Making extra money is on everyone’s mind these days. While there are more job openings right now than ever before, some people need more flexible ways to earn spare cash. For example, perhaps you already have a full-time job, and you can’t squeeze in a part-time gig. Maybe you have small children at home and can’t afford daycare. Or perhaps you’re a student who only has small chunks of extra time to work with. In all of these cases, you need a flexible money-making gig that will fit around your life and not the other way around.
In this article, we’ll explore five fun ways to start making extra money with little effort.
Sell Your Photos for Extra Cash
More businesses than ever are developing an online presence, which means they are putting up blogs, advertisements, articles, and other media. But they also need photos. So if you have a keen eye for photography, you can actually make money with your hobby by selling your photographs to stock image agencies like iStock, Shutterstock, and other sites. Then, every time someone downloads your photo, you’ll make a little money. This is an excellent passive income idea that can help you earn spare cash even while you sleep.
Deliver Food
If you like to drive and don’t mind spending your time in a vehicle, you can join apps like Doordash, UberEats, and GrubHub and become a food delivery driver. You choose your own schedule based on what is convenient for you, so if it’s finals week at school or you’re going on a family vacation, it won’t be an issue. This gig is especially great for introverts since, unlike Uber or Lyft, you don’t actually have to talk to anyone. Depending on where you live, you may not even need a car. In some cities, food delivery companies allow drivers to use bikes and scooters.
Sell Your Unwanted Clothes
If you live near a consignment store, you may be able to unload some of those clothes you’ve never gotten around to wearing. If they are just going to sit in your closet anyhow, you may as well make a little money for them. This isn’t a fast way to make cash, as you’ll have to wait until the items sell to get paid. Alternatively, you can also sell outfits you no longer want on apps like Poshmark. This will also allow you to set your own price. And, since Poshmark provides the shipping labels for you, you’ll never even need to leave the house.
Rent Out Some Space
If you have an extra room or two in your house, you could rent it out on a short-term rental site like VRBO or Airbnb. This is a great way to earn some income fast, and you’ll continue to make money each time a new guest checks in. It’s a lot of fun, too. You’ll get to meet new folks from all over the world. If you don’t have any spare room, you can also rent your basement, attic, or garage out for storage space. In some cities, parking is so hard to come by that people will rent a portion of your driveway for the privilege of parking. Sites like Spacer can help you get started.
Complete Paid Online Surveys
You’ve probably seen plenty of ads about taking online surveys for money. But, if you haven’t tried out this method of bringing in some spare cash, maybe now would be a good time. Paid surveys are a great side gig, especially for those who don’t have much time to spare. That’s because you can complete surveys anytime and anywhere you want, as long as you have a smartphone, tablet, or computer and access to the internet.
However, one of the biggest mistakes people make (especially those who claim to have no luck with paid surveys) is choosing the wrong survey site to work with. There are hundreds of survey sites that advertise huge weekly earnings, and most of them are scams. A legit paid survey site will never promise you exorbitant amounts of cash. But you can make a decent amount of money to pay a few bills, buy something you need, or set aside for a rainy day.
How To Find a Profitable Survey Site
The point here is that you want to make money, so choosing the right site for surveys is essential. Of course, we’ve already talked about scam sites that promise unrealistic compensation, but what does that mean?
Many companies have ads claiming that participants can make $50, $100, or more per survey, but these promises never pan out. That’s because you can’t make that kind of money with online surveys. Sites can’t afford to pay it. And let’s be realistic—if they could, everyone would be doing paid surveys for a living!
Surveys are a big part of market research. Companies need your valuable input to make decisions about the next big products coming to the marketplace, and they are willing to offer a little bit of cash to hear your opinions. So, in general, a legit survey site will pay around $.50 to $3.00 for each completed survey. If you find a site offering more, it’s almost certain you’re dealing with a scammer.
Here are a few other ways to recognize a scam survey site:
The Site Asks You for a Membership Fee To Join
Legit sites will never require that you pay a fee to join, so don’t do it. Even if it’s a small amount, it’s still your money that you will never see again.
The Site Asks You for Too Much Personal Information
Naturally, survey sites need to have a certain amount of information to understand you as a customer. They will want to know your name, shopping habits, preferences, and what area of the country you live in. However, legit survey sites won’t ask you for personally identifiable information like your social security or bank account numbers. This is how identity theft happens.
They Don’t Have Any Legitimate User Reviews
Legit survey sites develop a good reputation with their users. Once people see that the site is on the level and get paid, they usually want to share the information. Therefore, it will be hard to find any information (let alone reviews) for scam sites.
On the other hand, reputable surveys sites like Branded Surveys have been in the industry for years and have a loyal following. For example, Trustpilot has over 42,000 reviews from happy members of Branded Surveys. On top of that, they offer a rating of excellent. This is the kind of site you want to be working with.
How Do Paid Surveys Work?
Once you’ve found the site you want to work with, the rest is easy. All you need to do is register with your information, confirm your email, and you’re in. There are no special skills or qualifications required to join, which is another reason why paid surveys are a great way to make money online.
Once you’ve signed up, you can start taking surveys for money via Paypal (or one of the other methods listed below). The first opportunity to earn will usually be with profile surveys. These are designed to get to know you better and obtain more information about your shopping habits and product preferences. You won’t want to skip over these, as the company will use them to match you with the best surveys for you.
Finally, you can start taking regular surveys. Just pick something that interests you and begin. Take your time considering each question and answer honestly. When you are finished, you can take another survey, and another, and so on.
Most sites have a “point system” of payment. After taking a few surveys, you’ll see your points increase. Then, you’ll be able to convert these points to cash or gift cards. For example, if you choose Branded Surveys, you can convert your points to cash and get paid via Paypal or Branded Pay, which works like direct deposit.
Alternatively, you might wish to collect your earnings in gift cards. Branded has dozens of options to choose from. For example, you can select gift cards from restaurants, retail stores, travel services, and all kinds of other places instead of cash. You can even take surveys for Amazon gift cards and spend your money at the world’s largest online retailer.
Repeat the Process
Now, whenever you need some spare cash, you can sign into your preferred site and start taking surveys. Or, you could set aside some time each day to take paid online surveys and save up all your points for a set amount of time. There are no hard-and-fast rules—you will figure out a method that works for you.
One of the best things about this fun way of making money is that it’s highly flexible so that you can fit it into an already busy schedule. You can take surveys anytime it is convenient for you. For example, you can take surveys:
- While waiting for the bus
- During your commute
- In bed at night
- Between classes
- On your lunch break
- In a waiting room
- While the kids are napping
- On vacation
Closing Thoughts
This concludes our list of fun ways to make extra money with little effort. You can try just one of these or combine side hustles to earn even more money. There are plenty of opportunities to earn a little cash on the side with a bit of determination and effort. If one method doesn’t work, you can try something else. Now get out there and make some money!
