Looking to save up for a down payment so you can begin your homeownership journey?
If so you might want to look into picking up some part-time gigs to make a little more money on the side.
These days, practically everyone has a side hustle. From working as a virtual assistant and finding dog walking gigs on Rover to selling handmade items on Etsy and even renting out your extra space on Airbnb, there’s no shortage of ways to make some extra income these days.
Imagine what you would do with a few more hundreds or thousands of dollars every month!
Keep reading to learn about 15 ways you can earn extra cash without leaving your full-time job.
1. Become an online blogger
Do you enjoy writing? Do you have a mastery of the English language? If so, why not start a blog?
The blogging journey begins by developing a unique idea that’s more compelling than everyone else’s. Once you do that, you need to purchase a web domain, design your site, and plan content.
While it may take time before you publish your first post, this is a long-term endeavor worth the effort. You can earn money from your blogs through pay-per-click advertising, sponsorships, affiliate sales, and more.
With the right approach, this side gig can help you make money from home in your spare time. The earning potential is essentially limitless too, because readers can engage with it even when you’re sleeping.
2. Earn money through online surveys
Your opinion is valuable!
Tons of survey sites are willing to pay good money to learn more about their target audience’s preferences and motivations. Individual surveys may take between 10 to 30 minutes, and you can do as many as you wish in one sitting.
If you sign up with different companies and complete your allotted tasks diligently, it’s possible to earn up to $10 per hour from the comfort of your coach. Some of the legitimate survey companies include Branded Surveys, Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, and Opinion Outpost, to name a few.
3. Get paid to watch viral videos
Do you spend a lot of time watching YouTube channels?
If so, watching viral videos is a great way to make extra money while getting worthwhile entertainment. It might not get you rich, but this is among the lowest-effort side hustles you can try.
Based on your commitment, the estimated monthly income is $225, but it could be higher. Inbox Dollars is one of the best companies to work with if you want to go this route. It only takes a few minutes to create an account and start earning.
4. Earn through shopping and making deliveries
Did you know you could earn extra money by shopping for products and delivering them to customers’ houses in person?
If this concept sounds appealing, Instacart is an excellent place to start. Here, you only shop for groceries and deliver them, and the best part is that you can plan your schedule during your free time. Instacart pays you within one hour of delivery with an instant cash-back option.
5. Get paid to deliver with Uber Eats
If you have a bike, car, or scooter, you can use it to make money right now!
Uber Eats gives you a chance to deliver food to all different customers and get paid. All you need is to download their app and upload your documents. Once approved, you will receive a notification allowing you to start working. There isn’t any supervision, which means you will be your boss, and you get to keep all your tips.
Don’t want to deliver food? Not a problem. Try Uber, Lyft, or other rideshare services and simply transport people from one place to another.
6. Virtual tutoring
If you have subject matter expertise, you can turn it into a side hustle by becoming a virtual tutor.
Virtual tutoring involves a one-on-one online interaction, and you can have as many students as your schedule allows.
The best places to find online tutoring jobs include VIPKid, Education First, and Chegg. Payments can be hourly or you can levy per-session rates. It is possible to earn up to $1,000 per month with commitment.
7. Storage space leasing
Do you have underutilized space in your attic, basement, shed, or garage? If so, it’s time to monetize it.
Neighbor.com should be your next destination. This peer-to-peer (P2P) platform connects people in need of extra space with those that have it, charging the owner 50% of the total rate per storage unit. Although you will earn less, it is a great way to generate passive income by doing little or nothing at all.
If you’re not keen on giving 50% of the revenue to a company, consider advertising your space on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace to see if you can get any bites.
8. Freelance writing
Multiple high school and college students, employees, and retirees earn extra money through freelance writing. Some of the best-paying general-purpose freelance platforms include Textbroker, Upwork, Fiverr, and Steady Content.
Writing opportunities range from product reviews to blogs and press releases. You can earn money on an hourly, per-project, or per-word basis.
9. Freelance editing and proofreading
Freelance editing and proofreading involve selling your grammatical skills. Here, you only need to go through some written copies and ensure they are polished before submitting them for publishing. In some cases, you might have to transcribe video interviews.
If this sounds interesting, you can find jobs on sites like Upwork and Mediabistro.
10. Shop online and get free gift cards
Recent studies show that around 92% of shoppers buy things online. However, not many know that they can earn by shopping.
MyPoints allow you to earn points for every dollar spent online. You can redeem them for gift cards from more than 75 retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, and eBay.
While you’re at it, consider developing a credit card strategy to maximize points and cashback rewards.
11. Sell your unused diabetic strips
There are millions of Americans with diabetes today, which means there’s a market for unused diabetic strips.
Cash For Diabetics is a newly launched company willing to pay up to $30 for unused diabetic strips. If you or someone you know is suffering from the disease, you can stop throwing out the unused kits and earn from them.
12. Borrow up to $50k and invest in your goals
Taking out a personal loan could help you fund important projects in your life — like starting your dream bookkeeping, podcasting, or e-commerce business.
You don’t necessarily need to worry about the lender, you just need to get a good interest rate. Of course, in today’s high-interest-rate market, that’s easier said than done.
13. Earn $10 for investing in companies like Amazon, Tesla, and Apple
You don’t need a lot of money to start investing in companies like Apple, Tesla, Google, and Amazon! Use a service like Stash instead, which enables you to buy fractional shares for as little as $5.
What’s more, Stash gives you $10 to invest when you make your first deposit of $5 into your portfolio.
14. Become a user experience tester
All online companies want their websites to run seamlessly. When something is wrong, they call user experience testers to give their feedback.
If you are skilled at navigating websites, you may be able to make a side hustle of being a UX tester. Reputable companies like TryMyUI and UserTesting will pay you for giving feedback.
15. Become an influencer
If you have a large social media following on Instagram or Facebook, you might consider trying to become an influencer. If you’re interested, reach out to your favorite brands and let them know you want to work for them and send them links to your social media accounts. For sponsored content or affiliate marketing, you can check out Amazon Associates and ShareASale.
Launch your side job today and start saving for your down payment!
Now that you know how you can utilize your free time to earn extra cash, it’s time to try out a few of our recommended options. If you’ve made it this far and didn’t find anything that interests you on this list, you can also consider running errands on TaskRabbit, showcasing your graphic design skills, taking on data-entry jobs, or launching a pet sitting or babysitting service.
No matter what you decide, with the right approach, your side gig can become a legitimate small business in no time at all — particularly if you do a good job and are able to get customer referrals.
Here’s to picking a side hustle that accelerates your home-buying journey!