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Need Cash? Renting Out Your Car -- Or Disco Ball -- May Be The Answer

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Need a car for a day, or a weekend? Talk to Kristin Campbell. She rents hers out all the time.

"I've had several really positive rental experiences," she says.

She just lists it as available on snapgoods.com, one of a growing number of web sites that allow owners to post their possessions for rent. You can find anything from cars to cameras -- to disco balls.

"If you're the person who owns the items, the ability to deflate costs on something that you spent a good deal of money on is great, particularly if you're not using it," Ron J. Williams, CEO and co-founder of SnapGoods, says.

People have started to figure out that spending a ton of money on something they may only need every now and then is no longer practical. 

 "If I don't have to buy a $15,000 HD red (camera), and instead can get it for 500 bucks for the week or the day or whatever, I win, you win," Williams says.

And it's not just stuff you can rent out. At Park At My House, you can make money off your driveway or extra lot  (the United Kingdom-based website links to U.S. listings via a pulldown menu).

"It's really popular if you live near a ball park or a stadium," Kyle Taylor, founder of ThePennyHoarder.com, says.

There's also a site called storeatmyhouse.com, through which people rent extra closet or attic space. At singlespotcamping.com, you can rent out your back yard to campers.

It's definitely not the stuff you would find in a neighborhood rental store.

"Some of these products have never been rentable before, so it's a whole new world," Williams says.

So what can you make by renting out your stuff? You could get more than $200 a month for a driveway, $300 for your car for a week or $20 for your Kitchen Aid mixer for the day.  

Kristin had so much success in renting out her stuff that she is now looking at renting something herself.

"I would consider renting things like a bike for the day," she says.

But you still need to follow some precautions. 

Be sure the site you rent your stuff through offers you protection in case something goes wrong. And check your own insurance policies and zoning laws to make sure it's OK to rent out your car or a parking space.

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