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From the Email Bag - Make Money Running Errands, Doing Tasks By Christine Durst & Michael Haaren Nov. 8, 2012 Dear Rat Race Rebellion: I work part-time in retail. It pays some of my bills, so I need more income, but I’d rather do a variety of things instead of taking one full-time job. Plus, right now I’m able to be at home when my daughter gets out of school, and I’d like to keep that schedule. Are there small projects that I could do from home when I want, instead of having to commit to fixed hours? – Julie in Denver, Colo. Dear Julie: Yes. We’re seeing more and more sites that let people earn extra cash by handling short-term tasks. Many of the projects are online, and can be done from anywhere with an Internet connection. Others, like running errands and doing local research, require a car. Some people combine a variety of “gigs” to generate a meaningful income by the end of the month. (We call these folks “smorgasbord freelancers.”) Others are simply looking for a few things they can do now and then, to put extra dollars in the cookie jar. Here are some options and thought-starters: -- FieldAgent.net: If you have an iPhone, Field Agent pays people to perform a variety of tasks, both online or in their local area. Per the website, tasks can include price checks in local stores, in-store photos, mystery shopping, online surveys and research, and attending and reporting on local events. Pay typically ranges from $3 to $12 per task. “The money you earn is stored in your Field Agent account until you decide to withdraw it. Withdrawals are handled through any standard PayPal account.” -- TaskRabbit.com: TaskRabbit lets people (aka TaskRabbits) bid to do projects, and the task is awarded to the lowest bidder. Projects vary widely, and can be online or local. Examples include making a run to a local grocery store, doing house-cleaning chores, performing research online, helping with a holiday party, and doing handyman duties. -- SunlarkResearch.com: Sunlark Research hires people to visit local courthouses and research public records. Per the site, the amount of work depends mostly on the size of the researcher’s county: “A very small county (i.e., under 10,000 residents) may have only one hour of work per month while a very large county (i.e., over 1 million population) can sometimes keep a fast-working researcher busy for 30-40 hours per week and could even need to be done by a team.” Pay for courthouse researchers in general ranges from $7 to $20 per hour. -- BackgroundProfiles.com: As the name suggests, Background Profiles provides employment screening services, which includes background checks. The company hires people in the U.S. and Canada to visit local courthouses and check records. ---- Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is Work at Home Now, a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2012 BY STAFFCENTRIX, DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM |
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