How to Earn Money Without a Job

Jobless? Trying to live on minimum wage or unemployment? Retired but need more income? There are ways to earn some cash when you need some, either for short-term financial help or as a long-term money-maker.

Here are some more ways you can earn money when you have lost your job, can't get a job, or maybe you are retired but need more money to live on, or you work a minimum wage job and need more money than that to support yourself. 

None of the jobs in this article are online or internet jobs, although there are plenty of those kinds of jobs available too.

There are a lot of businesses that need temporary or one-time help, and that is a good place to start looking for work. Examples include working as a department store Santa, selling Christmas trees or pumpkins at a store parking lot, picking fruit for a farmer, working summers in a National Park, or as a summer campground host, working at a carnival or county or state fair. They need a lot of help during the time the fair is running. That help could be you.

How can you find one of these temporary jobs? Often they are posted through your local employment office, or in your local newspapers, as well as online on job boards and places like craigslist.

Start checking about a month before the season starts for fairs and carnivals, and throughout the summer growing season for work with farmers. Also drive down country roads and see if any farmers have posted "help wanted" signs in their orchards or fields.

For holiday or seasonal jobs like playing santa or selling pumpkins, ask your local employment agencies where/how these people are hired, or again look on craigslist and job boards.

work a summer tourist job

Also some RV work sites have listings of jobs you can do if you live in an RV. Many Christmas tree lots hire people who live in RV's to stay on their tree lots for the season. These people are called work campers and a google search for your area may turn up a job like this. You don't need to live in the RV if you are already in the area though. Just something to keep in mind.

Another idea that has worked for some people is to offer your service for free for a week or so to someone needing help, then do a really good job at whatever work you're doing, because you're going to ask the boss for a paying job when the time is right. The hard part is putting yourself forward enough to do this, but you're job hunting anyway, which is also a challenge, so you might as well try anything that will get you through the door and earning.

If you know how to do anything that other people will pay you for, then start selling your skills or products. Figure out the amount you need to make a profit and start selling.

If you have a home of your own, maybe you can rent out a room or two to someone else. Yes you lose some privacy, but you'll probably gain some security and possibly a friend too. Don't do anything illegal, and have some sort of system for checking out the people you want to rent to.

Volunteer anywhere, and do a really good job. Two different volunteer jobs I had led to a paying job somewhere else because the people I worked for appreciated my hard work, and wanted to help me out. They recommended me for a job with someone they knew that needed a good worker once they knew I was reliable and hard-working and could do the job. This happened to me in two different states where I was volunteering on different projects, and I did not ask either of the people I volunteered with to help me find a job, they just did it.

Hold a yard or garage sale. Most people have heard of this, and many people have held their own garage sale at one time or another. To make money at it, you will need to be business-like, advertise with bright signs all over the area, set up a neat display area, have items clearly marked, and price your items reasonably.

Collect scrap metal and resell this metal to the scrap metal dealers in your town or area.
You almost need a pickup or a van for this one, although it is possible to start small by cleaning out the scrap metal that is laying around your own place.
Ask around, many people will let you pick up their scrap metal, even pay you to do this, just because they can't be bothered to do it themselves.
There is a market for aluminum, copper, brass, and many other metals. To make any money at selling scrap metal you need to do some research into how to locate the metals to sell, how to identify each metal, what to avoid, and what things aren't worth picking up, and how to clean your items, as well as how to find the recycling centers.
I learned most of this from a book in my local library, but there is also information on the internet, or you can look up the scrap metal dealers in your phone book, call them, and ask them what they will take, and how to sell to them.

Collect pop bottles and cans for recycling. I doubt if anyone needs to know how this is done. I live in Oregon, where we recycle a lot, so nearly everyone takes their used cans to the grocery store here. You should do it too. Of course, you could also pick up cans beside the roads and in parking lots, and even in trash cans. (Why should these cans or bottles get thrown away, help save the planet, recycle!)

Donate your blood or plasma for money. I've never done this, but I know people who have. They earn money, and help the people who eventually receive the blood or plasma. The places that pay you for this usually advertise in some way, either in the local newspaper, or online. Ask local homeless shelters where to donate blood or plasma in your town. They should know. You won't make a lot doing this, and you can't do it all the time, but it might earn you enough to keep going.

Hire on as a parking lot attendant at your local fair grounds or event place. These jobs are advertised through employment offices usually. Or you might get a job as a ticket taker, working at the same place.

Grow lots of vegetables in your garden this summer and sell those extras. You might even start your own little vegetable stand beside your place. Make sure you take out a permit if you need to, to sell in your area.

Apply for work on a local farm. This means picking strawberries or lettuce or whatever the farmer grows in his fields. Some farmers hire people to help them during haying season too. (I grew up "haying" on a ranch, so be warned, this is hot, dirty, and hard work.) Look for these jobs in your local newspaper. Sometimes the farmers will pick up local workers in a bus or van too, to take you to the job site. Take water and a lunch!

Apply at your area tree farm, to help plant trees. This is big business in Oregon where I live. Christmas trees mostly. And it's very hard work, but if you need a job, you should look into it. Check the local newspaper for tree planting jobs. Sometimes the employment office lists them too.

Work as a seasonal firefighter. (This means forest fires.) In areas of the west and in Alaska, there is a real need for people who can do this work. It's very hard work, and can be dangerous, but it pays well during the fire season. Ask at your local employment office for the companies who hire fire fighters.

Apply at a local food cannery. In the area where I live, we have a lot of food processing jobs every summer. It's hard work, but only lasts a few weeks or a few months.

Don't forget to try those area "labor ready" associations. Each day, whoever is present and ready to work can get the work that the employers are needing workers for. These places seem to have different names in every city, but you've probably seen the long lines of men and women outside, waiting for any job available. Sign up with them and do good work whenever you do get one of these temporary jobs.

• Think positively, you can earn enough without a "regular" job to live on. Millions do right now.
• Be alert for opportunities. They are everywhere, you just need to recognize them
• When one job is about to end, you need to start looking around for another one.
• Ask the people you work for to write you a reference. It'll help when you apply for the next job.

Remember the pay might be minimal but it's more than you're making now. And if you do a good job in one of these seasonal jobs they often will invite you back the next year. It's happened to me before.

• You'll need to put some time and energy into tracking down jobs because no one is going to do this for you.
• Always be prepared, at anytime, to apply for any work going. You could be driving along a road and see a "help wanted" sign, or someone you know may mention a job opportunity and you'll have to move fast to have a chance at it.
• You won't be able to do most of these jobs for more than a few weeks, or months, and sometimes they are only a one day or one weekend event type job, so you'll have to be prepared for that.
• You probably won't have many, if any, job benefits.