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Now, money for jam: how you can make hundreds, even thousands of dollars a month, renting out stuff you'd probably never thought about.

We live in great times to make a buck. In the last few months, we've been doing pretty well. Opportunities exist now that weren't around just a few years ago. I'm earning a little bit of extra money at the same time, which is great.

They call it the shared economy. Over a year, it's a bit over three and a half grand. And transactions that connect buyers and sellers.

We've all heard of or used Uber or Airbnb, but now there are so many more business ideas coming out nearly every week that all of us could jump onto this lucrative money spinner and supplement our income.

Tonight, we follow four different groups renting their wares or services and see how much they make—and perhaps what you could make in a month. Oh, and save the world.

What a great way not to throw more junk into this world. What a great way to recycle things that we do have and give it to someone else, give it new life—and make money out of it.

Hazel had so much baby gear from her firstborn, and as it was going to be a while until number two, she decided to rent it out in between bubs.

"Wow, so you're making a profit." "I am, I am." "That's great." "Otherwise, this would have all been, what, in the attic or a room out the back?" "Yeah, definitely collecting dust in the garage."

The cot cost $100, but she's renting it for $20 a week. "So has it paid for itself?" "It has paid for itself and now I'm earning a profit."

Likewise, the pram. It's a rocker, so it's really good for newborn babies. And she's collecting $50 a month on the snazzy rocker, which has also paid itself off.

For a small commission, the online company Kindershare covers her insurance, marketing and bookings. And its founder, Vanuid Nazarian, says it works for both the owner and renter.

"It really helps them with space, but it also helps with money as well. I mean, you don't want to drop $500 on something that you're only going to use for two weeks."

Speaking of space, Alan had a garage he wasn't using. Then he heard about Spacer.

"Took a few photos of it, set my rates, set the location, and then literally within a week had someone moving in here."

Spacer puts owners and renters of garages, carports or spare rooms in contact with each other for a small cut.

"Because they fully cover me with insurance, if there's any issues on the renter not paying me on time, they step in."

We'll tell you how much he makes in a moment, but he's using it himself to help fund a few trips with the missus.

Paul and Cynthia love dogs, so babysitting them and getting paid for it was a double bonus.

Even the locals know—every time they've got a new dog, "Oh, it's another one today. Oh, it's another one this week," you know.

Kennels can cost up to $100 a night for owners, but these two get around $30 a night from the online company Madpaws.

But it's constant—with walkies, feeding and playing. "It's fun." "Picking up dog poops." "It's fun, it's fun, it's fun."

Susanna has had some fun days with all her dresses, but her better ones she's only wearing once or twice a year, so you guessed it.

"This top cost $350 and I've got it rented for $65 for four days. I've probably hired her out about five times, so it's almost paid itself off."

With the online business The Vault, her designer clothes that cost between $300 and $1,200 are working for her, rather than her working to buy them.

"This dress here is quite popular for weddings."

Fifteen hundred Aussies are now using this service, which also covers her insurance and dry cleaning.

"The most profitable time using The Vault would be around spring racing, just due to the fact it's nicer weather and there are more events on and people are having weddings."

So last month, how much did our savvy four make out of the gear or space they weren't using, or the services they loved giving?

Hazel earned $200 for stuff that would have been in the garage.

Susanna raked in $500, but she had plenty of walks to the post box to send off dresses and to the dry cleaners.

Alan got $300 and he didn't have to lift a finger for a month—except for the first time, when he lifted ten of them to open the door.

And Cynthia and Paul made over a grand, but gee, they had to pick up a hell of a lot of—you know what.

Turn your car into a billboard—Rapley will wrap it and give you up to $600 a month for advertising as you do your normal day's driving.

And when you're not using your caravan, camper home or trailer, Camplify will rent it out for you, with some owners reporting they're earning $40,000 a year on something that would be sitting in the front yard.

But there are implications.

Yes, Money Magazine editor Effie Zahos says part of your new earned money may also belong to someone else.

"You must declare this as income. You've got to work out, am I an enterprise? Do I have to pay GST? These are things you need to consider, and have I put it into my tax statements as well? Because believe me, even if you haven't, the ATO knows exactly what you are earning."

But that's not all bad. On the good side, there's a lot of deductions you could possibly be up for as well.

And remember, these new online businesses are as much for customers as they are for owners or service providers.

If I buy an expensive tool for those once-a-year jobs, there's Toolmates Hire—hire from someone in your suburb.

Get a group of friends and rent from Get My Boat. Pretend you're rich like the guy who owns it.

And do the same and have a five-star treatment on a plane. That's Airly.

And if you thought about Airbnb but didn't want the hassles, now there's Airsorted, who'll manage it and clean it.

There's a whole new world of money-making opportunities on the web out there.

So I find The Vault a great way of earning a little bit of extra money without doing much work.

But keep in mind—even if it's a car space, capital gains tax may be applicable.

So it's always a balancing thing—you're going to make some money but you've got to pay some money out.

There's more on that story on our homepage.