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If you could use some extra money, you’re by no means alone. Over 44 million Americans have a side hustle. Extra hours or side jobs are common for people that are still in school, working through debt, starting a career, transitioning between jobs, or feeding a family on a limited income. For most people, extra money has become a key component in making ends meet. For others extra money could help fund a trip, or be invested in their future.
Whatever your reasons may be for seeking extra money, we’ve got some ideas for you. If you have a full-time job and you’re looking to supplement your income, you may find our ways to make money in your spare time particularly helpful. If you’re replacing your full-time income, consider applying for one of the currently in-demand jobs, or try out the jobs and tasks below until you find the one that works best for you.
Whether it’s handmade products or items you already have at home, there are plenty of ways to sell things online. For handmade products, you can try out cheap or free DIY projects and sell them when you’re done. Garden or display items, beauty products like soaps and bath bombs, t-shirts, and jewelry are all good options. Many crafters make a full-time living selling on sites like Etsy. For items taking up space in your closet, try listing them on PoshMark (clothes), OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace (everything else).
If you’re not crafty and you have few items you’re willing to part with, you can find cheap or free items to flip. Depending on your budget, start by shopping thrift stores or tag sales for items that can be resold at a higher profit. People who are eager to move or get rid of old items often price things just to get rid of them rather than looking into what they’re worth. Websites like Craigslist also have free pages, so you can snag items at no cost and sell them for a profit. Many people have had success with reselling flipped furniture.
No matter what skills you have, there’s a place where you can sell them. Websites like Fiverr and Upwork are great for writing, editing, and design work. On Fiverr, you can offer just about anything. If you have a strange skill, don’t think that this will eliminate you from the running. Funny impersonations and wacky drawings are also welcome.
Math, science, computer, and English tutors are always in high demand. If you’re skilled in these areas (or others), you can make money tutoring online or in person. Use Indeed.com or Care.com to find local tutoring opportunities.
Resume and cover letter writing and editing is a timeless way to make money. People have always needed guidance in this area before and they likely always will, especially with so many people heading back to the workforce in coming months. You can use Upwork or Fiverr to offer these services, or even make a post on LinkedIn or Facebook that you are offering these services. Take it a step further by offering college essay guidance for an additional fee.
TaskRabbit connects people who are looking for extra money with people in the area that need help with a variety of chores. You can pick up groceries or dry cleaning, clean out gutters, complete small renovations, and much more. If you’re good with your hands, this is a great option.
In recent years, dog lovers have been thrilled to see services like Rover popping up. Through this app (and others), you can make money by walking dogs in the neighborhood. You can earn even more by offering boarding for a night or two when their owners are going out of town. You’re essentially getting paid just to get some exercise and play with a cute pet!
In 2018, 1.68 million print and e-books were self-published. Publishing books, short stories, poems, guides, and more has become incredibly easy in recent years. Amazon’s KDP program lets you self-publish for free and you’ll keep most of the profits. It doesn’t need to be a lengthy novel, either. It can be as little as 6,000 words.
Uber and Lyft are popular ride-sharing companies with minimal requirements. If you have a clean driving record, a relatively new car, and an interest in meeting new people, this might be the one for you. This one is also very flexible, so it’s ideal for people who have other obligations.
Depending on where you live, you can use services like PostMates, GrubHub, Uber Eats, or DoorDash to deliver food. Busy office workers, parents stuck at home with small kids, and others who simply don’t want to cook dinner will always order food. See this as an opportunity to make money whenever you want to.
When a homeowner has an upcoming business trip or vacation and no one to watch their home, you can offer your services. You’ll get paid and you’ll also get to enjoy a night (or weekend or week) away without spending a penny. Try Trusted House Sitters or Mind My House to get started. And different from dog walking that was mentioned previously, there may also be a need for pet sitting. Home pet sitters are often more affordable than sending a dog away to a doggie daycare.
If you don’t have any marketable skills, take some time to learn one! Calligraphy is one example of a profitable skill. Brides and grooms will pay a pretty penny for beautiful, hand-written wedding invitations. This is a great skill to have for other events, too. You can sell your services on websites like Fiverr or Etsy.
When you’re going away for the weekend, where do you look first? If you’re like most people, the answer is Airbnb. Join the growing movement of people renting out their spare rooms or basement spaces to earn extra cash.
There are apps you can use to earn extra money in a ton of different ways. Some will give you points for playing games (Mistplay), others for answering services (Survey Junky), and several will pay out in gift cards for scanning grocery and other receipts (Ibotta, Fetch Rewards, Receipt Hog, and more). You can use these gift cards to pay for necessities and other items.
Market research is a great way to earn quick money for little work. Companies are always looking for opinions from consumers. You can provide it in focus groups, polls, surveys, or discussion groups, and get paid, too. Focusgroup.com is one of the more popular options.
It doesn’t matter if your voice is soothing, rugged, quiet, or loud. There are needs for voice-over work everywhere. Think about all of the radio ads and TV commercials that are constantly circulating. Voices.com is a platform where you can audition for and perform voice-over work on a wide variety of projects. You will also often see posts in need of voice-over artists on freelance platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr.
All of the photos currently taking up space on your iPhone can be used to generate some passive income. You can sell your photos on sites like ShutterStock and Etsy. If you’re really good and you’ve got professional equipment, find people that could use your services (at a discount until you build a following) at their weddings, engagements, or birthdays.
We’ve all seen a car or two driving around with a company logo or a law firm’s contact information on the side. Websites like Carvertise will connect you with companies that want people to act as driving advertisements. If you qualify (you’ll need to average a certain number of driving miles per week), you’ll get paid each month just to leave a car wrap on your car. And if you offer ride-sharing services, you should not have an issue hitting those qualifying miles.
We had the right idea when we were kids. Few people enjoy or have the time to mow the lawn, plant flowers, shovel snow, or wash their car. Why not offer to do it for them?
If you don’t mind cleaning and organizing, you can always find someone who doesn’t want to do it themselves. Use Fiverr, Amazon’s Home Services, or create your own website to market your services. You can also use social media to make connections. There will always be someone who’d rather pay up than clean out the basement, organize the garage, or tidy up.