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Tips for Increasing Income

Today might be a good day to think about increasing income. Everyone can use extra money to pay bills. You might even think about earning extra cash for this year's holiday spending. When you have more money in your pocket, you will be able to save more money by laying out a concise plan for expenses. Huge credit card debts can take months to pay off and look scary when you get them. This becomes especially true during an economic downturn. Here are some ideas to make or save more of your money.

Build a Web Site

If you have any special knowledge about a subject, you can make money from it! You don't have to be technically advanced to do it, if you use the right web hosting site. Either make your knowledge sell or make your site sell! Either one will help you kick start increasing income!

Affiliate Yourself

Make this year the year to get organized . If you run any kind of website, commercial or personal, you can add affiliate links to it and get paid each time somebody buys something from you or you refer them to a service. Most of them are free to join, you just have to promote them. If you've already got a site, why not try Amazon.com, LinkShare Referral Program or Shareasale.com, for example. Of course, if you want to generate a substantial income, you'll need a high level of site traffic, and this can be difficult to achieve, unless you use Sitesell.com.

If you're sure you can provide site content which will appeal to a substantial number of people then give it a try, but generally it's not worth starting one up just for the purpose of affiliate linking.

Grab Grants

There are grants galore available if you know where to look. You can fix up your home, go back to school, or get business help. A grant is money, or a voucher for money, that helps you pay for the cost of something you buy. Although grants may not cover the full cost of something, meaning you'll have to cough up the rest yourself, it is almost always completely free to apply for one. Grants are usually offered to encourage people to do or buy something they wouldn't normally consider.

Most grants tend to be for specific suppliers, which can mean even after the grant, it isn't necessarily the cheapest place so always check if you can get grants cheaper somewhere else. There are a number of grant search engines where you can find out exactly what money you're eligible for. Find them here. If you're into grant writing, you can always learn to write your own grant . Start applying for grants and increasing income now!

Rent a Room

Renting a room means you can take in a renter to live in a furnished room in your home. In the US, you will have to pay taxes on the income if you tell the IRS like you're supposed to do. Renting a room is a good way of increasing income quickly, if you're prepared to pay taxes on the income. As a landlord you'll likely be able to ask for a deposit and a month in advance, which means ready cash comes in quickly, although making room for another person in your home, can be down right uncomfortable at times. There are some pitfalls to renting a room so learn all you can before jumping in.

Crafts and Hobbies

If you are a hobby or craft buff, try selling your jewelry, quilts, artwork, photos. There are many sites, including eBay.com, but there are also other sites like Etsy.com, which is designed exclusively for buying and selling homemade goods. Selling anything homemade during a tough economy will help you by increasing income. How much? Potentially $100's, depending on your spare time, artistic ability, and your ability to sell yourself.

Babysitting

If you like the idea of watching TV and eating someone's food while the kids sleep, you might be the perfect candidate for babysitting. It isn't hard, but children can be unruly at times, so you'll have to be able to deal with them diplomatically. You'll need a proven track record with children, (possibly your own!), and a few good references. A good way to start increasing income is to work for your friends, family, or neighbors first. You can always apply FREE to Care.com and find all sorts of jobs where you care for children, the disabled, or elderly folks.

Pet/House Sitting

House sitting or pet sitting is easy to do! Start increasing income by maintaining a house or watching over pets or plants. Obviously, you need to have no other commitments to worry about. It'll be easiest to sign up with an agency, so be prepared to provide references and expect a thorough check of your background, including any criminal records. After all, would you be happy to leave your home in the hands of a stranger?

Terms & conditions vary from company to company. Some will expect you to be available all the time while others offer work on a more casual basis. You can find an extensive list by just doing a Google search.