There are some jobs that could be considered money making opportunities. Movie star and professional football player come to mind. But if you don't have the talents necessary for those you won't likely get rich with a job. That leaves investing and starting a business as the best alternatives. Here's a quick look at one opportunity in each of these categories.

Stock Investing

I would like to start this out on a more hopeful note, but I have to point out one not-so-pleasant fact: Warren Buffet, widely considered the best investor of all time, lost 25 billion dollars last year. Investing has it's ups and downs. That's true for the best of them.

On the other hand, Mister Buffet still has many billions, so why not take the long view? You may have years when you make 40% on your money and years when you lose almost that much, but if you can learn to beat the market and get 12% annual returns on average, you'll double your money in about six years. That means you can turn $25,000 into a million dollars in about 32 years.

You also can get rich without becoming an expert stock-picker. Just accept the markets likely 7% to 8% annual return and start investing 10% of everything you make in decent index funds. As long as you start in your twenties you'll probably do great. What if you don't have that many years to wait or much to invest? Then read on.

Informational Website Business

Most money making opportunities are in the world of business. I specifically like online businesses. You may not know it, but you can put up an informational blog or website on some topic of interest to you and make money without ever selling a thing or talking to a single customer or even leaving your home. I know because my wife and I have done it, and made many times more money than from any job we've had.

Essentially you create a blog or site that covers a niche or subject with some demand. Ideally find one among your interests, because it is easier to start with something you know and easier to sustain your motivation with a subject you have a true interest in. You then promote your site in various ways so people who share your interest come to the site.

If you monetize it with pay-per-click advertising (you make money every time someone clicks on an ad) or affiliate products (you get a commission when they click on a link and then buy something), you never have to deal with credit cards. You also never have to deal with customer complaints. You also don't have to be home. Once you set up the site and get the traffic flowing, you'll be making money day and night.

This doesn't mean it's easy. You will have to work at it, and it helps speed things up if you have a few hundred dollars to invest. But the work can be on your schedule, and there are ways to start with any amount of money. And the work creates a continuing stream of revenue - even when you are on vacation.

An example to make this clear. I just spent thirty minutes to write this article, and it will be posted in a few directories (maybe that's where you're reading it?). From this point forward the occasional reader will like what they read and check out my site using the link in the author's resource box below. Years from now I'll be making sales once in a while as a result. Money making opportunities don't get much better than this.