Regardless of whether you're looking for full-time income or just some extra money on the side, there are plenty of ways to make money while working from home. There are many benefits to making money from home, such as having the flexibility to make your own schedule and enjoy a strong work-life balance.

Reviewing ideas for how to make money at home can help you determine which you're most interested in pursuing. In this article, we discuss 95 ideas on how to make money at home.

How to make money at home

Here are 20 ideas that you may want to consider for how to make money at home:

1. Become a virtual assistant

A virtual assistant is someone who provides administrative services to clients from a remote location, such as a home office. Virtual assistants handle a variety of different responsibilities for their clients, including making travel plans, performing online research and checking emails.

Read more:How To Become a Virtual Assistant

2. Pet sitting

If you enjoy animals, then you may want to consider pet sitting. This is a good way to earn money directly from your own home. You will need to invest in marketing and commercial insurance. You may also want to speak with an accountant or bookkeeper as well as a lawyer to discuss liability.

3. Sell your own items online

Survey your home and look for items that you no longer use. You can then list those items on different e-commerce sites to find buyers. To get the best sales, it's important to take clear, high-resolution photos of your pieces. Perform research online to find how much similar items are being sold for and then price your own items competitively.

4. Tutor students online

Leverage your experience in specific subjects or your SAT or ACT knowledge to offer online tutoring to students. Promote your services in area schools and find students who have a need for your services. You can only apply to work for established online tutoring services.

Read more:Learn About Being a Tutor

5. Start a blog

If there's a topic that you're particularly interested in, you could start a blog and promote it on social media to attract an audience who wants to learn about that topic. If you draw a large enough audience with your blog, you can make money from advertising.

Read more:How To Start a Blog

6. Sell services online

There are lots of online sites where specialists can offer their services on a contract or per-project basis. Some different types of services you could offer are graphic design, website design, link building, programming, animation or video creation.

7. Create sales funnels

Many businesses use automated sales funnels to promote and sell their products and services. That said, many other business owners are unaware of how sales funnels could help grow their business. Consider starting your own business selling sales funnels. There are a lot of tools you could use to build them at a low cost.

8. Sell consulting services

Another way to make money online while working from home is through consulting. If you're particularly skilled in a certain field, you may be able to find people who would pay you to offer them advice on their business or personal goals. One way to show others how much knowledge you have to offer is to launch and promote your own blog.

You can use social media to promote your content for a low cost or even for free. After gaining a few clients, you may be able to rapidly grow your business through word-of-mouth marketing. You can meet with clients virtually and schedule those appointments at times that meet your own needs.

9. Launch an online store

E-commerce is very popular right now. While major e-commerce retailers have the majority of the market share, consumers are also looking for great deals online. Consider launching a sales funnel for yourself to drive traffic and buyers to your products and services.

10. Sell your expertise by offering webinars

Webinars are a great way to sell your products, as they are highly effective and follow a specific format and template. Once you learn how to deliver effective webinars, you can achieve great success in this space, delivering enormous value for your attendees and demonstrating how much additional value they would receive if they purchased your product or service.

11. Manage the social media accounts of small businesses

Small businesses often need help managing their social media profiles and many prefer to pay someone to help for only a few hours per week, as opposed to having someone managing social media full time.

Learn about the different social media sites and identify one or two that you want to specialize in. Then identify a specific industry that you want to work in. Finally, reach out to different businesses in your area who you recognize you can most help.

12. Create online courses

If you have a marketable skill that others would be interested in mastering for themselves, then consider making your own online course. There are many sites that you can use to build your course. However, once it's created and launched, online courses can be a great source of passive income.

13. Sell affiliate marketing offers

Affiliate marketing is an easy way to earn income by selling the products and services that other people create, particularly if you have a website with a large amount of quality traffic already. There are a number of websites available that promote affiliate offers. Take the time to understand your audience and what they're most interested in and then search to identify the right offer and present it to your audience.

14. Launch a podcast

A podcast is another great method for sharing your expertise with an audience. The key to success with a podcast is to find a specific niche and then providing them with great content to grow your audience. Once you have built a large audience and are receiving a large number of downloads per episode, you can then look for ways to monetize your podcast, such as selling advertisements.

While you may have to do some research in order to learn how to create, edit and promote a podcast, if you are an expert on a particular topic, it's an idea that's worth considering.

15. Get a babysitting job

Babysitting is another great option for making money from home. Word-of-mouth referrals are a great way to get started babysitting, although there are also a number of websites that you can use to promote your babysitting services for free. To make yourself more appealing to families, you may want to consider getting relevant certifications, such as a CPR certification.

16. Test websites

Another way to make money from home is by using sites that pay you for your insight into how well a specific website worked. In most cases, you have to pass a test to be accepted and then you will be paid for each test you perform. You may even have the option of earning additional compensation to participate in a video discussion with the customer after completing the test.

17. Perform data entry

If you have quick and accurate typing skills, then you may want to consider taking an online data entry job. These positions can usually be performed easily online and can offer consistent income.

18. Work as a freelance writer

Companies are often aiming for high-quality content to boost their ranking in search engines. If you have strong writing skills, this may be a path that you want to consider. If you don't have an online portfolio with published writing already, you may want to consider offering to write a few pieces for free in order to build a portfolio

19. Offer proofreading services

If you enjoy reading, you may want to consider a job as a freelance proofreader. Depending on whether you have a degree currently, you may want to consider investing in a proofreading course to earn credibility with potential clients. You could offer your services to independent clients or even search for companies hiring full-time proofreaders.

20. Rent out a room in your home

Listing a spare bedroom on a vacation rental website can provide easy income that you can make at home. It is important to spend time keeping your property and home clean. To ensure you maintain 100% occupancy, consider renting your home on multiple different sites.

Make sure the rooms are fully furnished and include the cost of utilities and perhaps even breakfast in the rental price. You may also want to consider upgrading your internet service to offer the fastest possible internet speed for guests.

Other ideas for how to make money at home

Here are 65 other ideas that you may want to consider as you look for ways to make money at home:

1. Build and then monetize an online community through a membership or product sales

2. Participate in online surveys

3. Sign up for free gift cards online

4. Rate pizzas online

5. Review products

6. Create a website, generate traffic and collect leads to sell to other companies or individuals

7. Work for online retailers

8. Earn commissions as an online travel agent

9. Sell lesson plans

10. Rent your clothes online

11. Offer calligraphy services for wedding invitations, cards and other stationery

12. Play games online and compete for rewards

13. Participate in an online focus group

14. Sell your used books online

15. Write and sell a book

16. Sell social media posts or ads on social media accounts or a blog

17. Evaluate search engines by performing searches, analyzing the results and giving feedback to the search engines based on the relevance of the search results

18. Create videos and earn money through advertising

19. Offer at-home daycare

20. Provide transcriptionist services

21. Rent your music equipment or studio space

22. Sell baked goods

23. Rent your parking space

24. Buy items from a flea market or yard sale, restore them and sell them online

25. Sell your old cell phone

26. Shop online and earn cash for your purchases

27. Sell your troubleshooting skills

28. Sell your own photography on stock photo sites

29. Fill out online surveys

30. Start a dog walking business

31. Launch a virtual bookkeeping business

32. Offer political advocacy services

33. Sell translation services on freelance platforms

34. Sell your crafts online

35. Obtain a remote technical support role

36. Start an at-home alteration of custom sewing business

37. Sell your unused space as storage space for people who want to pay less than the cost of a storage unit

38. Rent out a room in your home

39. Rent out your car to travelers or people who don't own their own vehicle

40. Rent your driveway, parking space or street slot

41. Sell your gently used clothing

42. Trade in electronics for cash

43. Sell unused gift cards

44. Test mobile applications

45. Become a social media influencer

46. Sign up as an online mystery shopper

47. Work virtually for a company

48. Grow and sell your own produce

49. Become a voice-over artist

50. Create your own mobile application

51. Teach online music lessons

52. Design and sell t-shirts online

53. Create video reviews

54. Pursue a medical coding and billing position

55. Manage a website

56. Offer online or social media advertising services

57. Offer search engine optimization services

58. Start a mini salon in your home

59. Invest in real estate

60. Participate in online market research

61. Create and sell woodworking projects

62. Fix search engine mistakes

63. Sell your junk mail

64. Cook for special occasions

65. Create an audiobook

66. Get paid to exercise

67. Perform meal preparation for others

68. Create a dropshipping business

69. Create and sell access to an online course

70. Teach yoga online

71. Online market trading

72. Review music for money

73. Sell your notes

74. Buy and sell domain names

75. Work as a charity collector

In a bind? Need some fast cash? We're talking here about small bursts of capital, not millions of dollars -- enough to satisfy your monthly obligations or get that nagging creditor to stop calling you.

Shutterstock

None of the 32 strategies listed here to get some money quickly will break the proverbial bank. Some are easier than others, but nearly all require very little to no capital. They are meant to get you through the difficult times.

Related: 2 Ways to Make Money Online This Month

Some of these strategies to make extra money will require you to be in certain locales, while others are location-independent, but it all boils down to being resourceful. We've all found ourselves in a tight spot at one point in our lives or another, but to the person who's committed, anything is possible. 

Much of this has to do with mindset. When you lack money, scarcity thinking sets in. The scarcity mindset is negative and thinks that there's never enough of whatever it is to go around. When you find yourself thinking like that, do everything in your power to move into an abundant mindset. 

Our thoughts are incredibly powerful. We have upwards of 60,000 thoughts per day, many deep within our subconscious mind, much of which are repeated. We have to be stewards of our thoughts. Once you find yourself thinking negatively, you need to jar yourself out of that.

When you're looking to make money fast, you're often in a tough spot financially, even desperate to make ends meet, but everything that we have and everything that we become is partly born from our thoughts. Think and you shall become. Curate and cultivate the right thoughts if you want to live an abundant life.

The psychology of making money. 

Regardless if you need to earn some fast cash or we're just talking about making money in the grand scheme of things, there's an important psychology that needs to be mentioned before getting into the strategies. If you study Freud's model of the mind, you'll discover the Psychic Apparatus. It's the three-part construct in your mind that controls all of your behavior.

Those three are the id, the super-ego and the ego. The id lives deep within the subconscious from birth. It's the source of our sudden and most instinctive urges. When you find yourself doing what you know you shouldn't, blame your id. 

The super-ego is formed later in life to balance the id. It forms and breaks off from the id through our upbringing, parental guidance and our sense of community and beliefs. People who are careful with their money can thank their super-ego.

The ego is the driver making the decisions. It decides between the devil (the id) and the angel (the super-ego) on either shoulder (yes, all those cartoons you've ever seen are partly true). We have voices in our mind, and it's up to the ego to decide which one to fulfill. Its goal is to satisfy the id in some way while also attending to the super-ego.

Get-rich-quick schemes and fad weight-loss diets are naturally popular because they satisfy the id while also attending to the super-ego. The ego's job is complete when it sees something like this. The appeal of "fast'' stems from the innate desire for instant gratification, so beware of what seems too good to be true (they often are) when you're looking to make money quickly. Be wary. Listen to the conversation deep within the confines of your mind and do your best to tame the proverbial beasts.

What are the best ways to make money right away? While a search online when you're in need of some fast cash will produce millions of results, not all will be legitimate. It's up to you to filter through the so-called noise. These 32 strategies will help put you in the black, even if it's in a very small way. Once you are, resume planning and focusing on the bigger picture. 

Related: How to Make a Fortune With $100

1. Money-making strategy: Drive for Uber or Lyft

Companies like Uber and Lyft offer a great opportunity to make some quick cash. You'll need a clean driving record, a fairly new car and the authorization to work wherever it is that you live. If you have all of those things, you can work when it's feasible for you, whether that's in the middle of the day during rush hour, or in the wee hours of the night on a weekend. The choice is yours.

2. Money-making strategy: Become a market research participant

In college I participated in loads of market research. It's fairly quick money for not a lot of work. Companies looking for consumers' opinions on a variety of products and services put you in a room to garner your opinion. That's it.

This often involves writing or stating your opinion, answering polls or surveys, or breaking off in a discussion group. The mechanics don't matter much. The point is that you can rely on it from time to time. Focusgroup.com is just one company that is looking for participants.

Related: 6 Things You Must Quit Doing Now If You Want to Be More Successful

3. Money-making strategy: Sell old books and games on Amazon

Amazon makes it fairly easy to list and sell old books, games and devices on its marketplace. You can make more than just a few bucks If you have pricey textbooks from college. Be sure the books are in good condition. You'll get negative reviews if you attempt to sell books that are falling apart or games that are scratched up. Remember, be upfront about any defects, no matter how small they might be and no matter how few people might readily notice it. 

4. Money-making strategy: Sell, or resell, used tech on Craigslist

The market for used electronics is vast. You can use Craigslist to part ways with your old iPhone or your MacBook. You can grab a premium for these types of electronics. Some people even flip items by buying them and reselling them.

You could also use a website like Gazelle to sell your used phones, no matter what kind you have. Companies like that have made an entire business model out of buying used phones and refurbishing them. Either way, you can expect to get a fair bit of money relatively quickly if you have these items laying around your house.

Related: 4 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Small Business

5. Money-making strategy: Do tasks with TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit lets you tap into an existing marketplace of people looking for help locally with chores. The tasks aren't always small. This platform (along with others) offers bigger tasks, such as home renovations, as well.

Amazon is getting into the task business with Amazon Home Services. The services listed range from very small repairs to larger and more involved tasks that would take considerably more effort.

6. Money-making strategy: Deliver for PostMates

You can earn some cash when you're in dire straits by using PostMates, and you don't even need a car, just a bike for deliveries in busier cities and downtown centers. I've used it often to get food from specialty places that don't deliver themselves, but it can be used for many things. 

PostMates states on their website that you could earn up to $25/hour doing deliveries. You could also earn some tips in the process so it's a great option for people that are looking to do something in their spare time, similar to the big ride-sharing apps that are hogging up app stores everywhere.

Related: 5 Ways to Make Enough Side Money to Eventually Quit Your Job

7. Money-making strategy: Flip real estate contracts

Ir you're thinking this is cost prohibitive, it's not. You can flip real estate contracts without ever taking possession of the property. This isn't a fixer-upper endeavor, just securing a contract and selling it to an interested party. That's it.

You can do this with just a few hundred dollars in most cases to open up escrow. There are companies dedicated to teaching how to do this like REWW. It's good for making a little bit of money, but is also potentially something more long term as well. 

Related: 8 Ways Real Estate Is Your Smartest Investment

8. Money-making strategy: Sell on CafePress or Etsy

If you can design digital items, you can sell them for a share of the profits on a site like CafePress. You can do this with nothing more than some design software. They can include custom logos, inspirational sayings and other topical or trending designs appealing to the masses.

You could hire a designer to assist you with this, but you still need to come up with the ideas. This works best if you understand design yourself but requires no overhead. Items are printed and delivered on-demand. You simply receive a share of the proceeds. Similarly, you could sell items on Etsy as well.

9. Money-making strategy: Answer questions on JustAnswer

People looking for expertise online. JustAnswer (and several sites like it) allow doctors, lawyers, engineers and others with enhanced knowledge to earn a small income merely answering questions from people who would otherwise have to pay a hefty sum for those answers.

This platform is a great resource for people. It's also lucrative (for the time spent) if you're looking to earn a bit of cash in a hurry. Don't expect to get rich answering questions, but you can generate a few bucks here or there if you're in a bind. 

10. Money-making strategy: Grab gigs on Fivver

No matter what type of service you offer, you can likely offer it Fivver. This is terrific for digital services such as graphic design, web design, short audio or video clip creation, editing services, writing and so on.

Fivver has expanded beyond just the $5-per-gig model. Fiverr Pro pools the best talent on its platform. Depending on your skills, you could do considerably well on here.

Related: 5 Ways Fiverr Jump-Started My Life as an Entrepreneur

11. Money-making strategy: Walk dogs

There are networks devoted connecting dog owners with dog walkers. Rover is one of the largest networks of dog walkers out there. Of course, you could also use social media or just knock on neighbors doors to advertise your services, but you can easily use one of these services.

Do a great job if you're serious about building a track record of solid reviews. That will help you make money in the future when you're in desperate need of it.

12. Money-making strategy: Babysitting with Care.com

You can easily do some babysitting when you need to make a few bucks quickly. Parents everywhere are always in need of babysitting and nanny services.

Websites like Care.com connect parents with babysitters. The company does all the background checking and other due diligence to put parents' minds at ease. Of course, you can appeal directly to people in your personal network, but if you're looking to generate recurring revenue sign up with a site marketing to parents looking for child care services.

13. Money-making strategy: Sell your photos

Have an eye for photography? Of course, you need to be good at this to earn any money but it you are, you can sell photos on ShutterStock or iStockPhoto (along with many others) to generate a passive income from something you might be very passionate about.

For a quicker way to earn by taking photos, solicit people looking for photographers to cover their wedding, engagement, child's birthday or any other life event. You'll need a good camera and some experience, but you can definitely earn some must-needed income this way no matter where you live.

14. Money-making strategy: Become a personal training

If you understand fitness, you could be a personal trainer. People pay good money for personal trainers, if only to have someone keep them on track towards their goals. You can add value while also helping yourself financially.

This could also break off into nutrition and assisting people with meal plans, and so on. You could solicit clients in your local gym, but depending on where you live, you might need some certification to do this (not to mention the gym's approval). You could also use a site like FitnessTrainer to advertise your services.

Related: This Entrepreneur Lives in the Back Room at a Gym While Building His Business

15. Money-making strategy: Tutor students

Parents are always willing to invest in their children's future. If you have a great deal of knowledge in subjects such as math, science or computers, you could tutor for cash.

Both Indeed.com and Care.com offer opportunities for tutoring local students. You could opt for either of these platforms or simply find your clients through your personal network or social media. 

16. Money-making strategy: Advertise for companies with a car wrap

Platforms like Carvertise connect brands and companies with drivers. The process is simple -- agree to turn your car into a roaming billboard for a price. If you qualify, you can earn a set monthly fee for advertising with your car. You won't have to pay anything to do this, but you'll need a clean driving record and a fairly new car.

You'll have to drive the car enough to be worth it for brands paying for your services. If you have all that, then you could make a bit of side-hustle income through this endeavor. 

Related: The 7 Toughest Startup Lessons You Don't Want to Learn the Hard Way

17. Money-making strategy: Help with home gardening

Offering your services as a local gardener could make you enough money quick enough to satisfy some pressing needs. There are loads of options from mowing lawns and pulling weeds to planning gardens and decor. If you pitch to enough neighbors, you'll find at least a few takers. It'll definitely be worth your while.

18. Money-making strategy: Take on housecleaning jobs

There's a variety of platforms online that you could tap into for doing this, or you could simply scour your neighborhood or post on social media. You could use Amazon's Home Services for this as well, or you could create your own simple, one-page website to advertise.

Either way, this is a terrific way to make upwards of $20 per hour or more doing a job that's often in high demand. You could easily make this a long-term gig if you perform well and don't cut corners.

Related: From $100 Million to Broke to Betting It All on Cryptocurrencies

19. Money-making strategy: Become a home organizer

You could easily do home organizing for people, an industry that has gained a lot of popularity since the debut of Netflix's hit series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. If you're a tidy and organized person yourself, and you're good at organizing spaces, why not offer your services to people around you? You'd be surprised at how many people, even on your own social media feed, might take you up on doing something like this.

Again, a site like Care.com also helps to connect home organizers with people looking for this type of service. It all depends on whether you want to go through a professional company or pitch it yourself to people that are already in your personal or business network.

Related: 8 Ways Any Millennial Can Be a Millionaire in 5 Years

20. Money-making strategy: Wash carpets

Rent a carpet cleaning machine at your local home improvement store, or buy one if you think you can get enough work doing this. You'll likely find lots of people need something like this, but haven't actively looked for the service.

You can wash carpets in the owner's homes, or have them steam-cleaned offsite, depending on the job and the trust you build with the owners.

21. Money-making strategy: Give blood

You can \make around $20 to $50 per donation of blood, depending if your blood type is rare or common. You can also donate plasma. Different states have different minimum requirements that must be paid when people donate plasma.

Plasma donations help people who are fighting Leukemia and other immune disorders. This is a bit more complicated and involved than donating blood but you won't get much more than donating blood.

22. Money-making strategy: Decorate homes for the holidays

Whether it's New Year's, Christmas lighting, Easter, Fourth of July or any other holiday, you can get paid to help decorate homes. This might involve putting up lights inside or outside, decorating trees, setting up games and decor. 

Use the internet and social media to find clients, or simply advertise to your local network. There are loads of options when it comes to doing specialty jobs like this. 

Related: 50 Ideas for a Lucrative Side Hustle

23. Money-making strategy: Participate in medical studies

If you don't mind throwing caution to the wind, consider becoming a participant in medical studies or drug trials. Companies pay a significant amount of money to participants. 

You'll need to find the companies conducting medial studies and expect side effects. If you can live with that, then you can definitely make some money fast without too much effort.

24. Money-making strategy: Rent a spare room on AirBnB

AirBnB can be a terrific platform for renting out a spare room. You can make some good money, especially if you live in a tourist destination. If you don't mind the neighbors, then this is definitely an option. You can crash with friends and family and rent out your entire house if you're really desperate.

Related: What You'll Really Earn on Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit Every Month

25. Money-making strategy: Do micro gigs on Mechanical Turk

Mechanical Turk is a platform by Amazon that allows you to do small jobs and get paid for it. But don't expect too much money out of this. These gigs truly are "micro" and range from a few cents to a few dollars at the most. But if you string several of these together, it might be in your benefit. 

You don't need any serious qualification to do this. Usually, this involves clicking on links, taking surveys, giving an opinion, doing some light categorizing or other human-intelligence tasks (HITs as they like to call it).

26. Money-making strategy: Sell vintage clothes at a thrift shop

You'll likely get paid by the pound but it's some money, so if you're in need, then why not -- especially if you have no use for those clothes anymore. This works best for things like maternity clothes, old children's clothes, clothes that you haven't worn in years or are simply out of style. 

27. Money-making strategy: Open a cash-bonus checking account

Check with your local bank to see if they're giving away cash bonuses for opening up accounts. Banks run promotions like this all the time, so grab some real cash quickly if you're in need. It won't break the bank (no pun intended) but it will give you a quick $50 or $100 -- maybe even more -- when you really need it. You might need to deposit a minimum amount of cash (usually in the thousands) in order to qualify for these types of accounts (but not always).

28. Money-making strategy: Get a small microloan

You can get a small business loan (very small) on Fundera, or Prosper if you're looking for a very small personal loan. Depending on your credit and your financial and employment situations, you can secure up to a few thousand dollars like this.

There are loads of platforms that offer these small microloans. You have to pay them back but it can help if you're in a bind.

29. Money-making strategy: Conduct a webinar

Okay, it sounds intimidating but webinars are one of the best ways to earn cash quickly. You're speaking to a highly-engaged audience. If you position yourself and the offer correctly, you can make loads of money in a very short period.

GoToWebinar is by far the biggest platform. Webinar Jam is one of the most feature-rich platforms out there. Whichever you go with comes down to how well you can sell. It takes practice, but this is fast cash at its essence.

Related: 12 Realistic Ways to Make Your First $1 Million

30. Money-making strategy: Wash or detail cars

People are always looking to have their cars washed and detailed. You could be a mobile car washer and detailer without having a permanent location. Reach out to people you know or make some flyers and put it in your neighbors' mailboxes. If you want to get serious about it, prop up a one-page website or give out business cards. You can make money quickly doing this.

31. Money-making strategy: Lead walking tours on Viator

If you live in a tourist locale, consider doing walking tours on Viator, which is one of the largest platforms for tour operators in the world. You'll really need to work hard to get a good reputation. To find clients quickly offer free tours and ask for tips at the end.

This is leveraging the principle of reciprocity with the power of free. People love to get things for free, but they feel obligated at the end to give something in return. That's why supermarkets are always giving away food. They know if you like it, you'll buy it. 

32. Money-making strategy: Pawn your valuables

If you're running on fumes, financially speaking, but you have some money coming your way soon, consider pawning something of value to borrow fast cash. Of course, to get those items back you'll need to pay back the loan with interest. If you don't pay it back in time, that you'll lose the item. If it's really something that has a lot of intrinsic value to you, don't do it. But if it's something that doesn't, you can certainly consider it depending on your situation.

Money / Side Gigs

Kativ / Getty Images

Whether you need to reel in your spending or just want to get ahead with your finances, consider picking up a side gig for extra cash flow. You can become a ride-share driver, take some online surveys, make deliveries for Amazon or leverage your unique skills to earn more.

Get Started: Make a Debt-Free Future Your Reality
More: Budgeting 101: How To Create a Budget You Can Live With

How To Make Money Fast

There are plenty of ways to quickly earn cash, whether you’re looking to make money in just a single day, online at home, or via a side hustle. Read on to learn about 19 of the best options that are available.

How To Make Money in One Day Without a Job

If you don’t have time to get a job — or you already have a job and you need some extra money on the side — take a look at how to make quick cash with some of the items around your home.

1. Sell Your Gently Used Items on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace

Do you have gently used items that you no longer want? If so, there probably is someone — or several someones — who gladly will pay you for them. Take a few photos, write a brief description and post your items for sale on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. You also can make a tidy profit by selling high-quality clothing and accessories on platforms such as Poshmark or Tradesy.

2. Trade In Old Gadgets and Electronics for Cash

To make quick cash with minimal effort, try trading in your old, unwanted electronics for cash. Here are some items to consider:

• Phones
• iPods
• Fitness trackers
• Tablets
• Game consoles
• Laptops

Buyback services will purchase old gadgets and electronics like these online. Some electronics buyback services include ItsWorthMore, Decluttr, Gazelle and Trademore. You can also use eBay and other third-party marketplaces to price your items appropriately and sell them independently.

3. Sell Unused Gift Cards

If you have unwanted gift cards gathering dust in a drawer, sell them. Sure, you might not get full face value for the cards, but it’s not like you’ll take a loss. Remember, you didn’t buy them. So, it’s essentially free money in your pocket.

Sell unused gift cards on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or eBay. Or, visit sites such as CardCash to see how much you can sell your gift card for and make the sale in just a few clicks. You also can offer gift cards on your social media accounts to see if there are any takers.

Read: 35 Useless Expenses You Need To Slash From Your Budget Now
Find Out: 17 Biggest Budgeting Mistakes You’re Making

How To Make Money Online at Home

If you want to make decent money without the 9-to-5 grind, there are easy ways to score cash online. You won’t get rich quickly, but you could make as much as you would with a regular job. Here are some ways to earn money fast online.

4. Work as a Freelancer

Fiverr is a great place for first-time freelancers looking to build experience and their portfolios. From logo design and animation to editing and voice-over work, you can find tasks suited to your skills. Prices start at $5 per project.

Once you accumulate feedback, referrals and experience, you can start charging much more. Some people have taken their Fiverr gigs full time, with jobs paying as much as $10,000 per project, according to the company’s website.

5. Be an Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate marketing involves sharing products online and earning a commission by joining one or more affiliate programs, such as Amazon Associates, ClickBank or ShareASale. You’ll earn by promoting and selling those products through your blog or social media channels.

According to Affise, a performance marketing platform for advertisers, low-level affiliates can earn up to $300 a day, while high-level affiliates can earn up to $3,000 a day.

Affiliate marketing can be an entire career — not just a side hustle — based on passive income, which is as close as most people are ever going to get to free money.

6. Sell Digital Products

• Depends on the pricing of products and units sold

Digital products can be sold through a number of marketplaces, many of which also handle physical sales: WordPress blogs, eBay and Etsy are a few popular options to sell courses, artwork, printables and more.

According to Oberlo, it’s estimated that there will be 2.14 billion global digital buyers in 2021. The more digital products you have to sell, the more passive income you’ll potentially make.

7. Become an Online Survey Taker

It’s not the most exciting side hustle, but there is money to be made filling out online surveys. Many sites such as Survey Junkie and Swagbucks allow users to earn cash and gift cards.

You also can visit the website for the Columbia Business School Center for Decision Sciences to sign up for online research studies that pay about $16 an hour.

8. Become a User Tester

• $10 per 20-minute assignment

If you have 20 minutes to spare, you can make fast cash at home on UserTesting, which pays $10 per test. The company pays people to visit websites and apps, complete sets of tasks and give opinions on the experience.

9. Tutor Students Online

• Up to $25 per hour before commission

If you have a computer, an internet connection and expertise in just one subject area, you can tutor students online. TutorMe hires tutors in more than 300 subjects and pays $16 an hour. Preply uses tutors in more than 100 subjects, and the tutors set their own rate. English tutors on the site typically charge $15 to $25 per hour, before Preply’s commission.

10. Work as a Virtual Assistant

• Average income of $15.84 per hour

A virtual assistant can work for an individual or a big business, performing tasks that include responding to customer phone calls, setting appointments, assisting with travel or event planning, or posting to social media. Since we do these things daily as part of our personal agendas, many people are well suited to virtual assistant jobs. Indeed reported that virtual assistants earn an average of $15.84 an hour.

Other Ways To Make Money Quickly

So, you can make money online fast. But, if you’re willing to work outside of your home, there are many more options for side gigs. If you want to avoid getting a traditional job altogether, you may want to pick up multiple side gigs to help you make enough income.

11. Become a Ride-Share Driver

• Average income of up to $377 per month

Driving for Uber or Lyft is among the most popular side hustles because of the flexibility this option offers. You can pick your schedule, drive when and where you want, and rent or lease a car through the ride-share company if needed.

12. Make Deliveries for Amazon or Uber Eats

• Typical earnings of $18-$25 per hour (Amazon Flex)

Uber Eats drivers make an annual average of $62,339 a year, according to salaries reported on Indeed. Even with an average salary that’s this high, you’ll still be working on a contract basis. That means you can set your own hours and work as much as you need to.

You can also use your car to work as a delivery driver for Amazon Flex. Drivers typically make $18 to $25 per hour, depending on factors such as your location and how much you earn in tips, according to Amazon.

Learn More: 30 Ways To Upgrade Your Home Without Blowing Your Budget
Discover: 16 Ways To Save Money on Food

13. Become a Pet Sitter or Dog Walker

• Median income of $12.68 per hour

Sign up to watch pets while their owners are out of town. Pet-sitting sites, such as Rover, connect pet owners with sitters for a cut — 15% to 25% — of the sitter’s earnings paid by client users. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, pet sitters make a median of $12.68 an hour, or $24,990 a year.

14. Get a Babysitting Gig

• $12.75 an hour and up, depending on experience, location and number of children

Babysitters are always in demand. According to ZipRecruiter, they make a national average of $17 or more. Plus, watching two kids can come with an increase. According to Care.com, add 50 cents to $1 to your hourly rate for each additional child you babysit — double that for an infant.

15. Install Christmas Lights for the Holidays

• $1.25 to $3 per linear foot of lights

According to Thumbtack, most installers charge double to install lights on a second story. And don’t forget about the removal costs. Thumbtack also noted that you can charge about half of what you charged to install for that. You also can choose to wrap outdoor trees with lights and charge $60 to $1,200 for each, depending on tree size.

Many seasonal jobs are available that pay quite a bit, but you’re going to need to rotate through them if you want to maintain income all year-round — or work very hard during that one season.

16. Become a Home Organizer

A professional home organizer makes up to $49.89 an hour, according to PayScale, with an average hourly rate of $20.98. To start organizing professionally, post listings on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, or connect with your neighbors on NextDoor.

17. Help With Home Gardening

• Average income of $14.88 an hour

Do you have a green thumb? Maybe it’s time to become a gardener. The average gardener makes almost $15 per hour, according to Indeed, so you’ll need to work about 20 hours to make $300.

18. Assist With Deliveries or Moving

Delivery drivers often need some muscle to help them load and unload their trucks for deliveries and moves. Sign up with GoShare to become a “helper” and earn an average of $39 per hour. Or, at Dolly, the “hands” are paid $15 an hour, plus tips.

19. Start a Snow Removal Service

Remember going door to door as a kid with your snow shovel asking neighbors if they wanted the sidewalk or driveway shoveled for a few dollars? Adults with a good, working snowblower can do that, too — or advertise their services on social media. According to HomeAdvisor, the going rate is $25 to $75 per hour.

How To Build Sustainable Wealth

Once you’ve made extra money, you should focus on setting yourself up for long-term financial success. It isn’t just about how to make money fast, but also about keeping it.

Investing

If you’re a beginner when it comes to investing, take time to set your investment goals. Here’s what you should think about:

Consider Your Investment Goals

1. Figure out how much you can budget for investments.
2. Choose your investment types based on your risk tolerance.
3. Choose a platform to invest with.

With these in mind, you can create a solid foundation where you can not only begin building your wealth but also continue maintaining it.

Budgeting

Creating a budget allows you to compare your income to your expenses, as well as to set goals for spending and saving. While there are different budgeting techniques, all of them revolve around tallying your expenses and reducing expenses where you can.

Saving Money

Regardless of how you choose to make money, you need to be able to store your cash safely and provide easy access to funds when you need them.

Opening a savings account can be your first step to building sustainable wealth. And if you find that you need more help in reaching your savings goals, you can work with a qualified and reputable financial planner.

More From GOBankingRates

Jami Farkas and Gabrielle Olya contributed to the reporting for this article.

This article has been updated with additional reporting since its original publication.

Data is accurate as of Sept 30, 2021, and subject to change.

Your new clothing store isn't going to start itself. It's time to take the first step.

I‘s time we address the flip side of your finances: ways to make extra money. More than ever, earning extra income can be the way to meet your financial goals. This could be goals like getting out of debt, saving for college or simply having extra money during the holidays for gifts.

Thanks to suggestions by my Twitter followers, readers, and other bloggers I’ve been able to put together a solid list of 52 ways to make extra money. And most, if not all, of these ways to make money can be done even with a full-time job.

I obviously haven’t tried all of these methods. But when possible I’ve tried to link to an example of the opportunity actually making money. You should be able to find something here that fits you and your skills.

1. Swagbucks

Swagbucks – You earn points, called SB, just for watching videos, answering surveys, discovering special deals, shopping, or searching the internet.

There is no limit to the amount of SB you can earn, and they can be redeemed for free gift cards to all of the top retailers (Amazon, Target, Starbucks and eBay included) or for cash (PayPal, VISA gift cards).

– Sound too good to be true? Don’t worry. Swagbucks is legit and safe. Check out our list of legitimate paid survey sites review to learn more about the opportunities and to get several $5 bonus offers.

2. Deliver Food for DoorDash

Being a food delivery driver is back in style! People all over the country are signing up to deliver food because it is easy money that can be made on your own schedule.

This is how it works: When a person places a food delivery order from a restaurant, the restaurant notifies DoorDash that they need a driver to pick up and deliver the food.

You might think restaurants have their own drivers, right? Wrong. Turns out outsourcing drivers to services like DoorDash is cheaper than hiring drivers and paying them to sit there and wait for orders to come in.

As a driver with DoorDash, you get a notification when a delivery is ready in your area.

It’s up to you to go pick it up or not. If you choose to pick up the food, the DoorDash app will provide you with specific instructions on where to go, how to get there, customer’s name, etc. DoorDash pays a minimum of $10/hour but say drivers earn $25/hour on average.

Maybe this could be your new side hustle?

Learn more about DoorDash.

3. Shop for and Deliver Groceries With Instacart

Love to shop? Well then working as an Instacart shopper and driver may be a great fit for you. Instacart defines itself as a service that “connects customers with shoppers to deliver fresh groceries to their door.” Like other delivery services, Instacart allows their shoppers to set their own hours, which could make it a great fit for students or anyone with a busy schedule.

To be a shopper for Instacart, you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, own a smartphone, and be able to lift 30 to 40 pounds. Instacart says that they pay their shoppers on a weekly basis.

One of the really interesting things about Instacart is that shoppers can work their up to higher responsibility role, like shift lead or site manager. So while Instacart may start out as a way to make a little extra money, it could evolve into a legitimate career. Get started as an Instacart shopper.

4. Drive People to the Airport

Have you ever heard of Lyft? Of course, you have! This is a great earning opportunity for someone with a reliable car and the ability to navigate their city’s streets.

The main barrier to entry is having an approved car that is efficient to keep your costs down. But there are lots of stories of Lyft drivers making an extra $1k a week outside of their normal day jobs! Not bad. Plus, this is a fun way to get to know your city, help tourists make plans, and get to know interesting people. 

Related: Uber Review

5. Get $5 Cash to Start Investing

There are plenty of ways to get started investing, and one popular method is using an investing app, such as Acorns or Stash.

We like Stash because they give you $5 cash just for signing up and investing $5! Once you download their app, you are asked to select a portfolio of stocks and ETFs, based on who you are and what you care about. For example, you may be passionate about space exploration or tech companies or environmentally conscious corporations.

Next, Stash will recommend a portfolio. Then the app serves you regular investment education articles so you are learning as you go. And they only charge $1 a month

This is how Acorns works: let’s say you buy a coffee for $2.65. Acorns is synced to your bank account (or credit card) and will automatically round that purchase up to $3, taking the $.35 and investing it in the stock market. It’s a very painless way to save AND build your wealth over time. You can invest your spare change for $1 a month. Sign Up to Acorns for Free.

Acorns now also offers an Acorns Spend checking account. This takes the features of the other levels of Acorns and adds in a checking account with a debit card. For $3 a month, you get the Acorns Invest account, the Later account (for retirement), and the Spend checking account. It comes with free bank-to-bank transfers, free ATMs (or fee-reimbursed ATMs) nationwide, and no overdraft fees or minimum balance fees. 

6. Rent Out Your Space

If you have an extra room in your house, consider listing it on Airbnb. Airbnb is a new way to travel for many people around the world. Instead of booking through expensive hotels, why not stay at someone’s house? As a guest, you can choose high end to low end, choose to stay with other people or opt for privacy. And as a host, it’s a great way to make side money, utilize unused space, and meet new people! How much you can earn depends on your area so I recommend finding out by becoming an Airbnb host yourself!

No extra rooms, beds, or couches for a weary traveler to rest his head? No problem! You can still rent out another space: your parking space. Homeowners who live within walking distance of major tourist attractions or sports venues will often sell parking spaces in their driveways or on their lawns.

But even if you don’t live just down the road from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or a major music festival, you may still be able to profit off of a parking space. And why not park on the street while you rent your parking space to a neighbor? Sites like JustPark and SpotHero can all help you find a renter for your primo parking spot.

7. Bartending or Waiting Tables

Both are the perfect jobs for nights and weekends. That’s when all the big tips are made anyway. I should know. I waited tables in my post-college days.

Bartending at nights in a busy bar can really bring in some extra cash and is probably better than waiting tables! You can typically bring in at least $1 for every drink you serve.

I recommend making a list of some of the nicest restaurants or bars in town you can find and start applying. You may need some experience first but set your sights high, especially if you have work experience as a professional. And the same thing can be said for professionalism, dependability and work ethic.

8. Take (Legit) Online Surveys

Did you know that you can get paid to do quick and easy online surveys? Here are a few websites to get you started:

• Opinion Outpost bridges the gap between your opinions and the companies who need them. Members can earn cash, rewards and be entered into a $10,000 quarterly prize draw. Sign up for free.
• PrizeRebel lets you take surveys, watch videos and complete offers for cash. You can also choose from gift cards such as Amazon, Walmart Target and hundreds of other free gift cards. You can get started in less than 5 minutes and earn from both your phone or desktop with no limitations on earnings. 
• Inbox Dollars lets you take surveys, watch TV, play games, and more, and you automatically receive $5 just for signing up. The site is designed to connect brands and consumers, so be aware that your contact information will be shared with the brands you interact with. Sign up for Signup and get $5 Cash Bonus.
• Branded Surveys will use your profile to match you to variety of the surveys. You collect points for every survey you complete. Refer friends and earn more points. Redeem your points for gift cards or via PayPal or Branded Pay. Sign up for free.
• Microsoft Rewards may also be an option, and is pretty well passive since you’re only required to search with Bing or try new Microsoft products, services, or features.

Here’s a list of other sites you can earn a few bucks at.

9. Get Cashback When You Shop Online

One idea to make extra money that I initially left off my list is to use Rakuten (formerly Ebates.com) when you shop online. Rakuten is a free service that gives you cash back just for shopping like you normally would. Join free now and receive $25.

10. Dog Walking or Pet Sitting

If you love animals and live in an urban area then walking dogs is a viable side hustle idea.

People are busy going to work each day and are forced to leave their animals stuck in the house. This is not good for the dog or the owner. Not only because dogs get lonely and need to be around people, but also because they deserve fresh air and the chance to go to the bathroom outside!

Offering to walk a group of dogs once or twice a day can really rake in some extra money. You could create signs and hang them up around libraries and churches, or perhaps take the modern approach and sign up with Rover. Rover is an increasingly popular marketplace that connects dog owners to dog walkers in their neighborhood. Check out Rover today.

Or you can take dog walking a step further and get paid to take a dog in while the owner is away!

Have you ever checked to see what it costs to board a pet? Those places are not cheap! Do some research and charge 10 – 20% less.

Plus you could post your ads on Craigslist or around town. But don’t expect people to just leave their loved one with a stranger. Make sure you offer your references and that you have all their necessary information if Fido gets injured or sick.

Rover can help you here, too – Become a Pet Sitter.

11. Baby Sitting

If you enjoy kids and are good with them, this can be a fun and easy way to make a little cash. You can advertise your babysitting services for free online with Sittercity.com. Anyone in need of a babysitter can browse their website for free. Also, we have an interview with a babysitting expert. Listen to the interview here.

12. Teaching Lessons/Tutoring

We all have special skills or talents. For some it’s athletic and for others, it might be academic. Either way, using these skills can help your community as well as help you make extra money.

As an example, if you’re a good swimmer you might be able to pick up a weekend swim teacher gig at your local recreation center. But keep in mind that some places may require a special certification or that you be a lifeguard.

A friend of mine was a collegiate soccer player. During the off-season, he coached competitive youth soccer teams and gave private lessons to youngsters who wanted to accelerate their game. He grossed over $500 per month for coaching a couple of teams and private lessons.

If you have a knack for a certain subject and live near a college, consider offering up your brain power and teaching skills for some quick cash. Grade school kids need help too, and parents pay better than college students. You can take this idea to the next level and scale by tutoring online.

To be successful, you have to have a good grasp of the concepts but also be able to find a way to relate topics using real-world examples.

Need to beef up your skills? Check out our list of the best online training sites. Many are free to use.

13. Car Valet

If you hook up with a for-hire car parking service (the type hired out for fancy neighborhood parties) you can make some nice cash tips in just a few hours at night and on the weekend, when parties are held. The key here is to do a great job by showing hustle and being super friendly. This was one of the most enjoyable jobs I had during graduate school. Who doesn’t like to drive nice cars?

14. Rent Out Your Car

Did you know you can make money simply by owning a car? It’s true, thanks to a company called Turo. Turo is a “car sharing marketplace.” Next time you’re in a new city and need to rent a car–instead of using an airport car rental, you could use Turo and rent actual people’s cars! (Similar to how Airbnb replaces hotels).

Turo lets car owners earn money in three ways: local pickup (renting your car from your own driveway); delivering your car to local places; and also by leaving your car somewhere to be picked up (such as at the airport). Earn Money with Turo.

Even if your car rarely goes unused long enough to rent it out to a visiting driver, you can still potentially “rent it out” by turning your vehicle into a rolling advertisement. The site freecarmedia.com pairs car owners with advertisers who are looking for mobile billboards.

Drivers can earn up to $400 per month by agreeing to have their vehicle wrapped with a vinyl decal (called a car wrap) provided by an advertiser. Generally, your program will last anywhere from 6 to 24 months, and you get paid for following your normal driving routine.

Related: 11 Ways to Make Extra Money With Your Truck

15. Sell Yourself Online with Fiverr

Get creative and sell yourself! (it’s not what you think) There’s a company called Fiverr that connects people who can do things for other people. We all have talents and some of them can be quite marketable. For example, you could offer to design logos, create online content, put together scrapbooks, paint a pretty picture or even lending your voice to a podcast! Gigs start at $5 but a person can make much, much more. Listen to my podcast episode with a successful Fiverr creator. And sign up with Fiverr today.

16. Write an eBook

I hesitate to put this one in here because an eBook by itself usually doesn’t make extra money unless you’re an excellent marketer. What a great eBook can do, though, is act as a sales lead to one of your other online businesses.

That said, lots of people are making extra money by publishing their own books on Amazon. For instance, my friend Bob published a few books on Amazon on how to make money blogging and has done very well. The first book provided basic tips for a small price, but his next book, Pro-Blogging Secrets, is offered at a premium price and he also has an online course.

Are you seeing the possibilities here? Think about what book, or series of books you could write to help people in your field of expertise. You might start with an eBook offered on your own website that covers the basics. Use the eBook as an opportunity to tell people about your more in-depth book on Amazon and finally, follow through with an advanced book offering.

17. Create Logos or Business Names

If you’re good with Photoshop and can work quickly you might make some decent cash with this online business. Are you a graphic designer or do you have some artistic talents that you know others are looking for? Why not make extra money for your bottom line by designing logos or other graphics for people’s websites, for their newsletters or for other print applications?

And while you’re at it, why not help name the business itself? Believe it or not, you can make money by submitting business name ideas. There’s a company called Squadhelp that bridges creative minds all over the world with business owners, to come up with the best name possible. PT Money hasn’t tried the the product ourselves, but apparently there’s a decent chunk of change to be made! Check out Squadhelp.

18. Write Reviews

There are many websites that will pay you a little cash to write product reviews. If you’re knowledgeable and can write fast, this may work for you. The key here is to differentiate yourself by providing a thorough and honest review of the product. This works even better if you can find a niche that you’re passionate about.

A website like Upwork might be a good place to start sharing your resume and experience in this area. UpWork replaced other well-known sites Odesk and Elance. Simply set up a profile and start applying for jobs.

19. Make Money Blogging

This isn’t quick money, but you can make decent money with a little luck and solid, consistent effort. Believe me, it can be tough and a bit time consuming, but it can be done. I started PT Money in 2007 and since then the site has grown considerably, now viewed more than 200,000 times per month. The key to blogging is to have a long-term goal of making extra money in mind. You can get started by reading my article on how to make money blogging.

20. Get a Higher Paying Job

Sometimes the best side hu

stle is putting in the time to get a better job. Investing in your career can have profound effects and help your earnings increase exponentially over time. Maybe one day you’ll earn so much at your day job, you won’t need a side hustle!

I recommend browsing job boards like ZipRecruiter or even checking out a company like Pathrise. In their program, you will learn secrets from industry experts, armed with proprietary tools and data, to land a higher paying job and make more money.

21. Launch a New Business

You might think you need to launch the next Facebook or Uber to make money with a small business, but nothing could be further from the truth. The trick to launching a profitable new business is to figure out how you can make money doing something you enjoy or have some experience or expertise with. Once you have a business in mind, you can use a service like Thumbtack to list it.

Make lists of things you enjoy doing, and start thinking about how you could make money from them. Read about what you need to know to turn a hobby into a business here. What if your hobby isn’t something you can monetize? For more business ideas, check out our list of the top 20 unique business ideas.

22. Freelance Writing

Similar to writing reviews, you can become a freelance writer and make extra money writing articles and website copy.

While you don’t have to be a professional journalist to write for a website, it helps if you’ve blogged or had your own website where you blog regularly. Even better is showing that you have some experience in the niche in which you’re trying to find a job.

Right now on Upwork, they are looking for more writers. So set up a profile and start offering up your fast writing skills. You can make decent money with freelance writing and some people are able to make it a full-time business.

Check out this interview I did with a freelance writer who has had a lot of success and shares how to start a freelance business.

Related:How to Become a Ghostwriter

23. Sell Your Photos

Digital Photography School offers several books to help you take nice pictures. Get them up on the web at a broker, or Microstock site and make extra money. You can sell your photos to stock photo websites like Dreamstime or Shutterstock to make some cash. It’s not as easy as that, but those are the basics.

Another option is to take photos locally for homeowners. Many people don’t have good home listing photos of the home they’re trying to sell. But if you notice, many of these pictures, aside from the ones done by professional photographers, have bad lighting, show clutter, etc.

So if you’re good at taking pictures and have a nice camera, you might be able to sell your photo taking services to real estate agents or to people trying to sell their own home.

24. Get Store Refunds

You might be owed money from various retailers because of refunds. Rather than having to search through your past purchases and retailer emails yourself, you can find out if stores owe you a refund without having to do any heavy lifting!

A service like Capital One Shopping will help you collect refunds you’re owed from stores. This is a great way to potentially put some extra earnings on autopilot because you’re using an innovative tool to get a refund you deserve. When you make an on-line purchase at a Capital One Shopping monitored store. Capital One Shopping engages with the retailer on your behalf and files a claim requesting a refund.

Capital One Shopping

When Capital One Shopping succeeds and a retailer issues a price adjustment, you are credited funds directly onto the original form of payment or provided the equivalent amount in store credit. It is sometimes necessary for you to call the company. Or you may need to fill out a form to receive that credit in addition to Capital One Shopping reaching out. Plus Capital One Shopping provides a convenient desktop version and an iOS app with a live feed of savings. [Capital One Shopping compensates us when you sign up for Capital One Shopping using the links we provided.]

Earny

Earny connects with your Google and Amazon accounts to get you money back on purchases if there was a price drop. They will track your email inbox for receipts. And if they find a lower price for the item you purchased, they will request a refund on your behalf. Earny takes 25% of whatever the refund price is and credit the rest back to your card.

The app understands each individual store’s refund policy and how to claim the difference. So it does all the hoop-jumping for you! And Earny currently tracks approximately 50 stores, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Nordstrom. You can find the full list of eligible retailers here.

25. Start an Online Store

Setting up an online store is extremely easy with sites like eBay, Amazon, Etsy and CafePress. Assuming you have a product in demand, is high quality and learn how to market your site, you can begin making some serious cash. There are plenty of full-time eBay entrepreneurs out there.

Check out these resources I found on Amazon to get started:

While it’s certainly possible to DIY your online store’s website, you can be up and running with no fuss when you use an all-in-one ecommerce site like BigCommerce.

BigCommerce is a turn-key solution for online entrepreneurs that gives you a number of built-in features, including several marketing options that allow you to find (and woo) your target customers. Also, their product comes with integrated education to help you make the most of your online store. And you’ll get excellent loading speed, payment security, and site functionality.

For anyone who would rather focus on their product, marketing, and sales than on maintaining the website for their online store, this kind of ecommerce service is invaluable. You get the beauty and functionality of a website designed by a professional web developer without having to shell out the money for one. Not to mention the fact that you will not have to spend time or money troubleshooting bugs in your website when you use the well-designed turn-keys offered by BigCommerce.

BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial, and prices start at $29.95/month, making this an excellent choice for a reasonable price.

26. Sell Bottled Water

Buy bottled water in bulk at Costco or Sam’s Club and sell it for a dollar where there are a ton of people: parks, festivals, concerts, etc. People are crazy for bottled water and this is a little summertime gig that can bring in more money than you’d think on a hot sunny afternoon.

Here’s a bonus tip: give some of your proceeds to a charity you care about or that you know will resonate with people. In doing so, you’re bottled water business isn’t all about your profit. You’re helping better our world and also provide a thirsty person some water to drink.

27. Sell Your Body

Not talking about the oldest profession here. I’m talking about your plasma, hair, eggs, and sperm. For hair check out BuyAndSellHair.com. I’ll let you do your own research on this one. 🙂

28. Have a Car Wash

Find a business that’s willing to loan you their parking lot and gather up a few friends to wash some cars. Take donations or ask for very little. People usually do this to raise funds for an organization, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do it for the You Foundation.

All of that said, if you want to take washing cars to the next level, there are some full-time business owners operating mobile car wash and detailing services. You provide a convenience to people by meeting them at their place of business or even their home to clean their cars. People love their cars and even more when they are shining bright.

29. Cleaning Houses

This is a job with flexible hours but requires a bit of elbow grease. Some homes would provide their own cleaning supplies and tools.

Do you know there are companies and people out there that make some pretty good money offering their cleaning services to households and companies? They’ll come in and charge you either a set fee per room or an hourly fee to clean up. They can come weekly, monthly, or whenever you think you need some extra scrubbing. What’s the point? Why not have the person they hire be you? Not sure how to get new customers? Check out Thumbtack as a place you can list your cleaning service.

30. Get a Census Job

Perhaps you’re interested in measuring America. “Census Bureau Regional Offices conduct continuous surveys–other than the once-a-decade population count–to supply the nation with important statistics on people, places and our economy.”

The US Census website states that the local field workers understand their communities best and are an important part of conducting surveys with residents. You get to work out of your home and you’re also reimbursed for your mileage. The Census Bureau is hiring across the United States and you can search temporary field positions here.

31. Sell Your Baked Goods

Are you skilled at a few special recipes or are your friends going crazy over your cakes? You know who you are. It might be time to use your talents to start making some extra money. People love to buy homemade goods, especially when you have a signature item or a story behind it. You can contract your items out for parties, meetings, etc. Or, consider holiday sales for local Christmas parties, birthdays and more.

32. Start a Lawn Care or Snow Removal Business

I grew up doing this job on the side and loved it. But it’s not just a teenager gig. With this side job, you can help your neighborhood look sharp as well as make some extra money. Many people pay over $30 per week for lawn care service. For various reasons, people are too busy, don’t have the equipment, etc. to take care of their own lawn.

I think you can do well with this business if you start with people in your neighborhood and ask them if you can have an opportunity to perform this service for them. Word of mouth will travel fast if you provide a good value. Consider Thumbtack as another way to find local customers. I think the key to doing very well here is to package your service. For example, try to find a price that works for mowing, weeding and fertilizing altogether.

You can potentially make even more money by offering to handle snow removal in the winter. Shoveling snow is often a homeowner’s least favorite job, and there are many homeowners who simply cannot handle their own shoveling because of physical limitations. Typically, snow removal companies charge a flat fee for the winter, no matter how many times it snows.

You can offer to remove snow a la carte, or you can copy the standard procedure and charge a flat rate. If you already own a snowblower (or can invest in one), this can help you speed up the snow removal process and allow you to take care of multiple neighbors each time it snows. (A snowblower will also save your back muscles!)

33. Be a Mystery Shopper

Get paid to shop and share your experience. In short, stores or restaurants hire people to evaluate their services to ensure quality. Obviously, social media can impact a brand when a customer isn’t taken care of well.

Mystery shoppers help prevent this from happening. As a mystery shopper, you’re compensated to provide impartial feedback about products and services. Your feedback may very well prevent the next social media rant. We’ve devoted an entire article to Mystery Shopping that you can read about here.

34. Become a Ticket Broker

No special permit required. If you know sports or entertainment enough to pick the right events and have access to purchase the tickets at face or below, then you can use a service like StubHub.com or Craigslist to re-sell the tickets for a profit. I’ve done this both out of necessity and just to make extra money.

35. Paper Route

There is no job too small when it comes to earning to save more or pay off debt and a paper route is about as basic of an extra money job as you can get. Yep, people are still buying newspapers these days. Nothing like a nice clean, crisp paper with a good cup of coffee to start your day.

This job will likely take up your early morning hours. You can also search for a paper that only comes out once a week if you want to work less. The bottom line is that a paper route is still a valid way to make extra money and I’d be remiss to leave it off this list.

36. Play Music in Church or at Weddings

Some churches don’t have volunteers for their music. A talented pianist, guitar player, etc. can make pretty good money doing this on the weekends. Most churches offer tryouts on occasion. This idea is pretty easy to get started in that you just need to reach out to your worship pastor or someone in that ministry and let them know you have the talent and some experience. Don’t be shy!

37. Teach English as a Second Language

To get started teaching English as a second language to adults, go through your local schools and colleges to find classes where teachers of English are needed.

You can also teach English from the comfort of your own computer with the website VIPKid. This company, which is headquartered in Beijing, pairs English teachers with children in China between the ages of 4 and 12 to provide the kids with an international learning experience via video conference.

38. Collect Aluminum Cans

I collected cans in my teens and made a few extra bills for spending money. If this idea is of interest, you might be motivated to hear the true story of Maisie Devore who was able to raise money collecting cans for a community swimming pool. She was able to save $73,000 over three decades and is still collecting. Whoa! Learn more about this idea by reading my collecting aluminum cans for cash post.

39. Place Signs in the Yard

In our local neighborhood, we’ve seen this service hired out to place signs in people’s yards for announcements or funny pranks. Ha! If you’re out and about on a Sunday you’ll see plenty of people putting put signs for open houses. You’ll probably have a great opportunity for this extra money idea if you can locate a neighborhood where lots of real estate agents or putting out there own signs.

Wouldn’t an agent rather be prepping the house for sale or doing marketing activities than placing a sign at a busy intersection? You bet and that’s why outsourcing to you could work!

40. Stage Homes

People who are having trouble selling their homes these days and could use a second pair of eyes to stage their home for the quick sale. To help people sell their houses, your staging services need to get buyers to envision themselves in the property. This opportunity takes some passion and skill for the job. You’ll have to be comfortable telling people they need to remove clutter, rent furniture, etc. to get it in top selling condition.

You’ll need some designing skills as well as additional resources at your fingertips, such as a furniture company, storage options, etc. This will take some work getting set up, but once you’ve done so, you can start networking with realtors. Consider offering some discounted services to make a name for yourself.

41. Sell Your Big and Generic Stuff On Local Sites

My local Craigslist.org is the first place I go to sell something. It’s best for items you think will appeal to everyone (therefore justifying the smaller audience) and large items that can’t be shipped. Craigslist.org is great for taking your yard sale items online for local sales. For example, a friend recently bought two fans from people that live close to him. These one-off type items do very well on Craigslist. Just remember to use common sense and be safe out there.

Of course, Facebook and apps like Next Door have made the local marketplace for selling stuff even more local. Don’t forget to test them out as well.

42. Sell Your Unique & Ship-able Stuff Online

I mentioned an idea above to create an online store but you could also just declutter your house and sell things you no longer use (CDs, DVDs, kitchen appliances, etc.). There is a platform that makes this really easy, it’s called Decluttr. You download their app and scan the item and Declutter will tell you the price at which to sell.

Check out Decluttr (or for more information, read our Decluttr review!) Listing items on eBay is of course another option, sign up by going to www.eBay.com.

43. Sign Up with Upromise

Upromise puts money in your kids college funds while you do your normal spending. Yes, it’s another way to make extra money or to use your own money for other goals since you’re not having to save as much for your kids college. Just remember to make wise decisions with your spending. You’re not spending so your kids can go to college.

The Upromise contribution is a side-benefit to spending on items already in your plan. Check out our full Upromise review.

44. Retail Arbitrage

Find items that you know are selling below their full value (either online or through a deal website like SlickDeals.net), discount stores (Marshalls, Ross, etc.) buy them and sell them for more on eBay or Amazon. Once you find your product niche you can set up a system. Don’t read over that too quickly.

You need to find a particular product or niche to really make this work. Otherwise, you’re met with different shipping costs, always trying to figure out new margins, etc. Don’t try to be everything to everybody. Try to be good in one particular. Maybe it’s a product you’re passionate about such as selling trucker hats. 🙂 Click here for more on this idea.

45. Re-sell Computers

This is slightly different than eBay Arbitrage. Find a distributor that will sell to you at their discounted prices. List these items online. Buy and ship to your heart’s content. Basically, you become a reseller of computers and other hardware.

Another thought here is to sell computer parts. Can you find a part that seems to be in demand? If you can supply the demand, you may just have yourself a part-time business.

46. Look for Odd Jobs

People need your help and they will pay you for it. Seriously. The “gigs” section of Craigslist.com is a classic place to find jobs, as is the bulletin board at your local church. We wrote a post on all the places to find work.

Traditional job search sites can be over saturated with applicants but non-traditional places, as mentioned, can provide you a means for earning some extra income. You just have to be a go-getter and get hungry to find them. You could consider driving for Doordash or downloading the TaskRabbit app which has a plethora of ideas.

47. Have a Garage Sale

The stuff you can’t sell online, you could sell from your garage on the weekends.

Many neighborhoods plan annual or bi-annual yard sales. If you have items to sell, this is a great time to do it as the neighborhood as a whole can bring in a lot of traffic and help you perform better than you would on your own. If that’s not possible, consider partnering up with a couple of families in a popular neighborhood.

48. Bank Account Opening Bonuses

Many banks will give you a cash bonus just for opening an account with them. Talk about easy money! Banks are in tough competition for your business and will pay $100, $200 or even $300 just for becoming a customer.

For example, right now Chase Bank is offering $200 cash for opening a checking account, and then another $150 cash for opening a savings account. Certain qualifications must be met. But if you do qualify, that’s one easy way to earn $350 cash! Collect $350 cash with Chase Bank

49. Paint Street Numbers

With just a few paint and stencil supplies you could walk the neighborhoods with curbs and solicit your curb number painting services. Obviously, you need to be somewhat handy with a can of spray paint and stencils, otherwise, you might have people coming after you if you mess up their curb. However, there is a business for this as people are out there making it happen.

50. Adjust Your Tax Withholding

The average tax refund in 2018 was $2,895, which breaks down to a little over $240 per month taking an unnecessary trip to the IRS and back. The fastest way to make some extra money is to keep your own in your paycheck, rather than letting Uncle Sam hold onto it for a year.

Most people do not claim all of the allowances they are allowed to take, which is why they end up getting a large refund check each spring. Do you regularly get a large refund? Then it may be time for you to file a new W-4 with your human resources department. Your new W-4 should reflect the proper number of withholding allowances you are eligible to take.

You can use the IRS withholding calculator to determine exactly how many allowances you may take, and file the new W-4 with your workplace at any time. And you’ll start seeing fatter paychecks within one to two pay cycles, depending on your HR department.

And there is no need to be nervous about making such a change to your W-4. The withholding allowances you enter into your W-4 do not determine your tax bill, just how much you pay per paycheck. That means it’s perfectly legal to change the withholding allowances on your W-4, provided you claim the correct number of allowances on your actual tax return.

51. Sell Your Unused Gift Cards

Every year, up to $1 billion on gift cards go unredeemed, according to the research firm Tower Group. It’s likely that you have at least one random gift card buried in a wallet or drawer somewhere that you will never actually use. Cash in your unused gift cards by selling it on a gift card resale site like CardCash or Cardpool.

You won’t be able to sell the card for its face value. But you may get as much as 90% of that value. Start your resale process at GiftCardGranny.com, a comparison site. It will give you a good sense of how much your card will be worth. When you sell the card, the site will generally cover the cost of shipping the card to them. And you’ll receive your payment within three to seven days.

52. Give Tours of Your City

No one knows your hometown like you do, and you can translate that into cash by leading tours of your city. Are you the foremost expert on ghost stories, beer, architecture, or crime (or anything else!) in your town? Then you can start leading tours for people who want to hear your stories! Check out ToursByLocals.com.

Where to Find Part-Time Jobs

If none of those are your forte, check out my list of cool side hustle ideas to maybe spark your own way to make some spare cash. If none of those work… maybe it’s time for a part-time job.

Finding good part-time jobs is easier said than done. There are tons of opportunities out there, but often they don’t pay enough or don’t fit your schedule and lifestyle.

Where can you go to find the best part-time jobs? I recommend ZipRecruiter.

ZipRecruiter

ZipRecruiter is one of the largest job sites in the world. And it’s a web-based platform that’s easy for applicants to navigate. Users can create job alerts, save jobs, post their resume, and even apply for jobs all within ZipRecruiter.

And the best part is that it’s free to use. Search from thousands of available local jobs, including part-time jobs and remote jobs. Also, you can download the free ZipRecruiter app to search for jobs from anywhere.

Look for a part-time job with ZipRecruiter.

Where Else Can You Look for Part-Time Jobs?

Did you know that you can use social media for more than just posting photos and memes? Use it to ask your friends and followers if they know of any good part-time job opportunities. Join a Facebook group for local job seekers to find openings.

Finally, don’t forget friends and family. Use your existing connections to find a decent job. Someone you know is bound to know people or places that are hiring. You just have to ask.

Have you tried any of these ideas? Let us know how it went!