Today we're going to briefly touch on a few things you can do to give yourself some extra cash and increase your spending power. Let's get started!

First off, if you have some extra money around, now is the perfect time to get into the stock market. I know that might sound a little funny considering all the news about the market tanking as of late, but the opportunity is simply too good to pass up right now.

The stock market has gone down for two reasons: ecomonic struggles and fear from investors. The fear that has stricken many investors has caused the market to drop far more than it should have and some of the strongest companies have share prices that are now at unbelievably low prices.

Your best bet is to invest in what is know as an "index" fund (either the DOW 30 or S&P 500). By doing so, you will automatically be invested in "the market" and be diversified amongst a large number of stocks of the largest companies.

Next, and what I consider to be an even more exciting opportunity, is to start a form of home business where your initial investment is very low. In this day and age, the internet gives you so many opportunities to start a business with very low startup costs.

We've all heard of stories of people making great money on ebay or some type of internet venture. There's plenty of opportunities out there - just make sure you don't fall into the trap of paying huge dollars to invest in some system.

I recently got a call from an ex-girlfriend asking to check into some home business opportunity that her parents had bought into. They had spent over $3000 to be part of some business network that was supposedly going to help them setup an online store and build a website.

And they literally could have bought the exact same services and support for less than $200 in total. Luckily, they were able to get a refund as they had just made the purchase less than 48 hours before. The point here is not to fall for any online business venture that asks for a large upfront investment. You should expect to pay a little something, but your actual costs will likely be less than $100 a month and this should give you exactly what you need to get going.

Running an online business is an exciting and profitable way to earn additional income right from home. And during a recession, it gives you a perfect way to boost your income without having to spend big bucks to get going.