There are several ways to make money, but some people excel at making money in the dumbest way. A user asked the forum, “What is the dumbest way you’ve ever made money?”
Here are the common responses.
SHOWING THE DIRECTION
“An American gentleman asked me for directions and gave me a 1 dollar bill as a souvenir. This was in post-communist Hungary, and I was maybe 10. I thought I won the lottery.
READING BOOKS TO NEIGHBOUR’S PARROT
“Reading books to my neighbor’s parrot. He was depressed and needed company. When I was 10, I enjoyed that work very much. I still have the book.”
FANCY MODEL
“I got a job as a ‘fantasy model with long flowing hair’ where I modeled for B grade American fantasy novels. The pay was low. I also signed away my rights like an idiot, so I occasionally turn up riding a horse or casting a spell.
Also, once I turned up on a book cover with a lady,’ and my girlfriend went, ‘Who is that!’. I have to explain Photoshop, my dear, Photoshop. I tried to read one of the books, and it started, ‘He was not traditionally handsome.’ Ouch.”
APPEALING TO THE COURT
“Forgot to submit my self-assessment tax return for a year I owed £0 tax. I got fined £100.
I appealed it, was successful, and got paid £100.10 back. Thanks to His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC).”
TUTORING THE KID
“Tutoring a kid in math who was far smarter in math than his mother thought. He didn’t do the homework because he wanted to play video games. He aced all the tests and quizzes, but homework was 50% of the grade, so he was getting a C in math. Mother paid me $20 an hour to ensure he did his homework, which he finished in about 5 minutes.
We then played video games for the next 55 minutes, and whenever the mother would check on us, I would say something ‘mathematical,’ then he would say something ‘mathematical,’ and I would say, ‘Exactly, now you’ve got it.’ I felt bad taking the money from the mom, but as a poor college kid, $20 is $20.”
ANSWERING AN ADVERTISEMENT
“Answered an advertisement on Craigslist. A guy shaved my head and filmed it. Paid me $600.”
MAKING SIMPLE T-SHIRT DESIGNS
“I spent about an hour 12 years ago making a simple t-shirt design and posted it on CafePress. I still get $100-150 a couple of times yearly from it. It ain’t much, but receiving the check is always a fun surprise.”
SHOVELING SNOW
“Shoveling snow. Yeah, I know how it sounds, but I was at my grandma’s house, and she had this curved shovel, so if you held it right, the snow would curl up and move like a snowplow. I was like 6 or 7 years old. I thought it was so cool, so I just went around her block, clearing the sidewalks and having a blast because it’s like the big snow plows. Before I knew it, people came out of the houses and gave me money.”
EDITING RESUME
“Editing resumes, I got my degree in communications and technical writing. People would send the most outrageous resumes, like 14 jobs, with a few weeks between them. Long-winded ‘about me’ like it was a dating profile.
Some even included a photo of what they looked like. Some photos were professionally done, others were selfies or, even worse, the camera on their phone pointed at the bathroom mirror with a flash on. I would always take the payment first for like $100, concise it down to a single page with the relevant information that the hiring manager or Human Resources representative wants to see. I always delivered with a one-day turnaround.
Some people loved it, and they could get into prestigious universities or jobs because we were in community college; others hated them because I ‘took away their personality.’ Besides, I sold homemade edibles, gummies, and other sweets because weed wasn’t a legit business yet.”
PET WALKING AND BABYSITTING
“In my first year of college, I picked up some side jobs like pet walking, babysitting, and house cleaning. One man I cleaned for was in his late 60s, a very wealthy retired businessman.”
WEB SCRAPING
“Web scraping 50k products (price, picture, rating, comments) from a specific category on Amazon. The guy used it in his Ph.D. thesis and paid me $50.”
FOCUS GROUPS
“Focus groups. In college, I made quick cash by doing marketing focus groups. Sometimes, it would take an hour. Sometimes, they were full and give you full payment for showing up.”
PLAYING BINGO
“I’m 100% honest and not joking nor lying. I once woke up from sleep with a sudden urge to play bingo. Something was telling me to go and play, so I got up, hopped to my computer, and opened the website I usually play on.
I played a few rounds for around 20-30 dollars, and within a few minutes, I ended up winning $1200! Cashed the amount immediately.”
RESELLING LAPTOP
“Bought a 5-year-old laptop for $75. I did not like it. Sold it two days later for $90.”
FILLING THE SURVEY
“When I was a kid, a guy was giving $5 to anyone who filled out a survey at the mall. Took 2 minutes. $5 was pretty nice in the 1980s if you were nine years old.”
SELLING SAND AND PROPPANT
“Sold sand and proppant to oil companies for ridiculous prices. Sure, we had some manufactured ceramic proppants, but we also sold a lot of regular everyday sand. I never did get my head around getting paid $65 an hour for just selling sand.”
SELLING IPHONE
“When the iPhone 4 came out, I accidentally ordered two instead of 1. Instead of canceling my order, I just continued, thinking I’d sell the other off. I then realized that the iPhone 4 was facing severe shortages, and shops offered almost twice the price for a sealed unit.
I kept ordering online using multiple email and credit cards and sold it to resellers. I earned around 40k in four months by buying and selling the new iPhone 4.”
SELLING DENTAL FLOSS
“We weren’t allowed to chew gum in my elementary school. So, I would sell flavored dental floss like mint or cinnamon. Kids would chew on it because it had flavor. I sold it for $.25 per foot or $1 for a yard. I sold more yards than I did feet. The kids weren’t the smartest in math.
Eventually, the principal tracked me down and said we know what you’re doing; there’s dental floss all over the school grounds, and you need to stop.”
OPENING POKEMON CARDS
“Opening Pokemon cards in the mall food court, someone gave me 500 for 1 card.”
CUTTING MY HAIR OFF
“My friend’s sister said she’d give me 20 bucks to cut my hair off the day before school started. Easiest 20 bucks I’ve ever made.”
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This article was originally published on Mrs Daaku Studio.