Looking for ways to make a little bit of extra cash in your spare time? Making a bit of extra money can help you avoid getting further into debt, save more for a rainy day and prepare for unexpected costs that may crop up.
Here are twenty genius money making tips which will help you earn extra money:
1. Get paid to do surveys
Customer insight is extremely valuable for many companies and brands. They want to know what existing and potential customers think and how people make their spending decisions. The insight allows companies and brands to tweak advertising campaigns and launch products that will sell.
Brands glean customer insight from survey companies, who then pay people for sharing their opinions. It’s a great way to fill any spare time you have waiting for the bus or train.
RewardSurvey, Inbox Dollars, Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Opinion Outpost, and Vindale Research are survey companies that will pay you for taking surveys and giving feedback.
2. Rent out an extra room
If you have a spare room in your house/apartment, you may as well earn some money from renting it out. Even if you don’t have a spare room, you can rent your room out when you go on vacation.
You set up a security lockbox so your guests can access the house keys with a combination code you can send them via email.
The most popular website to rent rooms out is Airbnb but some great alternatives are Booking.com, Vrbo, HomeAway, Flipkey, and Homestay.
3. Throw a dinner party
You can get paid for hosting a dinner using Meal Sharing, Airbnb Experiences, Cookapp, and Eatwith.
Travellers are willing to pay good money to sample local cuisine and experience a culture firsthand. The key is to make them feel welcome and impress them with insight into local customs and practices.
4. Pet sitting
If you have love and affection for all things fluffy, you may as well get paid for it using Rover or Petbacker. The pet-sitting websites connect you to pet owners who need someone to walk, feed and stroke their beloved pets.
5. Sell your clothes
Do a big spring clean over one weekend and bundle up all the clothes you don’t need or want anymore. You can sell them on FB Marketplace, eBay, DePop, Thred Up and Platoscloset , which all pay for second-hand clothes.
6. Sell your clutter
If you find any gadgets or electronics during a spring cleaning session, you can also make extra money selling them on Decluttr and Gazelle.
7. Rent out your garage /car park
Finding affordable parking can be a real pain, so if you have a spare car parking space or garage, rent it out! ParkPnp, Spacer, and Stashbee let you list your car parking space or garage allowing you to earn from your extra space.
8. Shop for groceries
There is no secret that everyone is busier nowadays. Shopping for groceries takes up valuable time which many people don’t have. You can earn extra money shopping for other people’s groceries using Instacart, Postmates, and Homerun.
9. Rent your car out
If your car is just sitting on the driveway gathering dust over the weekend or while you are on vacation, you may as well earn from it.
Getaround, Turo and Hyrecar will connect you will people who will pay to rent your car.
10. Sell your photos
If you are fond of taking snaps at any given time, you can earn money from your digital photos on 123RF, Foap, Stock Adobe, and Burst.
The trick is to look at popular pictures that are selling well and to replicate the types of photos that earn more money than others.
11. Deliver food
One of the quickest ways to start earning money now is to use your free time to deliver food from restaurants.
You can work the hours that suit you. Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Deliv, and Doordash are grocery delivery providers that will pay you to deliver food for them:
12. Test websites
You can get paid to test websites and provide feedback on whether a site is user-friendly and any recommendations to improve them. User Testing pay people to review all types of websites. Each review earns you between $10-60 and they take around 30 minutes.
13. Take part in a focus group
Focus groups are an old-fashioned way to get customer feedback. Some focus groups pay up to $150 for 60 minutes of input. A lot of focus groups are local to one area, so it’s worth googling focus group + your city, to find focus groups that will pay you.
Alternatively, you could try m3 Global Research or FocusGroup.com
14. Drive people around
You can earn extra money in your free time driving people around. The busiest and best paid times are Friday and Saturday evenings or during popular events such as concerts. You can advertise your driving services on Lyft or Uber.
15. Review music for cash
You can get paid to review music on SlicethePie. They pay you for your feedback om the music and bow it can be improved. You just fill an application form with your details and they will send you an array of music to review.
16. Get paid to be someone’s friend
This is a slightly quirky way to earn money. Rent a Friend allows you to get paid for your friendships (nothing more!). People pay between $10- $50 for you to accompany them to a movie, restaurant, show someone around town or become a +1 at a wedding or an event.
To become a friend you just need to fill in an application form describing your personality.
17. Sell your hair
Initially, this may sound a bit weird, but once you think about it, it makes total sense! The hair and beauty industry is lucrative. People pay large sums of money for hair extensions and to be able to walk around with long healthy locks. You can sell your hair and get paid for it on HairSellon and Buyandsellhair.
18. Sell your notes
Recently, an Irish student made USD3,300 selling his high school notes. You can do the same by selling your notes on Stuvia, Nexus Notes, and Notesale.
People will pay good money to learn how to boost their grades. If you have neat handwriting or have typed your notes up, you can earn extra cash from your studious efforts!
19. Sell your books
Selling any old books is also a good way to earn extra cash. Websites such as Bookscouter and Halfpricebooks pay money for old books that you won’t need anymore.
20. Get paid to sweat
Some companies will pay you to exercise. Sweatcoin is an app that pays you for every step you take. You earn sweat coins for every step, which can be used to purchase fitness products. So you can fit, lose weight and save extra money while you are at it.
Making extra money doesn’t need to be complicated or take up too much of your time. With a little creativity and effort, using these twenty tips we share, you can be well on your way to hitting your savings goals.
Have we missed any? Please share them in the comments below!