Trying to make ends meet during an economic downturn is hard, so many people are having to learn how to find lucrative part time work to either supplement a full-time income or to support a spouse or partner who works full-time while staying home with the children. If you fall into these categories, this guide can help you.

1. You can work part-time from home.

2. Working part-time can be lucrative in addition to your full-time income.

3. Part-time work can be completed during breaks at your full-time job.

• ~~If you already work a full-time job, some of this part-time work might be able to be performed at your full-time job?

For example, a receptionist whose only job is to answer a switchboard at work might be able to write articles or do research in between calls. An office clerk could work on online projects during breaks of lunchtime, and then finish up projects once he or she gets home. Because of this, this guide works well even for those who have full-time jobs and are looking for part-time side jobs during their off hours.

• Babysitting
• Selling on Auction Sites (eBay, Bidz.com)
• Transcription Work
• Lawn & Garden Care
• Odd Jobs / Handyman/woman
• Selling Arts & Crafts
• Delivering Newspapers

If you needi part-time income, it's important to determine if you want to work inside the home or outside of the home. Finding a part-time job outside of the home is as easy as applying for positions that are open, the same as you would for a full-time job. You can apply for positions from the newspaper classifieds, online job posting boards, employer advertising, etc.

If, however, you're wanting lucrative part-time work while you work from the comfort of your own home, this guide will help you with ideas for how to find lucrative part time work from home.

Freelancing is a booming industry, with more virtual jobs now than any other time in history. If you have moderate computer skills and a valuable knowledge in a particular field, you might be able to secure projects on freelance bidding sites or freelance job board sites that you can do in your spare time at home from your home computer.

Bidding sites like Elance, Guru, oDesk and more offer home or office workers an opportunity to bid on projects. If you bid on a project and the buy selects your work, you then have the agreed upon time to complete the project and the buyer pays you the agreed upon price. If the buyer likes your work, he or she might ask you to do other projects or will give you positive feedback, making it easier for you to secure additional bids in the future.

There are many web content writing sites that accept articles and how-to instructional guides from freelancers. These sites will sometimes pay upfront payments per writing or will pay revenue share or page views, or a combination of all three payment styles.

These web content sites are great for part-time work, because you don't need any writing experience or background. A working knowledge of the English language is a plus, as is a moderate understanding of basic grammar and spelling. Web content writing lets you work part time from home or anywhere you have access to a computer and can be quite lucrative if you understand search engine optimization and keywording.

There are companies online that offer part-time jobs to work from home with your own phone line and computer and to take incoming calls for their companies. You would need your own phone line without call waiting, a quiet house or quiet room in the house, and a computer to log and track the calls and your time spent on the calls.

You could also work on web content writing or bidding on freelance bid sites while you are waiting for calls to come in. Do a search on the internet for these types of jobs and be sure to read any reviews or feedback to ensure the companies are legitimate.

You can either purchase a domain or use one of the free ad-free hosting platforms or blogging platforms to create your online resume and portfolio. List on that website work experience you have and the type of work you'd like to perform part time for the employer. You can then use that portfolio and online resume when searching for online jobs, and employers can also come across your website or portfolio and contact you if they are interested in your part-time professional services.