There’s no doubt that many of us could do with some extra cash, especially in today’s challenging economic climate. Sunday Finance has compiled a list of ways you can achieve this goal while still holding down your full-time job.

Writing

Get paid for your writing skills. You can earn more than a $1,000 per article writing for newspaper publishing companies. Do this by offering to contribute opinion columns in a field about which you are knowledgeable or, if you have prior training in journalism, apply to do some freelance work.

You can also offer to write resumes for working professionals, or business plans for aspiring entrepreneurs. A well-done resume or business plan is often the first step to achieving wealth, so given the possibility of a solid return on investment, many persons would be more than willing to pay you to get the job done. Now, take a few hundred dollars and place a classified ad offering your writing services. It may be worth it – business plan writers charge anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000.

Gardening

Gardeners are always in high demand, especially in upper St Andrew where some yards are the size of football fields. Earn up to $1,500 a day gardening on weekends or on days off. Most landlords might provide you with tools, but having your own can give you a competitive advantage. Go to a hardware store and invest a few thousand dollars in a grass-cutter, machete, hedge cutter, rake and other tools you’ll need to do landscaping. Then, place classified ads, distribute circulars or just do house-to-house calls at residences that look like they need your service. You’ll almost surely get a few job offers.

Car Wash

Go house-to-house and wash people’s cars – inside and out – for $400 a pop. Aside from time, it won’t cost you much, as the most you’ll need to invest in is soap, washcloths and a bottle of Armour All.

Art

If you’re artistic, use your skills to produce paintings or drawings for money. Caricature sketches of people are especially popular during this time of year (Christmas holiday season). Go to a venue where there’s a sizeable public gathering – such as a plaza – and you can earn a decent daily wage offering sketches at $1,000 a piece or more.

Affixing photos to buttons or pins

A lot of Jamaicans expressed shock and anger upon hearing the news that badges bearing the resemblance of dancehall entertainers Vybz Kartel and Mavado, promoting violence, were being sold by vendors to schoolchildren. Lost in the outrage, however, was the entrepreneurial instinctiveness of the badge manufacturers – sadly channelling their business skills to bad use. It doesn’t take any great technology to manufacture such badges: A safety pin, glue, a piece of plastic and a picture of anything can do the trick. Naturally, the picture has to be meaningful or else it won’t have any sale value.

Selling phone credit

Buy phone cards in bulk from telecoms companies and sell them at a mark-up to consumers. Jamaicans love to talk; you can’t lose with this one.

Renting out home/room

If you have a vacant home/room and need extra money, you can rent it out. Rental rates vary depending on location, amenities, etc.

Interior decorating

Have you received many compliments about the job you did decorating the interior of your home? Well, don’t just feel proud of your achievements, go use your skills to decorate other people’s homes. Make yourself some business cards, place a few classified ads, and you’re on your way.

Washing and ironing clothes

Doing the laundry and ironing are two of the most despised household chores. Put up signs in laundromats or place classified ads offering reasonable rates to wash and iron – at your own home or at the customers’ place – and you’ll almost surely get many buyers. The going rate for both of these jobs combined is $1,500.

Hauling services

Put your truck or van to use by moving or delivering furniture and other items for others. Advertise your services via classifieds, flyers or even signs on your vehicle. Charges to move items vary, depending on truck/van size and the type of item being moved. A popular moving company charges $20,000 per trip to move a truckload of furniture items from Norbrook to Stony Hill, a Sunday Finance query revealed.

Meal delivery services

Use your automobile to offer delivery services from restaurants that don’t have delivery services. Start calling restaurants today.

Organise a games tournament

Put on a well-organised tournament in one of the more popular gaming activities – such as football, dominoes or basketball – and you can make a decent dollar by charging entry fees to participants. You can make your tournament more attractive by offering money or a special prize to winners.

Private Tutoring

Are you very knowledgeable in a certain subject? Use that knowledge, in collaboration with some teaching skills, to earn some cash through your own private tutoring service. Advertise your services today, but make sure your qualifications are well-documented. I know two persons who charge $1,500 to tutor high school students.

Private therapeutic massages

Become skilled at offering massages and you can earn mega bucks. A certified 10-week Swedish-massage training course costs $30,000 at a local massage school – not that steep a price to pay considering that trained masseuses are well-paid. Indeed, at approximately $5,000 per full body massage, the return is worth the investment.

Paying taxes for small business people

The local businessman’s major foe, Jamaica’s unfriendly bureaucracy, can be your friend. Make extra income by running errands for businesspersons who can’t afford the time to run from government agency to government agency to conduct business.

Christmas trees

Plant your own evergreens, cut them down and sell them to retailers or directly to consumers during Christmas. You could even add decoration to some trees in order to service those who can’t be bothered with the hassle and want ready-made Christmas trees. To give you an idea of how much money can be earned from selling Christmas trees, currently, plastic Christmas trees without decoration are being sold for around $6,500 at retail stores. It may be too late to grow evergreens for this Christmas season, but you can aim for next year and beyond.

Training guard dogs

They say a dog is the first line of defence at one’s home. As long as rampant crime continues to impact Jamaica, there will always be a viable business in training guard dogs. To transform your dog from being mere pet to security, trainers charge around $30,000 for a four-week course, which involves obedience and aggression lessons. We were not able to find any local schools which offer dog training lessons but you can learn about dog training and behaviour by reading books and by consulting with experts in the field.

Part-time taxi service

One of the most obvious ways to generate income from your automobile. Obtain the proper documents you need to operate a public passenger vehicle (PPV) – which includes updating your insurance and registration to PPV status – and you’ll be on your way.

Selling juices

Sell fresh fruit and vegetable juices after work and on weekends. You can get fresh fruit and vegetables cheap from markets downtown. If your aim is to do large-scale vending, you can invest in a commercial juice extractor for around $75,000, but if you want to keep it smallscale, buy a blender for around $5,000. Set up stalls in high traffic areas to maximise sales. The hot climate combined with the general healthy-living drive in Jamaica make this business a hit.

Set up a fitness club

Speaking of health, you can get paid to keep fit by holding your own exercise classes. Group fitness instruction is a popular way to earn extra income. Charge membership fees just like a gym.

Here are some more ways to earn extra cash

. Framing pictures

. Audiotaping, Photographing or videotaping events

. Producing low-budget movies or videotapes

. Be a professional toastmaster (MC)

. Garage sale

. Be a clown at children’s birthday parties, etc

. Breeding pets

. Booking talent

. Being Santa Claus or Easter Bunny

. Door-to-door sales selling anything

. Sell work for artists and craftspeople for commission

. Selling real estate part-time

. Catering services

. Driving lessons

. Mobile hairdresser, barber, manicurist

. Professional companionship (escort service)

. Babysitting/ Setting up day-care centre

. Housekeeping

. Job-finding service

. Running a children’s summer camp