With inflation eating up budgets around the country, most of us need more cash. Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to score a few bucks without ever leaving the house.
Learn how to make extra money from home to pad your budget!
How to Make Extra Money from Home
While there are tons of ways to make money online and hundreds of side hustle ideas for earning extra cash, we’re focused on two key phrases here: “extra money” and “from home.”
We’re assuming you’re looking for pocket cash, not a job-replacing side hustle. We’re also assuming you want easy money-making ideas you can do from home, not something like driving for Uber, where you have to run all over town.
If that’s what you’re looking for – look no further!
Here’s how to make extra money from home.
Play Mobile Games
My favorite way to make money from home is one of my favorite hobbies anyway: gaming.
Mistplay actually pays you money to play your favorite mobile games. The only problem is that you make the most money early on in the game, and it takes a lot longer to earn as you get into it.
But, if you’re going to spend your chill time playing a mobile game anyway, why not earn a few extra bucks? Learn more about Mistplay from our review!
Survey Sites
I know, survey sites have been around forever. Who doesn’t yet know that platforms like Swagbucks will pay you for your opinion?
But it’s one of the easiest ways to earn extra money from home, so of course, we’re including it!
If you haven’t yet, try it out today
But Swagbucks isn’t the only survey game in town. Check out Branded Surveys, Top Surveys, Survey Junkie, or HeyPiggy for more survey options.
Test Apps
Mobile apps are all the rage, but how do companies know they work?
They use testers, of course!
Sites like UserTesting pay people to test out websites. It’s a little complex, as you sometimes need to record your screen, answer questions out loud via microphone, or talk with a partner about your experience, but they do pay you for your time (though not enough to earn a full-time income!).
Product Testing and Research Studies
Companies need people to test their products and answer questions, and they’re often willing to pay for it.
Platforms like Maxion Research pay people to participate in these studies. Although some are in-person, many allow you to participate from the comfort of your own home.
You’ll have to test products or participate in studies to earn money, but you also get to keep anything companies send to you for testing.
Rent a Room
If you have an extra room, you’re leaving cash on the table by letting it sit empty. I know roommates suck, but if you need money, renting a spare room is a great way to get it.
Depending on where you live, you can rent a room for $500-$1500 a month, if not more! That’s way more than pocket money.
If you don’t want a long-term roommate and live in a touristy area, consider renting your spare room to travelers on Airbnb. You can rent for as many nights a month as you want.
Make it clear that it’s a spare room in an occupied home to avoid any misunderstandings.
Rent Storage Space
Sharing your space with another human is rough, but if you have room, why not share it with extra stuff?
A lot of folks have tons of stuff and not enough space to store it – that’s why self-storage companies are so popular. But, they’re also expensive.
You can fill a gap by renting our space in your garage or spare room for other people’s stuff. Apps like Neighbor help connect potential renters with folks who have space to spare. It works for parking spaces too!
Sell Data
Our data is precious, and we just give it away for free.
But did you know some companies pay you for it?
Companies like MobileXpression and Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel want your information, and if you download their tracking app, they will pay you for it.
Of course, you won’t make a lot. MobileXpression might pay $5 a week in Amazon gift cards. Still, it’s better than stealing your data, like most of the other apps do.
Freelance Gigs
When you need extra money, why not pick up some freelance assignments?
Platforms like Fiverr connect people with skills to people who need those skills for one-off assignments, like writing an article, designing a logo, search engine optimization, or project management.
Nearly any online skill has a marketplace on Fiverr, and the best part is you only need to work when you want to.
Online Tutoring
If you have a bachelor’s degree, you can tutor folks online to make extra money from home. Websites like tutor.com need educated folks to help teach the next generation.
They’re looking for tutors in all subjects at all levels, from Kindergarten through graduate school.
There are also a variety of niche tutoring sites for college placement exams or specific subjects – you just have to search for them!
Sell on Etsy
Ground Picture via Shutterstock.com.
If you love crafting, why not sell your creations on Etsy to earn a few extra bucks?
Okay, that can be a lot of work, with the creating and the shipping. But did you know you could also create and sell printables on Etsy?
It’s a great way to make extra money from home without leaving the house to ship stuff, which we all know is the worst part.
Lots of printables sell – from writing prompts to planners, educational tools to digital designs!
Write eBooks
Kitja Kitja via Shutterstock.com.
People who excel at creating stories can publish their work on sites like Amazon. They don’t have to be epic novels. Pocket romances and short stories can sell well, too.
The next time you write a cool story, try uploading it for sale on an eBook site. You never know, you might sell a few.
Stock Photos
Upload your photos to sites like Shutterstock to make money every time someone uses them.
The key to success with stock photography is professional-style photos that people will want to use in online publications or books. Travel photos and photos with a model work really well, but you never know who might need that niche photo of a dragonfly or baked goods.
It doesn’t hurt to upload them – as long as they are high quality.
Stock Music
With the rise in video on social media, there’s more opportunity than ever to make money with stock music.
It’s the same basic concept as stock photography. You create a piece of music and upload it to a stock site.
Making music is a little harder than snapping a photo, though. This side hustle idea works well for the musically inclined, but if you want to give it a shot, experiment with music-making sites like Bandlab.
Print on Demand
Let’s say you’ve got epic designs, but you don’t know what to do with them.
Consider popping them on merch and selling them on a print-on-demand platform. Check out sites like Teepublic, which are filled with user-created designs. You can make t-shirts, posters, coffee cups, blankets, pillows, and more, all with your unique, original artwork.
If other people love it, they can pay to get your design on whatever they want.
Translate
People fluent in multiple languages can make extra money translating. Platforms like Speakt connect multi-lingual folks to projects that need translating.
Translators may work on a wide variety of projects, from websites to magazines and even legal or medical documents. You must have a good grasp of both languages to be successful, but if you are, you can earn a decent side income from home.
Microtasks
Lots of people need help with small, online tasks, and they don’t want to pay freelance dollars to get it.
Enter the microtask platforms.
Websites like JumpTask connect people who need small jobs done with the folks willing to do them. Tasks might entail sharing content on social media, watching a YouTube video, leaving web comments, texting, or training AI.
Nearly anyone can do these tasks, and they take only a few minutes of your time, so you shouldn’t expect a lot of money, but it fills the time and provides some pocket cash.
Pet Sitting
When people travel, they need someone to watch their beloved pets. Though many want the pet sitter/house sitter combo, a lot of them won’t mind letting Fido stay with you.
If you love animals, consider opening your home to someone else’s animal for a few days. You’ll earn cash while enjoying a little extra companionship.
Sites like Rover connect pet sitters to folks who need someone to watch their furry friends.
Earning Pocket Cash a Breeze
These tried & true ways to make extra money from home won’t make you rich, but if you need a little pocket cash, why not give them a try?
What will you spend the bonus cash on?