Category: Earn Extra Money

A recent survey of renters and homeowners found that over one-quarter of renters are renting a detached, single-family home. If you’re considering renting out your home, you’ll find that the market is full of interested candidates.

If you’re new to this process, you’re probably wondering how to rent out your house. After all, we’ve all heard horror stories about tenants causing expensive damage, refusing to pay rent, or breaking multiple terms of their leasing agreement. How can you make sure that your experience goes smoothly?

Managing rental properties doesn’t have to be as hard as it may sound. As long as you set yourself up for success, you’ll mitigate most liabilities associated with renting out a house. 

Read on to learn more about how to rent out your home and what you can do to achieve the results you’re hoping for.

Step 1: Decide on Your Goals Before Renting Out Your Property

Not all rental agreements look alike because not all property owners share the same goals. For example, you may be upgrading to a larger home and want to turn your first home into an asset. Alternatively, you may be moving for a set period of time and only want to rent out your home for that period.

In some cases, you may not want to rent out the whole house at all. Many property owners choose to rent out a room in their house to reduce their debts. Home sharing is also becoming a more popular option and can provide a great alternative for travelers who don’t wish to stay in a traditional hotel.

Ultimately, you need to understand your goals before you start drafting up leasing agreements, setting rental prices, and looking for tenants.

Should You Use a Property Manager?

Property managers can take care of the vast majority of your responsibilities to tenants, from showing the property to addressing issues and complaints to collecting monthly rent. Should you use one?

If you are managing several rental properties, a property manager can be helpful. We also recommend using a property manager if you don’t live in the same vicinity as your rental property. Unless you feel equipped to take care of your rental property and tenants on your own, you will probably want to work with a property manager.

Step 2: Establish the Fair Market Rent

You may not have as much say in establishing your rental prices as you think. In fact, your local real estate market will pretty much decide that for you. 

To establish the fair market rent for your property, look at other houses of comparable size and function that are up for rent in your area. If you’re hoping to find a tenant right away, you can consider charging slightly under the local average. However, it’s best to stay in that same price range. 

Step 3: List Your Home and Start Screening Applicants

Once you have your goals and fair market rent in mind, it’s time to list your home and start screening applicants. Some property owners use websites like Craigslist to find tenants, but we recommend sticking with actual rental websites. These websites make it easy to create a high-quality, professional listing. 

When you’re screening applicants, you will need to conduct background and credit checks, verify income, and ask for recommendations from previous landlords. Properly screening your applicants allows you to choose an applicant that is most likely to pay rent in full and on time while also respecting the terms of their lease. 

Step 4: Draw the Terms of Your Rental Agreement

When drawing the terms of your first-even rental agreement, you may want to consult a lawyer. Each state has its own laws regarding landlord obligations, tenants’ rights, and so forth.

A rental agreement (aka a leasing agreement) is a legally binding document designed to protect the interests of the landlord and the tenant. It must include:

• The address of the rental property and names of the tenants
• The length of the rental agreement (typically one year)
• Monthly rent and any other fees (ie the security deposit, typically equivalent to one month’s rent)
• Late fee definition and penalties
• Rental policies (ie, “Painting of walls prohibited”)
• Rules regarding pets
• A move-in inspection report

You should also include a provision in your rental agreement regarding breaking the lease early. This is especially important if the length of your rental agreement is one year or longer. 

Step 5: Inspect the Property Before Move-In Day

Your move-in inspection report is something most property owners conduct alongside their approved tenant before move-in day. This report gives both parties an opportunity to acknowledge any pre-existing damage that the tenant cannot be held responsible for. It also creates legal grounds by which the security deposit can be withheld in the future.

In other words, the move-in inspection report is another document that is designed to protect both the tenant and the property owner. If the tenant causes damage that was not noted in the move-in inspection report, the property owner can use their security deposit to pay for repairs. (This is the specific purpose of a security deposit and it typically cannot be withheld for any other reason.)

Learn How to Rent Your House the Right Way and Mitigate Risks

Learning how to rent your house the right way is a crucial step in avoiding the rental horror stories we’ve all heard about. By understanding your rental goals, screening your applicants, and creating a solid rental agreement, you can almost guarantee a smooth rental process.

Looking for more ways to reduce debt or increase your income? Take a look around for more tips, tricks, and guides that will teach you how to live a thriftier lifestyle!

Remember the Beanie Baby boom? When Ty first introduced Beanie Babies in the early 90s, everyone thought their collection would be worth a fortune one day — and some of them wound up being right!

While some Beanie Baby value is simply nostalgia, some Beanies became valuable collector’s items. That said, figuring out which of your old Beanies is worth something and getting that money is easier said than done.

Ready to start trading in your Beanie Babies for cash but aren’t sure where to start? Here’s everything you need to know about how to begin buying and selling Beanie Babies.

How to Determine Beanie Baby Value

Did you know that a Ty Princess Diana bear once sold for over $500,000? Well, if that figure alone is the reason why you want to get into buying and selling Beanie Babies, then you’re out of luck because it never happened. While the famous Princess Bear can be one of the more valuable Beanies on the resale market, if you try to sell one now, at most, you’ll probably rake in about $80.

That said, if you manage to find one of the original nine Beanies with a tag misprint, you could be looking at a significantly heftier payout.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about Beanie Baby value, and the only way to combat it is by doing plenty of research and becoming an expert on Beanie resale and by consulting a toy appraiser before listing your Babies for sale.

Keep Your Babies Clean

You may be able to sell a well-loved, tagless, original Pattie the Platypus to someone who’s feeling a bit nostalgic. But, if you want to earn big bucks selling Beanies, you’re going to have to make sure your toys are pristine.

Unfortuabnlty, the best way to ensure you’re Beanie Babies are in “like-new” condition is to travel back to 1997 and pop them all into those handy Beanie Baby display cases that were all the rage. But, until time travel becomes a bit more mainstream, the best you can do is to try to prevent any further damage.

One easy way to keep your Beanie Babies as fresh as possible is by popping them in a Ziploc bag. A Ziploc bag will protect your Babies from dust, water, and unpleasant smells like smoke, which can significantly lower their value.

If you have a few slightly shabby Beanie Baby’s you’re interested in selling to collectors, you may want to consider passing them off to a toy restoration expert first to get them cleaned up and looking their best. But, keep in mind that some purist Beanie connoisseurs may want you to disclose this information before you make a sale.

Find the Right Marketplace

Finally, once you have your Beanie Babies ready to go, all that’s left is to find a place to sell them.

Sites like eBay may seem like the most obvious choice when selling collectibles like Beanie Babies. But, these types of online marketplaces have gained a bit of a bad reputation due to scammers.

If you want to make money selling Beanie Babies on one of these sites, you’re going to have to spend some time building up your reputation first, which can take a while.

The best place to buy Ty Beanies Babies online is specialty sites that cater exclusively to Beanie Baby collectors. Usually, Beanie lovers and experts run these types of sites and will be able to help you navigate the buying and selling process with ease.

Getting the Most Bang for Your Beanies

Once upon a time, people banking on Beanie Baby value was a bit of a joke. But now we know that some of those adorable little plushy, bean-filled animals were actually worth their weight in gold.

Now that you know more about how to begin buying and selling Beanie Babies, it’s time to get to work.

Are you looking for more information on how to get into buying and selling high-value collectibles? We’ve got you covered. Check out the rest of our blog for more helpful articles today!

Do you love the summer? If so, you’re not alone.

After all, what’s not to love about having fun in the sun?

And when it comes to getting the most out of the warm weather of the summer months, it’s hard to argue that summer camp activities are loved by one and all.

If you’ve been wondering how to run a summer camp, you’ve come to the right place for information that will help you get started. This article takes a look at how to start a summer camp so that you can start living the dream. Keep reading to get the inside scoop. 

Develop a Business Plan

As with any type of successful business, you need to have a strong business plan.

This is a tool that will serve as your north star as you navigate the complex process of getting your business off the ground and building a successful operation.

A good business plan should represent your vision for your summer camp, outline the number of camp employees you’ll need to hire, and the amount of startup capital you’ll need, as well as your forecast for profitability.

Define Your Brand

It’s also important to establish your brand. In other words, what is the image you want to convey to the world? What is your message and how will you work to make your message appealing to your target audience?

Your brand is your most powerful tool for standing out from the competition, thus you need to clearly define every detail about your organization in order to attract campers.

Please contact us to learn more about our printing services.

Raise Startup Capital

Next, you’re going to need lots of money. In fact, you’ll need more than you imagine.

After all, building an amazing camping experience from scratch will be expensive. This is another reason why developing a strong business plan is so important because it will help you prove to investors that this is an opportunity they won’t want to miss out on.

Hire an Experienced Lawyer

Before you get started, you’re going to need to form a legal entity. This requires defining your business structure. Thus it’s important to hire a skilled lawyer who can help you smoothly navigate the process.

Hire an Experienced Accountant

It’s also important to have a skilled accountant. After all, you’re going to need help dealing with payroll and paying your taxes.

Open a Business Bank Account

Next, open a bank account and apply for business credit cards. Why? Because you never want to mix your business finances with your personal finances.

Create a Strong Marketing Plan

If you want to make a profit, you’ll need to attract lots of campers. This means you need to have a strong marketing plan for reaching your target audience. Keep in mind that you’ll need to invest in quality printed materials while also making the most of your social media reach.

Get Insured

It’s also vital to be properly insured. This is the best way to make sure that you are covered in case of a medical emergency or serious to the property where the camp is located.

Pick a Location

To start a successful camp, you’ll need to find the perfect location and then lease the land. The key is to pick a beautiful piece of land located near amazing natural resources so that you can offer your campers plenty of great outdoor activities.

The Complete Guide to How to Start a Summer Camp

Starting a business isn’t easy. Fortunately, these tips for how to start a summer camp will help make the process much less stressful.

Keep scrolling to discover more great lifestyle tips on this blog.

What’s worse than the DMV and the dentist? Monday.

A recent study shows 25% of American adults hate Monday. Survey participants said that Monday is worse than going to the dentist or the DMV.

If you’re living for Friday, it’s probably because you don’t enjoy your job. Perhaps there’s no room for you to grow, or maybe you just don’t care about the type of work you’re doing.

Are you tired of dreading Monday? Then it’s time to do something about it. 

Read on to find out about 5 real ways you can start making a living online.

Making a Living Online

It’s easy to get overwhelmed as you start thinking about all the different choices you have for making a living online. Don’t worry though, we’ve got your back.

Here are a few questions you should ask to determine your best options:

• What skills do you currently have?
• How much time do you have to work from home?
• Are you comfortable learning new material?
• Do you want to deal directly with customers?
• Will you need your phone for the work you do?
• Do you prefer only working through written forms of communication?
• Do you have any money to invest in your new business?

As you begin to narrow down what you have to offer, you’ll be able to target the best market for you.

1. Sell Courses Online

Do you have a background in education? Are you an expert in a certain field? You can leverage the knowledge you have to create and sell courses online. 

First, you’ll need to get a website. Once you have a user-friendly website established you can begin offering courses for purchase on your site.

We suggest having a few demo courses that you offer for free, that give potential customers a taste of your teaching style. If you’re intimidated by the idea of creating your teaching platform, there are websites out there that will do the hard work for you.

Look for an online platform that will be able to build your website exactly how you envision it. A reputable online platform, that helps you build your website, should also be able to give suggestions when it comes to graphic design.

2. Post Items for Sale

Look for free websites that allow you to post items for sale. Craigslist and eBay are a few websites you can start using right away.

As you start to build up your customer base, you’ll create a lucrative reputation for yourself. When customers know they can trust you, will be more likely to purchase from you again.

We suggest you also set up an online store, but cells used and new products. For example, eBay lets you sell old used items, such as clothes or hand tools. You can also explore selling vintage items and handmade goods.

Websites like Etsy or popular place for customers looking to buy customized gifts. Making it so you can turn your favorite hobby into your full-time income. If you know how to sew, or you have a skill such as woodworking, you can create an online store to sell your products internationally.

3. Affiliate marketing

For affiliate marketing opportunities, you’ll need a website or a blog. Next, you’ll need to find a business that’s willing to partner with the content on your webpage.

The business you partner with will give you it another unique code, which is often called an affiliate code. Once you put the code into your website, some type of affiliate banner will appear.

The type of business you partner with will determine what the affiliate link is selling. The link could help promote a service, such as payroll companies. The link could also be selling products, such as household items.

It’s a good idea to find affiliate marketing links that relate to the content on your website. The main goal is to keep your website’s audience in mind. Affiliate guru Jon Torres is a great resource for finding ways to make your content relatable.

For example, if your website is about travel, find a business to partner with that offers something related to the travel industry. Perhaps they offer discounted airline tickets, travel gear, or booking services.

4. All About the Apps

Are you taking full advantage of the app economy? If you’re looking to make money fast, you should be looking at every app available.

Here’s a shortlist of apps that can help put dollars in your pocket right away:

• iBotta
• Ebates
• Task rabbit
• Swagbucks
• Inbox dollars

Start taking advantage of all the cash back rewards you can find using the iBotta app. All you have to do is go shopping and take a photo of your receipt to begin earning cashback.

Another great side hustle is Task Rabbit. You’ll be performing small tasks from data entry to more intense projects. We like task rabbit because they carefully researched each service provider to make sure their delivering quality opportunities.

5. Google AdSense

If you’ve gone to any website ever you have seen Google ads. Google ads are everywhere and there’s a good reason for it.

It’s super simple to set up Google ads on any website. Once you have it up and running, you’ll be able to enjoy a wonderful income stream. For this venture to work though, you have to have a steady flow of traffic to your site.

Once you set up your account Google will send you a special code that you put into your website. You don’t have to worry about keeping up on any type of maintenance to start making money.

Start Making Bank

Now you can start making a living online, with any of these 5 great ideas. While it may take a moment to get things going, once you find you’re niche, you’ll be able to make more money from home than you ever thought possible.

If you’re ready to get real about working from home, we can help. Go ahead and check out the other articles we have to offer on this site.

Is it true you can make a living by joining games, sweepstakes, and contests online?

The truth? It’s highly unlikely.

However, it is possible to win money in contests and sweepstakes for some fun supplemental income.

How?

Keep reading to discover how to enter contests to win money. Who knows? You might be the next big sweepstakes winner or maybe you’ll win several smaller games and contests.

Use Sweepstakes Services

The easiest way to increase your odds of winning is to enter more contests. That’s where sweepstakes services are invaluable. These services round up contests from around the globe and list them in one place, saving you plenty of internet surfing time.

Sweepstakes Advantage is a good service to optimize your time. Go down the list and start entering every contest you qualify for.

To save time, use a form filler so you can quickly fill out forms with one click. Chrome AutoFill and Firefox AutoFill are free extensions that do exactly that.

Decide Which Contests to Enter

If you’re not careful, entering sweepstakes can become a time-consuming endeavor. Hundreds of thousands of contests exist and you can’t enter them all. That’s why we advise devising a plan for the types of contests that are worth your time.

For example, you may decide you only want to enter contests that give away cash. Alternatively, you can decide to enter contests that give away items, like concert tickets or merchandise, that you can sell for cash.

Maybe you only want to enter contests that offer instant winnings just by entering your name and contact information. Or you may like to play fun games like Blighty Bingo Online to win prizes.

Some forms require you to snail mail your entry. Several others require you to record a video, write an essay or perform various tasks. Not surprisingly, these contests receive fewer entries but offer the best odds of winning.

Enter More Often

It goes without saying, the more you enter a contest, the better your chances of winning. Join contests and sweepstakes that allow for daily entries. You can increase your winnings through this one step alone.

It doesn’t take long to enter a contest, especially with the autofill extensions mentioned above. Make it a routine you do every day. You can easily add more entries to sweepstakes and contests as you watch Netflix or wait in line at the bank.

Consider Skill-Based Contests

Skill-based contests can include cooking, writing, photography, or even coming up with a catchy slogan. Because so few people will take the time to enter these contests, they offer the best chance of winning.

But when you complete the requirements and maybe even go the extra mile, you significantly improve your chance of winning. And the winnings are to die for, such as a house, a car or even a golf course!

Final Thoughts on Entering Contests to Win Money

As you might suspect, when you join numerous sweepstakes, you’ll start to receive a lot of junk mail. It’s a good idea to create one or more email accounts to keep contest emails and spam out of your personal inbox. 

Enter as many contests to win money as you can, as many times as the contest will allow. And don’t shy away from skill-based contests which offer the best odds of winning.

Check our site often as we post new and helpful content daily.