17 Ways to Make Extra Money Today

The world doesn’t stand still and always adjusts to changing circumstances. And it’s not a secret that the coronavirus pandemic brought many novations into our regular lives. Besides all the negative impacts it has on us, there’s at least one positive. Coronavirus shows people how easy it can be to get paid for some online activities you do from home during your free time. It unexpectedly turns out that all you need to get a passive income is an internet connection and your social media accounts.

Some people consider online jobs the way to earn more money in addition to the salary they get from a full-time job. Others see it as a chance not to be tied to one place and work from anywhere in the world. No matter what your long-run objective is, online ways to make extra money may be a good alternative to traditional ways of earning cash.

Money-making ideas are all around us. Whether you want to change your field of work or just wonder how to make extra cash without a job, we have some fast and simple options for you. Here are the best quick ways to make side money online and offline for beginners.

Table of Content

How to Make Extra Money: Online and Offline Options

1. Start Your Freelance Career
2. Become a Translator
3. Create an Online Course
4. Test Websites And Apps
5. Sell Your Clothes
6. Become a Tutor
7. Consider Dropshipping
8. Start Your Money-Making Blog or a YouTube Channel
9. Find a Part-Time Job
10. Take Online Surveys
11. Try Yourself as a Virtual Assistant
12. Rent Out Your Unused Space
13. Become a Pet Sitter
14. Start Your Career As an Audiobook Narrator
15. Sell Your Photos
16. Create and Sell Hand-Made Items
17. Consider Vacation Rental

Alternative Ways of Getting Extra Money

1. Consider Personal Loans
2. Apply for Online Cash Advances
3. Keep Track of Your Expenses
4. Do a Smart Shopping
5. Plan Your Meals

FAQ

How to Make Extra Money: Online and Offline Options

If you have spare time and are looking for an easy way to make money from home in one hour, check out the list of available options below. Some of them allow you to earn just a few hundred dollars while others can help you get good money even in one day.

1. Start Your Freelance Career

Freelance is not only one of the quick ways to make money. It also allows you to move your regular job from offline to online. Thus, you can create your own schedule and offer freelance services when it’s convenient for you. Freelance opens up new possibilities and may be a great option for people who are looking for more flexibility than traditional full-time jobs can offer. Whether you’re a graphic designer, a digital marketing specialist, a copywriter, a proofreader, a web developer, a data entry clerk, or a freelance writer, you can find an appropriate job offer on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, or Freelancer.

Of course, as a newbie in a gig economy, you may have to offer a low price first to get a review and find good paying customers. Thus, you won’t probably make a million dollars straight away, but it is still some extra income you can spend on your personal needs. Once you gain experience and get a few reviews, you can get paid higher and make money online on big projects. So, if you have skills in any kind of work you provide offline and wonder how to earn money online, becoming a freelancer is a good way to make extra cash in your spare time. Also, freelancing can become a full-fledged alternative to your regular full-time job if you’re looking for more flexibility. However, some sites may ask for a fee or a down payment to start a career, so you should always read the fine print.

2. Become a Translator

If you know some other languages and are fluent in them, consider offering translation services to people whose first language is not English. People may need various assistance, from interpreting to document translation. Thus, you can both practice your language skills and get some passive income from it. You can also find multiple platforms that allow you to make money online. Welocalize, Gengo, and One Hour Translation are the most popular and successful ones.

3. Create an Online Course

Online courses are one of the best ways of making money online. However, you should be an expert in some area to monetize your knowledge and make your online courses useful and valuable for other people. If you’re not an influencer with a large audience and don’t have your own website, use services like Skillshare, Teachable, or Udemy to sell your online course. If your knowledge of a subject is of great value, you can earn up to $5,000 per month.

Creating a popular and successful online course always starts with a niche analysis. Check out what other course creators offer and try to find weaknesses in their products. Perhaps you can create a more demanded product by offering some unique knowledge to fill in the gaps you find in the created ones. Check out customer reviews to have an idea of all the fors and againsts of an existing course. This way, it will be easier for you to understand which aspects are really convenient and useful, and which ones you should give all your attention to. Thus, you can create a course that will solve the existing problems and combine all of what users rave about.

The platform you choose to sell the course also plays a big role. If you are selling a course through your own website or Instagram page, you will have to learn more about the available promotion tools or delegate this part of the work to social media specialists. When using specialized platforms, you can simply set it and forget it without paying extra cash for advertising and marketing. However, promoting your course on social networks and blogs will never hurt.

4. Test Websites And Apps

Consider beta-testing for sites that allow users to earn money in exchange for feedback. All you need is your PC or mobile phone and an internet connection. Some companies may also have requirements for your gadget’s operating system (for example, only Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS devices). This job is commonly pretty simple. You need to simulate the real user’s actions by making logical steps, depending on the site specifics. If you notice any error or find any discrepancies between the expected and actual outcome, you need to inform the company in order to help it fix the bug.

5. Sell Your Clothes

Check out your wardrobe to find out whether you have some unnecessary clothes you can sell online. Consider selling them through your local consignment store if you need money in a few minutes. You can also sell items online by posting them on your social media accounts or using some online stores and services, such as Depop, Poshmark, and ThredUp. Also, you can make a yard sale to get rid of your gently used clothes or visit some Facebook buy-and-sell groups.

6. Become a Tutor

Online tutoring is a good way to make extra money within your own hours. Actually, it is one more way of selling your knowledge to people, especially if you have a teaching degree. An online tutor can make over $2,000 in one semester, so it is a pretty good amount of extra pocket money you can get. Moreover, if you tutor people online, you don’t even need to worry about renting a room and paying utility bills for it.

Tutoring people is now in high demand. Many people seek help from tutors in order to prepare for exams or to improve certain skills they need to move up the career ladder. So, regardless of the field of your study, you can easily find students even among foreigners. All you need is to have a degree, be an expert in the topic, and know how to make fascinating lesson plans. By the way, if you’re good at English, you can still make money online from it, even without a degree. English from native speakers is very popular now with foreign audiences.

7. Consider Dropshipping

Since most companies have come to the conclusion that an online business may work even more efficiently than the traditional one, more and more instruments have appeared. So, if you’re looking for different ways to make extra cash or want to start your own successful business, dropshipping is probably one of the most popular options.

Dropshipping is a business scheme when a customer leaves an order in an online store, and the store owner transfers the order to a manufacturer or wholesaler. The manufacturer processes the order and sends it directly to the customer. Thus, the dropshipper doesn’t need to have a physical store or warehouse. Dropshipping offers the following advantages:

• Doesn’t require large investments. You only need to open an online store or create a page on social networks to attract potential customers. It doesn’t require large start-up capital, so it’s an accessible option for almost everyone.
• Low organizational costs. You don’t need to worry about warehouse and logistics, so dropshipping is much easier than wholesale. Actually, you’re responsible for only three processes – creating and filling the marketplace, attracting customers, and communicating with them. When it comes to processing, packaging, and shipping, the supplier takes all the risks.
• Wide partnership opportunities. Since there is no physical warehouse, there are no restrictions on filling the trading platform. You can partner with multiple vendors and sell the goods and items you like.
• You’re not tied to one place. You can manage your dropshipping business from anywhere in the world with just a laptop and the Internet.

However, dropshipping also comes with some cons. The main disadvantage is high competition. Since dropshipping makes it quite easy to make money online, many people try their hand at it. Also, if the supplier doesn’t deliver goods on time, the blame will be on you in the eyes of your buyers.

8. Start Your Money-Making Blog or a YouTube Channel

If you wonder how to make extra money online and have an area of expertise, consider monetizing it. You may get paid for your expert view by donations or attract advertisers if you have a huge audience. Maybe you’re an expert in the beauty sphere, good at playing games, or can share useful tips on budget traveling. All of these may work if you find your audience and manage to make a fascinating blog or channel.

Focus on some narrow niche and learn more about what people want to see. It is the key to building a strong, loyal audience. Once you have about 1,000 subscribers, you can add some ads and start to monetize your facility.

9. Find a Part-Time Job

It may be a remote job, for example, a social media manager or a virtual assistant, or a day-to-day local facility. You can work as a food delivery driver in your free time or consider being an Uber driver if you don’t want to deliver food. Thus, you can make your own schedule and make money when it is convenient for you. Visit websites, such as Indeed, FlexJobs, or Sanagajob, and learn more about the options available in your area.

10. Take Online Surveys

Taking surveys is not the way to make money that comes with high payoffs. However, it is a pretty sweet deal that allows you to get paid for just answering marketing questions. This way, you can help companies improve their products and services. For example, paying survey sites like User Interviews, Survey Junkie, and Respondent allow you to get about $10 for each survey you complete. So, you can give it a shot if you don’t have any specific skills and need a small amount to cover your cash shortages.

11. Try Yourself as a Virtual Assistant

If you’re self-organized and are good at communication and conflict resolution, becoming a virtual assistant may be another good way to make money remotely from home. Virtual assistants usually complete simple tasks, like answering emails and phone calls, communicating with customers, consulting them on different issues, or helping a business owner with other small assignments. You can use a Zirtual free app or consider Upwork and FlexJobs websites to find a virtual assistant job.

12. Rent Out Your Unused Space

If you want to make money out of thin air, consider renting the extra space you have in your home, garage, driveway, parking spot, or anywhere else. This option allows you to get free money each month without making any effort. Your space will be used to store other people’s belongings.

Moreover, renting your free space always comes with liability insurance that protects your property from damage. The exact amount you can get from it depends on your local market rates and on how much free space you have. Some people can earn over $10,000 per year. Use the Neighbor platform to find out what payoffs you can get for your unused space right now.

13. Become a Pet Sitter

Pet sitting is increasingly popular nowadays. Pet owners sometimes go on business trips or vacations, and it may be tough to find a pet-friendly place to spend your time abroad with your four-legged friend. In addition, it may lead to huge stress for your pet. That is why pet sitters have become popular. They are pet lovers who look after animals while their owners are away. Pet sit is a great option for animal lovers who get along well with them. How about making money on taking a dog for a walk or boarding it for a short period while the owners are on vacation? Sounds like a sweet deal!

14. Start Your Career As an Audiobook Narrator

Audiobooks are booming now as many people find it one of the most convenient forms of “reading.” So, being an audiobook narrator is another way to make money online if you have the skills to do it. It may seem this job is as easy as pie, but, in fact, it’s much more complicated than it seems at first glance. It’s really important not only to have a pleasant voice or skills in reading stories to children before they fall asleep but also to have some acting and performing background. However, you can take training and try your hand at this job.

15. Sell Your Photos

If you’re good at photography and want to make money from it, consider selling your photos to magazine editors, designers, or other companies that are interested in photo content. You can use stock photography websites, such as Getty Images or Shutterstock, to upload your images to a database and wait for some payoffs. As your image can be sold unlimited times, this way of making money allows you to continue earning extra cash without any additional actions.

16. Create and Sell Hand-Made Items

You can discover you have a talent for something after getting inspired by other people’s creativity or while trying a new hobby. You may be good at making bags or belts out of leather, weaving carpets, making candles, or even painting sensual pictures. Hand-made items are now of a high value. They are usually of excellent quality and can perfectly emphasize your individuality. Try to create some stuff that is interesting for you. You can also create your own online store or use other platforms and social networks to promote and sell your goods.

17. Consider Vacation Rental

If you live in an area that is attractive to tourists and have some free rooms, consider making your home a vacation rental. People may be interested in staying in your place as it is usually less expensive compared to hotels and guesthouses. But before setting a cost, check out the rental rates in your area to offer a competitive price.

Alternative Ways of Getting Extra Money

Sometimes it takes time to earn extra money, so some of the options offered may not fit you when you need cash instantly. Also, the best way to get more funds is to learn how to plan your spending and find ways to save money by removing unnecessary items from your list of monthly expenses. Money is not just for those who earn much but for those who know how to manage the budget properly. Here are some alternative ways of getting fast cash and useful tips on saving money on your common expenses on a monthly basis.

1. Consider Personal Loans

Personal loans may be a good option if you need to make a major purchase or take out an amount to cover your personal needs like a new smartphone. It is also a good way to get cash if you want to start your own business or buy items you need to start making money online. You can obtain a personal loan from traditional financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions. You will get one lump sum payment in your bank account and will be asked to repay the money in equal monthly payments within the loan terms, which are usually up to 60 months. All you need to apply is to prepare all the required documents, meet your lender’s basic qualifications, and have a good credit score.

2. Apply for Online Cash Advances

Online payday loans are usually an option for people with bad credit. They are also popular with individuals who need money urgently and have no time to gather many documents and wait for a loan decision. These loans usually offer fast money funding within one business day and are almost perfect for covering some financial emergencies. However, these loans usually have high interest rates and limited loan amounts. Also, an online lender may offer you an inconvenient payment plan.

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3. Keep Track of Your Expenses

You can change things only when you know how much money you spend and what you use it for. It may seem you already know it, but you will be surprised at how wrong you are when you do calculations. Put all your expenses on the list for a month, and you can easily see where your money is going and what expenses you can cut or give up.

4. Do a Smart Shopping

Keep track of discounts and store emails or lists of sales. Use coupons and free apps to find out where you can shop at affordable prices. Another useful tip on smart shopping is to avoid visiting groceries when you’re hungry. When it comes to buying clothes, consider second hands. It not only saves your money but also makes a contribution to saving resources.

5. Plan Your Meals

Fast food and snacks are always at a high price, even if it seems they are not. The lack of planning may lead to spending more money on junk food or eating outdoors, which extremely increases your food costs. Plan your meals for at least a week and make a grocery list in accordance with what you’re going to eat.

FAQ

1. How Can I Access Cash Earned Online?
   Most online sites and platforms offer transfers via direct deposit to your bank account in about an hour. You can also choose some alternative ways of payment, for example, PayPal or ApplePay. However, there may be some restrictions depending on the sum you want to withdraw and the particular platform you use. Read the site’s terms & conditions and policy to find out what money transfer options it offers.
2. Is It Easy to Make Money Online?
   It depends. Some ways to make money require specific skills and knowledge, while others can be accessible to almost everyone without any degree or certain attainments. Shop around and consider various options before you find the one that is right for you.
3. What Do I Need to Earn Cash Online?
   In most cases, you can make money online with just a laptop with an internet connection. Sometimes you may also need an account on social media or your own website. Also, if you choose an online job that requires certain skills, you need to spend some time proving you’re an expert in the field.