6 Easy Ways to Make Money This Summer

Summer is nearly here and, for many of us, that means food, fireworks, and fun in the sun. Of course, like everything else in life, all of it costs money. Whether you need to boost your funds to cover your air conditioning bills or you just want some extra cash for more of that summer fun, we’ve got six great ways you can make it happen.

 

Take On Someone Else’s Chores

One of the best ways to make money is to find the things people don’t want to do and do it for them. Cleaning, handyman work, moving boxes, running quick errands, and other such tasks are things that you can take on for others. If you’re the type that enjoys vacuuming and scrubbing countertops, housekeeping could be a perfect option.

You can advertise on social media or in local publications, or you can use websites where clients list their needs for people like you to take care of. TaskRabbit is one such site that allows you to find a variety of available freelance jobs in your area, from furniture assembly to car washing. Pay varies depending on the service(s) offered. As an example, the median hourly pay for a self-employed housekeeper is around $20.40.

 

House- or Pet-Sit for Someone

Babysitting is great as a side gig, but why not try house-sitting or pet-sitting? Whether it’s for a friend, family member, or someone on your local Craigslist page, keeping an eye on someone’s home and/or pets while they’re out of town is a great way to make extra cash without much major effort. If you work from home, are between jobs, or have regular days off, you might even offer to let someone’s dogs out a few times a day while the homeowner is at work.

Depending on how long you’re asked to house-sit and how significant the duties are (watering plants, checking the mail, etc.), the money can really add up. The median hourly pay for a dog sitter is roughly $13.17.

 

Be the Neighborhood Hero—Drive the Ice Cream Truck!

women in line for the ice cream truck

If your heart doesn’t race when you hear the cheerful music box tinkling of the ice cream truck, you’ve clearly fallen out of touch with your inner child. If, on the other hand, you can still feel the thrill of paying 75 cents for a misshapen Snoopy ice cream bar, you may be destined to take up the mantle and drive the truck yourself!

Ice cream trucks—or vans, as many have become—are a great choice for people who like to drive around making kids smile (especially if you don’t mind the chill of the fridge and the repetitive children’s songs). If you live in an area that’s friendly to food trucks, you could opt for a truck with a pop-up awning so you can set up shop at will.

Ice cream truck drivers tend to be paid on commission, with a weekly income of roughly $300-600.

 

Offer Your Car as Ad Space for Businesses

If there’s blank space on it, businesses are willing to put an ad on it. Today, custom wraps, magnets, and other materials can be easily applied to any vehicle to create a moving billboard. Hypothetically, the more space you’re willing to give them, the more money you stand to earn.

Like most freelance opportunities, you can advertise on your own or use third-party sites and services to find interested clients. Websites like Wrapify make it easy for you to list your vehicle as available for advertising and receive inquiries from businesses that are interested. The amount of pay you’ll receive depends on a variety of things like the size of the ad and how long you plan to have it on your vehicle.

 

Play Host to Travelers

If you’re a people person who enjoys meeting adventurous strangers and hearing their stories, opening up your home to travelers is an easy and unique way to make some cash. List space in your home as available for rent on sites like Airbnb, Homestay.com, and VRBO, and then simply wait for your guests to arrive.

You can also rent out your home while you’re away on that Caribbean cruise or family waterpark weekend. Rather than let your home sit empty or pay to have a house-sitter, you could be earning money without doing much of anything (or even being present!). Total pay depends on your listing price and how long you’ll be renting it out. Airbnb estimates that a person could potentially make $1,000-2,000 a month with their service.

 

Sell Things You Don’t Need or Use Anymore

person holding knitted textiles

If you’ve been binge-watching Japanese organizer Marie Kondo’s Netflix show, you already know the power of tidying up and simplifying your life, but before you toss all those great shoes and bracelets into the trash, remember: There are people who might want to buy that stuff! Working room-to-room, gather all the things you don’t need or use that might be valuable for sale. A barely worn pair of sunglasses is a great item, while a defective old pocket calculator is probably better off in the garbage.

If you don’t mind waiting for the customers to bite, you might choose to sell your unwanted things in a garage sale or on the internet. If you’d rather have cash in your hand at the end of the day, though, a pawn shop is a great way to go about it. Make sure you choose a pawn shop that is not only willing to buy what you’re selling, but which also has a reputation for fair and accurate assessments.

Be especially careful when you pawn jewelry, as determining the value of precious metals and gemstones requires a certain level of skill and expertise. If you take your diamond tennis bracelet to the nearest pawn shop, you want to be sure that you’re getting a fair deal. Any pawn shop should be able to show you proof that their staff is certified to assess the jewelry properly.

The amount of money you can make by pawning unwanted items depends on what you’re selling, the condition it’s in, and how valuable it is in the current market. Some of the most popular (and highest-paying) items to sell at pawn shops include jewelry (silver and gold jewelry are especially good for scrap), power tools, unique coins and other forms of currency, guns, high-end electronics, musical instruments, and rare or historic collectible items.

 

Make Summer Cash Fast at GEM Pawnbrokers

For more than 70 years, we’ve been offering customers like you the highest, most fair prices for pawn electronics, diamonds, watches, collectibles, clothing, shoes, and much more. Our friendly expert staff members are certified by the Gemological Institute of America and Jewelers of America, ensuring that jewelry evaluations are accurate and honest. If you’ve got an incredibly valuable piece, the last thing you want is to entrust it to someone who can’t tell diamonds from cubic zirconia!

Need an instant cash loan to help you pay bills or start the small business of your dreams? With a pawn loan from GEM Pawnbrokers, you can walk in with your ID and collateral item(s) and walk out with cash in your hand.

Stop in at any of our 24 convenient New York area locations to get cash for your unwanted items today, or call us at (718) 596-5626 for more information.

Sources:

  1. https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Maid_or_Housekeeping_Cleaner/Hourly_Rate/034eec28/Self-Employed
  2. https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Dog_Sitter/Hourly_Rate
  3. https://www.jobmonkey.com/uniquejobs3/ice-cream-job/
  4. http://www.airbnb.com/host

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