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It doesn’t seem logical that anyone could make a bunch of extra money by doing something as ridiculous as selling used underwear or milking snakes, but these are the kind of frightful money making ideas that are fun to read about.
After all, you have to think outside the box if you are behind in saving for retirement. My goal is to help you find creative ways to catch-up retirement savings after a late start. The absurd extra money making ideas in this post definitely fall under creative or alternative ways to make some cash for retirement. Who does this stuff?!
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Would You Be Willing To Try These Absurd Extra Money Making Ideas?
What if you could get paid for some of the hobbies you enjoy, like mushroom hunting? Or maybe you could cultivate a cash crop by selling herbal vinegars from your hobby garden. Do you have other interests that seem too strange to be able to make money from?
Many bloggers have written about unusual ways to make some extra money. It doesn’t take much surfing on the internet to find wacky wealth building strategies. The real question is, would you consider doing any of these to help you catch-up retirement savings, grow your emergency fund, or just to bring in extra money?
1 – Sell Your Blood Plasma
Halloween is full of bloody images like zombies and vampires. Could you actually make extra money by selling bodily fluids? Plasma, which is the antibody-rich clear liquid portion of your blood, sells for up to $50 per donation.
For-profit donation centers are found across the USA, where you can donate plasma in exchange for cash. Plasma is in high demand, and can be life-saving for someone in need. If you’ve recovered from COVID-19, you may be able to help others fight the infection.
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) determines the rules around plasma donation – for example, you need to be at least 18 years old and in good health (among other requirements). You could potentially make up to $400 per month by donating plasma.
2 – Would You, Could You, Sell Your Poop?
It might be easier to get into an Ivy League school like Harvard, than to be accepted as a stool donor. Nevertheless, if you can pass the intensive screening process, you can earn $40 for each stool sample.
This idea seems gross, but I’d actually come across it before in some of the health literature I read. The FDA has approved fecal implants to treat patients with Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections. C. diff is a debilitating illness, caused by bad bacteria taking over the intestinal tract.
Because antibiotics have been overused, stronger and stronger drugs are required to treat these infections. Fecal implants infuse the patient’s intestinal tract with good bacteria that crowd out the bad guys, restoring health.
3 – How About Collecting Dog Poop?
Picking up after pets can be a pain, but most of us have more time at home than ever, so there shouldn’t be any excuse for not picking up the pet poop in our yards! Yet who wants to do that when you can hire someone else to do it?
Erica Krupin was featured on the Side Hustle Nation podcast to talk about the pet poop removal business she started in her spare time, Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin. Erica was initially making $1,000 per week, but 9 months later she doubled her business!
Krupin reported she was able to keep her business open during the COVID-19 lockdown. Apparently, picking up dog poop is a good way to make money, even in a pandemic!
4 – Cashing In On Your Black Cat At Halloween
If you have a blog or an online store, it can be fun to include photos of your black cat around Halloween. Cute cat pictures may help you get more views and keep people on your blog or website longer, which could help you to increase ad revenue. Another idea is to sell stock photos of your cat, posed next to a bright orange pumpkin!
5 – Crooning Scary Songs
How about singing for cash? Matt Farley sings 100 songs per day from his basement, and it’s earning him a cool $65,000 per year. He’s published over 20,000 songs on Spotify, a music streaming service, about all kinds of topics.
These are songs you will never hear on the radio, and individually the royalties from each song are low. However, he has published so many songs that the money adds up.
6 – Selling Used Underwear – The Most Absurd Extra Money Maker
This idea seems a bit creepy, but apparently it is a real thing. The Money Geek interviewed three people who are successfully selling used panties online to earn extra money. It doesn’t sound that easy to make money this way, but it might be a little better than picking lice out of someone else’s hair or squeezing the venom out of snakes!
7 – Rake in Extra Money Removing Head Lice
Just about every parent has probably received that note from the school saying “your child has been exposed to head lice.” It’s not unusual for children to get head lice. In fact, it’s so common that lice removal businesses have sprung up.
One option that does not involve hands-on contact with the customer is to package and sell lice treatment kits. You’ll find a variety of natural insecticides for sale on Etsy.
8 – Sell Piñatas As Halloween Decor
There are thousands of Halloween piñatas for sale on Etsy, which range from cute to scary. When vacationing in Mexico a couple of years ago, we discovered political piñatas. Someone in our group bought a Trump piñata and that evening on the beach, it was suspended above us and everyone took turns bashing it for fun. In fact, hand-crafted political items are big sellers on Etsy.
9 – If You Dare, Be a Snake Milker
OK, this is an actual career, and it pays even worse than social work! A venom milker handles poisonous snakes to extract venom for pay, but on average only makes $30,000 per year. Hmm… I don’t think so!
Can you imagine how bad it would smell to be in a room with 200 to 1,000 snakes?
10 – Make Absurd Extra Money Writing Poetry On Demand
During the corona virus pandemic, being able to think outside the box can help bring in extra money. Tanya Chen shared the story about a writer who used his skills to offer custom poems and limericks online. He set up a payment system on Venmo, then started cranking out the rhymes once people sent in their requests with payment.
11 – Create & Sell COVID-19 Isolation Playlists
Chen also wrote about Jess McGuire, who was working as a DJ prior to the shutdown caused by COVID-19. When events dried up, McGuire faced a scary loss of income. By using her marketing skills and creativity, McGuire began creating and selling isolation playlists for people.
12 – Sew and Sell Scary Costumes
If you are crafty or know how to sew, creating and selling scary costumes can be very lucrative around Halloween. The best selling costumes on Etsy or eBay include customized accessories, sold as a complete lot.
It’s possible to continue selling homemade costumes all year long, too. Focus on selling pretend dress-up costumes to parents for their young children. Or, you might tap into the cosplay market if you can sew more elaborate costumes.
Even if you don’t sew, there is a market for selling costumes online. After Halloween is over, that would be the perfect time to scoop up costumes marked down to clearance prices. All you have to do is hold onto them until next year and sell them for a profit!
13 – Create a Halloween Recipe Book to Sell Online
Love to cook and create Halloween themed dishes? Your hauntingly good recipes can be turned into an e-book to sell online! This is fairly passive income once you write your e-book and post it. People can pay online for your recipe e-book and download it without you having to do anything else. However, you still have to market it!
Whether you write and sell your own Halloween Treats e-book, or you buy one someone else has written, these e-books sell very well.
A Frightfully Fun Halloween Party at home with your family might be a delicious way to keep the magic in Halloween. By getting your kids involved in making and eating “witches fingers” or “graveyard cupcakes” everyone can still have fun. Your kids might be so entertained, they forgive you for not letting them go trick-or-treating during a pandemic!
My Final Thoughts About Unbelievably Absurd Extra Money Making Ideas
The lengths people might go to make extra money may seem funny or even absurd. It’s undeniable that determination is required when it comes to making money, no matter what method is chosen.
What about you? Are any of these ideas even remotely appealing for making extra money? Have you found other unconventional ways to make & save money?
Share your ideas in the comments below!
I hope you enjoyed reading these 13 killer ways to make unbelievably absurd extra money. To continue getting more creative ideas for catching up retirement savings after a late start, be sure to subscribe to the blog.
There are some unique methods of making extra money. Some of them I did not know would be marketable. lol.
Same here, Heather! I still can’t imaging doing a few of these myself, lol. Thaks for reading & commenting!
The one I’d heard about before was the stool sample one as I happened upon a mini documentary about it a year or so ago! It seemed so odd but also made perfect sense (medically). These ways to earn extra money sure are interesting!
Thanks for your feedback, Molly! Yes, I think getting paid to donate stool samples sounds unusual, but apparently fecal implants are as effective as antibiotics without the side effects.
Haha loved these although I don’t know if they’re the right fit for me. Except maybe the snakes! I actually do love snakes, I know, weird but true. That pricetag is a little low though! What ever happened to “hazard pay”?
Many of them are not the right fit for me, either, Clarissa! I was surprised the snake milker didn’t pay more, too. Seems like a risky job. Thanks for your comments!
These are certainly some unique and interesting ideas! Although I did find myself nodding my head to a few of them and thinking to myself that I could do that – the black cat one for Halloween, genius! The poop thing grossed me out if I’m being honest, but it makes sense! Really, really enjoyable post – thank you for sharing x
So glad you enjoyed (most) of it, Castlesandturrets! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Urgh, I’m really not keen on the poop and head lice ideas (surprise, surprise) but we do have a black cat and plenty of pumpkins so that’s a great tip, I might have to try that!
It would actually be a lot of fun to photograph your cat, I think.
Goodness me these are some seriously absurd ways to make extra money! But if you want to go for it, good on you!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jenny! I’m just throwing ideas out there. They might work for someone, lol.
Wow I have never even thought of some of these options how crazy! A super interesting read thank you for sharing.
Amber | The Unpredicted Page
Glad you found it interesting, Amber! Thanks for your kind comments!
These were some interesting and different ways to make money. Great post
Aw, thanks, Kelly Diane! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
There are some crazy ways to make money! While some of the them grossed me out, I love the idea of creating a Halloween cookbook or writing custom poetry.
Thanks for sharing!
Yes, really diverse ideas. It seems money making strategies are only limited by the imagination, lol. I think you’d do very well writing custom poetry for people, Jaya!
Wow! Certainly some unique ways to make some money. I knew about the blood plasma but not the others. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Gemma!
Definitely not what I was expecting, especially the first two! Very interesting list x
Sophie
Yep, who would have thought you could make money this way? Thanks for your comments, Sophie!
Oh wow these are some super WEIRD ways to make money (and I absolutely loved reading them all haha!). I can get on board with making and selling playlists but other than that I’ll be avoiding the others lol
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
Making & selling playlists sounds pretty good compared to some of the others, lol. Thanks for commenting, Faye!
Some of these really made me chuckle! Very inventive ideas. Though I can’t get the image of milking a snake out of my head now!
Snake milking, who knew? Happy to entertain, Becca!
Hi! Really funny article… I should try some of them! haha I will tell you on the future how it was!
Great! Look forward to hearing what you try, Jesus!
These are incredible!😂 didn’t realise you could sell half of these things!
It’s amazing what people will sell and pay for! Thanks for reading & commenting, Demi!
Am always looking for ways to make extra money from home, thank you so much for these list, its amazing
Glad you enjoyed it, Constance! Thank you!
OMG I didn’t know these ways to make money, super weird!
Miki x
http://www.littletasteofbeauty.com
Pretty weird, I agree. Thank you for reading & commenting, Miki!
These are really interesting ideas, granted some of them are pretty strange!
Thanks, Jen! Glad to spark your interest for alternative ways to make money. Yup, some strange ideas here.
I never knew you could earn using your poop! That’s crazy. Thanks for sharing this post 😀
Ha ha, it’s a pretty unusual way to make extra money! Thanks for stopping by, Queenie!
Oh, wow, I’m sitting, you know, working, and there are so many ideas for additional income. Very fun, thanks, I’ll think …
Glad to help get those creative ideas flowing, Milos!
I did a google search on my name and saw this feed. Thank you for talking about the poop scooping biz! If anyone wants to know more please check out my YouTube channel. Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin. I think I have some good nuggets of info there.
I’m so glad you found it and commented, Erica! Your business is certainly unique and there seems to be a great need for this type of service (dogs gonna poop, right?!). I’m happy you chimed in and I’m sure people will enjoy checking out your YouTube channel, thanks!
What a list!
After my kids had lice a couple years ago, I know removing it could be lucrative but that’s one I would rather be on the spending end of next time. Yikes.
Yes, lice removal would be one tough side hustle, Moving & Baking! It’s one thing to do it when it’s your own kid…
Thanks for reading & commenting!
I like the costume and decor ideas! I’m deathly afraid of snakes so will definitely pass on that one!
Interesting ideas though for those in a pinch/ want that boost to financial freedom!
Isabella || http://achaosstory.com/
You won’t find me picking up a side job as a snake handler, either, Isabella! Lots of creative ideas for making extra money out there, so it’s good to know you can pick the ones that speak to you and skip the rest, lol.
What an amazing post! It was a very interesting read – from absurd to some good ideas!
I am really fascinated by how people get such ideas, like to sell their poop, haha. Thank you for this post! I enjoyed it!
Thanks, Sandra! There is no limit to creativity when it comes to making money. Glad you enjoyed the post!
Wow, that’s crazy! These are really interesting ways to make money. I think I’ll stick to making crafts to sell haha
http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Interesting and somewhat strange, for sure. Making and selling crafts is also a great way to make some extra money, Lynn!
These are definitely incredibly absurd and funny ways to make more money! I don’t think I could get onboard doing any of these but kudos to those people earning from doing these!
It’s always fun to see the creative ways people are making money. Thanks for reading & commenting, Liz!
Hello dear friend! I absolutely LOVE the black cat Idea, I have 2 beautiful babies that I know for sure would be great for this idea! There are so many different ways of making money! Thank you for the ideas
Glad you enjoyed these fun money making ideas, Lisamarie!
It is pretty amazing how many different ways you can make money! Some of these are a bit strange but making a Halloween recipe book would be fun x
Isn’t it simply amazing? A little bit of creativity and thinking outside the box can take you far! Thanks for reading & commenting, Caroline!
hmm..these are interesting / strange ways to make extra money.
Definitely a few strange ones, Mind Beauty Simplicity! When you need to make some extra cash or want to catch up savings, you have to get creative!
Fun, and somewhat disturbing read! I think there’s a saying about there there’s a buyer for everything you can imagine selling, and this list speaks to that. Ultimately, it’s about thinking outside of the box. I can say that there are a lot of things on this list that I wouldn’t do or even think of, but it’s working for those people. When it comes to making money, it’s about tapping in to what you have to offer and finding a market for it. Thank you for sharing!
~Cassie | letsgrowmom.com
Yes, it can be surprising to discover all the different creative ways people make extra money. Check out my post on eBay selling tips to help you make more money – the eBay seller I interviewed said this very thing, Cassie – people will buy anything! Selling items on eBay is a good way to catch up retirement savings after a late start.
https://www.babyboomersupersaver.com/best-ebay-selling-tips-to-help-you-make-more-money/
Yeah, these really are some absurd ways to make money! I’m not going near poop or snakes!
Some of these are strange but the recipe book sounds like a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing.