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There’s no such thing as a free lunch. But Lady Luck sometimes smiles on you and sends a bit of good fortune your way. There are moments when everything falls into place and you totally luck out. At least, financially.
You might get paid a massive amount of money for doing barely any work. Or you accidentally stumble upon some cash in the least likely of places. It feels great when you’re surprised this way. (Far better than the alternative, too, when your hopes for a decent reward get dashed.)
Redditors from around the globe shared their personal stories about the ‘easiest’ money they’ve ever gotten in a very interesting r/AskReddit thread. We’ve collected some of their very best tales. Scroll down to read them and let us know which of these you enjoyed the most by upvoting them and writing a comment with your opinion. What’s the easiest money that you’ve ever gotten, dear Pandas? Feel free to share.
Bored Panda reached out to Sam Dogen for some personal finance and investment advice. Sam is the author of the best-selling book, 'Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom,' and is the founder of the popular 'Financial Samurai' blog. He explained what (not) to do if you suddenly come into a lot of money, and shared the very best long-term investments. Read on for his insights.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
As a waitress, I served a staff party and just did well. Really connected with one man at the table and told him I was getting married in 3 months. He tipped me $1000 and told me to use it for our honeymoon. I was floored. Reacted like Dr Grant in Jurassic Park when he sees a dinosaur in the flesh for the first time. I was working three jobs at the time. We used the money to buy our wedding bands instead so we had a constant reminder that someone out there was rooting for us & the man who gave us the money heard about it and came to our wedding where he gave us $10,000. He changed our life & made it so we could afford fertility treatment. Still doesn’t feel real to this day & we hope to name our son after him if we ever get the chance.
"If you are fortunate enough to land on a windfall of money, the best thing to do is nothing for three months. Keep living your life as if you received nothing new. It may be hard at first, but doing nothing is a must to eliminate the initial excitement that tends to overwhelm one's senses. We tend to make suboptimal decisions when excited," Sam, the author of 'Buy This, Not That,' explained to Bored Panda.
We have to resist the temptation to impulsively spend our newfound wealth.
"After three months have passed, it's important to find a way to convert your easy money into real assets. Real assets like real estate tend to hold their value the best while also providing income and utility," the founder of 'Financial Samurai' said. "Those who converted their lottery winnings, cryptocurrency winnings, and stock winnings into real assets like real estate tend to stay wealthy longer than those who do not."
#2
Drove grandma because she wanted a lotto ticket. She gave me $5 to go in and get it (because it was cooooold outside). Well, turns out she won $4,000, and insisted that we split it evenly because it was a team effort.
Grandmothers gatta spoil, right?
#3
Got a Nanny job at a really nice Private Golf Club Baby sat for this family in the past really nice family liked them alot went over at the house at 6 pm Kids Were instructed by parents to go to bed by 7 PM (About 4 Kids). The Parents with friends went out to dinner and to a bar (i'm assuming). Kids were really well behaved, they all went to bed at 7 PM and i just watched TV until parents came back. Parents didn't come back until 2 AM but they drunkenly paid me over 1000 dollars for "babysitting" the kids. tried to refuse that much for only 8 hours and they insisted. Contacted them the next day and told them how much they paid me and i couldn't accept it all of it that it was too much. they said no keep it its all yours! but then a few minutes later they texted me and they said okay just come next weekend and baby sit if you can and it will make up for the difference of what we paid. I said okay and went there the following weekend and they said just say here watch for a few minutes ill be right back the guy comes back and says " thanks for watching the kids for 20 Minutes Were going to head out for the rest of the year we will let you know if we need a nanny when we come back" I laughed and said okay have fun headed out to my car. There was an envelope on my car windshield sat in my car and opened the envelope and there was a letter that said "This is for babysitting and being honest with us when we were under the influence please let this money help you in any way that it can" and gifted me 5000 additional dollars so 6000 all together Cried in my car and left
Bored Panda wanted to learn more about building generational wealth through solid investments. Here's what Sam told us: "Besides investing in your education, like reading bestselling personal finance books, for the average person, the best long-term investments are stocks and real estate."
He shared some details about investing in stocks and real estate. No investment is without downsides.
"Stocks have historically returned 10% a year since 1926. There are no fees to own stocks and the investment is 100% passive. The downside to owning stocks is the volatility and lack of utility," he said.
"Real estate offers security, utility, and long-term growth about 1-2% above the rate of inflation. Investing in rental properties takes real estate investing to the next level. Rental property investors benefit from increased rents and property prices over time, which is one of the easiest ways to build generational wealth. The downside to owning rentals is the hassle of dealing with tenants and maintenance issues," Sam, the author of 'Buy This, Not That,' told Bored Panda.
#4
Was planning on quitting a job. They told me I had to stay through the year to qualify for a bonus. So I worked a night shift until 4AM on January 1st.
Turns out that if you work at all in the calendar year, you qualify for the bonus. So I got a bonus ($8500) for working 4 hours that year.
#5
Went to a clients (I did computer repair) and he hands me a laptop and says "it's dead, if you can make it work, i'll give you $100. It is new." I look at it, push the power button and it boots. So i figure it is not connecting to the internet or something. He freaks! Cannot believe i got it working. I show him the power button on the side. He says "huh. Didn't know where it was." He takes out a wad of cash, peels off 5 $20's hands them to me and the gives me another $20 as a tip. I was in and out in under 5 minutes.
#6
$20,000 for a Coca Cola commercial in which I did nothing but sit in a convertible and cheer like I was on my way to a college football game. I didn't get it all at once, but I added up the residuals over a 2 year period for tax purposes and that was the total.
"Therefore, more and more real estate investors are leaning towards private real estate investing, which is 100% passive. Private real estate investors get the income and stability of real estate without having to deal with any of the hassles."
He also shared a bit about his own investments. "Personally, I've invested $810,000 in private real estate platforms like Fundrise to diversify my expensive coastal real estate holdings and invest more surgically in the heartland of America. I believe there is a multi-decade demographic trend of relocating to lower-cost areas of the country. Work-from-home and the pandemic has only accelerated this trend."
#7
i did a sleep study over 2 weekends, just had to stay in a hospital room and basically watched netflix/read all day and just had to do a few cognitive tests on the computer. walked out with $950!
Rita Barrett 1 year ago
I think all mom's can agree with me when I say: "Where do I sign up?!"
#8
We scrapped out a machine at work. I was told that I could take parts off of it if I wanted to, since it was just being sold for steel. I took out 6 Variable Frequency Drives and sold them for over $4000 on ebay. That was a nice little bonus.
#9
I had a summer job cleaning dorms for event groups at my college. Made 1500 bucks because the university decided to change revisions of all the textbooks they used. The school wouldn't buy back the books they sold students, so students started to throw away their textbooks because they thought they were worthless. I just sold them all on eBay to people going to the JC the next town over.
It’s nice to have a dash of good luck on your side from time to time. And though financial stability is essential, suddenly having a huge amount of cash to worry about can be an utter nightmare. Bored Panda recently wrote about just how bad things can get for lottery winners.
Especially if they can’t keep their newfound wealth a secret. And, let’s face it, it’s hard to resist the temptation to boast about how lucky you were! Unfortunately, people can get jealous very easily.
You might soon find your nearest and dearest accosting you to get them expensive items and pay for their holidays. Meanwhile, your acquaintances might ask you for help because they’re down on their luck.
In short, the people in your life will start to calculate how much you can spend on them. Some might start resenting you if you don’t spread the wealth around a bit.
#10
My husband just made $1600 for letting a film crew use his truck for 4 days.
They were looking for a very specific truck and it just so happened he had what they were looking for.
We barely had to do anything. We met them once to go over the truck, make sure they could use it for their scenes. They called a few days later, my husband dropped the truck off and they brought it back when they were done
Grant Barke 1 year ago
Luckily it wasn't a Mad Max movie, otherwise 1600 bucks would not have been enough.
#11
I've found $50 and $100 bills used as bookmarkers in books from Goodwill.
One time, there was a $20 bill in a signed hardcover first edition of William Gibson's Virtual Light. I bought it for $2.
Couldnt_find_a_decent_name 1 year ago
I never get this lucky at like thrift stores, the best I’ve gotten was a telescope that we didn’t realize was missing a piece so it didn’t work
#12
Got a scratch lottery ticket as an Xmas gift from my buddy. His family apparently handed them out to all their good friends. I won 500€. Treated him and his wife to dinner in a restaurant. So we almost blew it all in one sitting. Was nice though.
Stannous Flouride 1 year ago (edited)
First time I went to visit my wife's Venezuelan family in the 90s I bought $50 worth of scratch-off California lottery tickets to give out. They all had a top prize of (I think) $1,000,000 and I promised them if they won I'd send them the money. The few winners were got $2, $5, and I think one was $50. It was a big hit and in the few seconds between them receiving the ticket and learning the results they were imaginary millionaires and I was very popular.
One way to get them off your back is to tell them that you’ve set aside your money for charity. After you’ve given to the causes you care about, you can then consider what they’re asking of you.
However, if you’ve had a stroke of good luck and won the lottery, you might want to consider making your loved ones’ lives more financially stable. Either that or practice stealth wealth and live a semi-modest middle-class lifestyle without flaunting your riches.
Though money makes life easier, it’ll never buy you love or loyalty. Earning more than $100,000 a year doesn’t significantly increase your happiness either.
#13
Was first in the queue at Apple regents street waiting for the new iPhone (5 I think) sold my space for £3k
Couldnt_find_a_decent_name 1 year ago
Damnnnn, standing in lines is gonna become the new money-making trend. Sarah Elizabeth down here, “I made 3k in just a day! Check out the link”
#14
Got a 1909s penny in my change from the grocery store. Sold it on eBay for $90.00. Not a bad profit.
Bob La Capra 1 year ago (edited)
I was at a store where a man was trying to convince the cashier that his $1 Silver Certificate was a real US dollar. I butted in to confirm and gave her a regular dollar for it and added to my collection of slightly unusual money. Everyone was happy.
#15
I worked as a barman for a few years. A neighbours niece was getting married but needed someone to run the bar at the reception set on a field. The “beer tent” was huge and I was running it with 3 others.
I agreed to be paid “normal rate”. I didn’t ask for their definition but they paid me blind drunk and gave me cash in an envelope.
For 10 hours work I got paid £750 and was under strict instructions from the father of the bride to “help yourself” to any left over booze.
Dom Perignon crates each and we each filled our car boots with booze as a tip.
#16
bought a small house, market boomed, sold it less than two years later for more than twice what i paid for it. lucky.
Steve Robert 1 year ago
Yeah but now you have to find a new place to live and everything else went up 200% as well
#17
"Baby"sitting my mom's friend's 14 and 11 year old. We played video games all day (with their mother's consent) and I got 150€ for like eight hours
#18
Bought a second-hand jacket from Good Will for $8. There was a $50 in the pocket.
JoJo Anisko 1 year ago
I've seen reddit posts where people have gotten lucky like this only to be told they are stealing if they don't turn it back in. Sorry, you snooze, you lose.
Lɶwin Von Schatten 1 year ago
If someone accidentally donates their whole inheritance of thousands of dollars, that's one thing. But to buy a donated $50 bill, that's totally fair to keep.
Load More Replies...
Microwaved Robot 1 year ago
This happened to us years ago. We were super poor off and I took the youngest to Value Village to shop for her school clothes. She tried on a pair of jeans, put her hands in the pockets and pulled out a $20.00 bill. She bought all her clothes for school that year, and a scarf that her Grandmother wanted. That really saved us that year, I was then able to buy marked down groceries with what I was going to spend on her.
Bob La Capra 1 year ago
In the spring, getting ready for the season, I took a pair of baseball pants out of the box and put them on. Noticed there was something in the back pocket. Turned out to be $38. I was pretty excited...but then I wondered why did I not notice I was missing $38 at the end of the last season?
Angela Darling 1 year ago
going through pockets of clothing at goodwill sounds like a new pastime !
Green Eyed Raven 1 year ago
Bought a new (tagged) Pendleton blanket at a thrift store for $9 - worth about $300.
#19
Modeling in a secondary market (aka not NYC or LA). $2000 a day to be pampered, fed and told you’re pretty
Couldnt_find_a_decent_name 1 year ago
People who are models say it’s a relatively easy job to get, but that’s because they’re GOOD LOOKING
#20
As a consultant in Silicon Valley in the late 90s, I had a last-minute engagement which pushed the rate up to around $400/hour. I got there and they weren't ready for me. I happened to have a yoyo I'm my bag, so I hung out in the lobby for over an hour, getting paid to play with my yoyo. It would have likely gone on longer, but an exec saw me, and asked what I was doing. I explained the situation, and I was at a desk solving their issue within 15 minutes after that.
#21
Bought a car that "didnt run" for $250, put some fresh gas in it and polished the paint, sold it for $2000 a week later
#22
This morning I proctored a test for two hours. All I had to do was sit there and then collect the tests when they finished, and I got to study while there. Only made $30, but I was going to spend the two hours studying anyways so I basically got paid to do what I was going to do for free.
#23
Bought an Instagram account with 110k followers for $300 from a friend, kept posting stuff 4-5 weeks daily and one day a marketing agency offered me $2500 for it.
Later I found out that it was worth more than that but for me was a great deal.
#24
Had something wrong with my Throat last year and went to a walk in. There was a guy there doing research on a new flu test. Got like a 4 inch q-tip shoved up my nose and got paid $75. Was in and out in maybe 10 minutes
#25
500 euros for an acting job as a waiter, I didn't have to say anything.
*Displayname*=idk 1 year ago
when my hair turns white I plan on doing late life acting. Till then we wait.
#26
Three hundred bucks for my spot in line for the bathroom at McDonald's. It was new years eve.
#27
I did a few tests for Stanford so they could research autism, and they gave me about 300 bucks. The tests consisted of a few MRIs, some cognitive ability tests, and others. They were pretty easy.
#28
I own a cell phone repair shop. About 13 years ago the Blackberry was extremely popular. They all had a trackball in the centre like an upside down computer mouse. Unfortunately, they would fail all the time and the customers were desperate to get it fixed. Other stores sold cheap knockoffs but I had an in and got original BlackBerry versions. I replaced them for $30 and it took me no more than 30 seconds. I'd buy them for under 2 bucks. I'd do at least 5 a day! Those days are gone now:(
#30
My job while I was at school. Worked at the school pool as a lifeguard, but it was almost always empty so I could sit in the office and work or watch youtube videos and get paid £8.15 an hour for it.
What do you think ?
Lily Mae Kitty 1 year ago
my best buy was 3 sealed original star wars VHS tapes I bought for my husband for 50¢ each. He sold them for $16,500. The next day our AC broke b/c it must have smelled the money.
If 1 year ago
I lived in Venice for 7 years in the 80's. I saw an authentic Josef Hoffmann Weiner Secession Fledermaus chair (1905) in a restorer carpenter shop in Campo S. Stefano. I told the carpenter all about that chair but he took offence and said it was a more ancient chair so he asked for a (very low) price. I never resold it because it was a very "good exchange" and I love it very much.
Marilyn Russell 1 year ago
Well, I guess my husband’s audiophile hobby that drives me nuts since we have speakers and stereo equipment all over the house actually made us money this year. He found a pair of speakers for free at the end of someone’s driveway during large pickup week and sold them for $1200. But I’m sure we’ve spent more over the last year on his other purchases and repairs to turntables etc.
Kevin Humble 1 year ago
The speakers giveth and the turntable taketh away.
Load More Replies...
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
when we just met, BF who is a record collector and also sells them, asked if he could see my 7"es. Picked out two, one was the Kinks. Asked if he could put them on Ebay. I didnt really care for them. He got so much money for it, that we could pay our whole planned camping trip to Austria :-D
Lily Mae Kitty 1 year ago
my husband collects and sells records. He bought a rare Bowie album at a garage sale for $1 and got $1100 for it.
Load More Replies... Lily Mae Kitty 1 year ago
I bought a bin of JNCO jeans for $12 at a garage sale and sold them for about $1200, mostly to 2 guys who knew each other from a JNCO club.
simply.Taz 1 year ago
Noooo.......you can't unring that bell.....she'll probably be here any moment now!! Lol
Load More Replies...
--- 1 year ago
I found 200 lei (4*50) just laying around in the bushes, on the side of a dirtroad near the beach. That's 40+ $/€. For comparison, one night at the hotel I stayed at was 200 lei (before inflation though). 1 kg of sirloin calf meat (no fancy brand) is 50 lei. 1 liter of Jack Daniel's is around 115 lei, and one Xbox series S is 1500.
Lyone Fein 1 year ago
The easiest money I ever made was during my 20's and 30's when I worked as an artist's model. Always in the nude. Always between $20 and $40 an hour. Sometimes this would be for university classes. Sometimes for art clubs, or art association life study groups. Sometimes for individual painters. It was never steady work. But was always a great supplement to my other sources of income.
Stannous Flouride 1 year ago
This was mine.
Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pxa_OflmIY me-an-regi...e10fbe.jpg 
Sponge Blob 1 year ago
I bought in a 1€ store few 2£ coins. They were among many other, less valuable coins from all around the world.
Maple Porkly 1 year ago (edited)
As a kid in the 90s with no money I used to climb into the trash bins behind a large toy store and pull out brand new Furbys still in their boxes (though the boxes were damaged) . The store would just throw them away if they were returned. Some didn't work and needed minor repairs. I'd sell the ones that worked to kids with $$ at school for $10-$20 each. Then I took the money and paid my dad for parts and labour to fix the broken ones before I'd sell those too. I was such a happy 13 year old to have $500 by Christmas. Bought everyone in my family gifts for the first time.
Bluetoyou 1 year ago
I was a divorced single parent and to buy Christmas presents or just make ends meet I worked the Elections. Easily make $900 to $1200 depending on your position just sitting at a table checking people in. The higher salary trouble shoots those who are missing from the voter rolls to see if they are qualified to vote and does the paperwork at the end of the day. Basic secretarial stuff. For 2 weeks of early voting. More if you work Election Day too. They train you. Varies by county and state. 16 year olds and up. High school students can earn community service hours to pad their college resume. Great for college students. Supplemented my regular salary nicely. They hire at the elections office too processing the equipment and ballots.
Lily Mae Kitty 1 year ago
my best buy was 3 sealed original star wars VHS tapes I bought for my husband for 50¢ each. He sold them for $16,500. The next day our AC broke b/c it must have smelled the money.
If 1 year ago
I lived in Venice for 7 years in the 80's. I saw an authentic Josef Hoffmann Weiner Secession Fledermaus chair (1905) in a restorer carpenter shop in Campo S. Stefano. I told the carpenter all about that chair but he took offence and said it was a more ancient chair so he asked for a (very low) price. I never resold it because it was a very "good exchange" and I love it very much.
Marilyn Russell 1 year ago
Well, I guess my husband’s audiophile hobby that drives me nuts since we have speakers and stereo equipment all over the house actually made us money this year. He found a pair of speakers for free at the end of someone’s driveway during large pickup week and sold them for $1200. But I’m sure we’ve spent more over the last year on his other purchases and repairs to turntables etc.
Kevin Humble 1 year ago
The speakers giveth and the turntable taketh away.
Load More Replies... Petra Schaap 1 year ago
when we just met, BF who is a record collector and also sells them, asked if he could see my 7"es. Picked out two, one was the Kinks. Asked if he could put them on Ebay. I didnt really care for them. He got so much money for it, that we could pay our whole planned camping trip to Austria :-D
Lily Mae Kitty 1 year ago
my husband collects and sells records. He bought a rare Bowie album at a garage sale for $1 and got $1100 for it.
Load More Replies... Lily Mae Kitty 1 year ago
I bought a bin of JNCO jeans for $12 at a garage sale and sold them for about $1200, mostly to 2 guys who knew each other from a JNCO club.
simply.Taz 1 year ago
Noooo.......you can't unring that bell.....she'll probably be here any moment now!! Lol
Load More Replies... --- 1 year ago
I found 200 lei (4*50) just laying around in the bushes, on the side of a dirtroad near the beach. That's 40+ $/€. For comparison, one night at the hotel I stayed at was 200 lei (before inflation though). 1 kg of sirloin calf meat (no fancy brand) is 50 lei. 1 liter of Jack Daniel's is around 115 lei, and one Xbox series S is 1500.
Lyone Fein 1 year ago
The easiest money I ever made was during my 20's and 30's when I worked as an artist's model. Always in the nude. Always between $20 and $40 an hour. Sometimes this would be for university classes. Sometimes for art clubs, or art association life study groups. Sometimes for individual painters. It was never steady work. But was always a great supplement to my other sources of income.
Stannous Flouride 1 year ago
This was mine.
Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pxa_OflmIY me-an-regi...e10fbe.jpg
Sponge Blob 1 year ago
I bought in a 1€ store few 2£ coins. They were among many other, less valuable coins from all around the world.
Maple Porkly 1 year ago (edited)
As a kid in the 90s with no money I used to climb into the trash bins behind a large toy store and pull out brand new Furbys still in their boxes (though the boxes were damaged) . The store would just throw them away if they were returned. Some didn't work and needed minor repairs. I'd sell the ones that worked to kids with $$ at school for $10-$20 each. Then I took the money and paid my dad for parts and labour to fix the broken ones before I'd sell those too. I was such a happy 13 year old to have $500 by Christmas. Bought everyone in my family gifts for the first time.
Bluetoyou 1 year ago
I was a divorced single parent and to buy Christmas presents or just make ends meet I worked the Elections. Easily make $900 to $1200 depending on your position just sitting at a table checking people in. The higher salary trouble shoots those who are missing from the voter rolls to see if they are qualified to vote and does the paperwork at the end of the day. Basic secretarial stuff. For 2 weeks of early voting. More if you work Election Day too. They train you. Varies by county and state. 16 year olds and up. High school students can earn community service hours to pad their college resume. Great for college students. Supplemented my regular salary nicely. They hire at the elections office too processing the equipment and ballots.
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