Top 15 Quick & Easy Money Making Schemes that Work
 "Money makes the world go round," as the saying goes. People have always
thought outside the box to find ways to make money and pay the bills, especially
when in a difficult situation; however, more bizarre schemes always seem to come
to light in tough economic times. With the rise of technology and the ease of
finding customers via the Internet, more platforms have opened for smart people
to supplement their income when needed. Whether it is selling their skills,
selling themselves, or doing things for people, people have found some bizarre
ways to make money. Through capitalizing on a larger customer base through the
Internet, many of these individuals have been able to take a small idea and make
it larger, and even create successful large-scale businesses out of the idea.
Although not all crazy schemes have worked well from a legal standpoint,
there is a high success rate of making money through these bizarre and crazy
ideas. Listed below are the top 15 craziest successful money making schemes.
Some of them only brought in small amounts of funds, helpful in a pinch with the
possibility of adding up to some more. Others have successfully brought in
millions of dollars. Regardless of how much money they were able to amass, they
have all been successful in helping innovative people in a strapped economy make
some extra money when traditional sources of income have failed them.
15) Egg and Sperm Donation
Who would have thought that selling your gametes could actually help you pay
the bills? In the modern world, having children has become a more and more
complex procedure, especially for couples or individuals who for whatever reason
cannot have children of their own. Couples can use surrogate mothers, donated
sperm and donated eggs in order to bring a new life into the world. With more
and more couples choosing this path for children, it opens up a lucrative
opportunity for making money, especially if you are fit, have great genes, and
are well educated.
Egg Retrieval Procedure Before In Vitro Fertilization
For men, sperm donation is a simple procedure, so it is easy to donate many
times over months and years, whenever you are in a financial pinch. Your height,
health, education, fitness and sperm motility enhances the price of your
donation, which can be anywhere between $1 to $200 per donation. Although this
is not much money for one donation, it can always accrue if you make multiple
donations. For women, egg donation is a much more lucrative option and it is
also a more invasive procedure. It requires an actual surgical procedure that
removes the eggs from the ovaries, along with some hormone therapy. However, egg
donation can pay thousands of dollars, even up to $10,000 or more depending on
your health, your education, your genes and your fitness.
14) Secret Shoppers
 If you love to shop and are looking for a way to make money doing it, then
becoming a mystery shopper may just be the career for you. Market research
companies, watchdog organizations, and other companies hire people to shop at
various stores and provide feedback from their experience. As a mystery shopper,
you measure the quality of the service from the employees and ensure that they
are in compliance with all regulations. You might even be gathering information
about the products and services offered at the store.
As a mystery shopper, you do more than just shop at your leisure. You will be
asked to perform particular actions like buy a product, ask specific questions
or types of questions, complain about something, or act in a particular way,
especially a bothersome or troublesome manner. All of these actions will help
you evaluate the store and its employees. Once you have finished your shopping
trip, you report back to the company that hired you. Depending on for whom you
are working, what you do at the store may differ. If the actual company owning
the store hires you, they may have more specific actions they want you to do to
test the integrity and skills of their employees. Alternatively, a watchdog
organization will focus on the governmental regulations. A market research
company will focus on the products and services and how they may work in the
larger market.
13) Mystery Diners
Similar to secret shoppers, you can become a mystery diner. This is a
particularly lucrative option for foodies who love to eat at restaurants, but do
not want to fork out the dough. You will be asked to go to a particular
restaurant and eat there, without the restaurant knowing why you are there. You
will go to the restaurant as though you are a regular guest. Depending on who
hires you, you may be asked to order a particular meal or act in a particular
manner. Once you are finished with your meal, you will report back to the
company your findings.
By Posing as a Couple Out To Eat, Mystery Diners
Evaluations for Restaurants
Mystery diners can be used to evaluate the restaurant for many reasons, like
looking at its service or the quality of its food. A watchdog organization may
want you to help ensure that the restaurant follows all health codes and
regulations. Although you may not make a ton of money as a mystery diner, you
can at least get lots of tasty food for free. You may even get to eat at very
exclusive, expensive restaurants without having to worry about paying a dime.
12) Selling Used Women's Underwear
Sex sells, and the fetishism industry is a hot commodity. One off-beat money
making scheme that has made some people rich is selling women's used underwear
online. There are people in the world who have a fetish for used women's
underwear, and will pay richly for it. Therefore, some women have decided to
exploit the fetishism in order to make some quick and easy money.
Craigslist and eBay are common resources for female individuals who are
desperate for cash, and do not mind selling their old underwear. Some companies
have jumped on board as well, creating websites were fetishists can come and get
their fix for women's undies -- at a price. The men do not care who owned the
underwear, any woman of any background and situation can make money from their
used underwear. It can be lucrative, as well. You can make around $800 in just
half a day from selling a few pairs of your undergarments online.
11) Selling Sex via Craigslist
Another shady moneymaking scheme involves selling sex on Craigslist. There
have been many instances of people resorting to the world's oldest profession to
help pay the bills. You no longer have to go to the street corner or visit a
brothel. Instead, you can just look on eBay or Craigslist to get your (most
likely illegal) thrills. A couple in New York was arrested for offering sexual
services on Craigslist. The husband offered a night of fun with his wife at a
hotel on Craigslist for a fee to help pay the couple's bills after he lost his
job. Although they were caught before anything could occur, it shows how
desperate people sometimes turn to desperate actions to make money. This couple
is not the only one resorting to using the Internet to make money through sex.
There has been a trend lately of young women offering their virginity on
Craigslist and auction sites like eBay. One Brazilian student offered her
virginity on eBay and got an amazing $780,000. One San Diego resident attempted
to do likewise, but eBay suspended the auction before it finished. Undeterred,
she went to a legal brothel in Nevada and found a way to put the auction back
on. She claims to have been offered more than $3.7 million, although it is
unsure if anything has even actually happened. There are other stories of other
women similarly auctioning off their maidenhood to the highest bidder.
10) Selling Wishbones
Wishbones are a time-honored tradition at Thanksgiving, Christmas and any
other meals with turkey at the center. As your family sits around digesting the
turkey, dressing and all the trimmings, two fortunate members get a chance to
make a wish as they break the wishbone. The lucky one with the larger part is
successful in getting their wish granted. One company decided that the joy of
the wishbone should be available at anytime. They started to create fake
wishbones, called LuckyWishbone, and sell them. They reportedly produce more
than 30,000 a month and have made over $1 million.
These wishbones are made out of plastic. Whether the wish will be granted the
same as with a traditional wishbone is unknown. However, with these new plastic
wishbones you do not have to eat turkey in order to enjoy the tradition of
making a wish on the wishbone. Even if Tofurkey is your Thanksgiving main dish
of choice, you do not have to give up your opportunity to have a special wish.
If your family always fights over who gets to make the wish, everyone can now
have a turn.
9) Organizing Other People
Some people have a knack for organizing, while others cannot seem to organize
their homes to save their life. If you are a top-notch organizer and love to
label, then you can offer your services to make money. You can make $30 to $50
an hour or more, depending on where you live, your reputation, and your
clientele. There are several successful companies that go into people's homes
and organize their house, although most professional organizers work for
themselves. This has become such a successful money making opportunity that
people are selling books and classes to teach others how to become a
professional organizer. The TV shows "Hoarders" and "Mission: Organization" have
brought this career into the limelight, expanding the profession from 834
members of the National Association of Professional Organizers in 1995 to more
than 4,000 today.
The clients may be hoarders or just slobs, but you will be expected to get
their house into shape. Typically, a professional organizer will work alongside
the client to help sort through the junk in the home and get it all organized.
You are not there to clean their house, just to organize all their belongings
and junk. There may be some light cleaning, but for the most part you are there
to just put the household in order. You might get rid of some of your client's
belongings, but mostly you focus on finding a better way to store and allow
access all of the client's belongings. You may even help to organize their
office and files.
8) Making Money from Divorce
Divorce has become so commonplace in today's society, that many people have
found ways to make money from it. There are divorce parties, divorce cakes, and
more. One smart man, Joshua Opperman, started I Do, Now I Don't, a marketplace
for buying and selling diamond jewelry and other luxury items. When his fiancée
returned her engagement ring to him and he was unable to get his money back, he
got resourceful. The success of his business, and other similar ones,
demonstrates just how big the divorce market is today.
Jewelry is not the only part of divorce ripe for making money. Some smart
entrepreneurs have decided that a wedding is not the only part of a relationship
that deserves a big party. They have started to make money off of divorce
parties as well. Some very skilled cake decorators have created very amusing
cakes that fit the theme of divorce perfectly. Event planners create parties for
every occasion, so it is no surprise that you can now pay for your very own
divorce party planner to make sure that your divorce party will be even bigger
and better than your wedding. You do not even have to worry about the cost, just
add it to the alimony you are owed during the divorce proceedings.
7) Letters from Santa
All children love writing letters to Santa at the North Pole during Christmas. It is a time
honored Christmas tradition for kids to inform Santa in writing what they want
for Christmas, and parents tell them if they are good, Santa will provide. Like
anything, especially dealing with the commercialized holiday of Christmas,
people have found ways to make money off of the tradition. A smart individual
found a way to make money off of letters to Santa through offering replies to
the children, for a fee. Now other companies have joined in, making it easy at
Christmastime for parents to get a letter from Santa sent to their children.
There are websites that offer these services digitally, so that your child can
email Santa and get the response back.
Although there are companies that offer letter-writing services, some writers
have been inspired to strike out on their own and offer Santa letter writing
services in their own communities. Instead of parents writing back to their own
children, or just telling their children that Santa does not have time to write,
they can pay a fee and get a letter delivered for their children. This is just
one other easy way to make some extra money during the busy holiday season.
6) Line Placeholders
If you love to stand in line, then there is a perfect job for you. People are
offering their services to stand in line for people, for a fee. When big gadgets
debut, like the latest Apple iPhone or iPad, there is always a long line for
those who want to be one of the first to own the gadget. Sometimes, people will
wait in line for days for this opportunity. Likewise, lines form for getting
tickets to certain special, exciting events and more. If you do not want to wait
in line, then just pay someone else to stand there for you.
For this money making scheme, all you have to do is just wait in line. A
person will pay you, anywhere between $20 and hundreds, depending on how long
you have to wait. All you need is patience, something to entertain yourself, and
a strong bladder. For example, a college student Amanda Foote stood in line at
the New York Apple Store for 41 hours. She sold her spot to someone for $900,
which averages to $22 an hour just for standing in line. If you are looking to
buy or sell a spot in a lucrative line, then head to Craigslist, as you can
probably find an offer.
 5) Rent your House for Parking
Standing in line for other people is not the only way to exploit situations
that draw a large crowd. If you live near somewhere with high traffic and no
parking then you have a lucrative money-making opportunity from your property.
Citizens looking for some extra money have started to offer areas in their
property that can be used for parking, like their front or backyards or even
their own parking spots. This can be especially lucrative if you live near a
stadium or event center. When there is an event, you can offer parking at your
home for a fee and make some easy money. You just have to worry about damaging
your garden and your yard from the traffic on your property. However, in places
where parking is hard to get and you have the space, you can make plenty of
money exploiting the situation.
4) Chicken Pox Swap
Chicken pox parties have long been a tradition amongst parents. Chicken pox
is a highly contagious disease that once you get it, then you are immune to it
for life. Although it is a very mild disease for children, it can be very
dangerous and even lethal in adulthood. Therefore, many parents will host a
party when one of their children has the chicken pox to help their friends'
children also catch the disease. Even though there is now a vaccine for the
virus, many parents still prefer having their child catch the disease naturally
rather than vaccinating.
Child With Chicken Pox
Some smart thinking parents decided to find ways to make money through
creating a business selling chicken pox infected items. They started selling
infected clothing, rags, lollipops, and more online, shipping the items out to
the various parents. These items do not come cheap; some are reportedly sold for
$50 or more. Although these parents have made money, they haven't always made it
past the law. Viruses or disease sent by post are illegal, so the parents who
mail infected items may just find themselves in trouble with the law. For those
looking to buy such items, remember that you do not actually know the origins of
any of the items, nor what other diseases may be lurking alongside the chicken
pox virus. It is better to get the vaccine, or go to a neighborhood party where
you know the families.
3) Playing World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a popular video game that uses Gold as its in game
currency. The game itself requires a subscription of $15 a month, but it doesn't
cost you anything to get the gold while playing the game, and with it you can
enhance your playing experience. Typically you mass your Gold as you go through
the game, completing various tasks. With the Gold, you can buy secret weapons to
aid you in your quest, dragons that you can actually ride around on in the game,
and other exciting additions to the game. As long as you take your time and play
the game well, you can typically get enough Gold to have at least some of these
experiences. However, some people want to jump the gun and get their Gold
quicker and easier.
World of Warcraft is Such a Huge Game That Spin-Offs Like a
Card Game Have Developed
By Kuba Bożanowski from Warsaw, Poland (World of Warcraft card gameUploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-2.0],
via Wikimedia Commons
Therefore, there is a new, albeit not entirely legal, venture happening with
World of Warcraft. People are playing the game, amassing gold or even building a
character, and then selling it to other people for real money. World of Warcraft
enthusiasts who do not have the time, or maybe lack the skill, to get the Gold
they want will just pony up some real money to fake it. In fact, there are
almost a half a million people in China alone who are making money out of
playing World of Warcraft and selling the amassed Gold to other players.
Cool Fact: The site you are on right now (YurTopic), was funded by the World
of Warcraft market. The famous WoW speed runner
Furious Paul, created this site.
2) Faking Homelessness
There are many homeless people in this country, and around the world, that
truly need help. However, there are some individuals who choose to exploit the
situation, and people's compassion, and pretend to be homeless to make some
money. In Oregon, someone was caught scamming people by pretending to be
homeless and reportedly made about $300 per day. That can add up to over
$100,000 a year in cash, which also means it is tax-free.
In England, people
reportedly make upward to 20,000 pounds a year begging for money when they do
not actually need it. Many of the people on the streets are truly in need;
unfortunately, there are scammers who make it difficult for people to know
whether the destitute person you meet on the street is truly in need, or just
conning people.
1) Becoming a Living Billboard
One unique individual really thought outside the box when deciding it was
time for some extra money and decided to auction off parts of the body to tattoo
for companies who wanted to use him as a living billboard. Famously, an Olympian
auctioned off his shoulder in the 2012 Olympic Games to the highest bidder. The
casino Golden Palace made headlines when they paid a woman $15,000 for tattooing
the website of a casino on her forehead, and they have continued to pay others
to do likewise. Now there are lots of people making money by being living and
breathing billboards. One New York real estate company has even offered money
for employees who will get the company's logo tattooed on their bodies.
Tattooed Logo for Rapid Reality Where Employee Got 15%
Payraise
A company will pay anywhere between a few hundred to thousands of dollars for
a person to tattoo the logo or website on his or her body. The theory is that
this provides a type of living advertisement. Wherever this person goes, people
will see the logo and become aware of the product or company. It works like
traditional advertisement, except for its novelty aspect. Additionally, people
may be in places that traditional advertising may never enter. Similar to the
automobiles that drive around with websites and logos of companies on them,
people can walk around and advertise a company. If you do not mind being branded
by someone forever, then you can cash in by selling different parts of your body
to the highest bidder.
Conclusion
Many people struggle to make money, especially when the economy is down and
the job market is tough to enter. However, for some smart thinking individuals,
the traditional forms of making money do not limit them. Instead, they think
outside the box and come up with ways for their own individual skills and
circumstances to earn easy money. Some of these individuals become an
inspiration, and many people soon follow suit to similarly make money from their
successful schemes. However, some of the individuals find ways on the gray area
of legality, risking run-ins with the law just to pay their bills and make some
lucrative money.
Some of these crazy money making schemes can easily be done by anyone,
although it is recommended you avoid some of them. If you are looking for money,
take some inspiration from the people on this page to think outside the box,
although within the letter of the law, and find a way to bring in some money for
yourself. When the traditional ways to get money fail you, it is time to do
something new and different. You may just find a career that allows you the
money you need, the freedom you want, and the happiness you deserve.
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