing to buy, trade and sell tickets they need for this Albertsons’ Monopoly promotion. Individuals will sell on eBay as well as trading sites like this one. Of course, the rare pieces will be a bit costly as the seller may be potentially helping you win $1,000,000. You, too, can cash in, though, by selling tickets you don’t need or even trading groups of tickets with other competitors in order to fill in a color on the board.
Be careful. Be quite cautious when you are hunting for areas to buy and sell these rare game pieces. The world is full of scammers, and the internet is no exception. Do your research, review the seller and make sure you are submitting your credit card numbers through a safe and secure site.

What Are The Rare Game Pieces in 2019?

Below, is a list of the rare game marker list for Albertsons’ Monopoly 2020 Collect & Win game. These may be updated as more information is collected throughout the promotion. All of these have cash value (from $1 million to $5 cash):

A606F
B611D
M656A
J643B
J646E
F630D
C615E
P667D
N663C
L653B
K649B
H641A
G635C
E625C
D623A

The Odds of Winning

Albertsons Play Monopoly promotion site notes that the odds for the top three Collect & Win prizes are as follows:

$1,000,000 Cash (30-year annuity) – 552,501,000: 1
$250,000 Vacation Home – 368,334,000: 1
$100,000 Cash or Boat – 110,500,200: 1

Additionally, there are a number of instant win opportunities and small prizes available as well. The smaller the prize, the more likely you are to win.

These odds are based on finding the rare game piece. Many people have been able to win in the past by trading these game pieces online. Visit the Saving Advice forums Albertsons Monopoly trading thread.

How to Win Super Bowl Squares During the 2020 Game

January 28, 2020 By Amanda Blankenship 5 Comments

The big game is just around the corner. It won’t be long before you’re sitting in front of your TV watching the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs playing Super Bowl LIV to see who becomes the 2020 champion. You may even have put a pool together for the game with money or alternate prizes for some added fun. Here’s how to win Super Bowl squares (or at least better your odds).

How Super Bowl Squares Work

If you participate in Super Bowl football squares pool and it’s done correctly, there really isn’t any way to better your odds of winning. This is because the numbers for the game will be randomly assigned after all of the spaces in the game have been filled. This will mean that nobody knows which numbers they have until after they have already chosen squares. This ensures that those who receive the most coveted spaces do so randomly.

How to Win Super Bowl Squares

The key is that there’s no way to better the odds if the game is set up correctly. The reason that many times it’s possible to better your odds is that often these games aren’t set up correctly. You can do this by understanding the odds of what number combinations are most likely to appear from past Super Bowls. By knowing the number combinations with the greatest chance of appearing, you can choose those slots giving you a distinct advantage over those who join the pool later or don’t understand that some squares are much more likely to win than others.

When football squares are set up correctly, all participants must choose their square (among the white squares from the image above) before the 0 – 9 numbers for both teams are written (the grey squares in the above image). The mistake that happens more often than it should is that the 0 – 9 numbers are filled in before people choose their squares. When this happens, you can choose squares which are much more likely to pay than those that aren’t because you know exactly where they are. Even if you know nothing about football, you have a good chance of winning by knowing the numbers most likely to appear. Here are the numbers you need to know:

The simple rule of thumb is that you want squares that have the numbers 0, 7, 3 and 4 in them and avoid squares that have the numbers 2 or 5 in them. If you have your choice, you want to pick one of the five following combinations:

0-0
7-0 (0-7)
3-0 (0-3)
7-3 (3-7)
0-4 (4-0)

Looking at all the past Super Bowls, this is how often all the numbers have appeared: “0” has appeared 101 times (26.9%), “7” has appeared 78 times (20.7%), “3” has appeared 58 times (15.4%), “4” has appeared 39 times (10.4%), “6” has appeared 31 times (8.2%), “1” has appeared 23 times (6.1%), “9” has appeared 17 times (4.5%), “8” has appeared 10 times (2.7%), “5” has appeared 10 times (2.7%) and “2” has appeared 9 times (2.4%).

Take Note of This And Good Luck!

By understanding that the 0-0 square (or any of the others mentioned above) is much more likely to appear sometime during the game than the 2-2 square (or any other square not mentioned above), you can greatly increase the chanced that you’ll win one of the prizes given away. It’s important to note that these are the odds, and that doesn’t mean the above numbers are guaranteed to win. They simply suggest that going by past Super Bowl games, which numbers are much more likely to appear and which aren’t.

With the above knowledge, you could take advantage of any game put together where the 0-9 numbers have already been written on the sheet before filling in your square(s) and increase the likelihood of winning. A better course of action, at least in my opinion, would be to point out the flaw in the way the game has been set up. The game can then be properly set up so that it’s random and nobody has an advantage over anyone else when the numbers are chosen.

Finally, for a handy printable Super Bowl squares chart, go here.

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3 Cheap Hobbies That Can Also Bring in Cash

January 28, 2020 By Trey LaRocca Leave a Comment

When it comes to the monthly budget, wiggle room is hard to come by for most people. Whenever a new expense comes up, we are always looking for what we have to go without to compensate. Well, what if you didn’t have to sacrifice anything to have an extra date night? What if that new yoga membership didn’t mean you have to give up post-work drinks on Friday? All this is possible, and you may be able to pull it off with your own cheap hobbies! To show you how this is possible, here are some cheap hobbies that can make you money.

Driving Around

DO you have a comfortable car, and enjoy cruising around your area? Uber and Lyft have become mainstays for side-hustlers. Sign up for an account, grab some snacks and drinks for the back seat, and earn that extra dough! Be careful about this one, and make sure you have the right vehicle. Certain higher-end vehicles depreciate heavily with mileage, and the loss you’ll take on that can compound with premium gas expenses to rapidly make this one not worth it. Older reliable cars that just barely make the year/make/model requirements for the apps are the best option. these have already depreciated, and are probably cheaper to fix. Bonus points if you have a hybrid!

Cooking

Got some skill in the kitchen, and need some extra fun-money? Not only can being a good cook save you cash on eating out, it can also be monetized by selling the food you make! You can sell homemade snacks to coworkers, cater for parties, or even work on the side as a private cook. There are options here for all skill levels, as dealing some easy pastries at work doesn’t take too much expertise and will make you an office favorite. The more you can make, the more money you can bring in, and this one is very easy to work around your own schedule.

Tutoring

Do you have a degree in a high-demand field, and love to teach? Tutors can make great money on the side using online sites like Varsity Tutors or even Craigslist. You can also become a part-time staffed tutor at local educational institutions for a more reliable workload. Usually a degree is required, which elevates the pay past your usual side hustle. Tutoring holds an extra special spot on this list, as you are earning money by helping educate your community. Not only are you providing better for yourself or your family, you’re also giving back to those around you. It doesn’t get much better than that!

What Are the Most Appealing Products to Sell Online?

January 14, 2020 By Susan Paige Leave a Comment

The internet has made selling products online easy from anywhere in the world. With new trends, it’s convenient for you to find your specific niche products. With this in mind, here are some of the things to make and sell Shopify.

Coasters

Used to rest drinks upon and protect the surface of tables, coasters are one of the items that are easy to make and sell online. You can make them using a range of materials, including faux leather, leather, plastic, melamine, tile and paper. You can mix and match coasters with cool shapes, vibrant colors and unique material. If you want to make colorful, unique coasters, you will need supplies such as ceramic tiles, a sponge brush, felt, clear acrylic glaze, fabric glue, decoupage glue and scrapbook paper. You can glue the paper to the ceramic tile and let it air dry before painting them over with decoupage glue.

Clothes

Fashion has a high demand and appeals to many people worldwide. People are always looking for glamorous shirts, trousers, coats and jackets. As such, aspiring designers can create original designs and sell them on the internet.

Pet bed

Pet beds are designed to keep dogs or cats warm, support their arthritic joints and prevent calluses. They also help pet owners to preserve their furniture and concentrate dog shedding in one area that can be cleaned with ease. For these reasons, pet beds are one of the most popular trending products online. You can make pet beds of different sizes, colours and shapes. There are various filling options you can choose from. Fibrefill is a soft choice while memory foam is a great choice for those looking for a pet bed for their dog that has arthritis. Alternatively, you can use a bed pillow, old towels, blankets or T-shirts to make an inexpensive pet bed filler.

Jewellery

Jewellery has always been trending and popular among everyone. It’s a consumer product that does not have boundaries as it appeals to both women and men of all age groups and culture. However, originality is the key if you want to be a successful seller in this niche. Keep up with the changing trends in the world of fashion and make sure your designs reflect who you are. You can offer anklets, bracelets, necklaces and rings. You can make these products from a variety of mediums such as beads, shells and gemstones.

Bath bombs

Used to add essential oils, color, bubbles or scent to bathwater, bath bombs are made from mixtures of dry ingredients that effervesce when wet. They are also easy to make and one of the most selling items online. To make your bath bombs, mold them into attractive shapes, giving them attractive smells and colors. This will help you sell your creations swiftly. With originality and unique branding, you can good money selling bath bombs.

For more great savingadvice articles, read these:

Ways To Make Extra Money

Take the 52 Week Money Challenge

Need Money, You Can Always Get Naked

Image source: Manu, via Flikr.