We certainly wouldn’t suggest making a career change to using these techniques for your standard income, but if you’re feeling strapped for cash, there are a surprising number of unique ways to pull in a few bucks. If you’re out of work or have some unexpected expenses coming up, try one of these money-making tricks.

1. Take a Survey: Marketers and medical researchers are always looking for subjects to take various surveys. This could range from filling out a short online questionnaire to having an MRI done at a local hospital, but hey, they pay. Yellow Surveys is a great guide to finding current or upcoming paid surveys. GPGP provides information about local medical centers seeking survey participants and how to apply or contact these organizations.
2. Sell Something Valuable: By this, I mean your body. No not in the immoral, illegal way, but in the honorable and lucrative way by donating plasma, bone marrow or white blood cells. A quick search online will help you find local centers for donation. A great way to make some cash and save a life at the same time.
3. Sell Your Junk: Even if you consider yourself a pretty neat and organized person, you probably still have some old junk hidden somewhere that serves no purpose other than to take up space. Consider having a yard sale or posting your items on eBay or Craigslist.
4. Sell Your Driveway: Not the concrete, the parking space. If you live in a college town or in a city, parking is probably limited and there are always people looking for a parking spot to rent out. Post an ad in the local paper or put up flyers around town. Renting out a parking space can make you a couple hundred dollars in just a few months.
5. Odd Jobs: There’s no shame in earning some money with a few simple tasks such as dog walking or house sitting. People will often shell out a decent amount of money for you to take care of their things. This isn’t a very time consuming endeavor and leaves plenty of time for job hunting, or one of the above mentioned tasks.