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Hey, Rodrigo. Do you have a moment? I need to ask you something important.

Sure, Sam. What's up? You don't look good, man. What happened?

I wanted to ask you something. I know it's kind of personal, but... Oh, this is embarrassing. Sorry, but can you lend me some money?

Lend you money? I don't know. What do you need it for?

Well, I really want to buy a new car. My old car is already falling apart. It's noisy, slow, and sometimes it doesn't even start. I need to change it. I've been thinking about this for a long time and I found one that I really like. But there is one big problem. I don't have enough money for that.

Oh, I see. But Sam, this isn't the first time you ask for a loan, right?

Yeah, I know. I hate asking, but you know how it is. I work, I save a little, and then something unexpected happens, and boom, my money disappears.

I understand life is expensive, but maybe instead of borrowing money again, you should think about how to make extra money. Don't you think?

Rodrigo? Don't you think I've tried? I watched videos, read blogs, and everyone says the same thing. Save money, buy and sell things, teach something online, open a business. It sounds easy, but in real life, it's not. I even tried betting once, lost more than I won.

Yeah, I get it. It's true. Online advice sounds so easy, but real life is different. But listen, I'm not going to give you those same tips again. I've actually tried a few things myself and some of my friends have too, and I can tell some ideas really work. You just have to be smart and consistent.

Really? Like what? I'm tired of hearing the same recycled advice.

Okay, let me give you some real examples.

Skill SwappingFirst one, skill swapping. One of my friends is great at fixing phones. I helped him set up a small Instagram page. He started offering phone repair for cheap. But here's the smart part. He started offering to swap services, too. For example, he fixed a designer's phone and the designer made him a cool logo and flyers. He didn't use money, just traded skills. In a few months, he was getting paying customers.

Hm. That's interesting. So, no big investment. That's cool.

Exactly. It was low risk. Now, he fixes five to six phones a week after work. Not millions, but it helps a lot.

Renting Things You Don't UseAnother idea, renting things you don't use. I had a camera I never used. Instead of selling it, I started renting it to people. People who wanted to make videos or take photos. Just $10 a day. Sounds small, but it adds up. In one month, I made $200 just with that camera.

Wait, people really rent that stuff? Wow, that's impressive. I didn't know that.

Absolutely. Especially now with content creators everywhere. You can rent cameras, tripods, lighting, even costumes, whatever you have. Oh, another friend rents out party decorations from her garage. People don't want to buy stuff for just one event. They want to borrow.

Man, I never thought about that. I have some old tools at home. Maybe I could rent those to neighbors. I think that is an interesting idea.

That's the spirit.

Use Your Job to Find OpportunitiesNow, here's another. Use your job to find opportunities. I don't mean anything illegal or weird. I mean observe the problems people have at our office. Remember how the computers were super slow last year?

Yes, it was a nightmare. Happily, they are better now.

So, I took a free course online about cleaning and upgrading computers. Then, I offered to help some co-workers for $20 each. I cleaned their systems, removed junk files, installed antivirus. I made $180 in one week.

That's genius. You're not just working, you're watching, learning, and using what you see. That's very smart. Well done.

Exactly.

Combine Small ThingsAnother tip, combine small things. For example, do a small service online while you watch TV, or use cashback apps for things you already buy, or sell digital notes from online courses you already finished. It's not big money. But when you combine these things, it adds up.

Yeah. You know, I always ignore services because they pay so little.