Thursday, December 29, 2011

In today’s economy, it can be pretty tough to make money anywhere, but some intrepid folks are earning money hand over fist online and they’re doing it in some crazy ways. There’s a lot that can be learned from these people, especially if you’re sitting on your own idea but think it’s too out there. As these people illustrate, there’s no end to the insanity when it comes to making money online!

1 . Virtual Farming – Nearly half a million people in China are making money by playing a game, earning gold and selling it to other players with too much time on their hands and a credit card burning in their pocket! The phenomenon that is World of Warcraft, a massively multi-player online role playing game, has spawned some of the most creative ideas for making money. The game’s currency is gold, but a lot of players don’t want to take the time to earn it themselves. So, these people in China, and all over the world, spend their days playing the game, making gold and selling it in the game for actual cash.

In these tough times everyone is looking for ways to make some extra money. "GMA" financial contributor Mellody Hobson explains her three favorite simple ways to bank extra bucks.

ChaCha

There is this new service out there that is all the rage, ChaCha. In its first year of service (2008), it already had 3.5 million unique mobile users. I absolutely love it, and I have run into so many people that swear by it.

What is Passive Income?

Passive income is basically what you earn even without actively participating in the earning process. Based on a local financial guru in my country,passive income is the income that we all should strive for during our retirement years as they don't require much effort but still enables us to obtain money for our day-to-day expenses. There are various ways to make passive income. The following are just some of these ways (you are free to think up more ways, just don't forget to leave me a note if you have thought of one):

Rental from Real Property

According to Robert Kiyosaki, this is one way to ensure big earnings and early retirement. From renting out a room in your home, to renting out apartments, or a building complex or even a condominium, this is one sure way to earn passive income. However, one has to take note that, prior and even during the time you are getting income from this, setting up the property to be rented and maintaining it in good condition are some of the things you will have to contend to.

Time Deposits

One of the basic ways to earn passive income (or interest income) is through placing your savings in time deposits. Although they have holding periods (30 days to 1 year or even 5 years), they earn higher interest than ordinary savings account. Plus, if you don't withdraw your interest, it also earns interest. There are, however, restrictions in terms of withdrawals and minimum balances.