Sometimes, it can be hard to make ends meet with just one job and getting a second job might not be possible because of time constraints, lack of opportunity, or any other legitimate reason.
However, that doesn’t diminish the need to earn that extra cash to get to where we want to be in life.
Maybe you’re having a tough time saving up for a much-needed vacation, or have bills to pay that are taking away from your ability to save; whatever the reason may be, a side hustle to get a comfortable cushion of cash in your bank account isn’t as hard as it seems.
Get yourself started on one of these creative ways to make money so you can live a little more comfortably.
Sell Your Spring Cleaning
During our spring cleaning we can find all sorts of treasures in our closets and storage; whether that’s pre-loved clothes, clothes that we never wore, shoes, bags, trinkets, or anything else that we bought in haste and never ended up using (or used for a bit but then got tired of).
Either way, if you’ve heard the saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, then you know that someone out there is willing to pay for what you want to throw out!
Take pictures of the items you want to sell and set a price for them. Don’t go too high with the prices or you might not be able to find a buyer. Make sure that the item is well lit in the photographs and your description of the item is as detailed as possible. Avoid using terms like “used” for clothing items; instead, go for more inviting words like “pre-loved”.
You can sell these items on websites like Craigslist or Poshmark. It takes less than a minute to add a listing to these sites; just name your price, and once someone buys the item, you’ll get the cash in your bank account!
Drive for Uber or Lyft
Suppose you have a night-shift at your job, or you have a lot of free time in the evenings, or you have some extra energy to expend at night. Whatever the case may be, if you have a car you can easily make some extra cash on the side. Sign up with Uber, Lyft, or any other ride-hailing company to become a driver in your free time.
You just need to meet a few of their requirements and you’re good to go! The timings are flexible, you get to choose who you want to drive, and the earnings are great – you can make up to $35 an hour with these apps!
Here you can have a sense of how much you can earn on Lyft.com
Become a Dog Walker
Are you someone who gets excited as a dog walks past them on a street or someone who stops to pet any pup waiting outside a store for their human? Then, dog walking is the job for you, because who doesn’t love spending time with those with fluffy, adorable, loving creatures?
Some people don’t have the time to take their dogs on walks and they look for dog walkers on apps like Wag! So, sign up to become a walker and make some extra cash while spending time with some incredible pups! Once you take their tests and get approved as a dog walker, you can earn between $12 and $21 an hour!
You can check out the experience looking at this fun, entertaining video by Millenial life crisis on YouTube.
Airbnb Your Home
If you live in a space that has an extra room or you travel a lot, putting a room up for travelers to rent for short periods of time is a fantastic way to make money.
Airbnb’s exceptional model has taken the world by storm and for good reason. You can rent out extra space, screen your potential guests, and make money when you’re away on holiday by simply listing your home on Airbnb.
Plus, if your space is in a prime location, you can make quite a bit of money by putting it up even for a couple of days! The great thing about listing on Airbnb is, the website only charges hosts a 3% commission fee on whatever rent amount they choose. On average, hosts on Airbnb roughly make between $925 and $1000 a month by listing their space on the website.
Become a Babysitter
People are always complaining about how they have a tough time looking for babysitters!
This is true, especially for busy professionals in bigger cities. If you live in a big city and feel like you have time on your hands on weekends or in the evenings, and of course, if you like and are good with kids, you can sign up to become a babysitter.
Go through the screen tests and requirements that Care or Bambino have, and start babysitting to make some extra cash. Bambino babysitters can make between $12 and $25 an hour, and the best part is, parents, pay the app the commission; it doesn’t come out of the babysitter’s earnings!
Sell on Etsy
Etsy is an online marketplace where you can create an online store to sell handmade products or crafts. If you have any products that you enjoy creating in your free time, selling them on Etsy could be a great way to start making some extra money.
Best selling items on Etsy include craft supplies or knitting patterns. Other items that do well are wooden hand-crafted boxes, cute and personalized essentials like stationery and invitations and of course, handmade jewelry. You can price your items how you please, but Etsy takes a 20 cents listing fee and 6.5% transaction and 25 cent payment processing fee; the rest goes straight into your pocket.
Sell Your Photos and videos to Shutterstock
I have actually written a great article talking more in-depth on how to leverage your passion for photography on sites like Shutterstock. So check it out to learn a little bit more.
If you have got a keen eye for photography and have some images that you have collected, stock photography sellers like Shutterstock or Adobe Stock will pay you to upload your pictures onto their site.
Even if photography is your passion and you didn’t think you could make any money from it, now is your chance to prove the naysayers wrong! These sites make their money through subscription models and give photographers the opportunity to make between 30 cents and $3.30 per sale. This might seem like a small amount, but over time with multiple submissions, the cash can add up and is truly one of the most creative ways to make money.
Sell your skills to Fiverr
If you have a certain skill set like designing web pages, writing well, making logos, acting or anything else, you can join Fiverr to start cashing in on those skills.
This app allows you to connect with people who are willing to pay for your skills. You can make up to $3000 graphic designing and up to $2000 copywriting on Fiverr; just remember, the app charges a 20% commission fee!
Become a virtual assistant
If you have good organizational skills, are great at time management and can provide support to a business, you can spend your time as a virtual assistant on FreeUp.
This website has a bit of a rigorous screening process for anyone joining, but once you’re vetted, you can make between $10 and $75 an hour right from your own home. A great thing about this site is, they take any commission fees directly from your employer and not out of your earnings.
We hope these creative ways to make money help you make the extra cash you need!