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The way everything is going these days, a lot of people are looking for extra ways to earn money in addition to their day job. Fortunately, there are a lot of opportunities out there to supplement your income - you just have to know where to look and how to take advantage of them.

- A second job

A second job is the first thing many people think about when they need to make more money. Depending on your skill set, your availability, and what you're willing to do, you may be able to find a part-time job (anywhere from 5 to 30 hours a week) to generate more income.

However, with former CEOs working at department stores and engineers asking if you want fries with that, it can be a little tough to find a second job. Some part-time jobs that are almost always hiring and are typically flexible with schedules include waiting tables, bartending, and delivering pizza (or other food). These jobs are also tip-based, so you get to take home at least some of your income in cash the same day.

You might also consider applying as a cashier at a supermarket or a retail store that you frequent, such as Target or Home Depot. The pay will probably be better than you expect, and you'll also get a sizable discount when you shop at the store.

- Odd jobs

Think outside the box. If you have the free time, you could be a dog walker, babysitter, or lawn mower. Depending on your abilities, you might also be able to find work as a handyman or house painter.

You could be a mystery shopper. Visit the Mystery Shopping Providers Association website for details, but mystery shoppers generally get paid a set amount (say, twenty or forty bucks) to visit a store, make a note of certain things like employee behavior or general cleanliness, and report back to the company that hired them. You probably won't get a lot of hours, but if you don't mind occasional shopping, it's not a bad gig.

- Be creative

If you have half a creative bone in your body, there are limitless ways you can harness that talent to make some cash. If you have a decent camera, you can take photographs of animals, plants, or striking scenery (or even cities and buildings) and try to sell them to a stock photography website such as iStock or Shutterstock. Stock photography sites host your pictures and offer them to customers, and any time someone buys one (say, for a company newsletter or for use in a brochure) you get paid a tiny royalty. The payment per picture is usually only 10 or 20 cents (maybe more now), but if you make enough pictures available that people want, it can easily add up.

Perhaps you're more of a writer. You could get paid to write greeting cards. Kalan LP pays $100 per card idea, and GrammaBurp pays $50. If you can write book reviews, The Writer pays $40-80 per review. Or you could write articles for Helium or another content-based site, earning upfront payments, empty title bonuses, and recursive page-view income.

If you can turn a phrase, there are some literary magazines that will pay you for your poetry or fiction. The Cincinnati Review pays $25 per page for fiction, and $30 per page for poetry. Boulevard pays $25-500 for poetry, and $50-500 for fiction.

- Clean out some old junk

it can pay to clean out your basement. You might find something valuable - an old signed baseball, or a figurine, or maybe a nice picture frame. Whatever you find, if it's not something you want to keep, try selling it on eBay. You usually have to pay a small seller's fee, but it's only a percentage of what you make. (In addition to the money, you'll also make more space for future junk.)

- Play games

Online gaming sites like Pogo or Shockwave not only allow you to play games for free, but they also give you a chance to win some money. With Pogo, you can use points you earn from playing games to enter drawings for up to $1,000, and certain games also have jackpots with cash prizes.

These are only some of the ways you can earn extra money in your spare time. Give them a shot, and hopefully you'll see your income increase over time. The more ways you can earn money, the better.

Learn more about this author, Greg Schwartz.
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