Rent Out Your Driveway & Other Ways to Make a Buck Without Leaving Home
In a lukewarm economy, some people have gotten creative when it comes to making a buck. A new website, ParkatMyHouse.com, matches people who need parking spaces with people who own houses with driveways near the desired destination. It's a peer-to-peer operation, like Craigslist, and it sounds like a win-win to me. As a car owner, I'd much rather pay a nice person $20 to park in their uncrowded, drama-free driveway than $20 to park in a lot that will take me 45 minutes to exit. And as someone who grew up in a house with a secret back entrance to a National Park in her backyard, my family could've made a killing if this site had existed back in the '90s.
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Point is, there are plenty of ways to pimp out your house for some extra cash. No need to stop with the parking! Let's look beyond the driveway.
Those bushes in your front yard? They look like they could use some watering. If you live on a main thoroughfare in a highly foot-trafficked area that has parades, marathons, massive block parties, etc, you could charge people $5 to pee in your bushes. This is an easy way to make bank if you happen to live on Bourbon street or anywhere that sees a big crowd for Mardi Gras. There's never enough porta potties, and when nature calls, you'll be there collecting dollar bills from revellers ready to douse your plants.
Live in the country? Charge city folks $10 a person to come to your lovely abode and have a picnic in your scenic pasture. Up-sell them with some homemade cheese and/or maple syrup, and before you know it, your inbox will be full of city slickers looking for an inexpensive escape.
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Or, you could always plow your crops, build a baseball field, and charge people $20 to watch a game played by legendary ghosts of the sport. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. The memories will be so thick, they'll have to brush them away from their faces.
People will come, people will most definitely come.
Have you ever thought about "renting" out part of your home or property to make some extra money? Would you consider using ParkatMyHouse.com?
Photo via mlwguide/Flickr
Written by Amy Reiter on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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