10 Ideas to Earn Extra Money from Home

In today's uncertain economy, knowing how to make some extra money from your home can be a huge help towards paying those ever-increasing bills. Here are some great ways to earn extra money in your spare time without having to pay fees or leave your house. Great resources for at-home moms or college students!

1. Write for eHow -- eHow has a fantastic Writer's Compensation Program and it is free to sign up. The concept is simple. Everyone is an expert at something. Begin posting articles about what you already know. At the end of the month, if you have made more than $10, you will be paid via PayPal. If you make less than $10, it will be carried over to the following month.
   
2. Design Merchandize -- If you know your way around Photoshop, or The Gimp, consider designing your own t-shirts, coffee mugs, or other merchandize for CafePress. You can open a free shop and begin selling your merchandize instantly. When you earn over $25 you will get a check in the mail! CafePress takes care of the production and shipping of your order, and you can earn big commissions.
   
3. ChaCha Guide -- If you enjoy looking things up online, consider working as a ChaCha guide. Guides earn money based on how many queries they answer. Clients ask questions via text messages, and you are the person who answers their questions. Answer as many or as few questions as you like, and guides have the ability to be paid instantly via a debit card, or paid via check after a few weeks.
   
4. Amazon's MTurk -- Amazon's MTurk program lets you work as little or as much as you want, however the jobs can get boring after awhile. Once a job is approved, you will be paid instantly via Amazon gift card, or have the money transferred to your bank account.
   
5. Start a Blog -- Another great way to earn extra cash is to start a blog and write about what you know. Use Google Adsense program to generate some extra income by advertising on your blog. Also, consider linking into Amazon's Associate program and you can earn commissions for referring traffic to products Amazon already sells!
   
6. Trade in Your Old Cell Phone or iPod -- This process could not be any easier. Go to FlipSwap.com and find the model for your old cell phone or iPod and answer some quick questions about its condition. FlipSwap will send out a prepaid envelope mailer, and you will earn Amazon Gift Cards. It is also good for the environment to keep those old electronics out of the landfill.
   
7. Write an eBook -- Digital documents and eBooks are becoming increasingly popular, and it is a terrific way to earn extra cash without leaving your home or paying fees. Use a word processing program, such as MS Word, and save your eBook as a .pdf which can be uploaded to Lulu.com. You set your own price!
   
8. Address Envelopes -- If you have neat handwriting or know caligraphy, consider earning some extra money by addressing envelopes. This can work well for political campaigns, weddings, graduation announcements, baby announcements, and more.
   
9. Write Santa Letters -- Writing letters from Santa can be a fun way to earn some extra money. For an authentic touch, have the envelope post marked from the North Pole by addressing your envelope to: North Pole Christmas Cancellation, Postmaster, 5400 Mail Trail, Fairbanks, AK 99709-9999. To ensure delivery in time for Christmas, items should be received at the post office by Dec. 15.
   
10. Join MyPoints -- Join MyPoints for free and earn points for visiting website links that are sent to your email, referring people, or purchasing items through the MyPoints website. Points can be redeemed for gift cards from many different merchants.
    

Have any other great ideas to make money from home? Leave a comment and tell us about it!

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Cutting Expenses

During an economic downturn it is important to go through the family budget line-by-line to determine if there are ways to cut back on spending.  Here are some of the ways our family cut expenses and saved hundreds of dollars each month:

1. Cut the Cable -- Mark installed an antennae and now we get our T.V. for free.  For movies, we borrow DVDs from the library.  If there is a show we do not get over the air, we watch it on hulu.com. Savings: $40/month or $480/year
2. Adjust the Cell Phone Plan --  My cell phone contract had expired, so instead of renewing it, I switched to a TracFone for a pay-as-you-go plan.  I get the convenience of a cell phone when I am away from home, or for an emergency, but without the high bills.  Savings: $60/month or $720/year
3. Drive Less --  Now we group errands together to improve our gas mileage, and have less frequent trips to the store.  Savings: $100/month or $1200/year
4. Slash the Grocery Bill --  I started clipping coupons, and matching coupons to sale ads to maximize our savings.  Savings: $300/month or $3600/year
5. Adjust Insurance Deductible --  Keep in mind car and home insurance is to cover financial disaster only.  It is not to cover "inconvenience" bills or small repairs.  We increased the deductible on our home and car insurance.  Savings: $50/year
6. Save Electricity --  We adjust a programmable thermostat to 65 degrees in the winter to reduce our electric heating bill.  Also, we replaced all light bulbs with CFLs and line-dry clothes instead of running the clothes dryer.  Savings: $50/month or $600/year
7. No More Paper Towels or Paper Napkins --  We replaced these with reusable cloth kitchen towels and cloth napkins instead.  Savings: $10/month or $120/year

Total Savings = $564/month or $6,670/year!!