by Bryant Greenlaw

Created on: May 05, 2008   Last Updated: April 29, 2010

Money Left on the Table

Have you ever cringed when logging into your online banking, scared to see what the balance is? With the shape of our economy currently, households could be closing their eyes a lot more when it comes to checking their bank balance.

Whether you or a spouse have lost their job, you are in the middle of a divorce, or you are a two parent family working your tail off just to put gas in your car to get to work, there are ways you can raise money fairly quickly.

Start looking through your closet, attic and start selling. Some may be hesitant in selling on an auction site such as eBay, but it is very easy. Write a thorough description including any flaws, set your payment options, the length of the auction, take a picture and post. Usually within minutes your item will be up for auction. It is recommended that you set your auction for the normal 7 days and there are fees that apply. If this may be something you are interested in visit www.Ebay.com for further details.

Another and often forgotten way to get money is through AFLAC (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus Georgia). If you are a policy holder, contact your AFLAC representative or call 1-800-992-3522 and find out if you have made any claims since opening your policies. In some cases policy holders have forgotten to make claims for 5 years or more, and find out they have 200, 500 or more in money they could have claimed. As long as policy holders can provide the information, they will pay. The best part AFLAC processes payments quickly (general rule about 4-10 days, but it could be less).

If you are looking for cash sooner check out your local flea market. While a lot will suggest a yard sale, chances are you will be able to make a lot more money in the flea market. People who go to yard sales expect yard sale prices, while you might be able to make a couple hundred bucks, depending on the items you have, you might be able to double your profit at a flea market. Items to remember that are very popular whether a yard sale or flea market are baby clothes and items, women's clothes, trinkets, collectibles, baseball cards and many more items.

What about turning your milk jugs, cans and anything that can be recycled into cash? Milk jugs can be turned into bird feeders; tin cans can be punched with a nail and hammer, painted to make candle holders for the outside to create a beautiful ambiance. If this sounds like something you might like to try, maybe make a couple and take them to the flea market with you.

Crafts are a great way to make extra money. A lot of people will go the fleas markets every weekend and sell crafts that they make. Several years ago a gentleman wanted to make extra money; he developed a kite for kids. The cost of making the kite at the time was 5.00, every weekend he would take his boys to the flea market with him and they would sell the kites for 20.00. He would take between 10 and 20 kites with him and sell out in only a couple of hours. The item was so unique in how he designed it that adults and children loved them.

So if you are looking for new ways to earn extra cash start rummaging through your closets, attic, garage, and kitchen or maybe come up with a unique design for a simple and fun toy. We all have potential of making a little extra cash, but a lot of times we will end up leaving money on the table.

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