Who’s Got Time For Another Job?
Did you know that over 55% of millennials have side hustles to earn a little extra money on the side? Whether you’re happy with your job and want some extra fun money, you want to reach your savings target faster (to #Retire50), or maybe you want to pay down your student debt faster, a side hustle could be an interesting option. If you need a nudge in the right direction, we’ve provided a lot of different options below to help you get going in the right direction.
Ultimately, you’ll make the call on which side-hustle is right for you. We’ve shared 40 creative ways below to help you get started in the right direction.
40 Creative Ways to Earn Extra Money
- Referee a children or adults recreational sports league
- Depending on the league and availability of referees, you can earn anywhere from $20 to $80 a game! As an added bonus, you can get a little exercise of your own and stay plugged in to the sports community.
- Coordinate weddings for newly engaged couples
- Planning weddings quickly overwhelms couples who have no event planning experience, and there’s a huge industry around helping couples coordinate vendors. You’ll need to build relationships with vendors in the area, but if event planning is up your alley, definitely explore being a part-time wedding coordinator
- Sell products on Etsy
- Crafty people will excel here! There are so many amazing handmade items on Etsy, so don’t be shy about jumping into the mix. We know someone who creates embroidered gifts and makes a killing on Etsy, so go for it!
- Complete jobs on TaskRabbit
- This doesn’t take a lot of skill, so anyone can sign up to do tasks for other people. What I’m saying is that there are “No excuses here.” Go help someone move, plant flowers, shop for groceries, or whatever job you can find. The more you hustle, the better off you’ll be here.
- Freelance on Fiverr
- If you developed digital skills either on the side or for your full-time role, consider freelancing on the side. These jobs are particularly well suited for graphic designers, digital marketers, or content producers, but there are tons of options! If you haven’t dabbled in this area, use this as motivation to teach yourself a new skill.
- Freelance on Upwork
- Similar to Fiverr, freelance your skills on Upwork. You can get paid for data entry in excel, copywriting, website development, and more. Get started bidding on projects and earn that extra income!
- Post and look for jobs on craigslist
- If you don’t want to go through the above-mentioned platforms (because they do take a percentage of your earnings), post your job or look for job postings directly on Craigslist and hustle to get connections. This is great if you’re a photographer, help people clean, help moving, etc. Important to note, please be safe when responding to Craigslist job listings, as these postings are not vetted like Upwork and Fiverr. However, it can be a lucrative way to find local side jobs.
- Become a professional organizer
- Who actually likes organizing their place? No one! Help people take back control of their living space by being a professional organizer. Here is an example of a great professional organizer we know in California!
- Freelance writer
- If you’re particularly talented with words, freelance for companies that need an extra lift with writing creative content.
- User experience surveys
- Companies will often reach out to their target community for focus groups or surveys to learn how the market perceives their product. These opportunities can come through online posts or you can complete surveys on different apps such as ZapSurvey.
- Explore sperm donations
- This is an extremely personal decision that you need to be comfortable with, but you can earn extra income through sperm donations (if accepted).
- Women can sell excess breast milk
- Again, it’s an extremely personal choice that you need to be comfortable with, but there are services that will connect you with moms who are willing to pay for excess breast milk.
- Go walk some dogs
- Calling all animal people! Sign up on Wag just chat with your neighbors about walking their dogs when they are out of town. Plus, you get free puppy therapy! Or you can go the old school route and just ask your neighbors if they need their dogs to be walked.
- Have sleepovers with dogs
- Boarding dogs is really expensive when dog owners go out of town. Similar to Wag, you can earn a few extra bucks by watching their pets so they can avoid the steep costs of boarding. If you don’t know anyone with a dog, you can check out Rover.
- Help your neighbors with their yard work
- If you have a lawnmower or just the willingness to get down and dirty, get started printing those flyers and go find some business! This can be particularly valuable for elderly people in your neighborhood or families with young children that might have a harder time sparing an hour to mow their lawn or rake leaves.
- Paint houses
- Painting takes forever! Help your fellow community with sprucing up their house, inside or out.
- Drive for Uber and Lyft
- Enjoy being behind the wheel, hearing interesting life stories and making money. Consider driving for Uber and/or Lyft to pick up some extra money and learn the ins and outs of your city.
- Shop for groceries on Instacart
- Help people get everything on their grocery list by doing their shopping and delivering it to their house.
- Bring people their fresh meal via food delivery apps
- Write a book
- It can be as straightforward as putting grandma’s recipes into a cookbook, or if you’re particularly talented, consider a full novel.
- You can still babysit
- High school side jobs are still completely feasible options! If you love kids, offer to babysit so parents can still get out of the house from time to time.
- Design logos for companies
- If you have an artistic flair, there’s a pretty large demand for logo creation from companies that are just getting started or looking to do a brand re-fresh.
- Data entry
- Start scouring the internet for some easy data entry jobs. These are fairly mundane, low paying gigs, but it doesn’t take a lot of skill to get started.
- Rent out your car
- While your car is sitting parked outside and depreciating, it could be bringing in some cold, hard cash through car-sharing services like Getaround.
- Wrap an advertisement on your car
- There are legitimate companies that will pay you money for wrapping your car in advertisements. If you have a long commute into the office, consider wrapping your car with one of these companies.
- Create a YouTube channel and teach skills
- Do you have any unique skills? Or maybe a fresh take on a skillset? Great! Go teach the world on a YouTube channel and collect that advertising money.
- Part-time event staff
- My high school job was to work at an event center, and it was a great way to attend fun events and earn extra cash. Check out local event venues and see if they need part-time workers.
- Photography
- Are you skilled with a camera and photo editing? Seriously consider event photography (especially weddings and engagements) because you have an opportunity to make a lot on the side.
- Makeup artist
- Know the requirements to become a makeup artist in your area and go build a clientele list. There is a huge demand for good makeup artists for major events or weddings. If you love makeup, consider this as a side hustle.
- Become a part-time caterer (for church events, bar mitzvahs, etc.)
- You can make serious side-money for catering! Cooking for large groups is no easy feat and restaurants are crazy expensive. Offer affordable catering services and acquire an underserved portion of the market, just be sure you have the kitchen space to prep the food.
- Software bug bounty programs
- If you’re a strong developer, software companies will actually pay you if you uncover a new security bug in their platform. If you stumble on a security bug, reach out to see if they have a bug bounty program. The payout is higher for serious security vulnerabilities.
- Cash apps
- You won’t be earning money, but you are getting money back off of your purchases. Check out this post with suggestions on ways to earn more money with cashback apps.
- Invest in 401k with employer match
- Do you know if your employer matches your 401K plan contributions? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the next workday, go ask your HR team about these benefits. This is free money that you should absolutely be taking advantage of!
- Learn about long-term investing principles
- You need to learn about investing to ensure you earn passive income by letting your money work for you.
- Create short music sound bytes
- Huh? Check out this Planet Money podcast about how to make it big in the music industry. Each little sound byte serves as a lottery ticket that could help you make it big. This is a bit of a moonshot, but definitely a creative way to make money.
- Teach jewelry making classes
- If you’re a bit crafty, it’s not terribly hard to learn how to make fun jewelry, and then you can teach those new skills for a little extra money and have a fun time!
- Website development for small businesses
- Small businesses juggle a thousand jobs, and getting their brand online is a pretty big lift. You likely can find small projects to help these companies build out their website. WordPress development is a great skill to learn regardless.
- Sell your unused items on eBay, PoshMark, Craigslist, or Facebook MarketPlace
- See all that extra stuff lying around your house? Snap some pictures and post it online. You’ll have peace of mind once you get it out of your house and can earn a couple of extra bucks.
- Become a blogger
- There are a lot of blogs out there. This is great because people can find so many different perspectives on a variety of creative topics. Those that draw a consistent audience can bring in some income through advertising and affiliate marketing partnerships.
- Hit those yard sales
- Sometimes, people have some really amazing possessions, but they just need to get rid of them to support a last-minute move or redesign. Maybe an antique just needs a bit of a facelift. Go find those bargain items and resell them for a profit!
I hope these are helpful and creative ways to earn some extra money on the side! There are a lot of other options that I didn’t think of, but the best thing you can do is get started. Let us know what other creative ways you make money on the side!
Check out additional topics to make personal finance SLIGHTLY EDUCATIONAL on our Personal Finance page.
