What is the most unusual thing you have done for money?

Now, I don't want this to get out of hand.  If you have done anything illegal, embarassing or what you would consider to be not on the correct side of morality, I don't encourage sharing.  Well, maybe share the embarassing ones, but I guess it depends on the situation.

We have all had those moments of, "Man, I have literally NO money.  I won't get any more money for like four more days."  Or most of us have.  It goes along with, "I'm not just broke.  I'm broke AND maxed out!"

What do you do?  Well, sometimes you suck it up, and stretch out your three packages of top ramen for an extra day.  Maybe you go diving into the couch to see if there are a couple of nickels that you missed last month.  Maybe you have a neighbor who is occasionally willing to pay you to do odd jobs.

A lot of times, you find an way to make a few extra bucks.  I have gotten to this point more than once.  In fact, I have a couple of candidates, but I can tell you my winner.

Shortly after college, with the rent due, student loans due, and yes, the idiotic credit card payments piling up, I knew that I needed to find a way to make more money beyond the fairly meager salary that I was making at the bank.  I routinely scoured the classified section (the internet was pretty new back then and I hadn't heard of craig's list) for part time work.  I considered activities such as parking cars on the weekends or brewing overpriced coffee. 

What I stumbled upon was exactly what I needed.  It allowed me to make a decent side income with totally flexible hours.  Now, you'll never make a lot of money, but a few hundred a month for a few months sure helps.  What was I doing?

I gathered signatures on petitions to get them onto the ballot for the forthcoming election.  I was paid per signature, and the amount varied based on how well funded the particular proposition was.  I don't remember exactly what the range was, but I recall a range of around $0.60-$1.50 per signature.

My old roommate and I used to stand outside the grocery store and pester people on their way in and out (out is more effective as long as they are pushing a cart, not carrying three bags full of frozen pizzas), "excuse me, are you registered to vote?  Just a moment to sign our petition for smaller classrooms."  Always lead with the popular one.  While they are there, you tell them about the one to ban animal testing on cosmetic products, and whatever else you have.

It was actually kind of fun, as my roommate and I would return and compare numbers and notes.  We could also pick and choose among a number of petitions, nixing any that we found morally or politically objectionable.  So, in a sense, we were being activists and getting paid for it.

Comments

[Binary Dollar]

I was at an automatic toll booth and I didn't have enough money so I got out of my car. I looked around the ground around all of the toll buckets for coins that people have dropped. It probably took me a good 2 minutes to muster up the coins needed. Everyone honked and yelled at me.

[Robert Cote]

Box of LPs at a garage sale. $5. eBay says $400-$900 for the 10-12 worth selling.

[Amanda]

When in college, I took all my books (even though most of them were text books or even school related) and attempted to sell them back to the bookstore. Remarkably, they were interested in buying back a good number of them (I KNEW I saved all those individual Shakespeare plays from HS for a reason!), thus providing me with my much needed dinner and beer (well, mostly beer) cash!

[S/100/30]

I was a semi-finalist in for one of those "will pay $50k for tall, blonde, athletic college students to donate eggs" posted in campus newspapers at top schools -- remember the brouhaha about those a few years ago?

Anyway, the couple paid me $500 for my time up to that point (interviews, family medical history report, etc.) I had no idea they would do that, though.

[jersey jen]

haha, check out my post (http://jen-taylor.blogspot.com/2006/10/creative-ways-to-save-money.html), it inclues:

1) Save money on catsup by going to Wendy's and getting those little ketchup packets.

2) Save money on food on weekends by going to Costco or Sam's Club and trying out all the samples.

3) Save money on food when eating out by going with a rich friend and conveniently forget to bring money.

4) Save money on toilet paper by using the facilities in restaurant, at friend's place, or on campus.

5) Save money on envelopes by using drop-off envelopes at admissions office. Instead, use them for personally matters or send love letters to boyfriend.

[D]

Not me, but interesting. My dad used to swat flies for a "mob" guy when he was younger. I'm not saying his name cause he was well known. Anyway, my dad was paid $1 per fly. This was big money back then. I only wish he remembered his average per hour income.

[lamoneyguy]

This is some pretty funny stuff.

Robert and Amanda, very entrepreneurial of both of you.

D, I wonder if he had to turn in the flies for payment?

Jersey Jen, I love most of your ideas and have done many of them. I was at my parents' house last weekend, and sat at the kitchen table talking with my Mom for a half an hour as she opened small soy sauce packets from Yoshinoya and emptied them into a Kikkoman bottle.

I can't say that I endorse #3, however. I sounds like a sure formula to no longer having any rich friends. But I am a sample Hog!

[HC]

As I said here, the craziest things involved research projects at the medical school.

[Steven]

I donated plasma when I needed money in college. It paid between $20 and $45 a trip.

It was pretty awesome, although I was left with track marks.

[Trent]

I have been a costumed mascot several times. It's a really fun job, but it can wear you out very quickly.