怎么样简单兼职赚取外快?

珍妮弗．温斯洛(Jennifer Winslow)希望能在不牺牲做兼职工作所拥有的自由度的前提下赚点额外收入。

温斯洛是个热衷烹饪的厨师。她和她的一个朋友起初打算为那些无瑕顾及家务事的家庭提供餐饮服务。不过当她发觉这占用了她太多的时间以后，她尝试起了烘焙生意。五年多过去了，如今的她在缅因州的温斯洛(Winslow)拥有了一家蒸蒸日上的烘焙店（她丈夫的家族居住在这个城市已经有很长的时间了）。

靠着自己的力量，她现在为四家餐厅供应蛋糕和其他甜点，还为个人和婚礼制作甜品。

越来越多的美国人希望能够步温斯洛的后尘。失业、信贷紧缩以及人们对储蓄重新形成的兴趣正在让越来越多的人削减支出。

不过你可以削减的部分也就只有这么多了。整整两年的经济衰退让许多家庭的开支已经无处可减。与此同时，从汽油、水电费到食品的价格却并未下降。而收入──如果你还有一份收入的话──却没有得到大幅度的提升。现在已经到了赚点儿外快的时候了。

Jennifer Winslow wanted to earn some extra cash without giving up the flexibility of working part time.

An avid cook, she and a friend initially planned to cater meals for busy families. When that turned out to be too time consuming, she tried baking. More than five years later, she has a thriving bakery business in Winslow, Maine (her husband's family has been in town a long time).

Now on her own, she supplies four restaurants with cakes and other sweets and makes desserts for individuals and weddings.

A growing number of Americans would like to follow Mrs. Winslow's example. Job loss, tighter credit and a renewed appreciation for savings is persuading more people to cut expenses.

But you can cut only so far. Two full years of recession have not left many unexamined family expenses. Meanwhile, prices -- from gasoline to utilities to food -- haven't fallen. And incomes, if you still have one, aren't exactly shooting through the roof. It's time to make some money.

Fortunately, there also are many ways to earn extra cash even when full-time jobs and extra shifts aren't an option. They include taking in boarders, starting a small business and getting paid for your opinion. Some of this work provides only a free meal and $10 fee but others, such as tutoring or selling Grandma's diamond broach, could be quite lucrative.

The key, according to Gail Cunningham, a spokeswoman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, is to 'find your skill or what you think would be fun to do.' She says, for example, someone with computer skills may want to teach a class, install computers or create Web sites.

'Think about what are people willing to pay for,' says Ms. Cunningham. 'Who do you know and how can you leverage existing relationships.' For example, does your dentist need someone to clean the office or does your accountant need someone to cater the Christmas party?

1 Sell It: One of the fastest and easiest ways to get extra cash is to sell unwanted and unused stuff. And it's never been easier to make hundreds or even thousands of dollars. You could post a few signs in the neighborhood and sell everything at a Saturday garage sale or you could try the online route with services such as eBay or Craigslist.