Have you ever wished that you had a nice little side hustle to pull in some extra money from time to time? If you thought your only options were selling your plasma or multilevel-marketing, we’ve got excellent news for you.
There’s an entire world of part-time gigs, legitimate work-at-home opportunities and side jobs out there waiting for willing participants looking for a little cash. To get you started, here’s a list of 17 side hustles you can tap into for extra money right now.
1. Participate in a Mock Jury
Side Hustles to Bring in Extra Money: Law firms often hire community members to come and sit on a mock jury. It’s a group of 12 folks who come in and pretend they are jury members. They listen to the details of a real, upcoming case and act as if they were actual jury members. Mock juries give lawyers the opportunity to practice their arguments and refine their approach before an actual court procedure takes place. Law firms will typically pay mock jury participants at least $50 and sometimes $100 or more for a few hours of work. They pay more and cater to lunch if they need you to stay for an entire workday.
Call the larger law offices in your city to inquire about how to sign up for a mock jury. You can also search for the terms “mock jury” and the name of your city online.
2. Write Website Content
Do you like to write? Not everyone does. However, every business that has a website needs writers to provide relevant content on their pages. Many companies regularly hire people to write blog posts on their webpages.
The best way to get started writing content for websites is to poke around on a site that you like until you find the “Contact us” tab. Then, send an email letting them know that you’d like to contribute content for their site. Some sites will pay per post while others pay per word. Shorter blog posts may net you around $50 each. Longer research articles and white pages can pay around 10 cents per word.
3. Pet Sit
Side Hustles to Bring in Extra Money: Put some signs up and offer to check in on people’s pets while they are out of town. Join community pages on Facebook to offer your services and have pet sitter business cards printed. Depending on the number of pets and your responsibilities, most people pay around $25 a day for pet sitting.
If you’d rather someone else handle the scheduling, billing, and marketing for you, consider signing up with a pet-sitting service online. With a service, you’ll have to pay them a portion of your earnings, but they’ll take provide you with clients and other benefits. Search “pet sitting service” online to sign up.
4. House Sit
Some people don’t want to leave their homes empty when they travel. Often, they’ll pay a person to come and sleep at their residence, water the houseplants, feed their pet fish and bring in their mail while they’re away. Wages vary for house sitting. Overnight sitting rates might start at around $20 a night with access to amenities like a stocked refrigerator, Jacuzzi and Wi-Fi. Nightly rates increase with pet or delivery responsibilities.
Search online to find house sitting platforms if you’d like to apply for jobs. You can also offer your services by advertising in a newsletter or posting online.
5. Review Websites
Side Hustles to Bring in Extra Money: Companies large and small need people to test their websites and review them. Before most organizations go live on the internet, they hire people to review their site for usability and clarity. You log in to a website testing platform and sign up to review a site. Then, you browse through the site and voice any concerns you might have through the speaker on your computer or a microphone. After you’re finished, you answer some questions and get paid. On average, it takes around 10 minutes to review a site. The market rate is around $10 for each site your review.
Search “website testing” online to find several companies that will pay you to review websites. You will likely be required to answer some questions and take a practice test before you are approved to review the sites. After you’re cleared, you can start reviewing websites and making money right away.
6. Write Resumes
Do you take pride in your well-written resume? Have interviewers complimented you on how well you present your job skills on paper? If so, you might be good at writing resumes. Consider making a little extra money by writing resumes for others. Expect to earn $200 for your work. The pay is higher if you’re also writing cover letters or industry-specific resumes. Advertise your resume writing prowess in university newsletters, community message boards and through word of mouth.
7. Walk Dogs
Side Hustles to Bring in Extra Money: If you’re home a lot and your neighbors aren’t, consider offering to walk their dogs for a fee. Busy professionals with pets are often looking for dog-walking help. According to PayScale, the average hourly rate for dog walkers is around $14. If you had a couple of neighbors in your area willing to hire you to stop by and pick up their pups for a stroll on a regular basis, you could pocket an extra $100 each week.
As you might expect in this gig economy, there are several companies that work as dog-walking agents. You can sign up on their platforms to get paired up with regular clients. Search “dog walking service” online to find jobs in your area.
8. Drive for a Rideshare Company
Do you have a vehicle and a decent driving record? If so, make some extra money by giving people rides when you have the time. Sign up with a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft and get started today.
9. Shop
You can make extra money by working as a personal shopper. Sign up online with a personal shopping service. Rates vary according to the miles you have to drive, the number of items on the list to buy and how many stops you have to make on the shopping trip.
10. Be a Handyman
There are now online platforms for people who can provide plumbing services, install ceiling fans, paint bedrooms, and so on. If you’re handy and you have your own tools, you can sign up and get to work providing odd jobs. Payment varies by job.
11. Sell on an Auction Site
Online auction sites are ideal for uncluttering and making some cash. Start with old toys the kids no longer use. Then, clean out your closets to sell your lightly used clothing and shoes. Move onto the bookshelf and list your old books online.
12. Submit an Article to Your Favorite Magazine
While you can make decent money writing online, there are still plenty of print media outlets that pay top dollar for well-written articles and essays. If you like to write, and you have a favorite magazine, contact the editor with an article topic. Check the magazine’s website for information on where to apply.
13. Help People Move
Do you have a truck and some spare time? Offer your services to people who are moving and could use an extra pair of hands. Post your availability on community message boards online. Most movers can make around $50 an hour or more.
14. Manage Social Media
Side Hustles to Bring in Extra Money: Having a website isn’t enough anymore. Businesses have to be present on social media to make it. Many small business owners don’t have the time to post on Facebook and Instagram each day. You can make a little extra cash by managing social media accounts for real estate agents, insurance professionals, dentists, and other businesspeople. Payment varies based on how frequently you are required to post and how many social media accounts you manage for them.
15. Bake and Cook
I have a friend who earns extra money from time to time by taking orders on Facebook to make and deliver homemade cinnamon rolls. She charges $10 a pan and generally makes a killing around major holidays with her baking. She recently added a weekly meal service and has been taking orders at $25 for a pan of apple barbecue chicken and sides to feed four people. Her clients are mostly other busy moms who are willing to pay for a night off from dinner prep.
16. Detail Cars
If you’re into cars and like to take good care of them, consider offering a mobile detailing service. For this gig, you pick up a person’s car, take it to a self-serve wash and clean the exterior well. Vacuum the inside and wash the windows. Make it look like it’s showroom ready. Then, return the car and pick up $50 from your client.
Offer your mobile car detailing service at office complexes. People are often related to having someone clean their cars while they’re busy at work. You can clear a few hundred bucks in three or four hours of vehicle detailing.
17. Become an Affiliate
Instead of regular health insurance, my family uses a medical sharing company. This company provided me with an affiliate link to share with my friends. When my friends sign up for medical sharing through my link, the company sends me $100. All sorts of companies will allow you to work as an affiliate for them ― even companies like Amazon have an affiliate program.
If you have your own website, you can list affiliate links on your site to generate income. However, you can also post affiliate links in emails, on social media or even have them printed on business cards.
Check with businesses you already patronize and ask them if they have an affiliate program, and then sign up. Anytime you refer friends their way, you’ll get a little piece of the pie.
Make Some Extra Cash
There are plenty of ways you can earn a little extra dough for a vacation, a better car or to help make ends meet each month. Try some of these sides hustles the next time you’re out of cash.
*Side note on insurance and licensing: Many of the above side hustles come with some risk of personal liability. If you plan to work jobs like these regularly, consider the appropriate business licensing, certifications and liability insurance to protect yourself and your clients.
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