18 Incredibly Weird Ways People Make Money

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While sitting on your couch, you released a heavy sigh. You did it again! But why? 

Many money-making ideas keep buzzing in your head but you continue to shrug them off. Why? Because you think there’s no way you can earn from them since they seem weird and unusual. But no! What we’re saying is that you should not limit yourself just because something feels strange. It’s completely normal. To prove our point, here are some weird ways people make money!

Weird Ways People Make Money

There are several ways that you can make money. And if you’re creative enough, you can find tons of them that go beyond the normal way people make their living. If you’re tired of your desk job and would like to explore the exciting ways of making money, below is the perfect list for you.

Bag Prize Money as a Professional Eater

Professional Eating Hot Dog Competition
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Do you love binging? If yes, then here’s a money-making strategy fit for your lifestyle. You can earn while satisfying your tummy. It’s a thing! Others even consider eating contests on television a sport. If you wish to try this out, just visit MajorLeagueEating.com and look for any upcoming event.

You should also check out your competition.  Search online for a list of competitive eaters and study their eating patterns. That way, you can discover what style you need to put forward to win the contest. Those who were strong enough to win such events bagged as much as $100,000 prize money. Practice now! You can start with one of everybody’s all-time favorites, chicken. Fry at least 20 pieces of chicken and try to finish it as fast as you can. But be careful with this money-making strategy since it comes with too many calories and of course, other unhealthy things.

Earn as a Professional Weight Loser

If you are going to try professional eating contests, you might as well become a professional weight loser too. It sounds like a joke, right? Who would pay for you to lose weight? That seems weird but then again, it’s also a thing! Start betting on your weight loss with HealthyWage.

At present, the maximum prize money is $10,000. For those people who tried this out, they did not get the same amount of money after losing weight. That means your potential prize depends on your personal data and how much money you bet. The company explains they give bigger prizes to people who statistically encounter more difficulty in losing weight.

Start Trading to Climb Your Way to the Top

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The trading business does not always have to start big. You can begin with simple things such as a pencil or an eraser. It may seem like a dumb idea but it is not. Kyle MacDonald, a Montreal resident, was able to get a house by starting his trading activities with a paperclip. Indeed, you can start small and hit something bigger in the future.

The basis of the trading concept is to exchange your material with something of greater value. The first thing Macdonald did was to trade his red paperclip for a fish-shaped pen. Clearly, it is worth more than the other. After which, he traded it for a doorknob and then a camping stove. He repeated the process until he got a house.

Sell your Friendship

Again, this is strange but it works! It is a safe and legal way to earn money since the relationship you offer is completely platonic. You can get as much as $50 dollars per hour on RentAFriend.com. Apart from that, you can also receive free concert tickets, meals, and many more. So why not consider it? You can earn cash while widening your network. Who knows? You might be the best of friends with someone you meet online. Everything can happen. But one thing’s for sure, it includes nothing inappropriate.

Be Artsy and Paint Dumpstersweird-ways-to-earn-money
painted dumpster
Steve Cukrov / Shutterstock.com

If you have the knack for creative activities like painting, this money-making strategy is for you. Many people look for individuals who can paint dumpsters for a cost. You can be an industrial painter where business sites like Buzzfeed.com and Manta.com look for. Or you can join other types of artists. Some say “true” artists are paid to do murals on city dumpsters. They are tasked to make the streets more beautiful and appealing. Whether you become an industrial painter or the other, you would be making decent money.

Earn Money Just by Wearing Shirts

Of all the weird ways people make money, this might be my favorite! Many businesses revamped their marketing strategies to convert more of their leads. With that, you can now get paid just by wearing promotional shirts. Jason Zook, the owner of IWearYourShirt.com, has made a fortune out of this strategy. According to him, he has worked with 1,600 companies already. You can do it too! Start curating your website. There is still so much room for another T-shirt wearing service. Just make sure to layout it properly so businesses will not hesitate to hire you. Cross-promote in your social media accounts also to get more reach. Get paid for doing simple tasks such as wearing a shirt!

Get Paid for your Sperm

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This one is for the gentlemen. Simply Hired posted the following requirements for you to become an eligible sperm donor:

  • You should have a GPA of at least 3.4
  • You’re attractive and athletic
  • You should at least be 5’10
  • Your blood type is either A+, A-, O+ or O-
  • You have had female partners only
  • You attended a four-year college or have a bachelor’s degree
  • Skill and interest in football, mathematics, and history is a plus point

If you satisfy all these requirements, you can apply and receive $6,000 after you are done with the process. You do not have to worry about your information because the company will treat it with the utmost confidentiality. Moreover, you will be legally absolved of any responsibilities after you produced your sperm.

Trade Empty Printer Cartridges

Clean your room and take those empty cartridges out of your drawer. They are not as useless as they appear to be. You can still make money from what most people consider as trash already. You can send them to The Recycling Factory. In return, you can get as much as £4.10 per empty cartridge. On the other hand, the Printer Cartridge Recycling works by letting you fill up an online basket with your empty cartridges. After which, the company pays you back when it hits £5. So before you throw out stuff like empties next time, look up online if it still holds monetary value!

Make Money from your Holiday Snapshots

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Buying stock images is sometimes a poor choice because of repeated concepts. Accordingly, many companies choose to interact with independent photo sellers instead. This can be a good way to earn money because guidelines are not strict. You can make money from any photo you take as long as it is not cruel in nature. When you go on holiday trips, taking snapshots is a common routine. Aside from keeping those photos as souvenirs, why not earn from it? Just make sure your digital snaps have good resolution and you are good to go. You can sell it to online agencies like Fotolia and 123rf.

Sell your Hair

Give yourself a makeover by cutting your hair. Apart from its aid in beating the heat, you can also make money from it. Many people look for hair extensions to feel more comfortable about how they look. So why not earn while helping other women fight their insecurities? You can hop on Gumtree to find advertisements from wigmakers. Direct to the instructed site and receive cash from them in exchange for your hair. You can also try contacting local salons near you. Some of the beauty businesses look for people who do not mind getting a haircut to improve their craft.

Collect Clubcard Points for Empty Cans

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Who said empty cans are garbage? You can now make good use out of them. Just collect your empty cans and take them to Tesco. You can trade them for Clubcard points and redeem it for money. What you need to do is search if your local Tesco has recycling services. If it has, go to the nearest Tesco store to get sorted! Just keep collecting and you would be making a decent amount of money from it.

You do not need to put out a large sum of money to start earning. Hence, this money-making strategy is worth doing. Don’t kick the cans! Collect it.

Refer a Friend

If we are talking about friendship goals, this should be on the top ranks. You do not only help yourself but also your friends who are in need of a job. You can both benefit from this money-making strategy. Just visit the job search site Refer Me Happy to get your fantastic friend a decent-paying job. Every time you refer a friend and he or she gets accepted, you earn cash from it. You can join the company as either a referrer or a friend. So what are you waiting for? Help a friend to help yourself.

Answer Strange Text Messages

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If you love texting, why not spend some time answering bizarre text messages? You get paid for every response you make in questions sent to you. Chacha is a company that allows people to text random questions. Once you reply to them, you earn points that can be exchanged for money. Your only capital is your time. Thus, this strategy can be a good side hustle. Check out the site and log in to start answering some weird questions. It includes queries like what pokemon takes fewer steps to hatch or how to make myself look attractive. Reply back and share your opinion! There is no right or wrong answer.

Get Paid to Review Music

If you have an inclination to music, reviewing other’s art is a way to earn some money. Many people look for individuals who are adept in music to critique their work. Most of the clients are usually unsigned bands. Getting their tracks reviewed helps them improve their performances. So if you have a knack at it, try it! Slicethepie.com is a job search site that can help you find clients so make sure to check it out. The amount of money you earn initially is not much but it grows. Make sure you establish good and trustworthy reviews to make more money. You can do more than hitting high notes with this strategy. You can also hit a fortune.

Sell Weird Toilet Paper

man buying toilet paper in bulk
Kevin McGovern / Shutterstock.com

The internet is crazy and many weird activities keep trending. One of which is the collection of weirdly printed items such as toilet paper. If you would look it up online, many people buy toilet paper with printed games or camouflage designs. Some even sell toilet paper with bright colors. So why not hop on the trend and make some money out of it? You should think of other unique designs to make it more profitable. What concept would pique the interest of your potential buyers? Answer that and you would be bagging money in no time. You can put anything such as emojis or iconic lines from TV series. It’s weird enough so don’t limit your ideas! Toilet paper is the new expensive!

Collect Dog Poop

Indeed, the title of this section appears gross enough. However, it can be a good side hustle for people who have the stomach for it. Many businesses offer services to clean dog poop in people’s yards for a cost. If you are in need of money, here is your chance since they are hiring. Doody Calls is one of those companies. The owners are looking for more help so check their site out now. Just give the required information and you would be earning cash little by little in no time. So it’s true, there’s a treasure in dog poop!

Be a Professional Sleeper

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Finding a side hustle like this is difficult but when you successfully get one, it is worth it. A couple of years ago CBS news reported that Hotel Finn in Helsinki hired people to review rooms for them. What the participants did was sleep comfortably on the accommodation and also enjoy hotel services for feedback.

They stayed in the hotel like royalty and got paid for it. At the moment, there are no left positions for professional sleepers in the said hotel. Nonetheless, you can search the web for other companies. It takes extreme effort to find one since the job remains rare but it is worth trying for. You can make a decent amount of money without breaking a sweat once you have got the job.

Be a Hangover Helper

Some people cannot handle themselves after they have had too much booze. Thus, many look for people who are willing to be hangover helpers. Most of the clients are usually college students or dormers. Your primary task would be to clean houses after parties. However, you also have to provide them with medicine (if necessary) and breakfast in the morning.

Hangover Helpers is where you can apply for the job. They pay $20 per roommate. It is kind of cheap for the job so if you find other businesses with better offers, apply there instead. Help the drunk college kids get up!

Pretend to be a Patient

patient at doctors office
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Well, your teacher might be right when she said doing the task yourself is the best way to learn. It is better than just listening or watching. Medical students hire people to be fake patients so they can practice. These people are popularly known as standardized patients. They act while the students examine them.

You can get paid as much as $15 to $20 per hour while acting as instructed. If you consider yourself an artist and don’t mind getting poked, this job is for you. You can make money while helping our future medical heroes improve their saving skills. Pretending isn’t as bad as you thought, at least in this context. So apply now!

Make your Pet a Supermodel

If you own a dog, cat, or any other cute pet, make them an online superstar. Aside from bringing a smile to other people, you can also earn money from it. The most sought-after route to pet fame is Instagram posting. Some pet owners claimed earnings as high as $100,000 since major brands give advertising offers to their furry friends. You can cash in too with yours. Just take good pictures of your pet and establish your audience. The earning process might not be instant but it is worth waiting for.

Final Thoughts

There are lots and lots of ways to make money. From normal to weird, you can earn a living or side-income in a number of ways. The next time you feel stuck in your career or ability to earn money, remember more income can be found just around the corner. 

Author
C. James

C. James is the managing editor at Wealth Gang. He has a degree in finance and a passion for creating passive income streams and wealth management.