In The News: Unusual — and legal — ways to make money (From CNN.com)

We’re all feeling the financial pinch. CNN.com has a great story about three unusual (and legal) ways that people are making money. Check it out:

(CNN) — Desiré Henriksen feared that there would be no Christmas for her two boys. She had lost her job at Denny’s, where she worked the graveyard shift. Her fiancé, who works as a glazier, was having a hard time finding regular work. And the couple fell behind on the mortgage last month.

So Henriksen, of Phoenix, Arizona, cut her hair and sold it on the Internet to a hair trader in the Netherlands.

“Everyone was telling me how beautiful my hair was,” the 27-year-old said. Her friends suggested that she sell it.

“I thought, ‘Why not? I’ll check it out,’ ” she said.

“We’re trying to keep our place here,” she said. “We don’t want to become like people right now who are losing their homes.”

With the economy squeezing the budgets of more Americans, some people are looking for creative ways to pay their monthly bills. Selling hair on the Internet is just one of those unusual methods.

“We’ve seen about a 20 percent increase in the last four months,” said Jacalyn Elise, co-founder of TheHairTrader.com, referring to the number of ads offering hair for sale posted on her site. “These days, some people are just in need of money.”

Henriksen was paid $1,200 for 27 inches of her tresses. But most hair is sold for about $300 to $900, says Marlys Fladeland of Hairwork.com. The hair is used to make wigs or hair extensions or is used in artwork. READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE