Make money while on vacation

It’s summertime and your mind is probably on vacation. If you’re smart,  you can learn how to make or save money on your home to pay for that vacation.  Here are 3 ways to do just that.

Should you have more questions about the tips offered below please do not hesitate to call me at 323-842-1980.

1. Home Exchange
We live in a tourist mecca that millions of travelers the world over want to visit, and perhaps experience like a local.  You too may want to have the same experience, say, in Barcelona, Sydney or Paris.  Consider exchanging homes with families for mutual benefit. You will save yourself all the costs of hotels, and often automobile, and experience a new city or culture in a more intimate way.
Sites like lovehomeswap.com or homeexchange.com advertise your home both here and abroad to people looking to exchange their home for yours.  Think of all the money you will save on hotels!

2. Film shoot
Because we live in Tinseltown it is always a possibility that a movie is being shot at your neighbors house.  Did you know that your neighbor is allowed to rent their home 14 days a year tax free? Well, your allowed to as well! We live in the town of tv and movies so we might as well try and take advantage of it. You can list your home yourself for free on location registry websites or you can also hire a location services company to act as an agent for your property, and they are paid commission on your location fee. You can read more about it here www.film.ca.gov/How_to_Market.htm.

3. Turn a room into a home office

If you convert one of the rooms in your house, or add on a room, to create a home office you gain a tax deduction each year. You can deduct $5 per square foot of home office space each year. The max is 300 square feet per year + business expense deductions. To qualify, the room must be exclusively used on a regular basis for business purposes. This money saving tip may not qualify as a vacation in the traditional sense but it’s a vacation from the corporate office, and the roughly $1500 saved can get you on a plane going pretty faraway. More details here: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Simplified-Option-for-Home-Office-Deduction