Whether you are trying to save up towards your goals, climb out of debt, or create more financial margin in your life, it has never been more straightforward to generate a side income with today’s gig economy and the emergence of side hustles.
With all of the online platforms available today, they offer something precious to you other than the obvious monetary benefit, flexibility. Working how, when, and where you want while not sacrificing your full-time income is a fantastic opportunity to help you reach your goals.
We have researched these products below and frankly use several of them internally to provide some much-appreciated income boosters.
1) Tutor Online
Are there subjects you know very well and feel like you could help someone learn them? Sites like tutor.com, tutorme and studypool hire tutors to share their knowledge with students on their platforms under a wide variety of topics. Don’t worry. You didn’t have to be a straight-A student to qualify; you just need to be passionate and knowledgeable on a given subject.
2) User Experience Testing
One of the easiest ways to make some extra money is through rating websites. Companies like TrymyUI and usertesting pay you for helping them build better products and experiences for their customers.
It is pretty typical to make $10 for a 20-minute test, but you won’t qualify for all the tests on their site. Finding 1 test a week is very doable, and if you get the chance to do a live review, they will pay you up to $120 for an hour of your time!
3) Take Surveys
Getting paid for sharing your opinion is a pretty easy way to make some extra cash, and that is precisely what Survey Junkie pays you to do. They value your opinion but just like with the user experience testing, you won’t qualify for every survey, but it is still an excellent way to grow some extra income.
4) Get Paid for being creative
Are you naturally creative? If so, freelancing on Fiverr may be the perfect fit for you. If you are a designer, developer, writer, video editor, musician artist, or have a unique skillset, Fiverr is an excellent opportunity to make some extra money on your schedule!
5) Sell Your Photos
Are you an avid photographer? Always capturing gorgeous pictures of sunsets or perfectly staged nature scapes? Make some extra cash without being a professional photographer with FOAP.
Sell your photos for $10 – $60 per photo, but they take a hefty 50% cut of your sale. There is no guarantee, but making money on the pictures you already have isn’t a bad gig.
6) Drive for Uber/Lyft
If you have reliable transportation and have some free time to work, becoming a driver for Uber or Lyft might make a good deal of sense. You can drive as little or as much as you want and set your schedule to what works best for you.
The amount you make is variable based on time, location, and demand for a driver. But if you have a free night or weekend where you want to make some extra cash, this could be a great way to make some extra cash and meet some interesting people along the way.
7) Deliver Food
While driving for Uber/Lyft is a great option, there are more ways to make money using your vehicles, such as delivering food through sites like GrubHub and Ubereats.
Similar to ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft, the amount you make will be variable based on location, restaurant, and order size. Here in DFW, Uber boasts of drivers making $1,600 from food delivery!
Combining this with ride-sharing is a great way to maximize the number of money-making opportunities and increase your earning potential from your vehicle.
8) Start a Blog
If you are passionate about a given topic, chances are people will be interested in reading it! One of the great things about blogging is you can blog literally about any topic you can think of!
Blogging is one of the most lucrative options on the list, and it has never been easier to start one, thanks to BlueHost. BlueHost makes it extremely quick and straightforward to set up a blog in minutes rather than months! The templates they offer look great, and it makes creating and maintaining your blog easy. Plus, with plans as low as $2.95 a month for hosting your blog, what do you have to lose!
I trust BlueHost with my site, and I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience with them!
9) Take Surveys
Have you ever noticed how many 5 minute windows we have in the day where we do absolutely nothing? How about getting paid for taking surveys from sites like Surveyjunkie during those windows instead?
Surveys take less than 5 minutes, and typically, you will qualify for enough surveys to cover your Netflix bill. Not too bad if you ask me!
10) Start pet setting
Do you love animals? Did you know you can get paid to play with pets on Rover? You get to set your schedule and offer any combination of pet services like dog walking, boarding, daycare, or house sitting.
Only want to work with older dogs? You can filter by size, age, and other preferences you can think of! If you love animals, give them a look. Is there such a thing as too many puppies in your life? I very much doubt it.
11) Babysit on the weekends
Babysitting is a great, easy, and rewarding job that has historically been difficult to find gigs. Most parents are eager for a night out with their loved ones, but finding a sitter you can trust at an affordable rate has previously been a bit harder to manage. Now seeing these opportunities has become much easier with Care.com.
They match caregivers with those who need help efficiently and quickly. You can list your references and any certificates you have so families can correspond with you quickly.
Also, word of mouth in baby-sitting is never a bad way to go. Try reaching out to local community centers, neighborhoods, or social groups to promote your new side hustle!
12) Deliver for Amazon
Amazon is slowly (well, not that slowly) taking over the world. They are in constant need of drivers to deliver their packages. Driving for Amazon is extremely simple now, thanks to Amazon Flex.
There are several restrictions in order to be able to drive for Amazon, such as age, type of car, and it is only available in participating cities. Still, it pays between $18-$25 an hour if you qualify, and you can work your schedule.
13) Rent your home
Unless you have been living under a rock, in which case I have many questions for you, you have used or at least heard about Airbnb or VRBO. There is still a lot of potential for passive income by renting out your home or spare room for extra cash on these sites.
You select the dates your listing is available, the rate you wish to charge, and that’s it. Pretty simple. This strategy is so effective that people have made full-time incomes from using these sites! If you have extra space or want to make money from a property you own, give it a look!
14) Rent your car
Have a car you barely use, or how about your primary vehicle is not needed very often? You can rent out your car on sites like Turo.
Think of Turo like Airbnb but of the car world. You control the rates for the car, set the schedule, and provide the vehicle.
Turo claims that an average car on their site makes an annual income of $10,516. I haven’t personally used this site, but I am currently looking into it, and I have heard great things.
15) Start an online store
Starting an online store is a great way to grow a side income and potentially a whole business. Creating an online store used to be very intimidating but now, with sites like Shopify and Wix, creating online stores has never been easier.
Shopify and Wix have great templates that make it very easy to design your site and sell your products quickly. They both have free trials and options available with many resources on learning how to use their platforms easily.
I have done web design in the past and have experience using both platforms. Wix has the lowest learning curve with a drag and drop editor, but Shopify is slightly more robust.
16) Sell unwanted stuff
My wife is an avid Facebook marketplace shopper. At any point in time, we will have 5-10 random items in our garage that she is flipping on other sites or just reselling back on Facebook Marketplace. We typically pull in anywhere between $800-$1,200 a year just on passive marketplace purchases and sell them back on Facebook or another similar platform like Craigslist or Offerup. There is also a free section for either picking up at no cost.
17) Sell your old technology
Do you have a mountain of old DVDs gathering dust in the corner? How about your old iPod, kindle, or any other technology that is stuffed in a drawer and not sure what to do with? Thank goodness for Decluttr.
Decluttr gives you an instant valuation for all of your old technology without auctions or fees. Pretty great, right? Time to do a little spring cleaning and get some extra money in your pocket for it.
18) Rent out your baby stuff
Yes, you read this right. You can really rent out your baby stuff on babyquip. My wife and I just had our first child back in October, and we had no idea this existed until I started writing this article.
It is an excellent service where you can offer cribs, night lights, strollers, accessories, and really everything your baby could need for families visiting or just in the area. If you have extra baby stuff just sitting around, start making some money on it!
19) Get cashback for shopping
Wouldn’t it be nice to make money to buy things you already need? Welcome to the world of cashback apps like Ibotta.
Ibotta allows you to save with your shopping by simply pushing a button every time you shop in-store or online. It’s that simple. Most users save over $150 a year just from shopping. A little free cash never sounds too bad.
20) Teaching English
Do you have a teacher’s heart or have a passion for helping people learn? Then this side income offered through platforms like VIPKid might be for you. They have mastered online teaching, where they create the lesson plans, curriculum and even handle the grading for you! There are no minimum hour requirements, so you have complete control over your schedule.
If teaching feels a little scary, don’t worry! You simply need to be passionate about others and want to help them succeed. Helping people while earning a side income; everybody wins!
Now what?
Hopefully, you can utilize one or a few of these strategies to boost your income. It will all be for not, though, if you don’t have a financial plan and a way to execute it. The easiest way to start is by budgeting so this newfound income doesn’t slip out of your pockets.
Your money is always working. Make sure it works for you, not against you. Check out our financial coaching program if you want to gain financial freedom sooner than later!
As always, YOU GOT THIS!
