GetRichSlowly.org, a terrific personal finance blog, has a recent post about how you can make money by participating in just a few hours of medical research or other types of studies that pay you for a small amount of your time and effort.

While not a reliable source of income, finding a few studies to be a part of every now and then can be a nice little bonus. The article leads off talking about a recent experience involving participation in a neuroeconomics study and getting paid $120 for about 90 minutes of time (not including what turned out to be a lengthy commute).

The article goes on to talk about other ways to supplement your regular income and also provides ideas for how to find these opportunities. Also included in the post is a link to an interesting article written by Donna Freedman for MSN. Donna notes:

“If you’ve set a specific goal – paying down credit card debt, saving toward a $500 emergency fund – consider taking on a side job or two. The advantage of these occasional gigs is that they’re, well, occasional.”

Donna goes on to talk about various quick and easy ways to add to your income from time to time, such as:

Be a mystery shopper (Donna offers tips on how you can become one)

Participate in medical studies (similar to GetRichSlowly, Donna explains how you can find these opportunities)

Be a residence/apartment manager (can reduce your rent for what typically amounts to a relatively small amount of work)

Babysitting (she explains how it can be very little work – while also rewarding – for a little extra cash on the side)

Photo credit: Editor B