Everyone loves to make money and with a full-time job, some people find it hard to find ways to make money on the side.  Below, I’ve complied a list of 5 ways that you can generate at least $100 a month.  All you will need is a few hours a week and who knows, it could turn into a full-time income!

The Ebay Effect

Everyone has heard of Ebay and if you haven’t yet, you should become very familiar with it.  Ebay allows you to buy and sell things online to millions and millions of people.  The concept is quite simple.  Walk around your house and look for things you don’t need anymore.  I guarnatee for the first three months, you’ll be able to find $100 worth of stuff.  After you clean out your house, go to local garage sales and thirft stores on weekends.  You should be able to find hidden gems that allow you make a nice profit.

Clinical Tests

Every month, your local university and hospitals are looking for participants to participate in thier studies.  These studies generally last a few hours and in return, you’ll receive cash for your efforts.  In order to find places that offer studies like this, check with your local university or hospital.

Use your talents - It pays!

I’m a true believer that you can turn any hobby into a cash making machine.  Sit down and take a look at what you like to do in your free time.  Try and excel off of these talents.  Let’s say for example you like to cook.  You could set up a side catering business and cater to parties on the weekends.   If you like to play around with computers, you could fix other people’s computers on weekends.  The list could be endless.  There are billions of people on this planet looking for service, benefit off of this!

Get paid to shop

Have you ever heard of a mystery shopper?  I’m sure you have and believe me, it’s not a scam at all.  There are many legit companies that will pay you to critique companies when you act like a shopper.  Most of the times, this job doesn’t pay well but it’s good enough for you to make about $100 a month.

Tutor

Everyone in this world has some sort of talent and skill.  Take your talent and tutor others on how you do what you do.  If you’re a handyman and excel in bathroom remodeling, simply set up a seminar during the weekends in your garage, at a hall or work out a deal with a handyman store.  It’s amazing how many people will take advantage of this offer.  If you’re good enough, it can lead to other leads and it can go from there!

These are just a few ways you can make more than $100 a month.  If you take action, great things will follow.  Who knows?  If you work hard enough, it can turn into a full time success.

If you’ve been paying attention to the money market rates recently, you’ve probably noticed that WTDirect has been on the GOtalkmoney top ten money market charts for 51 weeks straight now, this is a record for our website. 

WTDirect has received great reviews and are consistently in the top 5% of USA banks.

A WTDirect money market account includes –

FDIC Insurance
Up to 6 withdrawals a month (this is very good for a money market account)
NO fees
NO minimum balance (balances under 10k will earn less interest)
NO checking account required

If you’re interested in a money market account, I highly suggest WTDirect.  As of 2/22/08, their rate is an outstanding 3.91% APY.

I had a question come into my e-mail today from Gary asking the following –

“I have $10,000 to invest for 6 months, how would you invest it, I’m looking to save for a house?”

First off, I would like to say congrats on looking for a house, this can be a long and tedious process.  Let’s go onto the $10,000 investment.  Six months isn’t a long time to get a lot for your money.  In fact, if you would have invested this money about two months ago into a CD, you probably would have had almost double in your rates instead of the rates as of today.

Since I’m assuming you don’t want to touch this money for six months, you might want to go the CD route.  I’m not sure if you’re familiar with a CD but a CD has the money locked in where you can’t touch it for a certain length.  In your case, this would be six months.  If you want to withdrawal before the six months are up, you’ll be subject to fees.  Below are the top three rates I found for you that you could benefit from.

6 month CD rates as of 2/21/08

Corus Bank – 4.06% APY

Countrywide Bank – 4.00% APY

Flagstar Bank – 3.91% APY

Keep in mind that the Flagstar bank CD only requires a $500 minimum deposit.  Corus and Countrywide both require a $10,000 minimum.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to store your money in a money market account, you may find yourself getting a little bit better of a return on OneUnited’s money market account.  Keep in mind though that these rates aren’t locked in like CDs and can drop at a flick of a hat.

OneUnited – 5.15% APY, get $50 for opening an account too!

In my opinion, I would go with OneUnited.  They have consistently been on the gotalkmoney’s top ten money market rate sheet for months now and have had nothing but great reviews.  Since you’re not investing for the long term, I would stick this money into an account with them and on top of that, you’ll also get a $50 bonus just for signing up.  There are more details on their website.  A OneUnited money market account requires $1,000 to open.

If you’re not already familiar with WAMU’s (Washington Mutual) popular checking account, you should become very familiar with it seeing it’s one of the best on the market.  When you sign up for a Washington Mutual checking account, you’ll receive a 4.00% APY savings account.  This rate as of 2/21/2008 is very competitive on the market.

WAMU’s checking account includes a bunch of great features mentioned below –

No monthly fees.
Cash back on debit card purchases.
FREE ATM cash withdrawals
FREE checks for life.

If you’re looking for a new checking account or you’re just unhappy with your current bank, I honestly can’t find one bad thing about WAMU’s checking account / savings account deal.

Sign up for your WAMU checking account today and receive 4.00%!!

If you’re not familiar with OneUnited bank, you should really look into them if you’re looking to open up a money market account.  For the past few months, OneUnited has been in the top ten for the highest money market rates.

As of 2/18/2008, OneUnited is offering a 5.15% rate.  On top of this rate, if you open up an account with them for the first time or even if you’re a current customer, you’ll receive a $50 bonus.

Below are details from the website –

With OneUnited Bank, you can access your funds at over 5,000 surcharge free Money Pass and SUM ATMs…or easily obtain cash back at most grocery and drug stores!

** Must be a new direct deposit of a payroll, social security check, or other recurring deposit that occurs at least monthly to a consumer account. $50 will be deposited into your account in good standing automatically within 15 days after a new recurring direct deposit occurs over three consecutive months OR 20 OneUnited Bank Visa Debit card transactions per month occurs over three consecutive months. Offer expires June 30, 2008.

For more information on this deal, visit OneUnited Bank’s website.