Show Me the Money!

The economy stinks right now. No two ways about it. Prices up, incomes down. Unemployment sweeping the country like a wildfire. Foreclosures of houses left and right.
Everyone I know is *just* scraping by.

Preps can be expensive. It would be nice if everyone could have gardens, fields and orchards to harvest and store food from, but it is just not so. I have stuff I HAVE to buy. You have stuff you HAVE to buy. No one can be entirely self-sufficient in this day and age, unfortunately.
I know a few folks that are pretty close to it, but even they have to buy certain necessities.

Here's the deal...we all could use a little more money. Most of us spend most of whatever monies we earn to pay for the basics...food, shelter, transportation, etc. Extra money to go to the *Prep* fund is hard to come by after the basics are paid for.

So, you may be able to earn a little extra per week or month to go towards your preps.
Here are some money making ideas...

If you live out in the country with some acreage:


Livestock/Animals
-rabbits as pets, for meat, for furs, for worm food, for fertilizer/compost.
-raise chickens for meat/eggs
-worms for composting, bait, fish farm food/catfish barrel
-goats for milk, soap, ethnic meat market
-pigs for pig roast
-butterflies for weddings, special events, crafts
-exotics, careful of ponzi schemes...
-bees for honey, wax, pollination service, alternative health, bee hive removal service
-get into ethnic meat sales by donating meat to churches and organizations as advertising.



Wood
-crafts
-firewood
-lumber (sawmill)

Organic Produce Stand/gardening
-sell only high end produce, unless you are marketing something unusual or hard to find you will be competing with corporate farmers who will outprice you and your return will be very small.
-pumpkins
-gourds/luffas for the crafters market
-fruits
-herbs, fresh or dried
-mushrooms
-grow nursery plants, bushes, shrubs, vines, trees, etc
-flowers for edible flower salads
-Xmas tree farm
-ornamental shrubs
-potted plants
-trees (fruit, nut, woodlot, etc)
-flowers
-aquatic/pond plants/flowers

Handy Man Services
-Trash hauling
-Computer Service/Support
-Yard work
-Rototilling/tractor work
-Painting
-Snow removal/plowing
-Window washing
-Gutter cleaning
-Dowsing/wells
-cleaning basements/garages/attics
-gunsmithing/salvage
-build picnic tables, benches, mailboxes, adirondak chairs, gazebos
-fix up old cars and resell them

House sitting/Care taking for vacationing farmers/homesteaders

Writing
-Write articles for newspapers/magazines
-Publish your own books
-Publish a quarterly newsletter with articles about what is going on on your homestead and use it to advertise your products.

Sell gift baskets filled with food and crafts all produced on your homestead.

*soapmaking
*jewelry and metalwork
*furniture finishing and re-finishing (new pieces, old pieces)
*quilting and sewing
*making stuffed baby toys - sock critters and such
*papercrafts - greeting cards and the like
*growing and selling pumpkins, ornamentals such as gourds and ornamental corn
*house/pet sitting
*other arts and crafts
* organizing yard sales for others
* planning children's birthday parties or other parties for the over worked

If you are talented at a specific thing...such as sewing or watercolors or baking or martial arts, consider giving private lessons.

A BIG thing starting to happen is a *Private Preparedness Consultant* for homes and businesses.
Basically, you go in, and show a family/individual/business the basics they can do in their home/business to prepare for disasters, SHTF, whatever. Show them how to start a home food storage for themselves, etc.
For businesses, you would be showing them how to prepare for extreme storms or urban unrest, storage of needed supplies for employees, basic security for supplies, etc.

Now, maybe you are in an apt, not much money for supplies, few tools and you don't have a *talent* that you think can be translated into cash on the side....
Reassess yourself!
I knew one lady who didn't think she could do anything. She ended up with a bunch of cast off rocks...flat ones, pretty ones, shiny ones, etc. One day she took some Gorilla glue and using a flat rock as a base, she glued rocks and some crystals she had to the flat base creating a *rock garden*. She added a small candle. Just making something cute for herself. A friend saw it and wanted one. Then another friend. A year later she was making 500 bucks at a craft fair in one weekend!

Every little bit counts right now!
If you find a part time money making effort that works for you, do it. Plow that money into paying off bills (such as mortgage/credit cards/car) and for getting preps!