People do all sorts of weird stuff to get two things: one is to become famous, and the other is to make money. Understandably, becoming famous isn’t all that easy. But there are definitely some weird ways to make money.
There are many ways, but I’ll be writing only about legit ones.
Table of Contents
20 Weird Ways to Make Money
The ways I am describing are time-tested and proven. And some of them can help you earn a very decent income around the year.
1. Rent Your Friendship
Did you know that millions of people around the world are willing to pay you money to become their friend? No, I’m not talking about dating sites or escort services. I’m speaking about lonely people who want your companionship while they’re visiting your city.
They’ll take you to wine-and-dine and possibly buy expensive gifts too. Both women and men qualify to make money in this weird way. Refer to the guidelines of friend rental companies to check whether you qualify.
2. Selling Your Hair
Baldness affects millions of women and men worldwide. Therefore, they buy wigs, hair extenders, moustaches, and beards. These accessories are useful either for looking good or for cinemas and shows.
If you have superb quality ‘virgin’ hair, as they call it, you can sell it and make some money. Selling hair isn’t easy by any chance because buyers have strict specifications about the quality. However, you can give it a try. Selling your hair means you’re giving a chance for someone to look good.
Also Read: 8 Surprisingly Legal Ways To Make Money with Your Body
3. Trade In Old Clothes
If you have some amazing dresses in your closet, sell them off for money. There are lots of stores, both online and offline, that will pay you for used clothes, provided they’re in excellent condition. They also offer you the option of trading in your clothes.
The system operates in two ways: the store will display your dresses and pay when someone buys them. The other is they will buy it for cash and sell it on their own. The service comes at a small fee.
4. Sell Used Car Parts
Auto mechanics and owners of older cars can make a lot of money by selling used parts. In fact, this is one of the most popular ways to make money from eBay, though very few people actually sell.
That’s because people in America and elsewhere are looking for high-quality and working spares for their older cars. These spares aren’t easily available because the company stopped making the vehicle and its spares long ago.
5. Deal in Exotic Bird Eggs
A dozen eggs of a parrot fetches $50 or even more if the bird is of an exotic species. However, these bird eggs have to be fertile. Meaning they can be hatched in incubators to get baby birds. While parrot eggs are the most common, you can also try selling fertile eggs of other rare birds where local laws permit their sale.
Generally, eggs of birds that can be kept as pets and aren’t considered endangered species are permitted for sale. But check with your nearest forest department to be very sure.
6. Work as a Sugar Baby
There’s a lot of debate about whether the system of working as a sugar baby is honourable or not. However, thousands of young women and men across America and elsewhere are able to afford higher education from the money they make as sugar babies.
A sugar baby is someone who offers companionship to an older woman or man, usually someone very affluent. Other than fees as a sugar baby, they also get lots of expensive gifts. They’re expected to be very sophisticated.
7. Phone Sex Operator
Phone Sex Operators, or PSOs, earn about $60 per hour. They remain anonymous and are known only by assumed names or an identity given by a phone sex agency. The job is generally open to women but some agencies also hire men.
There’s no physical contact with the client and nor does the caller get to see the PSO they’re chatting with. In fact, some PSOs describe their job as fun and enjoyable.
Read: How to Avoid Common PSO Scams
8. Donate Breast Milk
Human milk or breast milk can be sold or rather ‘donated’ for some money through legit channels in some American states. The main customers are new moms who can’t lactate or have specific nutritional needs for their infants.
Nowadays, there are some exotic restaurants that also buy breast milk to make ice cream and sweets, though the legality of such trade is unknown. Donating or selling breast milk isn’t a way to make big money. Instead, it’s a superb way to help newborns and their moms.
9. Online Fortuneteller
You can make someone’s day by using this weird way to make money. Work as an online fortuneteller. They make a lot of money nowadays.
It’s fairly easy. All you require is software that can “predict” some fortune for your clients. Often, local radio stations and TV channels also hire online fortunetellers for fun. It’s an enjoyable job if you have the right skills to understand people and their needs.
10. Make Exotic Cheese
This is a very profitable yet weird way to make money. However, it requires the mastery of the art of cheese making. Exotic cheeses, such as those made with special kinds of fungi and milk of different kinds of animals, sell for very high prices in local and foreign markets.
This is a very specialized art, and hence, not many people venture into the project. But if you have the right skills to make exotic cheese, you can earn a fortune in a short time.
11. Joint Roller
An increasing number of states in the US are making Cannabis or weed use legal for recreational purposes. Hence, there are quite a few places that serve weed joints to clients. If you can create a perfect joint that consists of the right quantity of weed and tobacco that clients can enjoy, become a joint roller.
Now, let’s get this clear: joint rollers aren’t weed addicts or something. They're only weed aficionados who know what it takes to enjoy a good joint. Hence, they roll out joints that clients can enjoy.
12. Become a Shaman
Becoming a Shaman is one of the weirdest ways to make money. As you might know, Shaman is a person that claims to have contact with certain kinds of spirits and the occult world.
They suggest cures for various ailments, cast spells, or break curses. Nowadays, it’s also easy to become an online Shaman. You’ll require some knowledge of the ancient art of contacting the spirit world, casting spells, and breaking curses.
13. Become a Snake Charmer
We’ve all heard about snake charmers in India and the Orient. And most of us know they don’t play around with poisonous snakes unless the reptile has been defanged and rendered harmless.
Learn how to handle non-poisonous snakes as well as venomous ones whose fangs and venom glands have been removed. You can make a lot of money by presenting shows at parties and other events.
14. Become a Ventriloquist
Ventriloquism, the art of handling puppets and dolls and lending your voice, is a fading art nowadays. Hence, good ventriloquists are in high demand.
Of course, art is fading because it needs special skills, understanding of the audience, quick wit, and many more skills that we often think we don’t have. Give a try at becoming a ventriloquist. Who knows? One day, you, too, could be rich and famous.
15. Cult Leader
Do you know how to blend philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and other esoteric things to offer people a heady mix? If yes, then try to make money as a cult leader. People facing a spiritual vacuum in their lives look for cult leaders who make them feel good.
However, a simple word of caution. Not every cult leader is successful. Some cult leaders have met a violent death or are facing stiff jail terms for abusing the trust of their followers.
16. Make Exotic Ice Cream
Who doesn’t enjoy ice cream? But we all know that ice cream comes in regular flavours with some variations. Eventually, they all taste the same. While on a trip to Far East Asia, I came across a street-side vendor selling all sorts of weird ice cream.
He had pepper ice cream, radish ice cream, ice cream of different kinds of herbs and leaves, as well as some laced with worms. And most of his ice cream was so unique, and I’ve never seen them in any other part of the world.
17. Donate Your Sperm
Donating sperm to help couples bear a child isn’t something new. But in recent years, it has become a weird way for thousands of men to make a living. For example, a healthy donor can make as much as $2,000 to $4,000 per month by merely donating sperm twice a week.
Realistically, though, most men would make between $1,500 and $2,000. The compensation depends on lots of factors, such as the health of the donor, age, and certain genetic factors.
18. Sell Your Panties
This has nothing to do with your old panties, those you don’t use anymore, or any expensive lingerie you may have in your collection. Instead, lots of men around the world want unwashed panties that you use and take off.
That’s because they’re attracted by female scents. I’ve heard about women making $5000 per month selling unwashed, dirty, and used panties, but I can’t independently verify these reports. Realistically you could make about $200 to $500 per month, if lucky.
19. Train Krav Maga
Krav Maga, as some of you might know, is an offence and self-defence technique perfected by the Israel Defense Forces. Though initially used to train IDF personnel for combat purposes, teaching and learning Krav Maga is open to anyone.
You can easily become a Krav Maga trainer by taking a certificate course from some good institute. And, of course, a license to train people in this deadly martial art.
20. Professional Mourner
Can you simply cry at the funeral of a person you’ve never met? If yes, this is the best weird way for you to make money. Professional mourners or paid mourners, or hired mourners as they’re called, are an ancient tradition across the world.
It means you will be paid to attend the funeral and mourn loudly, though you don’t know the dead person. And you’ll be surprised; there are a lot of funeral directors and undertakers that actually require paid mourners to send to homes of bereaved families.
Conclusion
If you’re looking at making money in weird and unconventional ways, the above 20 jobs or gigs would definitely prove useful. In fact, with the shortage of conventional jobs and stiff competition that exists for every vacancy, a lot of people are turning to weird ways to make money. As you can see from my above list, some of these ways would require a few skills, while other ways are useful for all.
Ashwin (Win) Honawar is an accomplished journalist and poignant author with 33 years of experience. He is renowned for his daredevil journalism and engaging narratives that explore various facts of human life and the resilience of the human spirit.
