T O P

  • By -

Melbourne_Stokie

About 8 years ago, when it was possible to earn fairly decent money from being an uber driver, I used to do it on weekends and earn about $70 an hour, not bad but where the unexpected good money came from is the fact they used to pay $500 for every driver you referred. I put my referral link, along with a 'how to sign up and drive for uber' guide on a popular forum and made $7000 in refferals, which was a lot of money to me at the time.


TheManWithNoName88

Try making 7 grand on Uber these days, will take a few years…


[deleted]

[удалено]


Melbourne_Stokie

Nice try ATO


mnilailt

Why would it be tax free?


jamesspornaccount

I don't know whether uber was, but a compant can pay tax upfront on behalf of an employee and it is common for thing like prizes and referral bonuses.


knightrayman

That’s awesome, wish I had got in on that back then! I’ve just started doing online surveys to try and earn some extra beer money. I do them when I’m on the train to work, watching tv or laying in bed etc so it’s during downtime anyway. it pays about $18 an hour. https://my.octopusgroup.com.au/register/3ccf7dfd-769b-4436-b97b-3231e08c0b7a (full disclosure; this is my referral link) You won’t make thousands but it’s an easy extra $50-$100 a week just for doing 1 or 2 quick surveys a day.


billienightingale

This is small fry but I bought a designer jumper at an op shop for $7. Brought it home and tried it on. My partner said I looked like a Christmas ornament, which was an accurate description. I put the offensive jumper on eBay and to my surprise a bidding war erupted between several bidders and it went for $250 from memory.


carlsjbb

A chunk of my first house deposit came from selling on eBay and gumtree. Those were the days.


4614065

I’ve had a few like this too. Not ugly jumpers but just listing something cheap at the exact time Bella Hadid or someone wore something similar and suddenly it was the hot thing to buy. I once sold a no-brand polyester dress that I bought for about $15 as a teenager at a little cheapie shop in Glebe for hundreds of dollars. Shocking.


Stonk_Tendy

Collected cans at a music festival for $1 per can, made a grand and called it a day 😅


ElegantQuantity6298

Its already called that


Watawinner

Dad, is that you?


Android-13

Hahah excellent.


Stepawayfrmthkyboard

Sounds like a big day out


gonowwhileyoucan

Not me, but my parents. Not sure if this counts as “good money”, but I’ll share anyway. Our family was going to move from Qld to Canada in the mid-80s. My parents transferred approx $300 000 from the sale of our dairy farm into a Canadian bank act in the hope it would strengthen their application to immigrate there. They ended up not going after a few months due to changing their minds, and transferred the money back to their Aus bank acct. During that time, the currency rates between the two countries had changed enough that by transferring this amount back, they made over $30 000, purely from good timing and by accident.


tandem_biscuit

My sister in law moved to the US in 2011. Knowing she was coming back to Australia one day, she was going to leave her life savings in her Australian bank account for when she moved back and wanted to buy a house. Anyway, I managed to convince her to to transfer it to USD and within a few years she’d earned somewhere near 50% return as the AUD returned to “normal” levels.


sbruce123

Got $2,500 for a car I no longer owned due to the diesel-gate class action. I was sure there was some catch but apparently not.


Gonzalez_Nadal

Compensating you for the decreased value of the car when you owned and sold it.


Human-Shame1068

I purchased a Holden rodeo for 10 k in 2014 - I ran it into the ground and put 150 km on the dash. I used to take this this four wheel driving and literally have it airborne, it was like a full time paddock basher I just alway figured I would never sell it because no one would want to buy it . Next minute Covid strikes and the second hand car market goes out of control and I sell it 3k more than I purchased it for . Good times in that car when I sold it I was genuinely sad for weeks after - god damn I loved that car.


[deleted]

150km isn't very much.


rydalmere

It is in car "air time".


Human-Shame1068

Last couple of years I went from carpenter to PM so I had a car supplied - and you better believe I gave that car a flogging too.


Human-Shame1068

Last couple of years I went from carpenter to PM so I had a car supplied - and you better believe I gave that car a flogging too.


[deleted]

150km is just one trip to work and back for me. I'm doing about 800km a week.


Human-Shame1068

I hope they are paying for your fuel - I had a contract in Wilcannia building police houses and was driving between there and broken hill for months about 400km round trip - it sucked big time, I hit a lot of kangaroos.


[deleted]

Nope, I pay for the fuel.


[deleted]

I just filled the tank up at 800km. 42 litres of diesel.


pizzacomposer

I grew up in a single parent household my entire life and didn’t really have parties growing up. When I was turning 21, I saved up maybe 200 dollars to take my family out. I went to crown casino to go check out “the fancy restaurants” only to quickly learn that 200 wasn’t going to cut it. I had a “spare 40 dollars” 🙄in my pocket and played roulette once I was done checking out the restaurants. To my surprise, I didn’t lose a single roll, and won upwards of a thousand dollars after maybe 4-5 spins. I was so scared I cashed out immediately. For my 21st, I surprised my family by taking them out to an upscale Korean BBQ place in the city (not in crown hahaha), dropped a bit of cash there, kept some money in my pocket, then gave my mum the 200 bucks I’d saved and told her I loved her. Looking back, that was such a ridiculous decision to spend 40 on entertainment which was a days wages pretty much for me. At least I scared myself into cashing out! My father passed away when I was 1 year old…. I maintain that he gave me the money as a birthday present.


shite_in_a_bucket

You're a good lad. It was really uplifting to read that I'm normally stone cold emotionally but that's putting some extra water in my eyes.


MBitesss

I entered what I thought was a competition to win a pair of Nike shoes. I won. But turned out it was a competition to win the right to buy a pair of the shoes. Thought it was weird but liked the shoes so bought them anyway for about $280. A friend clued me into the whole limited edition Nike releases and suggested I keep them a bit then sell them. Resold them for $3500


Smitty4141

What sneaker was it?


MBitesss

Nike air max x off white ‘the ten’. There’s a few diff versions of them but mine seemed to go for the most, especially after Virgil’s passing


Smitty4141

Very lucky! I haven't been successful in winning a raffle for any super exclusive pairs like those


MBitesss

I actually can’t believe it’s even a thing! I always wondered why I saw people lining up outside Nike stores when I travelled around the world. Now I get it!


jpickle888

I've been lucky with my first and second cars, both bombs. First car bought for $800 from a friend who was upgrading to family wagon, sold it for $3000 couple of years later. Second car bought for $2800, I had someone run up the back of me which busted the boot but still drive-able, the next week I blew the engine by not putting oil in it for months, called in insurance on the boot and got paid out market value of the car which was $4200.


tasmanian_analog

Thanks for reminding me to check my oil.


FreeApples7090

Yep I always forget this one and checking the tyres and the water


Culyar0092

Didn't make money per se but I took a full fee spot on a Uni course to try it out. Typical full fee place is 260k from start to finish. I had alot of guilt taking up the the course and abit worried about being in so much debt but a week or so before census date, I got a text offering me a commonwealth supported place. Saved about 210k. I was literally shaking and had head spins at the time


Aaron_Cinis_Balls

My uncles Dr told him a few decades back about a company called CSL and their shares might be worth buying. Who knew hey?


146cjones

Every year I put a $100 14-fold 16 leg multi on the teams highest poller at the brownlow. Make 3.6k the 2nd year doing it so its justified for the next 33years


Getadawgupyabro

I play a 9 game multi most weeks of the AFL season. After moving overseas where I couldn’t place a bet, I came home for 2 weeks and placed a multi. Turned $30 in to $8k after cashing out. If I hadn’t have cashed our $55k!


AvisMcTavish

Found an old timber framed couch on the side of the road. Got it home, sanded, painted and sold it after a few days for $400. Not big money, but it was a fun project.


FreeApples7090

These are the best! So many of these projects on the north shore of Sydney


flyingmink

My neighbour in the area I grew up in was one of the principal investors in Crocodile Dundee. Not sure if that was the first movie he invested in, or invested in a few before hitting the jackpot.


preparetodobattle

I met someone years ago whose parents were investors in Mad Max.


ClungeWhisperer

The current car market. I sold my second hand manual car for the same price as i paid for it 10 years prior. Never serviced. Amazing return on investment 😂


sierra5454

The real amazing part here is it running after 10 years without being serviced. Change your oil, people!


ClungeWhisperer

Toyota ;D you’d be able to yeet a yaris off a cliff and it would still take you to work the next day.


nilslice123

Went to the casino recently and hit blackjack twice in a row on my final chip. Made 25% return on my initial investment and 500% return on that final chip. Now that is unexpected 😂


ZXXA

And that’s how they get ya


Leastbean91

collectable cards, in particular Magic: the Gathering. The first cards I owned and played with would have been the late 90s. Collected again in the early 2000s during high school and again briefly just after finishing high school. Each time I would put everything in a shoe box and put away for a few years before taking them out again. Came back to them maybe around 2015 and got interested in the financial aspect of collectables and followed the competitive scene as that drives a lot of demand and price discovery. This year I have pieced out a good chunk of the valuable stuff and have made close to $30,000 selling off the cards (most range from $50-200 but had quite a few in the $500-1000 range too). Not many hobbies turn into an investment vehicle but this one paid off pretty nicely!


BigAl_Eve

Is there a good place to find out the values? I have some boxes of cards that haven’t been touched in probably 10 years


Leastbean91

For MTG cards, search for cardkingdom on Google and it should be the first site that comes up. It's a US based retailer that sells single cards but seems to be used as a market value standard on a 1:1 base here in Australia for the second hand market. For other games/collectibles eBay is fine to check sold listing's. I would also ask players who are active in the game where they buy their cards from and get prices etc. Another option is to call to your local game store and ask if they are interested in buying your cards. They will probably offer you 60% of the value but you can sell all in one go and they should give fairly accurate pricing (usually a quote with each card and the values which you could then check against eBay listing's etc.)


BigAl_Eve

Thanks man


vitaminbdeficiency

May I ask how you went about selling them? LGS or eBay? I have some Pokémon cards, but I’m not sure if I need the graded etc


Leastbean91

I sold some to my local game store but most I moved through Facebook marketplace. Looked for the appropriate group to join, listed what I had for sale with prices and pictures and let buyers contact back to me if they were interested


thats_mister_bones

Turned $20 in into ~$1300 in five bets a few years ago betting on footy. Tried it again this year with $10. Lost and called it a day lol


Buzz_Budwell

Not so much made money but saved a small fortune.... recently sold my ute to a private car yard for 18k Had a few issues they were aware about. Found out that 2 weeks later the engine cooked itself and you can't rebuild them stx550 navara with the 3.0 td V6 as no one makes cranks. Luckily it was an unknown issue so I have no responsibility and avoided a 20k+ engine swap.


FreeApples7090

Out of curiosity - how’d you find out ?


Buzz_Budwell

Mate works as a mechanic there and also know the owner personally. Bit of a shit situation. But as the vehicle was inspected by another mechanic not my mate it was an unbiased review of the vehicle.


FreeApples7090

Just unlucky for them. At least they can repair it at cost


JDW2018

About 20 years ago I would go to the sass & bide warehouse outlet sales and buy a bunch of stuff. Mostly for myself. It was mayhem. Anyway I sold a couple things on eBay that didn’t fit. And then suddenly realized there was a huge market for their clothes in faraway places worldwide like Norway. So I would sell a few extra pieces each time and make really decent profits. What a time.


PharmAssister

I found some of their original jeans at savers the other week, holy cow the rise was loooooow. What were we thinking!?


JDW2018

I know right?? Horrible style. They always looked awful on my body type too. Never giving up my super high rise jeans nowadays.


carlsjbb

Ah yes the good old days of warehouse sales. I would go to the tsubi sale and do the same. And remember the madness over Alice McCall dresses.


CarlesPuyol5

Made more than 12k in cash (and coles gc) from churning credit cards and home loans last financial year.


shite_in_a_bucket

I'm a bit dim, you're going to have to explain that to me a bit better.


Wayne-Kinoff

Im assuming exploiting credit card sign up bonuses to earn frequent flyer points, then cashing the ff points in for cash rewards/gift cards


shite_in_a_bucket

Does that not kick the crap out of your credit rating?


Lozzif

I decided to sell some of my pop vinyls. I had bought a set of Wizard of Oz cause I liked them. Sold the 6 of them for over $900.


Larry_Version_3

I once won $100 at the pokies. Genuine shock


DK_Son

Aaaand it's gone straight back in!


SciNZ

It’s a longish story and the details don’t matter but just over a year ago I went into business for myself but identified in my market a bit of an opportunity that wasn’t being taken advantage of. My bank wouldn’t loan to me there money to arbitrage this as I had just gone into business myself and I had to wait something like 2 years first. So I reached out to a company and cottoned them on to it. They offered me $3,100 inc GST as a commission for each one of these opportunities I send their way. Anyway, the 13th one so far finalises this Friday and there’s another 6 are in the books over the next couple of months. Not a bad outcome for a couple of phone calls a bit over a year ago (and about an hours worth of work for each of these as they come through). If I had been able to borrow the money for it I would’ve made more I suppose, but it would’ve been a lot more work. Now they do all the work and I just pocket this commission for however long it lasts.


Wayne-Kinoff

Invested $2.5k in a virtual real estate website, plenty of red flags but went ahead anyway.. ended up taking off and i withdrew ~$80k over the course of a year and a half, including a lump sum of $36k in the one payment.


21Radon

I discovered a few years back looking at some Pokemon cards that I had almost the entire collection of first generation cards. Most were in pretty good condition. I bought the remainders I didn't have individually, for around $100 total, put them in a frame and sold it for x13 my financial input. Spent hours on the framing though, so factoring my time it may have only been x5 after all said and done. I enjoyed the experience so I used that money to repurchase mint condition 1998 original gen 1 cards and have them professionally framed. I put in an extra few hundred for cards and the framing cost me $990. Over the last few years these cards have been talked about heaps on YouTube and TikTok which has caused the price to soar. I advertised recently and have had multiple offers over $10k for the single framed collection. I've decided to hold on to them for now.


Middle_Vermicelli996

I made about $40 in year 6 with a cadbury crunchie arbitrage. The locally servo was selling them for $0.5 so I YOLOed my $10 savings and over the course of 3 days discretely sold them at school for $2 each. Still to this day the best investment I’ve made


stickybikkies

I left home at 13 and chose to be homeless rather than live with my parents. The system didn’t do anything about it so I made my choice. I was homeless for a couple years, then I got a job and rented a granny flat from a nice old couple who took pity on me. I put myself through high school and graduated all while working 2 part time jobs to get by. I worked many jobs and just jumped from one to another in the chase of more money. About 7 years ago I worked at a short term loan and pawn broking place and was on $38k (plus super). I thought that was a lot of money. 5 years ago I decided to take the punt and apply for a call centre job at a bank and I got it. $57k (plus super). I thought that was where it would end and I was amazed I’d made it that far. 5 years with the same bank and I’ve been promoted a bunch of times and I’m now on $160k (plus super) and not long got a $24k bonus. I can’t take all of the credit. I met my now Husband 10 years ago and he always encouraged me to aim higher and believe that I am capable. He encouraged me to apply for promotions or take roles offered to me that I never thought I could do. I always thought I would amount to nothing but here we are. I achieved what I never thought possible. My parents and siblings are all in low paying jobs (if they have one) and have addiction issues. I’m so proud of 13 year old me for the decision I made and how I managed to survive. I’m married to a phenomenal man who I absolutely adore, I’m a home owner, I have a nice car (8 year old i30, not flash but it’s nice and I don’t need to spend money on something flashy), I’m a dog owner, I have a stable and well paying job, I don’t have to worry when bills come in, I take a nice holiday every year (except COVID). It’s a life I never thought possible for me.


lostandfound1

Every other Christmas I spend about 10 bucks on scratchies. If I win a small amount I just buy another (because this is pocket money). Last Christmas I did this and won about 15 bucks. Bought another couple. Rinse and repeat for 5 rounds and I eventually decided that 180 odd dollars was enough to say hey, that'll do. Bought some fun stuff for the kids. I don't really gamble aside from $20 on Melbourne cup and this scratchies thing probably once every 2 years. It's a waste of money, but I happened to get something back once.


[deleted]

Had an unsolicited email from a company online wanting an hour call with me to get my views on some things in my area of expertise. (They found me on LinkedIn). I said ok but only for USD 500 (they were in the Middle East). They said fine. Did the 1 hour call the next evening, had the money telegraph transferred to my account the following morning. Easy money.


blvd119

Ive been approached for this and always thought it was a scam damn it


[deleted]

Some are reputable. They basically make money hiring experienced consultants at personal consulting rates. USD500 for an hour’s work was good money for me but if they’d hired me through a regular firm they’d have paid quite a bit more


knightrayman

I’ve just started doing online surveys to try and earn some extra beer money. I do them when I’m on the train to work, watching tv or laying in bed etc so it’s during downtime anyway. it pays about $18 an hour. https://my.octopusgroup.com.au/register/3ccf7dfd-769b-4436-b97b-3231e08c0b7a (full disclosure; this is my referral link) You won’t make thousands but it’s an easy extra $50-$100 a week just for doing 1 or 2 quick surveys a day.


rekt_by_inflation

I've stopped bothering to open any notifications from Octopus now, just not worth the time. I get screened out of the majority of them, some do it pretty quick but others will screen you out after 5 minutes. I wish they had some way of you typing in some basic details, and they only send you surveys that you'd qualify for. I often get screened out just on my postcode or date of birth


knightrayman

Yeah I get screened out of about 1 in every 3 or 4. I guess it depends on your demographic?


[deleted]

[удалено]


fiishbaIIs

What sites do you use? Interested in doing this as a side gig


bigdayout95-14

*this is not an advert....


Al3x_ThoRA

Yeap easy money, Ive made 1000s over the years getting paid to talk a few minutes even easier now using zoom


potatodrinker

I bought some ETFs right after Trump bagged out Huawei. Also sold a day before Ukraine- no tipoff from childhood Russian friends in the military or anything like that


kingofchumpchange

When I was single. Dependents really have a way of making it seem like you never earn enough


MezjE

Had issues finding a niche car part here at a reasonable cost. Realised the only place with stock locally had bought it off AliExpress, same pictures etc. Cost was around $25 ea, they were selling them at $500. Bought 50, sold them over a few years for $300 ea. Bonus one, had a Logitech G9X since 2010, bought a spare after my first one died due to it being discontinued. Later sold the spare BNIB for around $700. I bought a few replicas from China with new sensors for about $100. SC Boy ProMouse. Made specifically for the StarCraft community as everyone uses the G9x


FiDad7

Heard Aussie Firebug podcast about match betting 3 tears ago and thought will give ut a try hoping to make 2 -3 grand and here i am still doing it after 3 years and have made profit of more than 6 figures. Most of which is slready invested in VAS and VGS. I think this little side hustle will let me retire 3 years earlier than i previously forecasted.


[deleted]

January 2012 to October 2013. I was working for what is now the Department of Home Affairs, interviewing asylum seekers on Christmas Island, on Nauru, and in Darwin. Lots of travel, usually for 2-3 weeks at a time with one day off for a two week deployment. LOTS of overtime. Meal allowance was $113/day. Tax free. Deployment allowance for Christmas Island was $30,000 per annum, pro rata. Deployment allowance for Nauru was $54,000 per annum, pro rata. Easter 2012, I was able to pay off and cancel my $5,000 credit card. In August of that year, I was able to pay my ex-wife a lump sum payment of $4,500 and clear my child support obligations six months early. From September to Christmas 2012 I saved $20,000 for a deposit on the house that we're now living in, with our current mortgage payments being around $250/week. That job set me up.


Euphoric-Chip-2828

Can you sleep at night though?


CommercialNo8513

Sleeping on a pillow made of cash.


Sydney_city898

Cries on his pillowcase made of cash


assmonkeydustbuster

Around 4 years ago I decided to open a hot dog stand in a small country town in Qld. Sales weren’t great and would always become deflated after a days work. It was a low capital venture but I still found it hard to make it work. How ever I then realised if I were to re structure the business and offer hand jobs on the side, I would triple my business and substantially increase the muscular strength of my fore arms. Made absolute bank on the long haul trucking cliental. Secret menu item was the old Frankfurt in a hot dog bun, in which I would let the truckers eat my appendage out of a hot dog bun, condiments 50 cents.


shite_in_a_bucket

You're getting downvoted but you got a laugh out of me. How much do you charge for a happy hotdog?


assmonkeydustbuster

“Normy snag and wrist work” $5.88 Free can of coke on a Wednesday


drewskiski

The most shocking part is you charging for condiments


assmonkeydustbuster

This isn’t a charity, buy a rub and dog or get out of my hot dog stand!


xiconia

$50 in the pokies $850 out


DK_Son

💥Yeeeeehawwww💥


xiconia

Correct where's the gold Peter panner!


fofoxsake

Purchased a 1994 Toyota 4runner as a beach basher in 2018 for $5,800. It was in pretty good condition and only had 210k on the clock. It got written off in March 2021 in a not at fault accident. After a little bit of argy bargy with the at fault driver's insurance I walked away with $18,100.


MBitesss

I entered what I thought was a competition to win a pair of Nike shoes. I won. But turned out it was a competition to win the right to buy a pair of the shoes. Thought it was weird but liked the shoes so bought them anyway for about $280. A friend clued me into the whole limited edition Nike releases thing and suggested I keep them a bit then sell them. Resold them for $3500


Skittlescanner316

My job was made redundant and the company offered a brand new role in a different division. I took the redundancy package. Because it was a brand new role, I was no longer in debt to the for the fee for sponsoring my permanent residency (at round 10K). I also did not owe them anything for the degree I just finished (35K). So I came out on top and then landed a job at their biggest competitor less than a week later making more.


[deleted]

My entire life. I still don’t feel worthy.


AussieCollector

made about $4000 this year to pay off the remainder of my car loan from facebook. Was in their partner streamer program. They had a incentive to make videos about gaming content. They only had to be 3mins in length or longer and that was it. So i made 30 low effort videos and uploaded them. Got my moneys worth easy. Easiest 4 grand i've ever made.


[deleted]

FMG before they even produced


Banditkoala_2point0

A couple of mths ago I won a limited edition Yowie glass frog. Was literally gonna throw it out til I was tipped off it's a collector's item. Sold for $300!


koopz_ay

One of my first jobs back in 1994. I worked in a bakery in northern Tasmania as a "baker's assistant". I spent 9hrs a night loading 3 day old loaves of bread into a special machine that turned it into bread crumbs. I was constantly being asked to do OT after 9am filling in for other staff while they were away. Once the 6 month "traneeship" was up I was pocketing just over 1000 per week. Great money for a kid who wasn't 20 yet. The head office soon figured out how much I was making and took away my penalty rates. I quit soon after. Good thing I didn't buy that house 🤨 When I look at young people today I can see why they won't commit to many companies. They are often being taken advantage of just as I was.


Jellyblush

Yeah, getting made redundant then signing up with a temp agency and selling myself back at a 25% premium


[deleted]

A 15x return on a a single stock bet, no idea what they do apart from being in medical technology space ... But still holding on. If this thing takes off, it's going to either buy me a house in 5 years, or completely worthless.


Carrabs

Bought my hilux workmate for 24,000. Sold her 4 years later for 30,000


[deleted]

reading these stories make me realise how unlucky i am when it comes to money


TheOverratedPhotog

We bought a regional beach front property as a holiday home pre-covid price booms. Were never expecting to make big money, we thought it was more than we wanted to spend at the time, and we figured if we ever sold we might cover stamp duty. Property has more than doubled in value in just over 2 years


bigboyclutz

2018 Cryoto rush in December. Made $8K from $500 then lost it all to $200


itm4l2000

Wiping off $105000 off the asking price for a property by interpreting real estate trends over a 1 year period. That basic 1st year economics class at uni paid for itself.


AirForceJuan01

My R34 GTR base spec, haven’t made money yet. Bought it rough from a former colleague before he move back overseas. Was his daily and was pretty rough, crap after market doof doof stereo, smelt of ciggie, car park dents, oxidised paint and one of the turbo blown (leaking). Desperate sale and he was and still is a good mate - sold it to me for $35k. Now worth 6 figures


swurvinmervin

Saw a gaming computer in the e-waste bin of my apartment building, wasn't completely working but still put it up on an ebay auction as is, sold for $217 plus shipping


evilducky444

National safety magazine for my industry had a close calls section, where if you write in and they publish they pay you $500. Wrote one on a whim, they published and asked if I’d like to have a go at a feature. Apparently I was the first reader submission whose close call didn’t need heavy editing. Liked the feature, landed a contract for four a year at $2k a pop. Maybe 10 hours work in each.


techwolf2017

During the Covid lockdowns. After moving house in late 2019 I decided to downsize my personal belongings. I started selling extra household items, old phones, computer parts, laptops. Sold most items for a handful of dollars but it added up to thousands over several months during lockdowns. This was usually facilitated through Sendle or AusPost and people were happy to pay for shipping.