With the economy the way it is and people looking to earn extra money, I thought I would write an article on some ways (legal, of course) that you could earn some extra money using just your body.  Some of these methods might not be available to everyone and some may require more effort than others.  Some may provide a fairly consistent source of extra money while others may be less frequent.  Regardless, these methods can provide a fairly substantial amount of extra cash in these tough times.

This is by far the easiest and most common way to make money a little extra cash using just your body. To be eligible to donate your plasma, you must be between the ages of 18 and 65 and weigh at least 110 pounds. There are several different plasma donation companies that collect your plasma and pay you for it. These plasma collection companies will sell the plasma of many donors to drug companies that will purify it into blood protein products that can be used for hemophiliacs, burn victims, and others who need life-saving treatment. You can donate up to twice per week and make anywhere from $200 to $500 per month. Here is a great article that goes into much more detail if you are interested. It would easily be possible to earn up to $5000 each year by selling your plasma.

There are several companies which specialize in performing clinical research for pharmaceutical companies. Medical schools and universities also routinely look for volunteers for clinical research. Usually these “volunteers” are actually compensated for their time quite well. One such company, called Covance, has a location in my state of Indiana. They are looking for volunteers for several clinical studies and are willing to compensate from $1025 up to over $5700 for staying at the facility for 22 days.

You may not qualify for every study and it may take some effort searching online for some of the available opportunities, but it could be well worth it. Several studies will pay from $100 to $300 for one day. The more involved the study, the more lucrative the compensation package. It is certainly possible to make some good money doing a few studies each year. I even ran across a site that offered a strategy for making anywhere from $24,000 to $34,000 per year while allowing time between studies to wash out the effects of any study drugs. Truly fascinating!

One of my daughters donated her hair to Locks of Love which is an organization that makes hairpieces for children suffering from cancer or other causes of hair loss. Little did I know that you can actually sell your hair. One popular online site recently posted a record for a hair sale at $2600 for 37 inches (that’s over $70 per inch). Wow! The average person grows hair at a rate about 0.4 inches per month. So, it would take quite a few years to grow 37 inches worth of hair. But, if you already have long hair and need some quick cash, it is certainly something to consider.

Needless to say, this one is for guys only. Although it sounds like it should be fairly easy to make money is this fashion, it can actually be quite difficult to be accepted as a donor. Only 5 percent of applicants eventually qualify. If you do qualify, it is possible to make anywhere from $100-$250 per sample. Many sperm banks will pay a base “commission” per donation and then a small payment for each vial that is selected for use. Ultimately, there are limits on the number of children that can result from your donations. It is possible to make approximately $6000 through this route.

It’s the ladies’ turn now.  Again the application process is grueling and only 10 percent of ladies wishing to donate are actually approved.  Once approved, a donor can receive anywhere from $5000 to $10,000 per donation.  I saw that one lady had donated 4 times!  The donor will take fertility drugs to stimulate the production of several eggs at one time.  She will be closely followed medically and undergo a minor surgical procedure to retrieve the eggs when they are ready

Another way to help infertile couples is by becoming a surrogate mother.  Needless to say, this requires quite a substantial commitment on the part of the surrogate.  The process to become a surrogate is also involved and would be expected to consist of physical and psychological screening.  The anticipated compensation for about a year’s worth of effort is on the order of $25,000 with the potential for a small amount of bonus pay (only $500) for each multiple delivery.  Here is a good article on women donating eggs and becoming surrogate mothers during these tough economic times.

Believe it or not, if you have recently finished breast feeding or produce extra milk, there is a market available to you.  Through the internet, buyers and sellers of breast milk can find each other.  There is even a site specifically designed with information regarding this subject and a classified section.  It appears that the going rate for breast milk is $2 per ounce.  Since the typical 6 month old baby requires about 32 ounces of breast milk each day, it would be safe to assume that the average lactating female can produce about the same amount.  At $2 per ounce, that could be over $60 each day provided enough buyers could be found.

These 7 ways of making extra cash with just your body may not be available to everybody but offer a glimpse of some of the ways to earn extra cash.  Some may be able to make quite a substantial sum if they qualify.  Even by simply selling plasma and volunteering for medical research, it is possible to come up with an extra $30,000 per year.  During tough times that could make quite a difference.

I thought of this during my initial brainstorming for the article but didn't have pencil and paper so it never got written down and was omitted during the writing.

BODY ADVERTISING

Rent out your body and place a tattoo somewhere that will advertise a product.  This sounds like a fun and cool idea.  I just had to include the link for this website, leaseyourbody.com.  The nice thing is that these tattoos are temporary.  Unfortunately, it doesn't look as if any advertisers have signed on yet.  So this option is still in its infancy.  But, who knows?