6 brilliant but unusual ways of making money around the world

Money, you always wish you had a bit more — to buy that fancy dress or a new gadget, to save more for your vacation or a cool dinner date, to pay off your debt faster or just feel more laid back about your whole personal financial situation.

The nine-to-fiver schedule is usually work, eat, sleep and repeat, with some random activities in between. The overall pattern is often the same, so there's not enough time to start something on the side. Yet there are many unusual ways people are making money. But unusual doesn't necessarily mean weird, but just not conventional. How would you like to make some extra cash just doing some random things you meant to do without much effort.

Obviously, the easy tasks don't pay much. But, if it's something that pays repetitively for the same task, you can rack up some extra pocket cash.

Here are six simple yet effective and creative ways to make money on the side.

Stream video games

If you enjoy playing video games, stream them! You can set up streaming pretty easily from an Xbox One, a PS4 or a PC and stream out your games. You can get OBS for free to stream from your computer. You can also record commentary as you play if you have a microphone and, in my experience, that's the best way to build an audience is through fun commentary as you're playing. Remember, you don't need to be competitively skilled. You just need to be interesting enough to engage audience and creative enough to handle a YouTube channel or Facebook page. Then after a point you can earn money for your videos.

Sell stock photographs

This is an interesting way to earn for photography enthusiasts. Simply take interesting photos and then upload them to a stock photography site like iStockPhoto. They'll take care of the rest. Over time, some of your images will be sold and used in publications and in other places and when that happens, you'll earn a bit of income. There are many, many websites for this like Shutterstock, BigStockPhoto and so on. Almost all of them have arrangements for photographers to sell their images.

Renting a friend

Yes, friend renting is a thing. There are people who rent themselves out for all sorts of reasons. They attend different types of events and engagements. But It is not the people who hire themselves out that seem unusual. Many people would be up for hanging out with someone for $50 an hour. It's the people who hire them who are a bit of a head scratcher. Rentafriend.com is a popular website from where one can rent any kind of friend, from phone friends to pen friend. But there are some strict rules in this website which make it more ethical.

Korean "Mukbang"

There is a phenomenon in Korea where people record themselves eating. However, they consume an unusually large portion of food, even by American standards. They do this sometimes over the course of a few hours, while commenting on it all. They sit, eat, talk, and then chat with viewers who are watching them. Supposedly, the top paid Mukbang earned in the realm of $300,000 in a year. Just for eating and talking.

Selling your own hair

While all hair can make some money, there are some hair types that can be a cash cow. If a particular hair type is in demand, it can fetch a lot of money. There are many websites in the US and UK that provide a marketplace for hair, making it easy to find a way to reach people looking to purchase your hair. Even in Bangladesh, people sell hair to many organization and individuals. If you're looking to make a difference however, you can donate your hair for a good cause. Many people donate their hair to a charity to help medical patients with alopecia or cancer who have lost their hair.

Professional mourner

You've probably come across someone who has a natural gift for mourning. If you can cry on a dime, you should consider this lucrative side gig. Some people make money by attending funerals and wakes. They will pretend like they're mourning. It's a popular career in some rural parts of our neighboring country India. It's actually a very old occupation that derived from the Mediterranean cultures as well as other parts of the world. A professional mourner is known as a moirologist.  Even though this profession does not exist in Bangladesh, it sounds interesting.