Wouldn’t you like to earn some extra money? There are a myriad of ways to do this but (sigh) some of them take a great deal of work. For example, you could get a second or part-time job but that would mean lots more work. You could start a blog but then do you really want to write a post nearly every day? Many people earn extra money scavenging yard sales and then reselling the stuff on eBay. But that would mean hours every weekend driving from sale to sale looking for stuff to resell – not including the time required to write, take photos and post descriptions on eBay.
But wait.
There’s a way to earn extra cash that doesn’t require much work at all. In fact, some of these tips come under the category of passive income. And what could be better than just sitting on your sofa watching money roll in?
The secret? Rent the stuff you already own.
What? You don’t think you have stuff you could rent? The fact is the list of stuff that can be rented is actually limited only by your imagination. But here are seven suggestions to get you started.
Hop on Craigslist
While this isn’t something you could rent it’s where to go to rent your stuff. Craigslist is just an amazing marketplace where you could rent just about anything and, here comes the boom … it’s free! According to StatisticBrain.com, around 50 million Americans use this site each year. But this is an area where you need to take some precautions because there’s no intermediary like there is when you use a second-hand clothing or furniture store. You’ll need to be careful when you’re meeting prospective renters and should develop a rental agreement that would protect you from theft or damage. You might also want to check with your insurance agent to see what, if any, coverage you have when renting stuff.
Rent your parking space
If you live in a metropolitan area and have a parking space you’re not using, why not rent it out? This is almost the ultimate in passive income. A person pays you money to use your space at the first of the month – while you’re doing absolutely nothing. How much you will earn will depend on where your space is and how tight parking is in your city. But there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to earn at least $200 or $300 a month. The app ParkingSpotter will let you list your parking space and you can choose to do it either short or long term. The app has a guide with suggested rates but ultimately you choose your price. ParkingSpotter is available in many big cities across the US and it costs nothing to list your parking space.
Rent your garage
There are a lot of folks out there that need either a garage or spare garage to house their vintage automobiles or their boat and trailers or camping trailers. There are also many people who just need a place to store their stuff. This again is passive income because all you really need to do is qualify your renter, have him or her sign a rental agreement and then sit back and watch the checks roll in every month.
Rent your car
If you’re not using your car much of the time why not rent it? You could list it on Craigslist with the rental amount and the times and days when your car will be available. Of course, you will need to be careful to whom you rent, make sure you have a rock solid rental agreement and you might want to check with your insurance agent to see what coverage you have in the event your renter has an accident.
Rent your living space
Thanks to the site Airbnb.com you could rent your entire house or apartment or just a part of it. In fact, you could rent just a bed. Airbnb does charge a 3% fee when your space is rented and your guests pay a guest fee. People make payments and reservations through Airbnb though it does not provide a rental agreement. It does offer a $1 million “Host Guarantee” in the event your property is damaged.
Rent your photo stuff
If you’re a photography buff or used to be one and have a lot of equipment just sitting around why not rent it to others? You should be able to rent anything including lenses, video recording equipment, lighting and more. You could list it on Craigslist or on the website CameraLends. If you choose to use this site it’s free to join but it will take 10% to 30% of the profits from successful rentals. CameraLends handles the payments online and has security measures in place to ensure your equipment’s safety.
Rent yourself
Yes, you read that right. You can rent yourself through the website RentAfriend. This is a strictly platonic website – meaning no dating. The friends that people are looking for can be for anything from going to dinner or a movie to being a tour guide for out-of-town visitors. It can also include sharing your cooking skills or accompanying someone to a concert or sporting event. You can list your profile on RentAFriend free along with your hourly rate, which is generally between $15 and $50 an hour. RentAFriend.com says some of its “friends” earn several hundred dollars a week and they get to keep 100% of their proceeds. The way the site earns money is through membership fees that are paid by those who want to rent friends.
Rent your wedding dress
You undoubtedly looked great in your wedding dress and the money you could earn by renting it will look just as great. If you want to rent your wedding dress there is the site Borrowing Magnolia and again this is basically passive income. All you do is complete a “submit a dress” application and Borrowing Magnolia’s staff will go to work for you. If the site accepts the dress you’ll then work directly with its staff on determining the dress’ rental price and how much you will earn per rental. Borrowing Magnolia’s staff even takes care of the shipping, cleaning and maintaining the dress for you.
Put your imagination to work
Don’t stop with these suggestions. Sit down and make a list of the other stuff you could rent. How about surplus furniture, that computer or printer you’re no longer using, your snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle or your skis? As we said before the stuff you could rent is really limited only by your imagination.
The great thing about having all this extra cash is it gives you the ability to improve your financial position. You can opt to use it consolidate and pay off your high-interest credit card debts. You can also use it to meet a saving goal. It will also allow you to invest your money so it can earn for you. So go on and rent what you already own. It will help make your finances more secure in the future.
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