Let’s face it.  We all would like to make an extra buck or so.  There seems to be so many bills to pay off and once you’ve paid them there doesn’t seem to be very much left for extra treats and such like.  So if you want to find some creative ways to make extra money then hopefully you’ll be able to find them here:-

Rent Out Your Driveway/Garage

If you have a car garage that’s just sitting there not being used or you have a large driveway for some extra cars then you can actually make pretty good money by renting this space out.  There are different ways to go about it but one way is to sign up at parkatmyhouse.com.

A big reason why people might want to rent your garage or driveway is because they are wanting to go to a stadium, airport, train station, ferry terminus or some other place like this.  In built-up areas parking can be very difficult and if you simply leave it in a random street or public car park you might worry about your car being stolen or vandalised.

However if they pay you to keep their car in your driveway or garage they will feel a lot more comfortable.  I mean, if you were going somewhere by ferry for a couple of weeks and you had to leave your car in a public car park, would you feel comfortable?  Personally this is what I do most years when I visit the island of Canna and I always worry about leaving the car.  I would be happier if I was leaving it at someone’s house.

When you sign up with Park At My House it doesn’t cost any money at all.  They just take a 15% commission which isn’t all that much.  The amount of money you can charge for renting out car space can vary greatly depend on where you are.  If you live in the middle of nowhere then you might struggle (although it’s still worth signing up anyway).  If you live in a major city near to a stadium or transport link then you could make quite a lot of money.

Alternatively you could look to advertise space in your local paper because there might be someone in the area who doesn’t have a garage and wants to keep their car safe at night.  Or perhaps they are a commuter and you live near to where they work.

Rent Out Garden Space

I was reading in my local paper some time ago about a lady who had a large garden that she really wasn’t interested in maintaining.  She knew that there was a long waiting list for people looking for allotment space to grow fruit and veg so she decided that she would allow people to grow produce in her garden.

She didn’t mention anything about charging any money for it but you could try and see how you get on.  A lot of people these days are wanting to grow their own produce because they want to eat food that is healthy and organically grown.

To advertise your space you could simply put up a notice board saying that you are looking to rent out plots of your garden for x amount of money.  You could also place an ad in your local paper.  Even if you don’t charge any money for the plots, you could always do a barter system by asking for some produce in return.

Become a Secret Shopper

There are companies out there who really want to make sure their business is being run properly so they hire the services of a secret shopper.  Basically, you’re given an assignment to go into a particular shop and carry out specific tasks such as ask questions, buy products and look at how clean the shop is.

A lot of people will say that by doing secret shopping you will get paid to shop.  But I haven’t found this to be 100% true.  I have had a couple of hair cuts, a pizza and also a couple of cheap bars of soap.  But the other things I bought such as Cds and shoes had to be returned.  (What’s the fun in that?!).  The pay wasn’t all that great either.  Every job is that bit different and you need to make sure you read your instructions carefully.  You also need to fill in the forms with detailed information about your experiences.

Over all I didn’t really think secret shopping was worth it but if you don’t have anything better to do it’s still worth signing up with some companies to see what sort of assignments you get.  You might be lucky and be given some cool jobs.

So yes, there are some very creative ways to make extra money besides the usual ones you read about such as pet sitting, car washing, gardening and selling stuff on eBay.  You might as well give them a go to see how you get on.  Just make sure you remember to declare your earnings to the tax man otherwise you might get into a spot of bother!