Just a little over one year ago, my life revolved around making extra money so that I could pay down my student loans quickly and so that I could stop living paycheck to paycheck.
Eventually, I paid off my student loans which allowed me to have more financial freedom. I eventually left my day job and transformed my side hustles into my full-time career.
Without my side hustle income, I really don’t know what life would be like. Side income allowed me to drastically change and improve my life more quickly than if I only had income from one source.
I’ve done a lot over the years to make extra income, and it helped me improve my life as I described above. Besides doing things that aren’t really jobs, such as using Rakuten for cash back to using credit card rewards to earn free vacations, there are tons of other things I have done in order to make extra money.
Due to this, I thought it would be fun to talk about the different ways I’ve side hustled in the past. Below are some of the ways I make extra money or how I made extra money in the past:
1. I used to blog for side income, and now it’s a part of my business.
Of course, I saved the best for first. Blogging for income is definitely not a get rich quick scheme, but if you try hard enough, it is possible to make extra money from blogging.
It took me around 6 months to make my first $100 from my blog, and everything grew from there. I’m now making around $25,000 a month from my online business. Blogging is a lot of fun, so it’s nice to be able to make an income from this blog.
Here are some articles to help you out with blogging:
- How To Start A WordPress Blog On Bluehost (you can get a free domain by using my tutorial)
- How To Make Money Blogging
2. I used to staff write for side income, and now it’s a part of my business.
Freelance writing is something I still do and it’s what launched me into the whole side hustle world. I started freelance writing after someone read my blog and asked me to write for their website. I thought the whole idea was crazy, but I accepted the offer and everything just grew from there.
Read So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?
3. I mystery shopped as another side hustle idea.
I haven’t done any mystery shopping in a long time, but it was fun while it lasted. It didn’t bring in a ton of income, but it was a way to get free meals, free cosmetics, and more.
You can read an old post of mine about mystery shopping here. If you are looking for tips on how to make extra money in college, then this is a great idea. I did this in college and it was fun!
4. I babysat for extra income.
I haven’t babysat for money in a very long time, but it was a fun side hustle when I did. I used to babysit for a child who lived in my neighborhood starting when I was 14 years old. It paid around $10 an hour, and I babysat around 40 hours or more a week during the summer (and slightly less hours during the school year).
This is another great idea to make extra money. Whether you have your own children or you are looking for more tips on how to make extra money in college, this can be a winner if you like being around children.
Related content: 16 Ideas That Will Teach You How To Find Time To Make Extra Money
5. I used to take surveys as a way to make extra money.
Taking surveys was a “job” somewhat similar to mystery shopping. I would take surveys but they never really paid very much. The positives of taking surveys were usually the free items you were allowed to try out and the little bit of cash they paid as well.
Survey companies I recommend include Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, VIP Voice, Opinion Outpost, Survey Spot, Pinecone Research, and Harris Poll Online. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money.
Lastly, InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5.00 for free just for signing up!
6. I sold stuff around my home as a side hustle idea.
One thing I should probably still be doing is selling stuff around my home. I used to list items on eBay all the time, and I made a decent amount of side income by doing so. The only thing I didn’t like about selling stuff on eBay was the crazy amount of time it took. I know others find eBay fun, but I do not.
Now, I mainly just sell my stuff to consignment stores, donate, or give my stuff away.
A great place to sell your old electronics is Gazelle.
7. I would pet sit as one of the ways to make extra money.
I didn’t pet sit for long, but I did do it on a couple of occasions. I love, love, LOVE animals, so pet sitting was always a fun little job to do. I would get paid for letting out dogs, walking them, feeding, giving them any medications, and more.
8. I rented extra rooms in my house for extra money.
We have had three renters in our home since we bought our home five years ago. Two of these renters weren’t here for long, but my sister lived with us for a couple of years.
Renting a home in our house was a very easy way to make extra money since we always had the room and no work really had to be done.
9. I sold drinks at a concert to make extra money in high school.
Back in high school, I helped out a friend of mine and worked at a concert venue. They just needed someone for one day to hand out drinks to those entering the venue, and I was told I would get paid for being there, that it was a relaxed environment, and that I would be able to enjoy the concert after just working there for a few hours. That meant I was still able to enjoy the main band completely, and I got paid. I was also able to hang out with my friends so it was an easy one day job!
It wasn’t a ton of money, but it was a fun way to get free entry to a concert. You can usually do this with festivals and other events as well and it’s one of the fun ways to make extra money in high school (or college, or whenever!).
10. I entered giveaways as a way to make extra money.
I don’t enter many giveaways anymore, but it’s something I would like to get back into. I used to win money, gift cards, products, and more when I would enter giveaways as a way to make extra money. It wasn’t hard either, and it was a ton of fun to win stuff.
I would usually keep everything I would win, but I know others who sell their winnings on eBay or Craigslist if they don’t have any use for it.
What ways have to tried to make money? What would you not do? What are you making extra money for?
If you are new to my blog, I am all about finding ways to make and save more money. Here are some of my favorite sites and products that may help you out:
- Cut your TV bill. Cut your cable, satellite, etc. Even go as far to go without Netflix or Hulu as well. Buy a digital antenna (this is the one we have) and enjoy free TV for life.
- Save money on food. I recently joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first two weeks are free too) and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well!
- Learn How To Get Free Stuff
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I enter contests all the time!
Awesome Carolyn!
I never thought of doing this! Such cool tips!
I use to make some extra money critiquing resumes on Fiverr but it took up too much of my time.
Sounds like an interesting hustle. Thanks for sharing Connie!
I’m pretty sure i have done everything on this list except maybe selling drinks at a concert.(does a lemenade stand count when I was a kid) 🙂 These are all great ways to get a little extra cash in your pocket.
Thanks Tanya!
I have done a wide range of things to make money. I always tried to hustle on the side of any of my main jobs. When in college, I had multiple jobs and side hustles. I now will do a lot of things as long as they come with a good ROI.
Yeah, I’m all about ROI now as well.
I never had an idea about earning through mystery shopping not until I read this post. So far, I’ve done extra money through entering giveaways, taking surveys, writing articles and selling my old items as well as my winning in contests/giveaways.
Yes, I would definitely check out the mystery shopping article I mentioned in this post. It was a great way to get things for free and make a little bit of cash.
Hi, Michelle,
I just posted this same comment on Harry’s blog, but since it might help your readers, I hope you don’t mind me repeating it:
Another great read. I’ve always been a hustler from the day I could handle a snow shovel.
Two great side hustles I’ve picked up this year:
1. I live in Atlanta. There are several marketing research firms here,the largest of which is Focus Pointe Global. These firms pay big bucks for panel service. Most meetings last an hour and pay an average of $75 an hour. They’re fun and you get to influence companies and products. Over the last 3 months I’ve earned $750 — not too shabby!
2. I go for a walk every day. While I do so I collect aluminum cans. It’s great exercise, it’s good for the environment and I collect about $3 in cans each trip. I’m not going to get rich doing this, but 3 x 365 = $1095 a year!
Anyhow, just wanted to share. Looking forward to exploring your blog.
Paul
Those both sound like great hustles. Awesome!
Good list of side hustles Michelle! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Kayla!
I have secret shopped and I have done freelance writing. I would definitely draw the line on renting out a room in my home unless I knew the person but even then, I would probably have a tough time charging them.
We’ve only rented to people we knew who needed a place to live. I don’t think I could rent a room in my home to a complete stranger.
Thanks for sharing Michelle, I havent made extra money online however I would love to freelance as a writter. I tried using some freelancing sites but the whole process kinda freaked me out,I guess I will give it a try once more.
Yes, give it another try! 🙂
I’ve done a lot of things to make extra money such as selling mix cd’s and candy. My extra money is going to my debt repayment.
Sounds like a great reason to side hustle Jason 🙂
I take surveys all of the time. They don’t pay a ton, but they do offer me some extra cash every month. In addition to that, I also rent out my house and sell stuff around my house and I freelance write a little bit too.
For me, the money doesn’t go towards debt but for buying a few rental properties. The goal is to own 10 to replace the majority of our income.
Wow sounds like an awesome goal Jon! I would love to start saving for something like that one day as well too.
Yes, be more aggressive! 🙂
You raised a good point in at least one of your examples, being alert to opportunities to make a little cash even in one time or unusual situations.
Recently our town had a recycle day when the city took most recycles in for free with a small charge of $5.00 for electronics.Because I had a stove I pulled my trailer,l mostly empty. The line was long, 2 1/2 to 3 hours!
About a third of the way in one of the traffic directors asked if I wanted to help shorten the line by letting others throw stuff on my trailer for tips. I agreed and several of his assistants went back down the line behind me collecting recycles and tips.
I didn’t lose my place in line and got enough in the way of tips to pay the $20 I needed for my old computer gear and then some.
People are often asking for help with small tasks and willing to reimburse folks to help out. I wouldn’t charge close friends or family, but in many situations it is entirely appropriate.
Sounds like you had a great little day hustle. Good job James!
If we didn’t have kids i would do renting a room, been thinking i could get into babysitting or pet-sitting
Yes, you should look into it! 🙂
Facebook has actually made selling stuff easier. I’ve joined a lot of neighborhood swip-swap/garage sale groups. We’re moving so we’ve found stuff to sell. I put some things on there thinking no one would buy it and surprisingly on a lot of it I’ve had like 20 offers! I haven’t made that much but it’s been fun and the money is all going to our summer vacation!
Interesting! I noticed that a lot of my Facebook friends sell stuff on Facebook. I might have to try that!