A Little Extra Cash

You will not get rich by trying any of these ideas but you may uncover a little extra cash in the process.  Chronic illness not only sucks us emotionally and physically dry but it also can steal every single penny we may own. When and if you ever have the energy to fight back, here are a few ideas on unearthing a few dollars:

* Have a yard sale. I have already written on how to have an ra yard sale and I would suggest you read this post if having one is a possibility for you.

* If you are lucky enough to have some high end fashions such as purses, you may want to try selling them. I had some luck with this website but I am pretty sure there might be other ones out there. This one handled (http://www.bagborroworsteal.com/sell-handbags/landing?gclid=CJuS8Lm1o64CFU2b7QodLxOLRA) my one and only transaction very professionally. I tend to have no name purses and such but was given one as a gift many moons ago. 

* Check in every single state you have ever lived to see if you have any unclaimed money. This is no joke and no gimmick. Recently I found another $100 under my hubby's name a few months ago. I check these websites every year as we have moved a lot.  Try unclaimed.org and www.MissingMoney.com

* Extra cash can come in many forms and one form is if you can qualify for any government programs that you may not be aware exists. You can start at this website: http://www.benefits.gov but if I were you, I would also do a google search with your specific state (or country if you don't live in the US) to see what other services or programs may be available to you from your state government.

* Sell some of your clothing that is in good shape or put it on consignment at a local consignment shop. I have personally sold clothes to http://www.platoscloset.com (more for the younger set) and they are located now in many states. Their sister store which caters to only women also buys clothes as well Close Mentor and I have also had luck selling to them as well. You can easily check the yellow pages in your area or do a google search to get a list of consignment shops in your area. And don't forget about selling your children's items and household items as well.

* Ebay….oh ebay! Yes, ebay can actually generate a little extra cash and you will be surprised at what does sell on ebay.  Before you plunge in, I would suggest you get familiar with ebay and how to do searches, open an account and a paypal account as well. Ebay.com has lots of information for you to read before you take the ebay plunge. You will also need a digital camera to take pictures of your treasures. The biggest drawback I have found with ebay is boxing things up. I have a great deal of damage to my hands and that process is a killer for me. Oh family…oh family!

* If you have any prescriptions (ok I know you are rolling your eyes at me exclaiming…..like who doesn't have scripts with ra) be sure you price shop for ALL your prescriptions. And if you don't have insurance…this should be mandatory for you to do! This process is quite simple actually. Even if you have drug coverage (I have a Part D prescription plan) you still should price around. I would try some large box stores such as Walmart and Target and do try Cosco and Sam's. You do not need a membership with Cosco and I have found them to be much cheaper with brand medicines then anywhere else. A lot of brand medications are not covered under Part D plans and I unfortunately must have one brand medicine for my thyroid. You should gather all your prescription bottles that you currently still use, know what you currently pay for each prescription out of pocket, and start calling around. Ask for the pharmacist and explain what you are doing. In some cases you can a big reduction on your med costs but you will need to spend around $30 a year to get a drug prescription card from some pharmacies. We have been paying Walgreens around $30 per year because they are the only ones that carry this one specific generic medication that I take and that I am not allergic to. I save a big amount of money by buying this $30 plan from them…and I mean a big amount of money monthly. And as much as I would love to get all my scripts from one location, I save hundreds monthly by buying from three different locations. Complicated…not really when it saves me so much money. And keep in mind that I do have a mandatory Part D Plan. And if you are completely without insurance, do check out my previous post on where to get help with medication costs.

* If you take vitamins as I do, keep your eyes peeled for buy one get one free sales. A lot of the drugstores have these sales and that is the time to scoop up the vitamins you take. And do search for coupons online or in your Sunday paper as well. You can save a lot of money with coupons when things are on sale and you also can apply a coupon. We tend to eat healthy here and organic so coupons are very hard to find. A little secret I am telling….email the manufacturers (check online for their website and you can usually do it through that) and tell them how much you love their product, how long you have been a customer, etc. etc.  We have often got coupons sent to us in the mail by doing this and for those hard to find coupons (such as stuff at health food stores), this is a good way to go for coupons. And please always and I mean ALWAYS do a search for a coupon or coupon code (if you buy online) before you buy anything. There are coupons and coupon codes for just about every website out there and every store or item as well. I also always search for coupons for restaurants, theaters….for just about everything before I buy it. A penny saved is a penny earned and I can use every penny I can get!

* Sign up for ebates.com.  This website will give you cash back into an account that you can redeem after you have reached $25 for everything you buy through them. Different stores offer different % back but the cash accumulates rather quickly if you shop online at all. It is well worth signing up for to earn some extra cash. Just remember to go there first before you start the purchase. And so far the only website that I have found that I use that does not have % back is amazon. 

* You may consider signing up to do surveys online. I have been using Global Test Market for some time now. I can not attest to any of the other ones out there personally. No, you won't get rich by any means but you can earn a few dollars here and there. It does take some time to start getting surveys that you may qualify for but if you are disabled, every little bit helps.

* If you have children or even grandchildren, you can sign up at upromise.com to start saving for their college. I did this years ago for my daughter and in the end wound up with a few hundred dollars towards her college. And the more family and friends you get to sign up for you child, the faster the cash grows. You have to register your credit cards, grocery store cards and such there but it is worth it in my book. 

Well that about sums up my two cents for today. If you have any ways that you use to earn a little extra cash, I for one would truly appreciate you sharing it.  I am always looking for new ways to add to my piggy bank.

Other areas that have ideas on how to generate some extra cash:

Note: I have not tested these ideas myself...

cnn.com - Ten Creative Ways to Earn Extra Money
101 Ways To Make Money
25 Ways To Make Quick Money