Fantastically Fun Activities that can Actually Make You Money

Is there a better way of making money than by having fun while you are doing it? Plenty of guides out there show you how to make money online or otherwise, of course. But let’s face it, there are only so many surveys you can fill in or articles you can churn out for a penny a word. So, let’s put the focus on fun for a change - and show you how you can make a little extra from your hobbies or interests. Let’s get started right away.

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Record a podcast

Have a specific niche interest? Maybe you are in love with a particular TV show or football team, and want to tell the world about it? If so, why not start a regular podcast? Making a podcast allows you to make the rules, and you can talk about whatever you want, invite guests, and it won’t cost much to set up. All you need is some basic recording equipment, a computer, a podcast host and a few interesting ideas. Start off by offering your podcast free of charge, and when you get popular, you can request payments or even donations. Popular podcasts are also hugely popular with advertisers, so bear that in mind, too.

Record yourself playing video games

Are you an expert gamer who knows all the tricks and secrets of a particular game? If so, why not record yourself doing a walkthrough - these types of videos are hugely popular on YouTube right now. And if you manage to build up a large audience, you can end up earning a nice little side income through advertising.

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Play online games

There are an enormous amount of online games that you can win money from. Whether it’s a casino, the lottery, or even Bingo, the choices out there at the moment are enormous. However, make sure that you are incredibly careful before playing these sorts of games as they can be addictive. And you should always spend some time learning how they work before spending a penny. How To: Game In Play videos can be useful, and many sites offer free practice sessions which you should use. Also, never forget that you should only ever spend money on online gaming on money you can afford to lose.

Sell artwork on Etsy

Do you love drawing, the arts, and design? If so, why not put some of your creations up for sale on services like Etsy? Opening your own store on Etsy is a simple process, and as long as you take great photos of your products and write awesome descriptions, there’s no reason why you can’t make some money out of your craft hobby.

Busk

Handy with a musical instrument or have an incredible voice? If so, don’t be shy - why not get out there and try some busking? You will need a special permit, but other than that it’s just a question of calming your nerves and getting out there and doing it. Some buskers make a surprising amount of money, so why not give it a bash? 

Spying Tech 101

Do you want to know what they’re up to? Do you wish you were a fly-on-the-wall in that room? Or do you just want proof they’re doing something they shouldn’t be? There are lots of reasons why we might want to discreetly record something someone else is doing. Of course, most of the tech we carry around with us or have on hand is already recording other people and events. Car cameras, smartphones, and wearable tech can all do it. Why not find out more with these awesome gadgets?

 

Binoculars

This traditional spying staple has been around [almost] forever. These days, of course, they are much smaller and will fit discreetly in a pocket. Can’t see anyone watching you? They may be far away. Some of the best binoculars can zoom in ten times to be able to see the smaller details up close. And yes, some of them can record too! Handy and portable and great fun to use, even if you’re only birdwatching.

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Your Smart TV

Yes, your TV can spy on the viewer. Systems like Netflix and Amazon will use your viewing history to offer a more customized viewing experience. This can be quite helpful when you’re looking for the next awesome box set to binge view. If you don’t want your history to sit on the screen after you’ve gone to bed, be sure to clear your viewing history first! Integrated systems can be used across platforms, as you may have found out from Amazon. Most of this is harmless, but it could prove a little embarrassing if others use your devices!

 

Hidden Mini Camera

They have hundreds of applications, although most people admit to using them as nanny cams. Because everyday objects can spy on you, the poor childminder now has to be immaculately behaved at all times! These little beauties can be inserted in soft toys, book cases, handbags and more. That means you can transmit live footage wherever you go if you’re wifi enabled too. They’re great for security and monitoring meetings too.

 

Trackers

There are lots of different kinds of trackers. Some cost very little. You can use your smartphone apps to track many different things. Of course, the fun part is attaching those trackers to the people [or pets] you want to track. BlueTooth, GPS, and WIFI are the most common ways the tracker can connect to your app for tracking. Not all of them will record a journey, but they can be handy if you want to know where they are.

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Voice Recorders

Tape recorders used to be big bulky devices that gobbled up all the power of a C-size battery in no time. Nowadays, recorders have no moving parts as they contain solid state hard drives or memory. This means battery power can last days, and you can store days-worth of recording on there too. This is ideal for discreetly recording lectures, meetings, or people up to no good! You’ll be able to hear everything that happens. If you want to listen in live, then you may need a WIFI microphone device.

Online Gaming? More Fun than You Think!

There are so many ways in which we can get bored in our lives. Rainy days, illness, slow news days - all sorts of things! Relieving boredom can be just as frustrating, when we are bored our minds tend to wonder and we can get wrapped up so much in trying to solve issues and our boredom that it can lead to moments of super frustration!

One of the best ways to resolve boredom, or to enjoy your spare time… Gaming. Gaming can transport us into some amazing worlds and some interactive stories that we can enjoy. From the world of Hyrule in the legend of Zelda to a run on the slots in some online casino - there are plenty of ways we can enjoy gaming and gaming can take us to all sorts of places. All you need? Some sort of console be it a Xbox One, Playstation 4, a personal computer or a Nintendo Switch is useful as that allows you to play games, as well as owning games - that’s how you can started. Gaming consoles can be expensive, but if you want access to a hobby that can get rid of boredom, you’ll have to stump up the cash!

The thing is, there is so much more to gaming than simply trotting around the world of Skyrim or Liberty City. Gaming can be a super social activity that can allow us to play with people from around the world - or even just enhance our single player experiences. Basic online gaming can be found on computer sites and even multiplayer bingo sites. Check out some Foxy Casino reviews to find a trustworthy site. Remember that cash will be at stake on these websites so you need to stop when necessary and not risk any more cash than is allowed in a little budget.

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How do you start gaming online on a gaming console? Well you need to get yourself an Xbox One, Playstation 4, a personal computer or a Nintendo Switch and the relevant online pass. If you’ve got an Xbox, you need to pay for Xbox Live, if you have a PS4, you need to buy into Playstation Plus. With a PC - you can game online for free in most instances. Of course, you’ll also need games that can be played online - Battlefield, Rocket League, FIFA - those kind of games. If games are too expensive, wait for a sale and you can pick them up at basement prices. Of course, you’ll need a fairly speedy internet connection so you might need to upgrade your package… There are a few costs involved!

Online gaming can get raucous especially if you are on the microphone and speaking to others and it’s getting competitive - but you can easily mute and report idiots who decide to get offensive.

If you want to get into the community spirit, get competitive and have fun - online gaming will be for you. Of course, you’ll need to shell out, but the fun is worth it - 100 percent worth it.

Hobbies You Can Try for Free Online

If you often find yourself feeling bored, instead of dwelling on the feeling, which only makes it worse, why not pick up a new hobby? Even if you don’t have much spare cash to invest in a new pastime, there are a number of free or low-cost hobbies you can try, and many of them you can do online in the comfort of your own home, so what do you have to lose?

Here are some of the best hobbies you can take up free online:

 

Cooking

We all have to eat, so why not make it fun and unleash your creativity by learning how to cook new cuisines that you’ve never tried before? The internet is packed with free recipe blogs, websites and even video demonstrations, so it really has never been easier to try making your own sushi or cooking an authentic British roast dinner.

 

Drawing

Do you love doodling? Why not turn your interest into a fully-fledged hobby by learning how to draw? For the cost of a few pencils and some paper, you can learn how to draw lively landscapes, funny caricatures and perfect portraits with nothing more than your computer and tablet and one of the many free tutorials you can easily find online. I would highly recommend Brandon Schafer’s Youtube Channel, where you can try out a beginner’s course that will get you drawing better than you ever thought you could in no time at all.

 

Bingo

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Bingo is a simple little game, but it can be surprisingly fun. The anticipation and excitement you feel waiting for your numbers to be drawn is a great feeling that will cheer up a dull moment with ease. You can play Foxy Bingo online with free bonuses, which means that you don’t have to spend a single cent to enjoy the thrill that a good game of bingo brings.

 

Practice Yoga

Yoga is extremely relaxing, and because there are so many different poses to master, it can be a lifetime’s work. Of course, the average yoga class is expensive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t join in. On Youtube and various other websites, there are lots of lovely yoga teachers who have made many of their classes free to view. So, start practicing your downward dog right now.

 

Blog

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You can start a basic blog absolutely free, providing that you have access to a working internet connection, and not only is it a great way to occupy time and increase your creativity but if you put the hard work into it, it could actually become another source of income for you. Many bloggers support themselves wholly on the money their blogs bring in, so it really can be quite lucrative if you take it seriously and have something interesting to say.

Make Music

There are free tutorials to help you master the guitar, ukulele or piano online. So, if you’ve always wanted to make beautiful music, see what’s available and give it a go, you might just be the next big thing.

The Good, the Bad and the Netflix

Netflix should be handled in the same way as social media when it comes to criticism. The fact is: both are only as good, and useful, as their users. It just depends on what type of person you are.

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As we know, both Netflix and almost any social media platform is setup to be customised by the individual, and they only waste our time when we fail to adapt them to our requirements. Some people use them to get angry and bore themselves. Others remember the age old I.T. professional’s adage: “If you put junk in, you’ll get junk out!”

We’re all familiar with how entertainment companies like Netflix analyse our usage activities in order to suggest different titles. So here, we’re going to take things a little further, and discuss how this may have a broader effect on global society as a whole.

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Modern philosophers like Slavoj Žižek already talk about how the digital world is creating new class systems. And he’s a great guy to quote at parties if you want to sound intelligent, or, put people off speaking to you [it depends on what type of parties you go to]. Let’s look at how his statement here affects our everyday life. He makes a good point in this commentary about how the option to be unconnected is becoming a privilege, which is contrary to what we used to say less than 20 years ago.

 

Another point here, is that far from the suggestion that ‘1984 is now reality’, there is no external power observing our every move and recording this information, despite what conspiracy theorists will have you believe. We quite voluntarily offer this information ourselves! By tagging, photographing, and notifying the world about what we’re up to. We inform on ourselves, but only if we wish to. So here we see the truth of how digital technology shapes our lives. It’s not like in the films where it’s some type of intelligent machine dictating what happens. What affects us is our: reaction to technology, not the other way around.

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For a practical example of how the brightest minds in the digital world can help us, let’s look at what an e-solutions CEO suggests when looking at a project. Say that you want to change jobs for example. Bruce Young from Speedwell talks about how he thinks about the desired outcome first, rather than thinking about the technology the software will be used with, since the former will naturally gravitate towards the latter if we do this. This is similar to thinking about the environment, lifestyle, and people that we want to be around first, instead of focussing on job title and salary etc.

This way of thinking is exactly how Netflix looks at the entertainment market, and you may have heard about how they limit the titles that you can watch in different parts of the world. You could call their customer service line right now, and they would openly confirm this. The reason they do this is because of marketing agreements across the globe, in regards to making the most profit in places where they believe titles will be watched, and more importantly: not paying for them in your part of the world if they predict they won’t be.

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The fairness of this particular example can be a little frustrating however, if there’s a show that an overseas friend in America can watch, but you can’t. There’s good news here though, because you can quite easily fix this by visiting a service like http://www.flixusa.com.au.

So again, the message is that the digital era always gives us the option to react to any constraints that we don’t like. This goes back to the point about how technology is creating new class groups in society, since two of the new major ones which are emerging are: those who understand how to be measured with their use of these options, and those who do not.

This perhaps poses a type of neo-Buddhist question, where modern life in the developed world is a reflection of our understanding of how to control these options. But alas, that’s a rabbit hole for another day...

What do you think about it all? Let’s share our opinions!