I have a lot of free time. I'm young and single with no interest in relationships right now. I'm looking for a way to make large amounts of money very quickly, and I need some ideas here.
Note: I do make pretty good money already, but my expenses/standard of living are also pretty high. :/
TL;DR : What are some good or creative ways to make a decent amount of money ($5k+) in a short amount of time? (1-3 months)
That's true in some cases and some circumstances, but not all. Apart from anything else, if there are things you want or need that cost more than you currently earn on a per-month basis, then it's definitely easier to earn more in order to be able to afford them.
There are also a number of circumstances where it's far easier to make more money than make more savings - for example, the very common "freelancer drastically undercharging" or "exemplary, beloved full-time employee who can probably get a raise just by asking" ones.
"the discipline will provide long-lasting benefits"
Depends how you do it. In general I'd agree with you, but being excessively frugal can be just as damaging to your health and happiness, and that of your family, as being spendthrift.
You've come to the right place.
I'm pretty proficient in both frontend and backend technologies
This is where you fall down. It's possible you are very amazing and nobody knows it yet. If so, you have an advantage — you can create something new and crush competitors before they know you're a threat. It's also possible you're in the "overestimating abilities" phase of a career. The best case here is to have someone else tell you how good you are.
What are some good or creative ways to make a decent amount of money ($5k+) in a short amount of time? (1-3 months)
Put all your money into Apple stock during rumor season.
Read and execute on affiliate marketing.
Read and execute on ebook publishing for in-demand niches.
Bake bacon fudge and sell it on the street corner for a profit.
Bake cake pops and sell them to offices for a profit.
Busk.
Get hired at a place with a sign-on bonus then flee the country after they pay it out.
Sell organs (yours and/or others).
Dance like nobody's watching, put it on youtube, enable ads.
I always thought they were making a killing.
If only you could take out the competition.
Imo combine:
* low cost of living / fixed costs
* remote work for SF/Bay based companies (biggest delta in budgets vs talent available)
People tend to recommend "project based contract" work. Imo those attract people who want to pay less. Look for people who actually look for quality employees and are happy to pay global salaries. Combine this with a low cost of living and you have a good place to start with to save money.
eg $5k+ saving for a few months sounds reasonable if you compare it with "global salaries"
https://angel.co/jobs#find/f!%7B%22locations%22%3A%5B%22Sili...
apart of that: you have a job that works in your resume and you might end up working on a project that becomes a big learning experience
Realistically your best bet is to do consultancy/contracting work. With 2 years experience you could easily pick up a Jnr or Intermediate role at $40-80/hr. Over a month you'll have your 5K.
Pull 80 hour weeks on in-your-own-time contracts and you'll make it in a week.
You also need to cut living costs out entirely. If you wanted to go extreme, sell everything you own and live in your car, and take a free 7-day trial at every gym in your area over the next few months.
I did this before moving overseas for a few months, once a month I'd stay at a friends place for the weekend - definitely not for the faint of heart.
If you want to make more money, you'll probably have to move south. If you live in Victoria or Vancouver (I'm guessing Van from your username), the cost of living isn't that much higher in SF but you'll be able to make a lot more.
Vic/Van seem to have a "nice place to live" tax. Companies pay less because people like living there. OTOH, there is less stress and 9-5 usually means that so it's a tradeoff.
The rate I indicated was for contract work rather than full-time employment, however.
This sounds like your first job, your first job always sucks. If you're not learning anything new, or getting bored I'd suggest dusting your CV and putting yourself out there.
Surely that's a Valley thing.
Do you have access to a large sum of money?
Fixed that for you.
Any scheme to maximize wealth over time with minimal risk has already been exploited. When you open yourself up to large gains in a short time you also take on large risks. Ain't no rewards without risk. And if there are they get drained really quickly.
Sorry if it sounds age-ist or judgmental, but at 22 maybe you haven't quite realized how long human civilizations and markets have been around, how many smart people have worked their whole lives to maximize their reward versus risk ratios.
OTOH, if you focus on producing something, you can potentially achieve $X*BIGNUM/month
(Note: This works best if you have previously picked up a sports almanac from the future.)
Making $5k a month shouldn't be too hard, but almost all of the ways to do it have ramp-up time. Becoming a specialised contractor, starting a business of one kind or another, going down the usual Internet Marketing routes (which do work if you put the time in) - they'll all get you considerably beyond $5kpm, but none of them are really doable in a 3 month window.
If you're really serious about doing this, commit a year at least and start learning.
(BTW, you have read "The Four Hour Work Week", right? If not, definitely have a read.)
Good places to start learning:
"Four Hour Work Week", as mentioned, and Tim Ferriss' blog. "The $100 Startup" - book. Smart Passive Income - blog Viperchill - blog ProBlogger - blog. Ignore the guest posts, read stuff by the founder Darren Rowse.
For example: Udemy courses. I have one that does $3,500 a month on the high end, and about $500 a month on the low end. I know a guy who gets about the same average but has created roughly 40 courses. He, as you can imagine, makes a little more than $5k a month.
Btw, my investment in the course was no more than $200 total. Plus of course about 20 hours of my time.
For someone your age, reducing fixed costs should be fairly easy, but still require some life changes that will be uncomfortable at first.
