More Quick Cash Jobs

OK, so I have been checking out where some of my traffic comes from the last few days…and obviously, there are many of us that are often in the same boat! A lot of my traffic comes from people searching for single mom, no food, quick cash, no money, not enough money, and so on. Yikes! Can it get any scarier? I mean, if you are a single parent, and especially if you are already working full time, and you are searching for things like that, it is time to make a change! A small change, slow change, big change, or fast change….You have obviously GOT to do something differently if you are in that position! And, at the moment, I am going to say that I can consider myself one of the lucky ones. I mean, I have pets, but they aren’t as expensive as kids. And I only have one child. I have several friends that are single moms with 2 or 3 kids. So, if you are a single parent, and don’t have enough money for food, what are you going to do to solve this problem right now?

OK, there are lots of things you can do long term. Get a better job, go to school, etc, etc. But, that isn’t going to put food in your baby’s mouth today, right? So, first thing you have to do is get off your ass and take a little action. Now, I know you have tried all kinds of things, and I am sure that there are people some place that could make your life a little easier. But, quit the whining and feeling sorry for your self, take care of things NOW, then worry about all that!

Second; do your family or friends know that you are looking to make some extra cash? And I mean, do they know you are ready to work for it, not just borrow it, or have it handed to you? If they don’t, start calling and emailing them. Even those people you may not get along with really well, or know very well, can come in handy at times like this. And, even if you are desperate, you do not have to tell them that. All you have do is mention you are looking for some kind of side jobs where you can make a little extra cash. Maybe mention the fact you have Christmas coming up. Now, you aren’t looking for a full time job, or even a part time job here. You are looking for people that need things done that they will pay you immediately for. That’s why people you are at least acquainted with are so valuable right now! (And no, you do NOT have to give everybody all the dreary details of your life…stick with “I am just looking to make a little extra cash…”) They may know so and so, who needs their house cleaned, and will pay $100 for the 2 hours it takes you.  Or, maybe they know the guy who has been working on the house down the block, and needs somebody to occasionally unlock the door so a prospective tenant can look around – and is willing to pay $25 for that. Or the Realtor who will pay you $150 to help supervise an Open House and pass out their business cards. Although these are certainly far from being a long term solution, they can help bail you out of an immediate crisis.  Having to pick between buying food for your kids or keeping the power turned on is NOT a nice choice to have to make, so find a way to avoid that choice!

If you don’t have a wide network of people to nag, you can still come up with a short term solution. And, it won’t be that much more difficult. You can place free classifieds on many different places for miscellaneous services. Take a look at someplace like craigslist.org for placing online ads, and the small suburban papers in your area – they will sometimes give you at least one free ad. Also, print a few fliers to post at libraries, grocery stores, and local businesses. If you are going to try a few different things out, printing fliers to post in different places from your home pc may be the way for you to go.

But, if you really and truly need cash fast, the good old telephone is going to be the way to go. Pick something you can do, and start calling people that may need you. Can you clean? Call some local contractors, carpenters, handymen & painters to see if they will pay you to clean up their jobs for them at the end of the day. Do you have a dependable car? Some courier services pay cash daily, or you could start your own. Run errands for busy people, especially while people are super busy getting ready for the holidays. Can you bake? Sometimes local offices will let you sell cookies or pies around lunchtime (I have a client who has a pie lady that visits them – and she does very well there! Everyone splurges when she visits.) Call them and see! Check with local gift shops and locally owned restaurants that do a lot of takeout business too. They may be able to sell some cookies for you, too. Know a lot about computers? Offer services as a computer tutor. The number of people that can’t tell the deference between a word document, and email, and a web site STILL amazes me. Or place an ad to be a computer tech, especially for people purchasing computers for Christmas and have never hooked one up before. (craigslist.org seems to be a very successful place for techs to run ads, btw.) Great with kids? Parents needs babysitters while they Christmas shop and go to their office parties. (added advantage – you can probably take your own kids, or have parents bring their kids to your house.)

So, use your brain, take a little action, and don’t be scared to talk to a few people. Worst case is that they will tell you no. Best case is you will make the extra money so that you won’t be desperate and depressed any more. You may even find something you like enough to do on a regular basis. And if that becomes the case, take full advantage of it!