photo credit: MNgilen

Sometimes a passive income idea is looking at you and asking to make you some extra money. In this case we’ll look at taking ordinary items at your local store and turning them into cash for your family. You might look at your next shopping trip a little differently and you probably will be smiling the entire time you’re out hunting for passive income. Just to be clear, this will require your time to buy the items and also some up front cash. If you don’t have a savings account or emergency account established, I wouldn’t suggest you try this passive income idea. You can start out small until you have amassed a nice little savings account to use for this new source of extra income.

So what is it? It’s not as glamorous as investing in stocks for passive income and it doesn’t require you to spend hours writing an ebook. You will visit the same stores you normally visit during the week, but now you’ll add some items to your shopping list. The Sunday paper or your weekly ads from major retailers will provide all the necessary information you need for this passive income idea. This weekend I found a name brand flash drive that retailed for $19.99 that had a manufacturer rebate check for $19.99. Total cost for the flash drive was $1.70 to cover the 8.5% sales tax here in California. I then fill out the manufacturer rebate to receive my check in the mail for $19.99. At this point the flash drive has only cost $1.70 and I can list the item on ebay. Name brand items sell wonderfully on ebay and look for tech gadgets and software. I have been able to pickup copies of anti virus software and resell it on ebay for a nice $30 profit. Again, make sure you have funds to cover the time it takes to receive the manufacturer rebate check. You don’t want to be paying 19.99% interest on a credit card balance while you are waiting for your item to sell on ebay.

Look for ads in your local newspaper and circle items that have rebate checks from the manufacturer. Best Buy, Radio Shack, Rite Aid, and Walgreens all offer rebate checks. This weekend I even found a blood pressure kit that was free after a rebate at Rite Aid. This could be a great source of extra income to cover some of your household groceries or even a meal out once a week.

You will need to be organized and timely with your rebate check submissions. Don’t forget to read all of the fine print and what is needed for the rebate process. Do you need the UPC code and a copy of your sales receipt for the rebate? Some retailers offer electronic checks so that the process is much more automated. You might want to start with a Walgreeens or Rite Aid and research what they offer first.

How much can you realistically make doing this? We have an electronics retailer called Fry’s that has numerous manufacturer rebate offers during the week. The retail value for this weekend at Fry’s would equal between $100-$200. Rebates were offered on hard drives, anti virus software, books, and flash drives. See if you can find some passive income ideas in your newspaper.

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I was excited to see that a regular blog that I read daily was featured on MSN Money’s blog called Smart Spending with a list of free money saving tips. Madison at My Dollar Plan has compiled a wonderful list of resources for saving money in 2009 and beyond.

Here are some of my personal favorites that I’ve signed up for as well:

Earn extra income with coins from the US Mint. I have ordered the 2008 Presidential dollars and will be using the coins for my children, for tips, and small cash purchases. The concept for the direct purchase from the US Mint is to help circulate new coins. I am planning on doing my part and making a little extra change in the process.

Big Crumbs is a shopping website portal that allows you to save money on purchases at over 200+ stores. I have earned over $300 last year and it’s free to join. I enjoy shopping at ebay and save money on all my purchases.

Some of Madison’s tips that I want to review in the coming weeks are Upromise college savings account and opening up another ING orange account.

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photo credit: gwdexter
What would you say if you could make $500 in extra income and no work was required? You would want to know what the catch was, right? I know three couples that are facing this very same question and they are measuring the risks and rewards as it will impact the entire family and the current living arrangements. I’m not talking about asking your boss for a raise or even going out and finding an alternative income source. An extra bedroom is all that is needed for the potential $500 in extra passive income. The rental income would be passive as you have already invested in the building. Would you be willing to have a roommate live in your house, condo, or townhouse for an extra $500? You could possibly make more if you had more than 1 bedroom to rent.

How would you spend an extra $500 a month?

1. Mortgage payment. This should be your primary goals. Don’t consider the extra $500 as spending money but as a resource to pay your mortgage. It will also be tempting to spend an additional $500 a month and you might want to setup an auto deduction program from your checking account.

2. Payoff credit card debt. If you are able to make your mortgage payment but are still late or just paying your minimum due, the extra $500 will apply towards CC debt. Maybe your teaser 0% rate from Chase or American Express is set to expire and you don’t know where you are going to get the money to make your minimum payment. Many wonderful articles have been written about the debt snowball effect by Dave Ramsey and basically puts the emphasis on paying off your smallest debt first. The minimum payments will still be paid towards your other debt, but Dave Ramsey suggests paying all additional funds to your smallest debt first. Then once that debt is paid, do the same technique for your second smallest bill. Repeat process until all debts are repaid.

3. Home equity line of credit (HELOC). Maybe you recently renovated your home or added an extra bedroom and have amassed a balance on your home equity line of credit. The extra $500 from a roommate could allow you to repay this debt to the bank more quickly. Maybe you have tapped out your equity, but still have more building plans you would like to accomplish. Having a roommate could help repay the loan and allow you to build your dream home. Find a roommate with carpenter skills and you might save even more money.

4. Private school. Maybe you are not happy with the public schools in your neighborhood or you want to send your children to a private school. In our neighborhood private schools cost $450-$750 a month. Having a roommate could pay for your childrens education.

5. College. Do you have a 529 college savings plan for your children? Would you consider a roommate as an option to build $500 a month towards college for you kids?

Maybe you have a roommate now and are benefiting from the added income. I would be interested to hear how you have utilized the added income. If you are facing financial stress, would you consider having a roommate to save your home from foreclosure?

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photo credit: Joseph.S

A few months ago I was looking for a source to post pictures online efficiently and cheaply. At the time I did not even think about the ability to store pictures, have a social network, and deliver quality blog traffic to my site. I was just looking for a cheap alternative to storing pictures on my computer hard drive. I was excited to get a new digital SLR camera and take picture of our trip to Disneyland, Yosemite family wedding, and as much of nature as possible. With my new Nikon D60 I was able to capture some great pictures, but soon found out that I needed many more pictures for my blog posts. How would I find them? Well, I found it and so much more. Flickr has transformed the way I upload and search for blog pictures online. Most important, I adhere to the creative commons license agreement and give attribution to the photographer. If you enjoy taking photos and have a blog, why not utilize a service like Flickr?

You might have a website about dogs or maybe you have a personal blog about mustangs. If you own a mustang you could post personal pictures on Flickr, but how will you get your other photos? If you’re writing about the new Shelby Mustang and your local Ford dealer doesn’t have one in stock, what will you do? Find a Shelby photo on Flickr that you can share through the creative commons agreement and you can now add a great picture to your blog article. Share you own mustang photos and people will find out more about you. Another writer may be looking for the photo that you just took and is interested in using it. You also never know when a magazine or print vendor might be looking for a photograph of the exact car you own.

Here’s what it has done for my blog. ( I will add that I’m an amateur and bet anyone with better skills could grab more attention and traffic):

1. Use the advanced search criteria and find creative common licensed pictures.
2. Once you’ve found your picture, leave a comment for the photographer with a link to your post.
3. Curiosity and flattery will bring that photographer to your blog or website. 1 source of traffic.
4. Whenever another visitor comes through Flickr, they can see your comment and might be interested in learning more about your site. The second form of traffic.
5. The photographer or visitor may also be interested in looking at your pictures too. A third source of traffic.
6. I’m not a professional photographer, but if you did have pictures for sale, you can mention that with a link to your site. Many photographers offer a smaller size online and then have a link if you are interesting in purchasing the larger file or a print for media. This could be a tremendous source of alternative income or extra money for your photo business.
7. Join a group. Even if you don’t own a Nikon D60, you can find others that own the same camera and share info.

Lot’s of ways to drive traffic to your site from Flickr. If you are a photographer with a blog, this is one of the easiest and best ways to start with a social network. You already have an eye for quality pictures, so now is your time to show off your talents. If you have a blog, do you utilize pictures in your posts? Do you have an alternative to Flickr that you enjoy better? Are you made any photo sales through Flickr?

More posts from bloggers excited about Flickr:

Wordpress Flickr plugin Photodropper
How to Rock Flickr Like a Champ
A Complete Guide to Finding and Using Incredible Flickr Images
Turbo Charge Your Traffic With Flickr Groups
A Comprehensive Guide to Using Flickr for Traffic Building and Brand Marketing

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photo credit: OnmiNate
With the rising costs of fuel and food, are you looking for an alternative or extra income source that can help your family budget? If you are not planning on taking Fido and Fluffy on your next business trip or family vacation, you’re going to need a safe place for them to stay. We researched several options for our two labradors before our summer trip that included a dog daycare, kennel, boarding facility, and friends.

1. The cost of the dog daycare was out of our budget at $75 a day. It was at a very plush facility that included a pool, exercise area, and lot’s of playtime with daily walks. We love our dogs, but $75 was a lot of money and not in our family budget for this trip.

2. I called two local kennels and they were very reasonable in price, but the facilities were very similar to the local pound or humane society. The cost was $40 a day, but the kennel was outside and did not provide any comfort for our summer heat. They did of course have shade and plenty of water, but no daily exercise was offered. This might work for an overnight trip, but we were leaving for 10 days.

3. The dog boarding facility was priced at $50 for two large dogs a day and was on a wonderful horse ranch. The dogs could run off leash in a large fenced area twice a day and then sleep in an air conditioned room. Our dogs wouldn’t have daily walks or swim in a pool, but would be safe and have plenty of exercise and some human interaction.

4. A pet sitter appeared to be a wonderful option as it included so much more than watching our two dogs. It also provided some additional home security by having the pet sitter drop by our home twice daily. They would pick-up our mail and also had an ala carte type pricing for other services. If we wanted the plants watered, dogs washed, and even poop scooped. Yes, they offered to do it all. Imagine coming home and someone picked up after your dogs? That could be worth $50 a day!

5. Have a neighbor or friend watch after our dogs. Do you have a friend that owes you a favor? Have you done a lot of work for them and now it’s time to collect? Well, here’s your chance. We have great friends that are also neighbors who offered to watch our dogs for a few days. We offered to pay them, but they refused. Very nice friends!

At the last minute, my parents offered to house sit and watch our dogs, which brought the cost to zero. Our two dogs would be entertained by grandma and grandpa and get hours of playing fetch with the chuck-it. I certainly did learn a lot about the dog boarding and daycare business and think the potential is huge for pet sitting or house sitting. In fact you could offer the ala carte pricing and include household errands too. What would this be worth? The pet sitter quote was $44 and would include feeding our dogs twice a day and 1 hour of playtime. $44 an hour is a nice extra income. Lot’s of potential if you love animals and enjoy belly rubs. Before you start pet sitting, check to be sure your client has homeowners insurance and that you have adequate personal/business coverage. This could be a tremendous alternative income source if you’re an animal lover.

Making $44 a day might not seem like a lot, but you could have several pet sitting clients and the earning potential could add up quickly. The website I used for researching pet sitters is found here and I actually found one that was hiring dog walkers and pet sitters. You might want to check your local zip code and see if you could learn about this business by working for one first. Besides insurance and a good vehicle, you don’t have any inventory or equipment. Everything for the dog or cat would be provided by the owner. This could be a wonderful home business opportunity for many stay at home mom or dads that are looking to supplement the family income. It would also be great for high school or college students looking for extra income and spending money.

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