Posts Tagged ‘the current climate’

Earning extra cash during a recession

With the economy in the doldrums and the holiday season fast approaching, many people are looking for ways to make a little extra money on the side. While decreasing spending and taking on extra work are the most logical actions to take, this is often not enough for many people. Some of these people are exploring the wealth of get-rich-quick schemes to be found online while others are looking into more unusual opportunities. Here are three unusual opportunities that at least some people have had success with and might be worth considering.

Donating your reproductive cells

The idea of being a sperm donor has been the subject of endless crude jokes for years, but believe it or not there is real money to be made by selling your sperm or eggs. Women’s reproductive cells, or eggs, fetch much more money than men’s reproductive cells, sperm, because they are harder to obtain. A woman can get up to $ 3,000 to $ 8,000 for her eggs, whereas a man will only get $ 1 to $ 200 per sperm donation. To be a successful donor, you will generally have to be physically fit, disease free and well educated. You will also have to get a series of medical exams and psychological tests before a reproductive center will pay you to donate. Women also have the option of becoming surrogates, or carrying the fertilized eggs of another woman until birth for women unable to carry their own children. Surrogates usually get about $ 25,000 for carrying the child to term.

Becoming a clinical trial subject

Like sperm donors, many jokes – and even several television comedies – have been based on the idea of volunteering to be the test subjects for medical experiments. That said, this is a legitimate way to make money that can leave you free to do other work at the same time. A clinical trial usually runs between ten and ninety days and can pay anywhere from $ 50 to $ 5,000 apiece depending on the clinic, the drug being tested, and the risk factors involved. Although you will be asked to provide a comprehensive medical background before taking part in a clinical trial, you do not have to be in perfect health or shape to participate. In fact, some trials specifically seek out subjects with particular pre-existing conditions, so having high blood pressure or asthma may get you more money as a clinical trial subject than a healthy person.

Selling your hair

Believe it or not, your hair may be worth more than you know. There is a whole industry that uses human hair to make wigs and hair extensions and if your hair is long and healthy it might be worth quite a bit of money. A good batch of strong, healthy hair can usually get the seller between $ 300 and $ 900, and if your hair is particularly long, pretty, or otherwise desirable you can get considerably more for it. Generally, the key factor is the length of your hair, as longer hair is worth more. Hair with vivid color, or healthy and untreated tends to be more valuable. You can find any number of businesses online that will buy your hair right away and the process is fairly simple and direct.