How to earn/find $160?

[ruadisneyfan2]

Are you anywhere near a state that does pay for recycled cans and bottles?

The next closest state is PA. I work in Philadelphia and many are lax about recycling in general. In 25 yrs there, I've never heard about getting money for turning in recycling. Of course that doesn't mean it's not happening.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I just saved hundreds of pounds ( I live in the UK ) but reviewing all our insurance deals, mobile contracts , direct debits. We have compare websites here I am sure you have the same. You could look at all your outgoings and see if there are better deals on home, car , medical insurance if you have them? Check the bank account for any direct debits you did not realise you had or things you don't use. I got rid of a lot of subscriptions etc. I saved most on insurance deals and energy providers. Switched home electricity and gas provider saving about £600 a year! We pay monthly so this makes quite a difference.

 

[NinaBella]

Are you on any of your local yard sale facebook pages? There are tons out there. Search your town name and yard sale or community sale.

I will give you examples for my area (Tampa). Most will make arrangements to meet at a public location, not your home.

Tampa Online Yardsale
South Tampa Yardsale
Buy & Sell North Tampa
Tampa Bay buy Sell Trade
Carrollwood Online Yardsale (community)
Hyde Park Buy/Sell/Trade Give Away (community)

 

[tvguy]

Here they would say thanks for not throwing that in the trash. No one pays us to recycle.

Your information says you are in New Jersey. New Jersey does pay to recycle. http://www.recyclingnj.com/recycle/cans.html

 

[scrapquitler]

Wash your car at home instead of at the car wash, pocket what you would have paid.

Mow your own grass instead of having a lawn company do it (I say this only because I think we are the only ones in our neighborhood who don't have a lawn service).

Skip having coffee or lunch out if you do that, pocket what you would have paid.

Babysit for a neighbor or friends kids.

Use coupons at the grocery store, pocket the savings.

Forego one item that is a want instead of a need at the grocery store, and pocket the savings. One bag of chips or extra something at the grocery store each week can add up quick, and your family won't notice one less whatever.

 

[SunnieRN]

I just found Swagbucks a month and 3-4 days ago. So far I have cashed out 4 $25 gift cards for Target and bought two Disney gift cards with those, using my red debit card by buying a small item, so that I would get the 5% discount.

I also have another $56 that will allow me to get a third Target gift card to exchange for a Disney card. Not bad for a month and a few days!!

Best of luck to you! I know your friend will be thrilled!!!

 

[chocolateavocado]

Do you have a good Salvation Army or Goodwill in your area? We have a few of them here. I buy brand name & higher end women's clothes and sell them on ebay. I know alot of people don't like dealing with ebay & their fees are kind of high, (and dealing w/some buyers can be trying )- but you can still make $ at it. I'm a sahm and do it full time during the school year and just part time/ when I can during the summer & holiday breaks when my son is home. Some weeks are ok, some are really good- depends on what kinds of items I find and how much time I can put into it. Just a thought... I hope you find something that works! I'm trying to squirrel away as much as I can for our next wdw trip (nov 2017) and secretly hoping I can make a short surprise b-day trip for ds the end of this Jan.

 

[jenniy122]

Definitely Swagbucks, as so many have mentioned (I make about $3 a day, but I'm pretty devoted. However I don't tend to qualify for surveys, which is where the big money is). Also, shopkick is slow earning, but Ibotta (another grocery app) is all rebates, if you're only earning from what you were going to buy anyways adds up really fast. I've gotten $40 in 3 months, but we don't seem to buy the big things on there (alcohol, drugstore beauty).

 

[Marionnette]

I saw this on another thread and I thought that I would share it here. American Express has targeted offers for cardholders. Among the most recent offers is spend $250 at Best Buy and get a $25 statement credit. Best Buy sells Disney GCs and mine sells the variable load ones where you can put anywhere from $25-$500 on the GC. Add $250 to one, pay with your AmEx and your OOP cost will be $225 - instant 10% savings!

You need to check your AmEx account online and load the offer onto your card prior to shopping in order for it to apply to your purchase.

 

[pjlla]

Wash your car at home instead of at the car wash, pocket what you would have paid.

Mow your own grass instead of having a lawn company do it (I say this only because I think we are the only ones in our neighborhood who don't have a lawn service).

Skip having coffee or lunch out if you do that, pocket what you would have paid.

Babysit for a neighbor or friends kids.

Use coupons at the grocery store, pocket the savings.

Forego one item that is a want instead of a need at the grocery store, and pocket the savings. One bag of chips or extra something at the grocery store each week can add up quick, and your family won't notice one less whatever.

Thanks for all of the suggestions....but honestly, if you knew how conservatively I live already, you'd understand why these won't work for me. I almost NEVER pay for a car wash.... I have a driveway,a hose, a bucket, and strong arms.... and a car that is rarely clean, but I don't really care. I have never, ever had a lawn service of any sort. Don't eat out but very rarely (probably less than once a month).... coffee is made at home EVERY DAY and carried out in re-useable to-go cups if DH or I feel the need to take it along. I have done a bit of babysitting, but I work as a substitute teacher during the school year and I would really like a break from kids during the summer (that being said, I am substituting summer school a few times). I do use coupons sometimes and those savings are already going STRAIGHT into the Disneyland envelope.

I won't say that there is NOTHING that I buy that isn't a need..... but since we don't live on rice and beans and water, I guess that isn't true. That being said, I don't buy chips except for parties, I don't buy soda or liquor (but DH occasionally picks up a 12 pack of domestic beer), I don't cook/bake for "fun"....just what we need, so no extra expenses for special ingredients, I rarely buy prepped veggies (I peel and chop my own fruit and veggies....and for that matter, we garden,so lately it has been fresh-from-the-garden veggies), I don't buy individual servings of things like yogurt....I buy the big tub and portion it out. I don't buy paper towels or paper napkins... we use kitchen towels and cloth napkins that are washed in cold water and hung on a clothesline..........anyhow, you get the point. There isn't much "fat" in my grocery budget to trim out.................P

 

[HM]

Yard sale
Sell books to used book seller
Lemonade stand

 

[Vijoge]

The next closest state is PA. I work in Philadelphia and many are lax about recycling in general. In 25 yrs there, I've never heard about getting money for turning in recycling. Of course that doesn't mean it's not happening.

We're in IL. We don't turn in our cans to a recycling center-they don't pay and some make you pay them. We take them to the scrap yard. Of course, the price of aluminum scrap has gone done a lot.

 

[Sagginit]

If you can't sell used clothes but have some in good condition you can try thred up. I have a bag I am mailing in myself this week, I am taking a site credit, but I have done this before with a previous website and it was worth it. Ibotta is helpful only if you plan on spending money at the places or on the things listed, its like ebates, you get money to spend money.

As for the side hustle maybe check craigslist or task rabbit. I know plenty of people who had "side hustle" type jobs on nights/weekends and did house cleaning myself in high school and in college. You won't be able to pick up a house cleaning job but you might find someone that needs some extra help (like if a worker is on vacation), a catering gig at a private party (did that once for a friend, got paid about $100 to clean up tables, serve canapes, help clean the kitchen etc), or bartender if you have that skill. If you know anyone who has that type of business ask if they need a hand with anything in the next month or two. I would say when I did it years ago $10-15 an hour was fair so I wouldn't do a gig like that for less than $15-20 an hour (also depends on how tough it is, bartending is easier and brings in tips, house cleaning I wouldn't do it now for less than $20 an hour).

Also as others mentioned Disney Chase Visa has a good bonus for referral, so since you mentioned a friend who has one you might want to try that, if you don't have the card that is easy cash compared to other options.

 

[DreamIsaWish]

It really is easy. Money from recycling aluminum cans is the source of my wife's "mad" money. Usually brings in about $200 a year with not much effort. But here in California, almost every grocery store has a recycling center behind it.

That only works in deposit states. I do remember when I lived in Iowa going to the grocery store and feeding cans into the machine. But even then it was just the money back that I paid when I bought the soda.

Not being in a deposit state any longer, I suppose if I wanted to recycle for cash I'd have to go to the scrap metal yard and see what they're paying for poundage.

 

[pigletto]

I just found Swagbucks a month and 3-4 days ago. So far I have cashed out 4 $25 gift cards for Target and bought two Disney gift cards with those, using my red debit card by buying a small item, so that I would get the 5% discount.

I also have another $56 that will allow me to get a third Target gift card to exchange for a Disney card. Not bad for a month and a few days!!

Best of luck to you! I know your friend will be thrilled!!!

I also started Swagbucks at the start of June. I've cashed out for $100 in Paypal credit, and one $25 Amazon card. I have $5 in my account again and expect to be up to cash out at $25 again by next weekend.
It's not passive, you have to work at it and read the thread for tips and tricks. But if you dedicated some time to it I can't see you not hitting AT LEAST $60 in two months, and maybe your entire goal if you really dedicate time to it.

 

[tvguy]

That only works in deposit states. I do remember when I lived in Iowa going to the grocery store and feeding cans into the machine. But even then it was just the money back that I paid when I bought the soda.

Not being in a deposit state any longer, I suppose if I wanted to recycle for cash I'd have to go to the scrap metal yard and see what they're paying for poundage.

No, it works in other states. Googling recycling centers in Chicago I find they are paying 35 cents a pound for aluminum cans.
http://www.bigdaddyscrap.com/prices.html

 

[pjlla]

So many great responses! I love the conversation about the metal recycling. Unfortunately for me, the nearest metal recycler is over 30 minutes away. I've only been there once and it was a neat place.

We do have recycling at the transfer station so that is where our cans go. And two of our neighboring states do have 5 cent bottle deposits so some folks save their cans to return there (technically not allowed if you buy the product in our state, since you aren't paying the deposit). But we have SO FEW cans here at home, I would have to save them for a long time to make it worth the drive to the metal recycler.

I do have the option to pick up a bunch of metal but I have no idea if it is worth the effort. I work at a school for the summer and we send piles of things like broken chairs (metal legs), broken desks (metal legs and bases), filing cabinets, etc to the dumpster. How would I go about figuring out if these would be worth the effort?

Taking a pile of stuff to the children's resale shop today. Historically this place take only your very best and pays very little, but this is stuff that will otherwise be donated, so anything I make will be good..... just trying to make the drive into town worthwhile with some other errands.

I'll let you know how much I make today!...........P

 

[tvguy]

So many great responses! I love the conversation about the metal recycling. Unfortunately for me, the nearest metal recycler is over 30 minutes away. I've only been there once and it was a neat place.

We do have recycling at the transfer station so that is where our cans go. And two of our neighboring states do have 5 cent bottle deposits so some folks save their cans to return there (technically not allowed if you buy the product in our state, since you aren't paying the deposit). But we have SO FEW cans here at home, I would have to save them for a long time to make it worth the drive to the metal recycler.

I do have the option to pick up a bunch of metal but I have no idea if it is worth the effort. I work at a school for the summer and we send piles of things like broken chairs (metal legs), broken desks (metal legs and bases), filing cabinets, etc to the dumpster. How would I go about figuring out if these would be worth the effort?

Taking a pile of stuff to the children's resale shop today. Historically this place take only your very best and pays very little, but this is stuff that will otherwise be donated, so anything I make will be good..... just trying to make the drive into town worthwhile with some other errands.

I'll let you know how much I make today!...........P

The California Redemption Value program started in 1987, and for years almost every grocery store had a recycling center behind it plus the dedicating recycling businesses scattered around. But in the last few years the county has forced a lot of them to close. We had a dedicated recycling center 1.5 miles from our house, we now have to drive 4 miles to a dedicated center, which my wife prefers since they pay more than the grocery store locations. The county forced the one closer to close because it was drawing homeless people.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wow, I'm amazed the lengths people have to go to in order to recycle. We've had curbside pick up since the mid 80's. It started out with people using small buckets and we had to even separate each color glass.
For about 8 yrs now our township provided us with huge blue containers on wheels for it all, single stream. (I'm 5'2" and it comes up almost to my shoulders.). We can put all paper, cardboard, glass, cans and all plastics except numbers 3 & 6. That thing is full every week and sometimes we have to toss in our neighbor's container.
I can't wait to tell dh. He still complains that they won't accept plastic grocery bags. Lol

 

[DreamIsaWish]

No, it works in other states. Googling recycling centers in Chicago I find they are paying 35 cents a pound for aluminum cans.
http://www.bigdaddyscrap.com/prices.html

Interesting. Looks like it's about 32-34 cans for a pound. I suppose it would be worthwhile if you raided the recycling bin at a party/office breakroom/etc. Not so much for just what comes from my house. Something to keep in mind when any organization I volunteer for has a party. They might find it worthwhile.