If you’re looking for ways to earn extra money beyond a day job, numerous websites and apps can help you do just that.
In fact, in many cases, you can leverage resources you already have – your phone, your car, the junk in your garage – to earn additional income.
You’ll see what we mean in a moment. Here are 30 ideas that can help you make some extra cash.
Use Your Car to Make Money
With this strategy, keep in mind that you’ll spend money on gas, your insurance may go up and your car will experience wear and tear. But your car can be a major resource to help you earn money through these services:
Uber
To be an Uber driver, your car can’t be 15 years old or older, and it has to have at least four doors. You need to have at least one year of driving experience (three years if you’re under 23). This also should go without saying, but you’ll need a valid driver’s license. The amount of money you’ll earn depends on how much you drive and where you live. But you’ll be paid upfront for every drive, and any tips you receive are all yours.
Lyft
You must be at least 21 to drive for this ride-hailing service, though it depends on the state; in some states, you need to be 25 years old. You’ll also need to undergo a criminal background check. Your car has to have at least four doors. As for the money you’ll make, it’s the same deal as Uber: It depends how much you drive and where you live. You’re paid by the mile and minute, and tips and bonuses are all yours.
Postmates
You need to be at least 18 to deliver restaurant-prepped meals and goods through this courier service. You’ll be making deliveries, which is usually done by car, but you could also use a bicycle, the bus or hoof it on foot. The rate you receive depends on when and where you’re making deliveries.
Instacart
If you are a full-service shopper, you’ll make grocery deliveries through Instacart. How much you earn varies: drivers have reported making around $17 an hour. While the gig is pretty straightforward, you may have to attend an in-person orientation, and there will be paperwork, like a W-9 or W-4 tax form, depending whether you’re working as an independent contractor or a part-time employee.
Getaround
With this service, you rent out your car when you aren’t using it. Getaround suggests that if you have a nice car you may make several hundred dollars a month, but of course, it does depend on your car and how often it’s driven. You’ll keep 60% of that while Getaround takes a 40% cut. That may sound like a lot, and it is, but your car will be insured, and Getaround also covers roadside assistance. Your car must be at least a 2007 model or newer and can’t have more than 200,000 miles on it.
DoorDash
To deliver food door-to-door with this service, you need to be 18. Obviously, a car is great, but a motorcycle or scooter is fine, and in some cities, you’re allowed to deliver by bicycle. DoorDash’s main concern is that you pick up food from a restaurant and have reliable transportation to get meals to customers. There are a few other rules, like agreeing to a background check.
Carvertise
With this service, your car becomes something of a mobile billboard (without damaging its paint job), so you’re carting around a message – but not people, and nobody’s taking your car for a spin without you being there. You just drive around and live your life. Generally, drivers earn around $100 a month, which should pay for at least some of your gas, but Carvertise says you might be able to make up to $300 a month. You’ll need to be at least 21, have a good driving record and drive a car that isn’t from the 1990s or older.
Wrapify
This is a similar company. The website suggests, however, that you’ll make $264 to $452 a month, depending on how much advertising you have wrapped around your car. The brands Wrapify works with tend to be household names, and some vehicles, the website notes, are too hard to wrap ads around. So if you own a Hummer, Wrangler, PT Cruiser, HHR, VW Beetle or a soft-top convertible, you’re out of luck. Alas, it also doesn’t wrap motorcycles or motorhomes.
Make Money While Shopping
If you’re saving money, you can argue that you’re making money. But don’t get carried away using these sites to get deals. You are spending money with these sites – just less money.
Rakuten
You may know this company by its previous name, EBates. You earn cash back when you shop at stores partnered with Rakuten. Generally, you’ll get around 1% to 3% cash back, though it’s not uncommon to find deals where you’ll get 5% or 6% cash back and even up to 10% or more cash back. This can be a good deal if you’re planning to do some online shopping anyway.
RetailMeNot
This is also a cash-back site, and you’ll find coupon codes and promo codes, just like you can on Rakuten. You’ll save money using either website, but again, you’re spending money to “make” this money.
Capital One Shopping
This service specializes in finding the best price on products you buy online or in stores. It was previously called Wikibuy, but Capital One purchased it a couple years ago. Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension, and you don’t need a Capital One credit card to use it. Its cash-back option is somewhat limited; you don’t get cash deposited in your account like with some cash-back sites, but you can get points to redeem for gift cards.
Fetch Rewards
You take a photo of the receipts you collect from stores and restaurants, and then you get points that turn into rewards – most, if not all, which will be digital gift cards. It does seem easy enough if you get into the habit of taking those photos. Keep in mind that if your account is inactive for 91 days, your points will expire.
Make Money While Exercising
Really, there’s nothing to consider: It gets you out moving and away from the junk food, and you can earn extra money as well.
Sweatcoin
This is an app that you download, and as long as your phone stays with you, you end up earning digital cash as you walk around or run. You can exchange Sweatcoins at the app’s storefront to buy things, or you can donate them to charity. The website says it doesn’t sell customers’ data, but it may share information with brands that want to reach health-conscious consumers.
HealthyWage
This is a website where you bet money that you can lose weight in a certain amount of time. (Your weight needs to be verified, which you can do by sending in a video or by having a HealthyWage “referee” remotely witness you stepping on your scale.) If you lose the desired weight, you win prize money – and the money you bet. If you don’t lose weight, you don’t win money – and you lose the money that you’ve bet. What you win depends on how much you bet and if you’re successful at losing weight. If you aren’t careful when using this site, and if you go into this rashly, you may lose money instead of weight.
Evidation
Formerly known as Achievement, this is an app that pays you to track your steps as well as other activities, such as the time you sleep or how much you’re eating. (The company partners with health companies for market studies.) You can earn $10 for every 10,000 points you collect. Unfortunately, one step does not equal one point. It may take you a while to compile 10,000 points. In fact, the most points you can collect per day is 80.
Make Money Doing Odd Jobs
If you’re handy around the house or have a specialized skill, you can monetize your talents with these apps and sites.
Crowds on Demand
This has to be as odd of a job as it gets. This is a national service that will supply people with crowds. Do you need a crowd for a political rally or a protest or maybe a PR stunt? Crowds on Demand will furnish that for you. If you want to be part of that crowd, you can go to the website and fill out the “talent” form. It has been reported that people are paid anywhere from $60 to a couple hundred dollars, depending what you’re asked to do. It’s obviously not a gig you’re going to make a lot of money from, but it could be a fun occasional way to make some extra cash.
Thumbtack
And now we are back to reality – odd jobs that take some work. Still, if you really are good at odd jobs, like installing a TV on a wall or refinishing a bathroom or doing yard work or painting a room, this could be a good website for you to check out. But you only really want to do it if you’re serious about doing these odds job – because while you can set up a free account, you will have to pay some money (possibly just a few bucks; you’ll always know upfront how much) just to talk to somebody about doing work for them. In other words, it’s a good website for somebody who has a painting business on the side rather than somebody who thinks they would be willing to paint somebody’s house but hasn’t even bought the paintbrushes yet.
UserTesting
If you apply on UserTesting.com and are accepted, you will get paid to test how various websites and apps work. You’ll need to complete a short practice test and fill out some basic information. Your computer or phone will also need to be relatively new. You can earn $4 for every five-minute test you take, $10 for every 20-minute test and between $30 and $120 for participating in live interviews, offering your insights and thoughts about various websites and apps that you’ve tested.
Make Money by Selling Stuff
Earn money by clearing away the clutter. Think of all the CDs and books you’ve thrown away in the past because you weren’t sure if anyone wanted them. That practice can be a thing of the past.
Decluttr
This is a website where you can sell used CDs, DVDs, games, books and electronics like phones, tablets and game consoles. You scan items with your phone, and you’ll be given an instant offer on your item. You then print out a prepaid label and send your stuff for free. Assuming what you’ve sent isn’t damaged, you’ll get a check or a direct deposit. You might get a few bucks (or cents) from an old DVD or CD, but you also might get $100 for, say, an old smartphone.
EagleSaver
This site specializes in buying books (no textbooks), CDs, DVDs and video games. You can also ship these to EagleSaver.com for free after getting an instant quote for whatever you have to sell.
Ziffit
This website and app specializes in buying books. You scan or enter the barcode of the book, get an instant price, and ship the books (for free) using the website’s FedEx service.
SellCell
This is a website where you can sell your cellphones, tablets, smart watches and other tech. It finds cellphone buyback companies for you, and once you type in the make and model of your phone or other device, you’ll get offers. Select the price you want, and you’ll ship your device to the buyback company for free (usually, the buyer will offer a shipping label that you can print out). Soon after, you’ll get your money (sometimes by check, and sometimes by direct deposit or PayPal; it depends on the buyer).
Poshmark
Sell high-end fashion through this app and website. If you own a lot of brand-name clothing, you’re in luck. If you manage to sell an item for under $15, Poshmark will collect $2.95 as its commission. If you sell something for $15 or more, it’ll take 20%. Customers pay Poshmark, and then you take the money from your Poshmark account, either by direct deposit or a check.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace connects sellers and buyers, and it can be a nice way to earn a buck. Plus, Facebook doesn’t take a commission unless you’re selling items from an online Facebook store. Still, you’ll probably have to meet your seller somewhere (ideally in a public, well-lit place).
Stillwhite
Most people will use this website or app maybe once or twice, if at all. Still, if you have a used wedding dress that you’re willing to part with, here’s where you could sell it. There is a list of online retailers that you can’t sell a dress from on Stillwhite.com, and you have to pay a $25 listing fee (if you have multiple dresses to sell, that $25 will go down), but there is no commission to pay if you make a sale.
Make Money by Investing
Investing is never a sure thing. Before you get too excited and sink a lot of money into investments, read through the fine print on each website.
Acorns
It’s a neat idea: If you sign up for Acorns, it will round up the purchases that you make with a credit or debit card, and that money will go into a robo-managed investment portfolio. Still, there are monthly charges ($3 to $5 a month, depending how you set things up) that may offset the gains you’re earning from your investments.
Fundrise
This is an online real estate company that lets everyday investors purchase private commercial and residential properties by combining their money through an investment platform. In other words, if you’ve never been wealthy enough to invest in real estate, this is one way to do it. The minimum amount you’ll need to invest is $10, although depending on the type of account you want, you may have to invest more. You’ll also want to take note that there are fees, such as an annual management fee of 0.85% and an annual servicing fee of 0.15%.
DiversyFund
Somewhat similar to Fundrise, you’ll need a minimum of $500 to invest. There is also a 2% management fee, and it’s important to note that because of the way DiversyFund is set up, you won’t see any return on your investment for five years. That is, if you see a return on your investment. You could definitely earn extra cash this way, just not quickly.
Make Money by Offering Your Opinions
A lot of survey websites make you work pretty hard to earn cash, and granted, you’ll never get rich offering your opinion. But these sites could add to your bottom line.
Google Opinion Rewards
Basically, you answer questions and provide feedback for Google, and you get credits that you can use at the Google Play Store. You can direct the credits toward purchases of apps, music, games and movies.
FindFocusGroups.com
Some focus groups will pay a decent amount of money – like $50 or $100 or more – especially if you’re going to be spending, say, an hour or so offering your opinion on products or services. You might be asked to spend an hour and a half answering questions about your use of social media, or discussing your favorite brands of pasta or hot beverages. There will be plenty of focus groups that you won’t be a good fit for, but you should be able to find some that offer cash for your opinions.
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