Between groceries, daycare and the mortgage everyone has bills to pay. In a struggling economy, every penny counts.
As Contact 13's Tricia Kean explains people are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to creative ways to make cash.
When Dina Pendragon's car died she and her husband started the hunt for a replacement.
"We looked at the state of the economy and we decided that we didn't want to get into debt for another car," said Deanna.
So instead of cutting a loan check every month, Dina decided to cut her hair for the first time in 18 years.
Sites like Hairwork.com and thehairtrader.com allow you to place an ad and wigmakers will pay anywhere from $150 to over $2,500.
Dina sold 32 inches for a cool $2,000 which was enough to buy a car.
"It was really easy and I was shocked at how high it went," said Dina.
The sites are often geared toward struggling college kids and UNR graduate student Ryan Abeloe is all for it.
"If you are entrepreneurial and can find ways to make money I think that's fine. But I'm going to start hunting for a job before I give you my hair," said Ryan.
Others are going deeper and selling plasma. It's the rich, liquid portion of your blood used to help develop life saving medical therapies and drugs.
You can get anywhere from $20 to $40 per donation but don't expect UNLV student Jeannette Torres to take the needle any time soon.
"I think giving blood is nice and all but I wouldn't sell my blood. It's too precious," said Jeannette.
If the thought of needles doesn't make you cringe, it is good to know you can roll up your sleeve fairly often.
"Donating whole blood you can do once every eight weeks. Donating plasma you can do twice in a seven day period," explained Joshua Penrod from the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association.
You also might want to consider shopping to keep your budget on track. More consumers than ever are going undercover to report on the performance of all kinds of businesses.
"If you do three or four shops within a small radius near your house, you know, you can add that up and that can help your monthly income," said Chuck Paul from the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.
Mystery shoppers can make anywhere from $5 to well over $100. Just make sure you are working with a legitimate organization like the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.
Otherwise, you could get scammed.
Here is the Contact 13 bottom line. Don't think that mystery shopping is all fun and games.
In Nevada you are required to have a private investigators' license and you must write a detailed report of all your shopping trips.
Remember that selling plasma is a serious decision too.
In order to donate, you'll first need to get a physical. Then you need to find a reputable donation center.
