I’ve seen my share of get-rich scams and gimmicks. Check out these five legit ways to earn extra cash and actually make some money!
Running a daycare out of the home for most of my life meant saving and making a buck go farther. I loved taking care of children but it wasn’t going to make me rich and I often had to look for side-jobs and other ways to earn extra cash to pay the bills.
For every legit idea to earn extra cash, I probably saw at least ten other scams and schemes. I fell for a few but was able to avoid most.
That’s why I wanted to share my five favorite (and legitimate) ways to earn extra cash. You probably won’t get rich on any of these but they can go a long way to fill in the gaps in your budget.
Earn Extra Cash from Home
Is your money gone even before you receive your check? So you work a second job, but then there’s more money paid out for childcare and you rarely see your wonderful children. Do your financial problems keep you awake at night? Help has arrived. There are many ways to earn extra money and still be home with your family. You work hard and your computer should be paying for itself too, right?!
Computers were made for more of a challenge then surfing social media sites. It’s called freelancing and more and more people are doing it as a side-job or even as a fulltime career. Freelancing is just taking individual projects from many people instead of working for one employer. Check out our earlier post on How to Make Money Freelancing and 9 Websites to do it.
Earn Extra Cash for your Opinion
Wow, for years I’ve been giving away free advise and letting people know what I think of just about any topic they wanted to talk about. For free!! Now I find out there are companies out there that will actually pay me to let them know just what I think of their product. Some of the ones I’ve worked with are MySurvey and Swagbucks. The surveys take anywhere from just a few minutes to maybe 30 minutes to complete but you get paid more for the extra time. I always go for the ones that will pay $2.00 and up for my opinion.
You have to qualify for each survey since most of them are looking for select audiences and if you are retired (as I am) you will not qualify for as many surveys. But you can complete the surveys while you’re cleaning house, cooking meals or just watching TV.
I also love being a Mystery Shopper. You arrive at a store or restaurant as just any other normal shopper. Then you complete the survey about the customer service, cleanliness of the business and food quality.
Just a word of caution. As with anything else in life there are unscrupulous people out there waiting to take advantage of others. No honest companies will ask you to send them money first for taking surveys. The legit websites are paid by companies that want customer feedback. Your opinion is anonymous so never give out your social security number or any personal information. You are paid through Paypal or a check can be mailed to your home, so do not give out any banking information.
Earn Extra Cash by Selling Stuff Online
I have probably spent half my life at garage sales, buying stuff or trying to sell my own things. They’re great to pick up things you need and cut thousands from your budget but for selling your own things…not so great.
Instead of holding your own garage sale, consider selling your stuff online. No more dragging everything out and then putting it back in the garage only to bring it back out the next day, and sitting for endless hours in the hot sun so people can look at your personal belongings. Now you can just list it on sites that are designed to sell your things.
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Craigslist and ebay are two of the websites I use but there quite a few others. As with the surveys you do not need to pay anyone to list the items for you and there is no fee to use the sites. You can also sell handmade crafts, antiques, beauty products or anything else of value. If you own it and no longer want it, chances are someone out there is looking for exactly what you have.
Not only can you sell your own stuff online, you can actually make pretty decent money buying and selling other people’s stuff as well. One of the most popular articles on the blog, How to Make Money Online Selling on Craigslist, talks about how to find items to buy cheaply and then resell for a profit.
Earn Extra Cash as an Online Tutor
Can you play guitar, piano or other musical instrument? What about other skills? Chances are, if you’ve been in your profession for more than a few years, you have some valuable skills.
Many people want to learn to play an instrument but don’t have the time to drive somewhere else for a half-hour lesson then drive home again. What a convenience for someone to be able to learn to play on their own time in their own home.
This is where Skype comes in. Skype is a phone service on the internet that allows you to call or message someone free if you both have the program. You can even see each other through a video call. Downloading Skype takes less than a couple of minutes and is completely free.
If it’s being taught in schools, there’s a student out there struggling to understand the fundamentals of that subject. Again, it’s all about the convenience of just be able to turn on the computer and get a lesson.
Rent out your Parking Spot to Earn Extra Cash
My home is just across the street from an elementary school. At 8am and 3:30 pm, the street is very congested with parents picking up their children. A parent has to be there on the street 15 to 20 minutes before school lets out to even find a parking spot.
Hey, my driveway is available! I have a double-wide driveway and a waiting list of people that just want to pull in, pick up their kids and leave. It is safer also. No more dodging other cars either leaving or waiting for a spot. If you live in an apartment building and do not use your parking spot you can rent that out also for a monthly fee.
These are just my favorite ways to earn extra cash. There are plenty of others but be skeptical of any scheme that promises thousands of dollars a month. You will likely make less than a few hundred with most of these, except for freelancing which can pay as much as a full-time job, but they are pretty easy ideas that won’t take much time either. Never pay someone upfront for the ‘opportunity’ to earn extra cash and do not give out your personal information.
I hope this has given you a few ideas on how to earn extra cash and make your dollar stretch a little further. Frugal Grandma