3 Ways To Make $100 That Are Actually Fun
1. Dog sitting
What are your weekends missing? Could it be an adorable animal you’re getting paid to hang out with? Rover.com is this fantastic website that makes it easy for dog owners to find and hire dog sitters in their neighborhoods…like an AirBnB (or OkCupid?) for dogs. There are places to review each other, contact sitters, and arrange for meetings beforehand (so you’re not stuck with a crazy). You can narrow your choices by size, too, so someone with a tiny apartment won’t get messages from Labradors. Two of my friends have been doing this for years now to supplement their incomes while in graduate school, oftentimes making over $100 in one weekend. I had the privilege of spending the night with one while a Maltese was staying over, and it was like having a third, preciously needy guest around, in the form of an FAO Swartz toy. If anything, I felt like we should’ve been paying the owner for the privilege of spending time with such a majestic creature.
2. Catering
Any restaurant job can be an addictively easy way to rake in cash. What catering has over regular serving is that many companies allow you to choose your schedule. I’ve worked for two, and both just sent out mass emails to the staff to see who was available for a given event. If you didn’t feel like working that weekend, there was no consequence. But if you did, you’d take home close to $100 for one night that, to be honest, mainly consisted of standing around and occasionally setting out a shrimp cocktail. Way easier than restaurants. It’s also fancier, because you’re usually serving at weddings, holiday parties, or galas, which is not only a pretty atmosphere to be in, but usually results in some free apps at the end. And fancy parties can come with fancy people. My coworker worked at this one in Manhattan, and has met “a bunch of famous people.” Finally, service workers are just fun people—the kind you actually want to get drinks with after your shift, and who will make you snort with laughter while you’re trying to stuff a pastry puff in your mouth.
3. Selling things on eBay
For those who haven’t heard of NastyGal, it’s not actually an adult toy store but an Urban Outfitters-esque online retailer that’s gained swift popularity with whatever demographic prefers leather crop tops and channeling Lana Del Rey. (But actually. It’s reported to be a $100 million business). How this is relevant to us pedestrians just trying to get by is that the founder (author of the memoir / business book #GirlBoss) started out as a regular person selling vintage clothes on eBay. Whether or not you have #bossy aspirations, seems worth exploring. Related anecdote: my friend had her car break down one morning near a Goodwill Outlet once (yes, they exist, and they sell items by the pound), and a strange crowd of people was gathered in nervous anticipation of the opening. Turns out these, too, were eBay sellers. Some earned their entire livings this way, others just subsidized their vacations. The things you learn!
Image via Unsplash
