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50 Lucrative Side Hustles Anyone Can Start Today

Shannon October 22, 2024

We could all use more money, right? Thankfully, you have a lot of options for picking up a little extra cash to spend on the things you need. Some of these opportunities hardly qualify as jobs, because they are easy tasks that will only take a few minutes out of your day to earn some pocket money.

Consumer panels are easy to do for some extra cash. Credit: Pexels

50. Join a Consumer Panel

Companies like Nielsen Consumer Panel gather data about what kinds of TV shows, food, and clothing that people are buying in the United States. If you sign up to be apart of one of their panels, all you have to do is download their app, and scan barcodes of the things you bought at the grocery store. By doing this, you can add up points and exchange them for free products. Just keep in mind that even if you don’t find anything today, consumer panels are changing all the time.

Tutoring can be a rewarding experience. Credit: Pexels

49. Become a Tutor

If you got good grades in school, why not put your intelligence to good use? There are tutoring opportunities both online and in person. Ask your local colleges and libraries for more details to see if there are tutoring programs, or post your services online.

It’s possible to make money off of your pre-existing medical condition. Credit: Pexels

48. Sign Up For a Clinical Drug Trial

If you are willing to try out a new medication for your medical condition, check out ClinicalTrials.gov to see if there are any opportunities you qualify for. These pay between $50 to $300 per day, and the length of time will change depending on the study.

It’s easy to make some extra cash with Swagbucks. Credit: Pexels

47. Watch Movie Trailers and Previews

While it sounds almost too good to be true, InboxDollars will give you $5 to sign up for their website, and you earn money just by watching movie trailers and other tasks that can earn you money. A similar website is called Swagbucks, where you get paid a few cents for watching videos. If you do this on a daily basis, it’s possible to earn a couple hundred dollars a month.

There are thousands of gigs on Fiverr in nearly every professional field. Credit: propakistani.pk

46. Sell Your Services on Fiverr

Contrary to its name, you can actually make more than five dollars per gig on Fiverr.com. There are all kinds of opportunities to make money with all kinds of skills, whether it’s through graphic design, voice acting, writing, or editing.

Pawn and consignment shops are willing to buy your used things. Credit: Pexels

45. Sell Something To a Pawn or Consignment Shop

You may have a pawn shop in your local area that is willing to pay for used items, and consignment shops that will display your items, and you get to split the profits once it sells. Keep in mind that not everything you bring into a pawn or consignment shop will be bought, and it is likely that they will turn some of your items down. If you are unsure, call ahead to ask.

Selling on Amazon has the potential to make a lot of money. Credit: Pexels

44. Flip Items On Amazon Marketplace

Amazon.com allows you to become a third-party seller, or send in your own items as part of the Amazon Prime marketplace. If you are able to get brand new items at a wholesale price, you may be able to make a profit. Just keep in mind that they have strict rules for condition and packaging.

Driving for Uber is great for people who need flexible work hours. Credit: Pexels

43. Drive for Uber or Lyft

If you have a nice car and a clean driving record, you can give rides to people on Uber and Lyft. The best part about being a driver is that you can put your availability on and off at any time, which means it works around your schedule. Keep in mind that there are more gigs in urban areas.

You can make some extra cash by delivering groceries. Credit: Pexels

42. Deliver Groceries and Takeout Food Items

For people with busy work schedules, they may not have the time to do their own grocery shopping. You can sign up to be a delivery person for apps like PostMates and Instacart. This usually works best

Consider helping your neighbors with landscaping to make extra cash. Credit: Pexels

41. Mowing Lawns and Shoveling Snow

One of the many difficult parts about owning a house is being responsible for maintaining your lawn or shoveling a sidewalk or driveway. A lot of people are willing to pay someone else to do it for them. Post your services on Facebook, or ask around to your neighbors to see if they want help.

You can get paid for donating your plasma. Credit: Pexels

40. Donate Blood and Plasma

Donating plasma is usually done by broke college kids who truly have no money for groceries. The more you weigh, the more plasma you can donate. The rates that you will earn will change from place to place, but expect to make roughly $20.

 

Secret shopper get paid for having fun. Credit: Pexels

39. Become a Secret Shopper

If you already love to go shopping, you can make money as a secret shopper. The amount of money you earn while shopping can vary from store to store, and it ranges from $8 to $25, plus reimbursement for your purchases up to a certain dollar amount. Keep in mind that there are a lot of scams out there, so you should never pay some kind of membership fee to get the job.

 

There are apps that will pay you to shed those extra pounds. Credit: Pexels

38. Get Paid To Lose Weight

While it sounds too good to be true, there are apps out there that will help you lose weight like HealthyWage and DietBet. Here’s how it works: You put up your own money and claim that you will lose a certain amount of weight in a certain time period. You have to upload proof of your weight loss, of course, and if you succeed, you can win prizes collected from the pool of participants who failed to lose their own weight.

You can publish e-books for sale on Amazon and the Google Play Store. Credit: Pexels

37. Publish an E-Book

Have a great idea for a book? Maybe you should consider self-publishing. Anyone in the world can upload a book to Amazon or the Google Play Store. On Amazon, you get to keep 70% of the profit after a book is sold, and the money will be deposited directly into your bank account once a month.

Businesses and celebrities need social media managers to run their accounts. Credit: Pexels

36. Become a Social Media Manager

Sometimes, businesses and celebrities need help managing their social media accounts, because they simply don’t have time to update it. But they understand just how valuable a brand’s following can be, and it’s worth paying for. Check your local job listings on Indeed.com and LinkedIn.

Help people with just about everything on TaskRabbit. Credit: KALW.com

35. Become A TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit is an app that anyone can sign up for and make a profile. You can do jobs for people like cleaning, helping someone move out of an apartment, household handy work, or being a personal assistant. If you’re lucky, you may find someone who needs help on a regular basis, and they know to call you again in the future if they need someone.

Used textbooks are still worth something. Credit: Pexels

34. Sell Your Old Textbooks

If you recently graduated from college, you may still have your old textbooks lying around. Most university book stores have a buy-back program, and you can also list your texts on Amazon.com as a third-party seller.

Great notes can help a student get better grades. Credit: Pexels

33. Sell Your Old College Notebooks

If you took great notes in your college classes, there may be someone out there who is willing to buy them. Just keep in mind that since a syllabus will change dramatically from school to school, this plan only works if you go to the same university, and can provide a notebook for a class given by the same professor. The price you charge for your notes totally depends on you, but remember, these are broke college kids!

The Acorns app helps you save money automatically. Credit: Pexels

32. Get Paid to Save

There is an old saying that you should “save for a rainy day”, and if you use cash, you would be surprised how putting your spare change in a jar can add up to well over $100 over the course of a year. Since most people use their debit cards nowadays, there is an app called Acorns that will do the same thing for you, and they even give you $5 for free just for signing up. Acorns will send the spare change from your purchases into a savings account. For example, if you spend $1.90, the remaining 10 cents will go into your digital savings jar. The only catch is that if your balance is under $5,000, they will charge $1 per month for their service, so that $5 cancels itself out.

Taking the time to call your utility companies just might pay off. Credit: Pexels

31. Lower The Cost Of Your Monthly Bills

Most people seem to accept whatever the price of their utility bills and monthly expenses are, but did you know that you can sometimes haggle down the monthly cost? Set aside a day to curl up on the couch and call your utility companies. Sure, you might be on hold listening to some dry jazz music for a while, but it will be worth it. Car insurance, cable, and mobile phone service are just a few examples of companies that are usually willing to negotiate your expenses or offer to include you in a promotional discount. Comcast has an entire “customer retention department” dedicated to this. If these companies refuse to give you a better deal, you can call up competing providers to see if it would save money by switching.

Credit: Pexels

30. Ask For A Raise

If you have been working at your job for over a year, and you are proving time and time again that your skills are valuable, it may be time to ask for a raise. This usually works if you know that you are in a competetive field, and it doesn’t hurt to know if the competition is also hiring. Whether it’s just a few cents to a few dollars per hour, every little bit helps.

 

Credit: Pexels

29. Search For Unclaimed Life Insurance Policies

The idea of an uncle leaving you millions of dollars in their will is an overused plot device in movies, but sometimes, people really do inherit money from a life insurance policy and never realize it. This most often occurs if someone’s parents or grandparents have passed away, and they were paying for a life insurance policy their children were unaware of. Check out MissingMoney.com to search for your dead loved ones, and if they passed away recently, make sure to call their former employer’s HR department to see if they had a policy through work.

YouTubers are the new celebrities. Credit: Pexels

28. Start a YouTube Channel

Nowadays, if you ask a kid what he or she wants to be when they grow up, they will respond “YouTuber”. It’s the new movie star or pop singer- except you get paid to make videos on the internet from the comfort of your own home.

Keep in mind, though, this task is far easier said than done. Now, YouTube only monetizes a channel after it has reached a certain threshold of subscribers and views, which makes it even more difficult to earn a living from it. But if you have a great idea, and you’re willing to stick with it, making a YouTube channel can really pay off in the end.

Some companies pay thousands of dollars to buy a domain name. Credit: Pexels

27. Buy and Sell Domain Names

When entrepreneurs start a new business, they will have to search to see if the domain for the website is available to purchase. There are people who make their living from buying clever domain names and re-selling them to buyers in the future. Of course, it requires putting some money up-front, and there is no guarantee that it will work, but some people have made hundreds or thousands of dollars from selling domains.

Credit: Pexels

26. Rent Out A Room In Your Home

You have probably heard of AirBnB, but you don’t need to have a second vacation home or an entire house dedicated to renting to travelers. Even a spare bedroom in your house or apartment can become a place for people to stay. If you live in or around a major city, you are almost guaranteed to find people who want to stay with you.

Credit: Pexels

25. Rent Out Your RV

When people buy an RV’s, camper vans, and mobile homes, they imagine going on epic cross-country road trips, but there are a lot of people who realize they use it far less than they ever imagined. With Outdoorsy, you can rent out your RV to people for an average of $150 to $200 per night.

Credit: Pexels

24. Upload Your Old Receipts

You have probably heard about sales that are cash back by sending in a rebate, but few people actually take advantage of those deals. It turns out that you can cash in with rebates from just scanning your receipts on apps like Ibotta. After accumulating value on the app, you can transfer your money to PayPal.

You can make money from cleaning out your closet. Credit: Pexels

23. Sell Your Old Clothes

Next time you clean out your closet, don’t donate or throw everything away. You can create an eBay or Poshmark account and send some of your clothes to buyers, so long as you are willing to ship the items. New or gently used items can be traded in to thrift stores like Buffalo Exchange or Plato’s Closet in for cash or store credit.

The government keeps records of old savings bonds for years. Credit: TreasuryDirect.gov

22. Check For Uncashed Savings Bonds

When your were a baby, your parents or grandparents may have put savings bonds on your name. Over the years, they tend to get lost during a move, a fire, or floods. Thankfully, the US Treasury keeps track of all savings bonds. If you think there is a chance that there may be a bond in your name, check out TreasuryDirect.gov, and it’s like finding free money.

Large pieces of metal can be recycled for profit. Credit: QualityMagnett

21. Recycle Your Old Metals

If you have an old washing machine or other appliance that is broken, don’t just throw it out, if you can help it. If you have a recycling center in your local area, it’s worth taking your large items there and trading them in for cash. Even soda cans can be traded for cash, but it takes huge garbage bags full just to make $2. Search online and call to your local recycling center for questions, because prices are subject to change.

 

Some people forget to claim their tax refunds. Credit: Pexels

20. Search For Lost Tax Refunds

If there was a year that you forgot to do your taxes, or you did not bother because you knew you wouldn’t owe anything, you may have been entitled to a tax refund. Check out USA.gov. The IRS allows you to amend your taxes for up to 3 years, so if there is an opportunity to fix past mistakes, it may result in hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Auctions are fun and profitable. Credit: BendHabitat.org

19. Go To A Local Auction

Even if you don’t have precious paintings worth thousands of dollars, there are still plenty of auctions that sell all kinds of household items. Furniture, art, antiques, and collectibles usually do the best at auctions. A quick online search of your local area will point you in the right direction.

Usually, if you want to sell your items at auction, you need to pay the auction house a base fee (whether the items sell or not), and they also get to keep a percentage of the total sales.

House sitting is watching after someone’s house in exchange for free rent. Credit: Pexels

18. Become a House-Sitter

There are some people out there who can afford to travel the world for free because they are a professional “house-sitter”. This is exactly what it sounds like- you get to watch someone else’s house while they are away. This usually comes with some kind of responsibilities as well, like watering plants, feeding pets, or walking a dog. Sometimes, luxury property owners will also pay you on top of giving free rent.

You may be eligible to free money through a class action lawsuit. Credit: Pexels

17. Check If You’re Eligible to Join a Class Action Lawsuit

Maybe you have gotten a check in the mail for a small amount of money, because your name was on file as a customer who deserved a payout during a class action lawsuit. These happen all the time, but that doesn’t mean they have the contact information for everyone who is eligible to get a payday. Check out Classaction.org on a regular basis to see if you can score some free money.

Etsy gives artists a place to sell their goods online. Credit: Pexels

16. Get Crafty on Etsy

Having a yard sale helps to clear out clutter and make some extra cash. Credit: Pexels

15. Have a Yard Sale

 

Petsitting is a great opportunity for extra income. Credit: Pexels

14. Play with Puppies

When people go away on vacation, many are afraid to put their dogs and cats in a kennel where they are trapped in a cage for hours at a time. Pet sitters can make a lot of money, averaging about $20 per day just to walk the dogs, scoop the litter box, feed them, and play with them. Stacking up multiple appointments in one day can turn into a lucrative income.

You can do some errands for busy people online. Credit: Pexels

13. Become a Virtual Assistant

There are busy people out there who can’t possibly do everything they need to do in 24 hours, so they have to hire a personal assistant. These tasks may be sending e-mails, making appointments, booking airline tickets, proofreading, social media management, and customer service. If you get a good reputation, you could increase your client base as time goes on, and make anywhere from $20 to $60 per hour just getting errands done online.

Be very careful when it comes to virtual assistant job ads, because many of them are scams. Never cash a money order or send money to someone you met online, and be cautious in general. Only go through verified agencies, like Elance, Fiverr, and Upwork.

If you own a lot of land, you can rent it out for events. Credit: Pexels

12. Rent Out Your Land

If you are lucky enough to own a farm or any other large piece of land, you might be able to rent it out for events in your local town, weddings, or even to movie studios who need to find a filming location. Check out LocationsHub.com for more information.

Caring for children and the elderly helps families, and you can earn money. Credit: Pexels

11. Become a Part-Time Caregiver

If you are great with children, older adults, or people with special needs, you may be able to make some extra money by being a part-time caregiver. Usually, you need to be certified to be a caregiver, or go through a government program. These requirements may change from state to state, so be sure to check with your local laws.

You can earn extra cash by letting people borrow your car. Credit: Pexels

10. Rent Out Your Car

It’s very common for people to rent a car when they are traveling out of town, but the rental depots don’t always have what people are looking for. You can rent out your car on a website called Turo.com. Some people make several hundred dollars a month, which is enough to cover the car payment.

 

You can earn hundreds of dollars in rewards through credit card offers. Credit: Pexels

9. Learn to Hack Your Credit Card Points System

If you get good at hacking reward cards, you can get free flights and hotel rooms for the rest of your life. All it takes is some clever spending.

For example, at the time this post was written, American Express is offering a signup bonus of 60,000 points when you are approved for their Platinum Delta Skymiles credit card after spending $2,000 on the card over the course of three months. That sounds like a lot of money, but a lot of apartment complexes accept credit cards to pay rent. So it’s actually very easy to pay $2,000 in three months, and pay off the balance in full right way. Or, you can pay for other essentials like groceries, car insurance, gas, etc. The key is to only make purchases on the card that you are already making, anyway, so you don’t overspend. The value of points changes depending on the airline, but in this example, 60,000 miles can pay for an $800 flight booking through American Airlines, or you can stretch its value even more by transferring the points to competing airlines.

 

Sometimes, making money is as easy as giving advice. Credit: Pexels

8. Answer Complicated Questions

If you have a job in a complicated field like law, medicine, or computer science, you can earn money by answering questions on JustAnswer.com.

People from around the world are looking for English tutors. Credit: Pexels

7. Teach English

If you’re reading this list, it means you can speak English fluently. And if you enjoy teaching, you probably already have the skills to become an English tutor. On websites like Brainfuse, you can make $12 and hour by tutoring people online, or you could sell your services for closer to $20 per hour once you have a lot of experience.

 

In the city, parking space is really difficult to come by. Credit: Pexels

6. Rent Out a Parking Space

In most major cities around the world, finding parking is a nightmare, and it’s easy to get a ticket or get towed without expecting it. If you own real estate or a garage in a busy area, advertise parking on Craigslist. Most people charge between $50 to $100 a month of a parking space, depending on the location.

Taking stock photos can be a great adventure. Credit: Pexels

 

5. Sell Stock Photos

Love taking photos? Then you might as well try to sell some of your pictures to stock photo companies. The only catch is that, of course, you have to wait for someone to come along who is willing to make the purchase. You can earn at little as $1 per download, up to hundreds of dollars if your work is popular. Check out websites like Shutterstock and iStockPhoto.

 

Working overtime means extra cash tacked on to your paycheck. Credit: Pexels

4. Ask For Overtime

Depending on where you work, there may be potential for you to earn more money by volunteering to take on overtime. If you are not sure about this, ask your manager. Not only will you make more money, but this also helps you look good in the eyes of your boss.

Dog walkers can earn a significant amount of money if they have multiple clients. Credit: Pexels

3. Become a Dog Walker

Some people dread the idea of waking up early on a cold winter day to walk fido down the street and pick up a doggy bag, so they want to hire a dog walker to do the job for them. If you love dogs, this may be a great gig, especially if you can figure out a way to make it fit into your existing work schedule. Some people even take on multiple dogs for a walk at the same time, which means making more money.

Disney fans might just love helping people book their vacation packages. Credit: Pexels

2. Become a Disney Travel Agent

If you are a Disney Park season pass holder and consider yourself an expert of their magical theme parks, becoming a remote travel agent might be the perfect side gig for you. They’re called an “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner”, and you can earn a commission if someone books a vacation package while talking to you. Check out Mickey Travels for more details.

If your closet is worth a fortune, you can make money by lending your clothes. Credit: Pexels

1. Rent Out Your Luxury Clothes

If you are the type of person who buys designer clothes or accessories for a special event, maybe you are one of the many people who is guilty of wearing a new outfit a few times before it just collects dust. Instead of letting your pieces hang in your closet for years, you may want to consider letting other people borrow your clothes with services like Style Lend. They keep 20% commission on the items you lend out, and they will pay you via PayPal or Venmo. For example, if you let a stranger borrow your Chanel purse for a week, the customer pays $150, and you keep $120, plus $6.50 for your dry cleaning bill.

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