At these hard times, you cannot just sit all day and expect money to roll out from your doorstep. Nor can you just stare at something and turn them magically into gold coins.

You have to work at how to earn cash to be able to have it.

Here are 5 ideas on how you can generate some extra few coins at a low cost.

1. Examine what your good points are. Determine which tasks are you exceptionally good at and what talents you have. Are you a Math Whiz? If so, then make use of your intellect in numbers by offering Math tutorial lessons. If you are good with crafts, you can make a variety of them and sell at a good price.

2. Be creative. After determining what your good points are, its time that you find ways to put them to good use. Let us again go back to the example above. After you have decided to offer Math tutorials, you are then plagued with questions on how to go about it. You can host your tutorials in your house or offer home service. Use your guest room as your classroom etc. You can charge your service per hour. Think of ways on how to effectively carry out your money-making strategies in mind without having to spend much. Do not limit yourself to the ideas of others, think creatively.

3. Get Rid of the Old Stuff. The saying “There is money in garbage” always rings true especially in garage sales. A person's trash may be a treasure for others. Your old jars, old furniture, bags that you do not anymore need, clothes that you have outgrown, CD's that you have grown tired of listening to, toys from childhood that you do not anymore want and other stuff could be sold. You do not have to contact dealers to sell your items; you can just put up a garage sale in your lawn. Days before your garage sale, make use of your time by making flyers and posting them in free bulletin boards. You can place them at the subway station, train station, at your local grocery bulletin, at your church bulletin, and maybe ask your college kid to post it their free bulletin board. Having your garage sale known to many people would guarantee more sales.

4. Cook! You really don't have to be a whiz to profit from cooking. If you do not have a specialty of your own, you can ask your grandmother for her special recipe or check out a recipe book and master how to do it right. After getting the taste right, have your women's organization, church members or officemates sample your finished product and inform them that if they want more of it, they can order from you. Having pre-orders can save you from cooking unnecessary amounts of food and would save you time and money. Having those pre-ordered also guarantees customers for your goodies.

5. Make use of Holidays and Occasions. Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Father's Day etc., etc., Make crafts and goodies that are in line with these occasions. There are a number of these holidays and occasions that you can base your products on. For example, if Valentine's Day is near, you can create personalized love cards, heart shaped cakes, bracelets made from red beads, etc and make home made creative posters to advertise your service. You can again post your posters at free bulletins weeks or days prior to Valentines Day. Again, if Mother's Day is fast approaching, you can make items or bake goodies that border on the Mother's Day theme.

These are just a few ideas to earn a little cash. Remember, earning a little is better than earning nothing. Do not waste your time and do not waste your creativity and capacity to think. Put them to good use. Use them to earn money!