10 Ways to Fund Your Comic Con Obsession

Over the next year and a half, comic con will appear in dozens of locations, making it easy for geeks to unite over their favorite comics. They’ll meet the actors and actresses of their favorite shows, attend conferences, watch shows, and participate in other nerdy events that would be totally socially unacceptable elsewhere.

The problem with comic con, however, is that it’s expensive, and you can’t go to just once to get the full experience because there are different actors and speakers at each event. If you’re obsessed with this event, you need a way to fund your passion.

Here are some creative ways to gather the money.

1. Sell Stuff

Not everyone is obsessed with staying up on the latest tech trends. If you have old smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, and other tech that you never use, sell it on eBay, Facebook, or Craigslist for extra cash. You might be surprised how much you can make selling things you never use anyway.

2. Raise Money Through Crowdfunding

Who knows? Maybe family and friends will be as interested in getting you to comic con. People have started their own crowdfunds for crazy reasons and raised money.

Just a tip: Look for crowdfunding sites that take the lowest percentage for a fee. You don’t want to lose 15 percent or more of your money to the site you use.

3. Offer Repair Services

Stop removing viruses from laptops and repairing smartphones for free. Start charging for your repair services. Use any money you make here for your comic con fund. This is a side business you can maintain for years, funding countless nerdy excursions.

4. Donate Plasma

If you don’t do drugs, aren’t taking certain medications, and are in relatively good health, you can make up to $300 per month donating your plasma, or white blood cells. Plasma is not like donating blood. You can donate twice per week because your body replenishes quickly if you drink water.

The plasma is used in research hospitals to create life-saving medication and search for cures to serious illnesses. You can make money and help those in need at the same time.

5. Try a Home Equity Loan

If you get really desperate, you can take out a line of credit against your home. With a home equity loan, your house acts as collateral of sorts to guarantee repayment. There are different options and regulations for each state, so make sure you do your research first.

It’s important to note that home equity loans should not be taken lightly. You’ll be dealing with high interest rates and a risk to your largest asset, so if you take this path, make sure you can pay it back in a timely manner.

6. Freelance

Sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and Guru allow you to create profiles in which you market your services. If you have a talent in graphic design, tech writing, web design, computer programming, or other marketable skills, you can pick up a few extra gigs here or there to cover your trip.

7. Teach English from Home

A very popular work-at-home opportunity today comes in the form of teaching English online to children in countries like China. All you need is a bachelor’s degree, although some teaching experience is preferred. The pay is excellent at $20-$25 per hour depending on experience.

It’s great if you have a full-time day job because the hours accommodate China’s opposite time zone. For example, you could work from 5-7 in the morning before work. The contracts are only for a few months, so you wouldn’t have to continue this gig for very long if you didn’t want to.

8. Take Surveys

Though the pay isn’t high (about $3 per 20 minute survey), you could make a few extra dollars each day for your time. Just make sure you get in with a reputable site since there are abundant scammers who claim they’ll pay but never do.

9. Rent Out a Room

Through Airbnb, you can rent out the spare bedroom in your apartment or house. Whether you’re renting it to a semi-permanent roommate or just for a weekend stay, you could make several hundred dollars extra per month. You could also rent your entire place while you’re gone for comic con!

10. Tutor

Impart some of your vast wisdom on those who need it most. Advertise tutoring services at a local high school or college for a subject you’ve mastered. People will pay good money for a private tutor, and you get to choose your own meeting times and hours.

With any of these money-making opportunities, you’ll be on your way to comic con in no time!