When you need to make extra money, your head can be turned by all sorts of opportunities and ideas. A lot of these will work in the long run, but in the short term, can actually cost you money. Surely there has to be some way of making money without the outlay of cash in the first place? If you're thinking of how to make money and reduce spending, we've got some answers.
Think About What You Already Have
Firstly, think about what you already have. The gadgets, knowledge and passion that you have right now can open you up to opportunities you might not have thought about. Those gadgets might include laptops and cameras. The knowledge might be the ability to speak a second language or playing an instrument. The passion you have could be anything from photography to illustration. Consider what you already have which you could utilise to start making money. This means you don't have to buy anything new. Let's look at how to use these gadgets, that knowledge and your passion to help you add some extra money to your bank balance.
Using Your Gadgets
Do you have a laptop? If you have a laptop that you can connect to the internet with, you can easily become a virtual assistant. There is no outlay here as you will be working for people virtually, from the comfort of your home. All the work you will be doing will probably be online. Tasks such a booking travel, typing notes, managing diaries. You will need an email address and the client might insist on regular calls, so make sure your mobile phone is working. If it isn't, video calling is possible via your laptop.
Maybe you have a camera that can record video? All those famous YouTubers you have seen on the platform started in the same position as you. They clicked to open that channel and recorded stuff to post their first video. How do you fancy earning money through content creation? You could even use the video function on your mobile phone.
Speaking of mobile phones, there are so many survey apps you can download in order to give your opinion on things. It's a little bit like market research and you can earn cash pay-outs for your time. Check out Yougov and Swagbucks. There are other ones you will need a laptop for but if you have that, check out the likes of Cashback and Market Force.
Think about the gadgets that you have and how they can help you make money without spending money.
Using Your Knowledge
The next way to answer the question of how to make money without spending money, is with your knowledge. Do you have knowledge that people want? That they will pay for? Have you been in business for a long time and can share your advice? Maybe you have accomplished something which you can get people to pay for the information about. That way they can do it themselves and be inspired. They say that knowledge is power but knowledge is also worth something in terms of money.
Can you speak a second language? Maybe it's Japanese, French, Italian or Mandarin? For years people said you are never out of a job if you can speak a second language, as people will pay you to teach them. This could be a great way to make money. All you need is students. Advertise via free Facebook groups and you could turn teach in your living room. Maybe during summer you could teach in the garden or the public park? Maybe you could even offer lessons over video chat?
The same can be said if you can play an instrument. Lots of people want to learn to play the guitar or do more than tinker on the piano keys. You could offer affordable music lessons helping people learn. Maybe you've ran a successful business for many years and have been through the highs and lows. Business coaching could be an avenue for you to go down, sharing your experience with start up business owners, helping them avoid the pitfalls. Maybe you could write an eBook about this which could sell over and over again. It could even make you money whilst you sleep!
Think about the knowledge you have and how people might want to tap into it. This could be a great way to add some money to your bank account.
Using Your Passion
Maybe using your passions is a great answer to the question of how to make money without spending money?
We all have different passions that we've poured hours of our lives into. If you have a passion for something, you could share that passion and maybe finally start earning some cash for all that time. We don't usually go into passion projects because we want to earn money, but there is nothing wrong with looking at your passion and thinking how it could help you pay your bills. One thing to consider though is this. Passions are passions because we choose to put or time into them. When they become a job, they can often move away from being a passion, turning into a chore. If you have ultimate passion for something, consider if you want to risk that.
With that said, there are lots of opportunities to use your passion to help others gain the same feelings about a subject. Your time is valuable though so don't feel bas about charging for it. Perhaps you are really into photography and have spent months of time on the ridges of Snowdonia taking images. This might mean you know the pathways, the access and the vantage points like the back of your hand. People will pay you for a workshop. Taking them to where they need to be and helping them with their photography skill.
Maybe your passion is illustration, drawing and graphic design? Did you know that you can start selling unique products without having to pay anything in the first place/ You just need to go down the route of print on demand, which is easier than you might think. All your need to do is the drawing and designing and a third party will take care of the product printing and delivery. Obviously they will take a cut of the profits, however this method stops you needing to buy lots of products which might never sell!
The original idea was how to make money without spending money? Hopefully this article has shown you that there are lots of ways to use what you already have to start another revenue stream or a side hustle. Be smart, think outside the box and rather than spending money, use what you already have.
