32 Simple Ways to Earn Extra Income

Depending on your financial situation, extra income might be more of a want than a dire need. Nevertheless, having a side income is nothing but beneficial. Having extra income will help you stay afloat during trying financial circumstances — job loss, economic recession, sudden medical and/or other expenses, and more — as well as enable you to enjoy other activities. For example, earning just $1,000 extra dollars a month — an amount that can easily be made through garage sale flipping, dog walking and activities — may enable you to make more investments, start a business, go to the movies more often and partake of other leisurely activities.

What does extra income mean?

At the end of the day, extra income means one all-important thing: more freedom. Whether it’s the freedom to partake of the activities mentioned above, the freedom to be more picky in your employment options, freedom of mind or something else, extra income enables you to live a more free life.

Regardless of whether you want to earn extra income from home or earn an extra $1,000+ per month by any means possible, if you want the freedom that comes with earning extra income, the following list is for you.

32 ways to earn extra income.

1. Do freelance work.

Are you really good at website design? Perhaps you like to landscape? Do freelance work! If you have a skill that can help others fill a professional or even personal need, people are willing to pay for it — especially if you come to them and thus save them the search of looking for someone!

2. Drive Uber or Lyft.

It’s easy to earn $200+ in just a few hours of driving for Uber and Lyft. Even better, each company allows you to both set your own hours and cash out at any time.

3. Become a virtual assistant.

There are a lot of people who need help working their side hustles, be it with administrative functions, graphic design or otherwise — and being a virtual assistant can be your side hustle. 

4. Rent out your belongings.

Have a great speaker system? Extra foldable tables and lawn chairs? More cameras than most people know exist? It may be time to rent out your belongings. Doing so can help your clients save money on their end since they won’t have to buy a product(s) they’d only be using temporarily and puts money in your pocket. And you don’t even have to do any work!

5. Sell crafts on Etsy.

Do you make custom jewelry? Fancy thank you cards? Indulge in other arts and crafts during your free time? Turn a profit from your hobby by selling your handmade products on Etsy.

6. Check out Fiverr.

Whether you're skilled at editing papers, graphic design, or whatever else, there’s never a shortage of needs on Fiverr. Sign up today and have clients come to you!

7. Walk dogs.

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Especially in busy sits like New York and Los Angeles, dog owners don’t always have the time to walk their furry best friends and are thus more than happy to pay others to do it for them. Earning extra income could be as simple as walking a Dalmatian through the park twice a week.

8. Babysit/nanny.

Another pretty self-explanatory way of earning extra income. As long as there are kids on earth, there will always be parents hoping to escape from them for a bit here and there. And lucky for you, there will always be kids on earth. It’s kind of how humans don’t go extinct.

9. Become a bartender.

This can be a lucrative side hustle, especially if you live in a big city or a college town. Even if you yourself don’t drink, bartending can make you some decent money.

10. Pet sit.

Lots of people have pets. And lots of people go on vacation without their pets. Going in to feed and entertain Orangey the goldfish and Mr. Fluffy the dog once or twice a day isn’t a bad gig at all. If this interests you, you can get started today using online services like Rover.

11. Sell your old textbooks.

Let’s be honest, even if you love rereading your old college textbooks, there’s at least a few you haven’t touched since you left school. Most people don’t have the time nor desire to do school again on our own outside of the classroom. Luckily for you, there are tons of students who would much rather pay for your used textbook than purchase a new one.

12. Flip your stuff.

Most people don’t know how much things are really worth. Like the multimillionaire Gary Vaynerchuck does, you can take advantage of that in your free time. You can buy goods on the cheap at garage sales, on Craigslist and on Ebay and then turn around and sell them at a higher price fairly easily. 

13. Tutoring.

All of us are able to teach something. Even if you never took calculus, you probably have division down by this point. Whatever you excel at academically, even if it’s more basic, you can tutor to those currently struggling to learn it. And if you’d rather do this online than in person, check out sites like Tutor.com, TutorMe and Studypool.

14. Become a sports referee.

Whether it’s a local recreational league, high school, summer camps or otherwise, organized sporting events are always looking for referees. Though the licensing required varies by state, it’s easy to get, and the extra income is such that many make it their full-time income.

15. Substitute teaching.

The requirements for substitute teaching are much more minimal than you might expect. And as you can say yes or no to any teaching day that you're offered, making money substitute teaching is a fairly flexible side hustle as well.

16. House sit.

People with enough prized possessions that their wary of leaving the home unguarded when on vacation often look for trustworthy individuals to simply stay at and look after their empty house while they’re away. And these people pay well too.

17. Become a food delivery driver.

Be it driving for your local pizzeria, driving for UberEats or something else, being a food delivery driver isn’t a bad gig. You get to drive alone, listening to whatever music, podcasts, or audiobooks you want, only interacting with others when you actually pick up and deliver the food. And the tips are nice too.

18. Deliver groceries.

Many people, for a variety of reasons, are either temporarily or permanently unable to do the simple task of getting their own groceries. Assisting these people is a good way to make extra income, and an even better way to truly help those who need it. Services like Shipt can help you get started as soon as today.

19. Stand in line for people.

Those new Jordans that you didn’t even know were dropping? A lot of people are willing to stand in line for 24+ hours to get them. Others would much rather pay you to stand in line for them. Getting paid to do whatever you want while waiting in line? Not a bad way to make extra income.

20. Sell your unused and unwanted possessions.

We all have things that we don’t need or even want yet, for whatever odd reason, continue to hold onto. It may be time to get rid of these possessions and make money doing it. Whether through a physical garage sale, a Facebook one, Craigslit, Ebay or even word-of-mouth, there are plenty of ways to go about selling your unused and unwanted possessions.

21. Sell your children’s clothes.

Once your last child grows out of their clothes, you’re never going to use them again. So why not sell them? Children are growing every day, and clothing their growing bodies is expensive. Some parents will be grateful to find clothes that fit at a lower price than those at the mall.

22. Do tasks for people.

People are always in need of quick fix-it jobs and errand runners. Even if you just do this a few hours a week, that’s more income than you’d have otherwise. If you want to get started, TaskRabbit is the place to begin.

23. Take online surveys.

Survey sites like MyPoints, Survey Junkie and Vindale Research are always looking to pay people in exchange for honest opinions. If you have spare time on your hands, this may be a good way to fill it. This will by no means make you rich, especially quickly, but it’s not the worst way to make a few extra dollars.

24. Get cash back from using apps.

There are numerous apps that enable you to make extra money by doing things as simple as using your phone to scan your receipt after a purchase. If this interests you, some good mobile apps to start with are Ibotta, Ebates, Shopkick, Receipt Hog and Dosh.

25. Affiliate marketing.

Have a website that generates substantial traffic? Try turning that traffic into dollars via affiliate marketing. You can search for affiliate marketing offers on sites like ClickBank, CJ.com and Rakuten LinkShare. Just be sure to present the right offer to the right audience, and don’t ever spam your readers.

26. Participate in paid research studies.

Universities and research centers are always looking to conduct research on people. Do a quick Google search of opportunities in your area and see what comes up. Depending on the length of the study, you may walk away with anywhere from three to five figures in your pocket.

27. Become a mystery shopper.

The job description of a mystery shopper is fairly straightforward: you would be visiting a specific business or performing a certain transaction and then simply share the results of that experience. How to start doing this is a little more detailed, but you can definitely make extra income as a mystery shopper.

28. Transcribe audio into writing.

By no means is this the most fun job in the world, but someone has to do the often tedious task, and people are willing to pay for others to do it in their stead. A quick Google search will lead you to the most promising online opportunities to earn extra income in this way.

29. Rent out your car when you’re not using it.

If you're comfortable with letting others drive your vehicle when you’re not using it, you can make extra income while literally sitting on your couch. A prime place to start doing this is Getaround, which estimates you can earn thousands per year by sharing your parked car.

30. List an extra room in your house on Airbnb.

Listing your room or your entire house on Airbnb is one of the easiest ways to make a substantial extra income. Making money as an Airbnb host is simple and serves as an efficient way to literally make money from the comfort of your home.

31. Become an Amazon remote worker.

While this might not be the most glamorous job in the world, it’s a solid way to earn extra income. An enormous company that is always expanding, Amazon is continuously in need of remote workers and will pay anywhere from $10 per hour to $50,000 per year. For more salary information and to apply, just visit the Amazon Virtual Locations job page.

32. Test apps and websites.

Similar to online surveys, companies will pay people to test out their apps and websites and provide feedback on how easy things are to navigate, response times and just overall “flow.” Places like Whatusersdo, Enroll, UserFeel, Analysia and TryMyUi are great places to start earning extra income doing this in as little as 10-15 minutes.   

There are plenty of ways to make extra income. So dive right in! Why wait? Pick something from this list and go for it. Don’t delay the start of your journey to more freedom.

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