One of the best things you can do to improve your financial situation is to find ways to make extra money on the side of your regular income. This will put you in a much more comfortable financial situation by reducing your money stress, allowing you to pay off debt faster, and giving you more money to spend on things that matter to you.
If your end goal is to become financially independent, having multiple income streams is a must.
Luckily for us, we don't need to invest a ton of money or risk much at all to add some extra cash to our wallet each month. The only investment required is time.
Keep in mind that not every opportunity on this list has the same earning potential.
Some of these hustles can make enough money to replace a full-time income if you put in the time and effort. Others on this list (such as testing websites) are simply just ways to make extra money on the side, and that's it.
I suggest you try out as many different methods on this list as you can, and then figure out what works best for you. As you go through this process you'll be learning a lot and opening your mind up to new opportunities.
Remember: Nothing in this world comes easily, especially not money. Don't just try one of these ways to make extra money and give up a couple hours later, give it a real effort and it will pay off.
Table of Contents: Ways to Make Extra Money on the Side
1. Start a Blog
One of the best ways to make money online is to start a blog.
A blog is all about building an audience and providing that audience with valuable content. If you can do that, the monetization will come naturally with a bit of practice and time.
If you're interested I suggest checking out my how to start a blog that makes money post. In that post, I'll show you how to set up your blog and then I'll show you 5 different ways you can monetize it.
For me, blogging has been an amazing learning experience and I'm just starting to see success.
I've only been promoting my posts for a couple of months now, and I've gotten about 13,000 page views and made around $50. I know it isn't a lot but it's a start and it proves that what I'm doing is working!
2. Answer Surveys
Did you know that you can get paid to fill out surveys? It's one of the easiest ways to make extra money on the side and you can start earning money the day you start.
However, there are a lot of survey sites out there, how do you choose which ones to sign up for?
Well, that's a good question. A lot of survey sites aren't so good so you don't want to waste your time with them. Keep in mind as well that your demographic (age, where you live, etc.) will determine how many surveys you get and how much extra money you can earn.
What I mean is that I might get 10 surveys a day on a survey site that you don't get any surveys on. It all depends on demographics.
That is why I suggest you sign up for as many sites as you can. This way you can test different sites and see which ones work the best for you.
Here are some of my favorite survey sites:
- Swagbucks ($5 sign up bonus) (full review)
- MyPoints ($5 bonus after 5 surveys)
- Toluna (Lot's of ways to earn, $5 minimum payout)
- InboxDollars ($5 sign up bonus)
- MySurvey
- Pinecone Research (Earn $3 per survey)
- Vindale Research ($2 tutorial survey)
You won't make a ton of money filling out surveys but you can do it while you watch TV; can't say that for the other jobs on this list.
3. Test Websites
Testing websites is a super fun and easy way to make extra money online. I do it in my spare time and I usually make at least $50 a month for about an hour of work.
Now don't worry, you don't need insane technical skills to test websites, it's actually better if you're not a computer whiz.
See:
Web developers want normal people to test their site for usability. If you know how to use the internet then you're ready to start testing.
UserTesting.com (full review here) is my favorite place to test websites, and they pay $10 per test. From my experience each test takes no longer than 20 minutes, meaning you could potentially make $30/hour!
However, since there are a lot of other testers, don't expect this to be a full-time gig. Web developers are looking for certain people to test their sites, so you won't qualify for every single test that comes your way.
4. Drive People Around
If you've got a car why not use it to make some extra money by driving for Uber or Lyft?
It's not a glorious gig, but it allows you to set your own schedule, and if you follow these success tips, you should be able to rake in quite a bit of extra money every week.
Don't have time to drive people around because of your day job? Worry not because Uber and Lyft offer a “destination mode”.
When you use this mode you can set your destination (ie., your workplace) and then you'll only receive requests from passengers that bring you closer to that destination. You'll still have to leave a bit earlier but it's an easy way to make some extra money on your way to work.
If you're interested then sign up for Uber and sign up for Lyft, it's always good to be on both.
5. Deliver Other Things
If you've got a car but driving people around sounds like a nightmare, then maybe you're better off driving around inanimate objects.
Some of these jobs don't even require a car, a bike or even a pair of legs will be enough if you live in a city. All that matters is that you can get a package from point A to point B. Capiche?
So, what will you be delivering? It's really up to you but you'll have the option of delivering food, groceries, alcohol, and pretty much anything else people need to be delivered. It all comes down to which companies you sign up for.
Here are some food delivery companies to check out:
If you're thinking that food stank is going to funk up your ride, worry not because I've got another delivery job that will suit you perfectly:
As a Roadie driver, you can decide what items you want to deliver and how often, and you'll see beforehand how much you'll make for each delivery. Take that food stank!
6. Freelance Write
Getting paid to write is the dream for some, but that's all it is to them, a dream.
It doesn't have to be this way, becoming a paid writer is more achievable than ever before. There's so much content released on the internet every day that writers are in super high demand!
If you're willing to put in the work and you're willing to learn, then you can, without a doubt, become a paid freelance writer.
One more thing: You don't need to be a professional writer with an A+ in English to get paid for your writing. I've read countless success stories from people who thought they were bad writers. Writing is a skill and skills can be improved with practice.
7. Transcribe Audio
Transcription is the act of converting audio to written text. It's not the most interesting job but it's a great way to earn extra cash or even a full-time income from home.
If you've got a good attention to detail, decent typing speed (60 WPM), and you don't mind listening to audio clips for long periods of time, transcription could suit you well.
If you're interested, take this FREE general transcription mini-course to learn all the basics of general transcription.
8. Become a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants (or VAs) do exactly as the name suggests: assist people virtually.
Most of the time you'll be helping a business owner with time-consuming tasks like social media management, data entry, email marketing, and much more (150+ services you can offer as a VA)!
Becoming a virtual assistant is a great way to learn the ins and outs of an online business, you're basically getting paid and trained at the same time.
If this is something that interests you, check out this post by Gina Horkey:
9. Proofread
Have you ever written something and tried to proofread it yourself? If you have you know that no matter how many times you re-read it, you'll still end up missing errors somehow. This is because when you try to proofread your own work, you become blind to your mistakes.
This happens to everyone, and it's a big reason why people hire proofreaders. A proofreader can read something from a fresh perspective, and they can spot errors like a hawk.
That's a service people are willing to pay for.
So, do you have a mastery of the English language? Do you find yourself noticing grammar and punctuation mistakes everywhere you go?
Do you wish you could work anywhere in the world (with internet) while making $40,000+ per year?
If you said yes to the last three questions, then you're the perfect candidate for freelance proofreading.
Learn more by checking out this FREE 45-minute proofreading webinar hosted by Caitlin Pyle. Caitlin is a proofreading expert and her free webinar is the best place to begin learning about becoming a paid freelance proofreader.
10. Rent Your Spare Room
Did you know that some Airbnb hosts are pulling in six-figures? Now, you may have no interest in starting a full-blown Airbnb business, but this just goes to show that you can make a lot of money as an Airbnb host.
For example:
This lady rents out her spare room for ten nights per month in order to cover her rent and live comfortably for the rest of the month. You can do the same!
It may not be the ideal situation, but if you're in a rough spot financially, it's a good temporary solution.
Interested? List your spare room on Airbnb today.
If you'd like to learn a bit more before you get started, check out this super in-depth step-by-step guide to becoming an Airbnb host.
11. Complete Odd Jobs
Every day there are people who need something done that they can't, or don't want to do themselves. You know, things like setting up TV's, cleaning, handing out flyers, random jobs like that.
Since people want to get these things done for cheap, they hire taskers (that's you). As a tasker, you'll have a certain skill set and you'll be helping with these random jobs. This means you get to pick and choose which jobs you want to apply for, and your schedule will be pretty flexible.
If you want to make extra money living the task life, go here:
12. Sell Your Stuff
We all waste money on things we don't need sometimes. We'll buy something and then a month later we'll never touch it again.
I myself will admit to being a bit of a packrat, keeping stuff I haven't used in years just because “I might use it one day.”
If you're willing to do some decluttering you might be able to make some extra cash in the process. Who knows, you could have hundreds of dollars worth of things you never use lying around.
You know what they say: “One mans trash is another man's treasure.”
Here are some things you could sell:
Books
If you're a bookworm or you just finished college, you might have some books you can sell for extra cash. Head over to BookScouter.com and they'll find out where you can sell your book for the most cash.
Clothes
If you like to buy new clothes a lot, you might as well sell your old ones to free up space and make some money to put towards the new ones.
Here are some good places to sell clothing:
Other places to sell stuff
13. Become an Online Tutor
Tutoring is a massive industry and with the internet, finding students in-need of tutoring is easier than ever before.
Some online tutoring jobs require a bachelors degree and teaching experience, but others don't require as much experience.
If you have a bachelors degree
Having a bachelors degree opens you up to a lot of tutoring opportunities, here are a few:
- VIPKid (#1 Place to teach English online)
- Skooli
- Revolution Prep
These will require teaching experience but remember that any teaching experience counts. Even if you don't think you have the experience required it won't hurt to apply!
If you're in college
Being an online tutor in college is a great side hustle because it pays well and you can work when you want, for the most part. If you're enrolled in a 4-year program you could qualify for these online tutoring jobs:
The same thing I said above goes with these jobs:
Some of them will require teaching experience, BUT if you submit an application/video interview and they like your style, they may still hire you regardless of your experience!
14. Create an Online Course
One of the best ways to make extra money online is to create and sell an online course. It's pretty passive income as well; once you create the course all you need to do is maintain and update it.
If you can't think of any ideas for your online course, I suggest looking at Udemy's top-rated and trending courses. You should find some inspiration there and you'll see what people are willing to pay money for.
Next, you'll want to start learning how to create a money making course, and you'll also want to think about where you may want to launch your course.
Launching your course through your own website is always an option, but you could also choose to host it through one of these sites (they take a small commission):
If you choose to go the self-hosted route, I suggest hosting your site with Siteground.
15. Sell Photos
Websites these days are producing tons of articles daily and they need photos to go along with them, so where do they go? Stock photo sites.
You can upload your photos to these sites and every time someone downloads one, you get paid.
Since thousands of photos are uploaded to stock photo sites every day, you're going to have to be strategic to stand out from the competition. The key is to pay attention to what type of photos are downloaded most and upload photos that work well for advertising.
Learn more with these 6 tips for better stock photos.
Here are some stock photo sites you can upload your photos to:
16. Review Music
This is probably one of the coolest ways to make extra money on this list, but it takes a while to earn a decent amount.
What you'll be doing is reviewing music on SliceThePie.com.
When you first start out, you'll have one star on SliceThePie. As you write quality reviews, you'll get more stars and you'll get paid more per review. Continue writing quality reviews and you can get paid over 25 cents per review!
Once again you won't make a fortune doing this and it takes time to build up your reputation, so you should only try this if you really like listening to music anyway.
17. Get Paid to Be Active
This is one of my favorite ways to make a bit of extra moolah because you're getting paid to do something you should already be doing.
I currently use these awesome apps that pay you to walk:
- Carrot (Use the code dylanh8949 when you sign up to earn 50% more points)
- Sweatcoin
- Achievement
There are also some great apps that pay you to work out, like HealthyWage, where you can earn up to $10,000 for losing weight!
18. Start a YouTube Channel
I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it's easy to make money from YouTube because it's not. Making money with YouTube requires you to build up an audience, which takes dedication and time.
However, if you're willing to put in the work, the payoff can be huge. There are countless YouTubers making thousands of dollars a month through advertising, affiliate marketing, product sponsors, selling their own products, and more.
You can get in on the action, but don't start a YouTube channel if your only goal is to make money with it.
Your goal should be to provide value to others in the form of help, entertainment, and your awesome self. Once you can do that, people will follow and so will money.
19. Earn an Extra $50 With This App
You've probably heard of Nielsen before but if you haven't, they're the ones who run all the big consumer research studies. These studies help them figure out what people are buying, what they're watching, and now, what they're searching for on their phones.
If you're interested in earning an extra $50/year, all Nielsen needs you to do is download their app. The app collects ANONYMOUS data about how you use the internet, and you get paid just for having it installed.
If you're worried about privacy, here's what they say right on their page:
“Your privacy and security is Nielsen's top priority. The app is easy to install, won't slow down your devices, and sends us anonymous data about how you use the Internet. Our App never collects the content of visited websites, and we do NOT collect user IDs, passwords, or other private information.”
Sign up for the Nielsen Mobile Panel here.
PS: Survey Savvy is another program that will pay you passive income to install an app on devices.
20. Get Cash Back
Earning extra money while shopping has never been easier, it's so easy in fact that you'd be silly not to take advantage.
I know that you're not silly so you've probably already heard of Ebates, it's one of the biggest cashback sites on the web, but have you heard of iBotta or Drop?
iBotta is an app that will get you extra money at the grocery store, and all you need to do is link a loyalty card or scan your receipt. Best of all if you sign up with iBotta and complete your first offer, they'll give you $10 for free!
To double your savings and get access to other unique offers, sign up for Checkout 51 as well ($5 sign up promo here). Checkout51 is another receipt scanning app just like iBotta, but with different offers.
Drop, on the other hand, is completely hands off. Simply link your credit card(s), and Drop will monitor your purchases. If you make a purchase at a qualifying brand, you'll get cash back automatically. It's basically passive income.
Sign up for Drop here, and you'll get a free $5 (5,000 drop points).
Conclusion: Ways to Make Extra Money on the Side
I hope you enjoyed this list of ways to make extra money on the side, and I REALLY hope you found something on this list to get excited about.
Honestly, it doesn't matter which one of these side gigs you decide to start, what matters is that you actually start. Don't just exit out of this tab and move onto the next blog post, pick something and try it out.
Trust me when I say: It's going to feel so good when you earn that first bit of money on your own.
I hope I've inspired some of you to take action and earn some extra dollar bills for yourself, that extra money (doesn't matter how much) can be life changing!
Other posts you might like:
- 25 Passive Income Sources to Make Money While You Sleep
- 15 Legitimate Work From Home Jobs That Pay Good Money
If you found this post helpful, I'd be super happy if you shared it!
I'm trying to help as many people as possible with this blog but I need your help to help more people (lot's of helping). Thanks a lot - you're awesome!
Rashed says
December 16, 2018 at 3:26 pmEXCELLENT
Dylan Houlihan says
December 16, 2018 at 3:42 pmGlad you liked the post, Rashed!