The good thing about being unemployed, if there is such a thing, is that you have plenty of time. While you should be using the bulk of your time putting forth the effort to land another job, there are some opportunities to make some cash while you have some extra time. Take advantage of the time you have.
Sell Your Junk
While this doesn’t usually equate to a sustainable income stream, this is a good way to pay the bills for a month or two. I’m currently in the process of a de-clutter / moving some things around phase and as a result, I’ve decided to sell a bunch of stuff online. With minimal effort I’ve made over $300 in a few weeks selling stuff online and I still have a bunch of stuff that is still yet to be sold (I detailed this effort here [July 28, 2009])
Sell Your Friends Junk
If you get good at selling your own stuff, why not sell your friends’ stuff? I imagine some of your friends are too lazy to take care of this and probably, like you, have a bunch of stuff they’d be willing to get rid of especially if they didn’t have to do anything. Offer to split the money with them and do all the work: putting item for sale online, shipping, etc. If you’re selling a few books a week on Amazon, it doesn’t require any additional effort to sell a few more (you’re already going to the post office).
Create A Website
While this one isn’t likely to make you much money; it’s very hard to make money online. It could be the start of something big, and what better time to launch the website you’ve been meaning to launch?
If you decide to go this route, I’d recommend either focusing on building your personal brand (through demonstrating your expertise in a specific field), or simply providing valuable, unique information in a field. Just make sure that the topic is something you’re interested in because otherwise you won’t keep it up.
Use the opportunity to develop some new skills, build a potential lasting website, and possibly earn a few bucks.
