This post may contain affiliate links. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products at no additional cost to you. Read our full disclosure here.
Having extra money can be useful to cover expenses, save and invest for the future, or even treat yourself to something nice. The recent pandemic has highlighted the need to adapt and the importance of having more than one stream of income. Fortunately, there are a plethora of opportunities and ways to make money, both online and by hustling. Read on to learn more about how to make extra money in 2023!
How to Make Extra Money Freelancing
If you have a skill that you are good at and/or are willing to put the time to master it, freelancing is a great way to learn how to make extra money. Did you know that by 2027, 86.5 million people will be freelancing in the United States and will make up 50.9 percent of the total U.S. workforce? There are also many platforms that you can find freelance work. Some of the popular ones are Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com.
1. Writing & Editing
Shooters shoot. Writers write. There are tons of writing gigs out there that will pay you to write for blogs, articles, and websites if you are willing to source for it. To start freelance writing, you’ll have to understand your writing style, pick a niche, have good content ideas, learn how to communicate your ideas explicitly and clearly, and be ready to spend a lot of time marketing yourself to find publications that’ll pay you to publish it. As there are many gigs that only pay hardworking writer pennies, here is a compiled list of websites that’ll pay writers more than $50 per post.
On top of writing, you can also offer to be an editor or a proofreader. Take this test to see if you got what it takes to do proofread!
Earning potential: According to The State of Freelancing in 2015,
- 24 percent earn $50K or more annually.
- The earning potential is correlated to how well the writers market themselves.
2. Social Media Manager
Business owners, especially small business owners typically have a million other things on their plate to run the business. Most of them recognize that social media is a great way to reach potential customers but just lack the time and expertise to execute it. As a freelance social media manager, you can help business owners manage their social media and grow their online presence and brand significantly.
Earning potential: According to Social Media Strategies Summit,
- Green (0-3 years experience): $15-$50/hr
- Intermediate (3-5 years experience): $50-$100/hr
- Advanced (5-10+ years experience): $120+/hr
3. Virtual Assistant
If you have good attention to detail and are super type A in terms of organization and time management, you can look into being a virtual assistant. Tasks may include but not limited to administrative, emailing and scheduling, marketing, social media management, writing, etc.
Earning potential: According to Small Revolution,
- Beginner: $10-$25/hr
- Experienced: $30-$45/hr
- Expert: $55-$70/hr
4. Graphic Designer
Got designing skills and want to get those creative juices flowing for clients? Graphic designers are high in demand as businesses realize the importance of effective branding. Start getting familiar with tools in the Adobe Creative Suite that includes designing software like Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator, etc., or the free alternatives like Photopea and Canva.
Things that graphic designers design include advertisements, annual reports, artwork, covers, brochures, logos, signs, stickers, t-shirts, web pages, and other branding and communication materials.
Earning potential: $15-$35/hr. It is also common for designers to charge per project. (Source: Upwork)
5. Translator
If you are fluent in two or more languages, consider offering translating services to companies and organizations. Globalization has connected the world and demand for translating services continue to rise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow 20 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. It is however encouraged to get a translation certificate to land more lucrative gigs.
Earning potential: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, below are the median pay stats.
- $51,830 per year
- $24.92 per hour
6. Transcriber
Transcribing means taking an audio or video recording of a conversation or speech and converting it into text. Although this may sound easy, a lot of the audio files you’ll be required to transcribe may be hard to hear or even have a weird accent. You’ll need good typing skills, listening prowess, as well as comprehension to be a successful transcriptionist. Check out this post for the best transcription sites to apply to.
Earning potential: According to transcriptioncertificationinstitute.org,
- Beginner: $15/hr
- Advanced: $20-$35/hr
7. Website Development and SEO
If you are good at building websites, you can provide website development services for interested clients. This freelance job is more on the technical side but the demand is high as business owners and companies are always looking to build their presence on the web. Even if you are not great at coding, you can master website editors like Wix and Squarespace that makes it really easy to build a website with minimal coding experience.
Another popular service that typically comes with website development is SEO optimization. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process of increasing website traffic through organic web searches. In simple terms, this means improving one’s ranking on search engines like Google.
Earning potential: $21–49/hour (Source: How much can you make as a freelance web developer? | by John Morris | On Freelancing | Medium)
8. Rideshare Driver
Ridesharing has truly revolutionized the transportation industry. If you like driving and sit in the car with random people, you can download one or more of the different ridesharing apps and start chauffeuring people to earning money. Uber and Lyft are the two most popular platforms right now and anyone 21 and above can apply. Be sure to have a valid driver’s license, car insurance, vehicle registration, and have a car that meets the vehicle requirements of your chosen platform.
Earning potential: According to Statista, the average hourly earnings of rideshare drivers in the U.S. with more than 10,000 is $20
9. Food and Grocery Delivery
With more and more people staying at home and restaurants embracing delivery for their customers, food delivery drivers are now high in demand. Food delivery drivers also typically will get to keep 100% of the tips on top of the rate they earn from the platform. Some of the popular food delivery apps are:
- DoorDash
- Uber Eats
- Postmates
- GrubHub
Another industry that thrives on convenience is the grocery delivery industry. According to the Time Use Institute, the average shopping trip takes 41 minutes! If you add on traveling time, a grocery trip could easily take 1-2 hours, which is precious time that some people cannot afford. Some of the popular grocery delivery apps are:
- Shipt (shoutout to Birmingham!)
- Instacart
Earning potential: $10-$20~ (Source: usatoday.com)
10. Teaching/Tutoring
If you like teaching and/or tutoring, the demand is there. Depending on the demographic and subject of teaching, you may need a bachelor’s degree to teach. However, some tutoring jobs (elementary, junior high, high school) are available to anyone who have a high school diploma or GED. There are also opportunities to teach English virtually to non-native speakers.
Here’s a list of the best tutoring/teaching platforms compiled by The Balance Careers:
- Best Overall: Chegg
- Best for College Students: Brainfuse
- Best for High School Test Prep: PrepNow Tutoring
- Best for College Test Prep: TutorMe
- Best for Language Tutoring: Skooli
- Best for English Tutoring: VIPKID
- Best for New Tutors: Tutor.com
- Best for One-Off Help: Studypool
Earning potential: $12 to $30/hour (Source: Glassdoor)
How to Make Extra Money Online
11. Blogging
Passionate about something? Start a blog. Blogging is one of the hardest yet potentially most rewarding business if you want to learn how to make extra money online. How much can you make as a blogger? It varies. While most bloggers start out not making much, successful bloggers can eventually make 6 to 7 figures monthly! As lucrative as that may sound, blogging is no get-rich-quick scheme as it requires hard work, discipline, and consistency to produce quality content regularly.
Affiliate marketing is one of the main ways bloggers make money. Affiliate marketing is the business of promoting someone else’s products or services. If a sale is made through your promotional efforts, a commission is earned. For example, you can include links to products or services that you like and vet in your blog posts. When someone reading your blog clicks on the link and make a purchase, you will receive a commission. Below is a chart of how bloggers make money from their blogs:
To start blogging, you’ll need a domain as well as a host. A domain is like the name of your business, and a host is like the building that houses your business. You can get a free domain name (eg. www.yourdomainname.com) for a year if you choose Bluehost as your website host for the price of a cup of coffee monthly ($3.95). Check out this full tutorial on how to start a blog.
12. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a trending business model that allows sellers to source products cheaply and resell them to consumers at a higher price. Dropshippers essentially will build an online store, source products from suppliers like Aliexpress or Alibaba, and then link the selected products to their stores to sell to customers. See the image below for a pictorial representation of the flow:
As you can see, dropshipping is a lucrative business model as the startup costs are relatively low because dropshippers do not have to hold any inventory. Product fulfillment, shipping, and inventory are handled by the supplier and the main cost for the dropshipper is maintaining the online store and marketing costs.
One of the most popular platforms to set up your online store is through Shopify. Shopify allows you to set up your online store seamlessly and integrate with dropshipping apps to start selling easily. This business model is also highly competitive so it really boils down to whether you can set yourself apart from the competition.
Earning potential: According to Shopify, there are many dropshippers that make up to $100,000/year!
13. Test Websites
Website and app developers love getting feedback on how to improve their product for users and will pay you to do it. Usertesting is a platform where you can sign up, take tests, give your feedback, and get paid.
After signing up, you will be required to complete a practice test. Once approved, you can start taking real tests and make $10 per test that lasts up to 20 minutes. 30-minute live interviews pay $30, and 60-minute live interviews pay $60! One thing to note is there is a screener for every test to make sure you fit the task, so you may not qualify for every test that shows up on your dashboard.
14. Test Food
Imagine a world where you get paid to eat cookies… There is a company – Contract Testing that actually pays product testers cash in exchange for your opinions on various food, beverage, household, and personal care products. Each session pays $20-$25 and you could receive more depending on the test and time taken.
15. Do Surveys
If you have some extra time on your hands and want to earn quick cash, try doing online surveys. There are sites like Swagbucks and InboxDollars that users can complete surveys and other menial tasks to earn some money. Do note that the payout is typically very low ($0.25 – $5) per survey and the time to complete varies according to the payout.
Besides, most survey sites have a minimum threshold of earnings before you can withdraw it. For example, you may need to earn $20 to withdraw your money. Doing surveys is a good way to make a quick buck but probably not enough to make a living out of it.
16. Join Focus Groups for Market Research
Focus groups for market research gather people together to share feedback on a product or service. These sessions typically last 30-60 minutes and have a trained moderator facilitating the focus group. If you like being candid in giving your opinions on various topics, products and services, focus groups typically pays between $50-$200 (some do pay more than $400 per focus group!) and is a good way to earn a quick buck! Some of the popular online focus group Respondent.io, Focusgroup.com, Recruit and Field, and Survey Feeds
17. Create and sell courses
One of the best ways to generate passive income and provide value to others is by creating and selling an online course. If you are a master on a subject, there may be many people who want to learn what you can offer and will pay to have a step-by-step guide on video form that they can revisit later.
The great thing about creating an online course is that majority of the work is done on the front end. The course can then be resold infinitely after you create it and is one of the best tips on how to make extra money. Check out Udemy, Skillshare, Teachable, and Thinkific are great platforms to start creating and selling your course.
18. Youtube
Did you know that Youtube is the number 2 search engine behind Google? The platform generates 3 billion searches a month, creating an attractive opportunity for those who want to launch a YouTube career. Once a YouTuber reaches 1,000 subscribers and reaches 4,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months, they can apply to be a YouTube Partner and place ads on their videos.
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, you can expect to make between $0.10-$0.30 per view, but averages out at $0.18 per view. You can also generate income from affiliate links, merch, and sponsorships from brands as well. Be sure to be consistent in creating content and provide quality content to build your audience and community. Once you are established, running a successful YouTube channel is one of the best tips on how to make extra money.
19. Trading Stocks
Trading actively is definitely one of the riskiest ways for how to make extra money. In contrast to investing (learn more about how to start investing) which is more long-term focused, trading attempts to take advantage of short-term fluctuations in stocks to generate profit. Trading requires a lot of discipline, studying, as well as an understanding of technical analysis to be successful.
If you want to try making money trading in the stock market, try paper trading first to learn the ins and outs of trading without risk so you don’t blow up your account. Here are some popular commission-free trading platforms that you can use:
- Robinhood (Get a free stock when you sign up!)
- Webull (Get up to 4 free stocks when you sign up and fund the account!)
- TD Ameritrade
- E*Trade
- Fidelity
20. Cashback From Apps
Another quick and easy way on how to make extra money in 2023
is through cashback apps and websites. Cashback apps and websites allow you to earn a cash reward by making qualifying purchases when you’re shopping. Many of the cashback apps, like Ibotta and Rakuten, reward cashback at big-box retailers and online retailers like Walmart, Target, Amazon, Best Buy, etc. that consumers flock to when they shop so why not earn some cash doing so?
All you have to do is sign up, see what offers the platform provides, then purchase the qualifying items and upload or scan the receipt to claim your cashback. Most apps and websites also automate that process for you if
- Add an extension of the cashback platform to your browser.
- Open the app or website, choose your preferred retailer, and shop at the retail site like normal. Any qualifying purchase that is made will automatically be tracked and you’ll be rewarded for it.
Here’s a list of popular cashback apps and websites you can try:
- Ibotta (Best for groceries)
- Rakuten (Best for shopping)
- Capital One Shopping (Best for comparing prices)
- Dosh (Best for dining out and travel)
21. Podcast
If you want to start a podcast and talk about things you’re passionate about, you can make money doing so too. Podcasts are so popular because it is so easy to consume and people can listen to it in the car, at the gym, when you’re cooking, etc. Check out this full guide on how to start a podcast. It is becoming one of the popular ways for those learning how to make extra money. Some of the ways you can monetize your podcast are:
- Sponsorships
- Affiliate marketing
- Selling your own products and services
- Donations
22. Rent Out A Spare Room On Airbnb
Got an extra room? You can rent out that room on vacation rental sites like Airbnb for side income. If you want to list your room, you have to ensure you are providing good service so that customers will leave a good review. Reviews are what will continue to drive other customers to stay at your listing.
Be prepared to set aside some money for upkeep as well as fees when listing the room/property too! Check out this comprehensive guide on how to make extra money by listing your property on Airbnb successfully.
23. Perform Microtasks for Amazon’s Mechanical Turk
There are actually many things that humans can do more effectively than computers. For example, identifying objects in a photo or video, performing data de-duplication, transcribing audio recordings, or researching data details. This is where you can learn how to make extra money by performing these tasks via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk’s platform.
Companies that need these menial tasks done will outsource them on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk where workers can log on and start completing the tasks for income. The tasks can last anywhere from minutes to hours. Before you jump right in, we have to warn you that the pay is pretty low, with the average worker earning only $2/hour! However, there are people out there who make an average of $7-$8/hour by grinding really hard, so it really depends on what tasks you work on and how much time and energy you really want to put in.
24. Publish an Ebook
If you want to write and publish an Ebook, Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is an excellent platform to do so. Publishing an Ebook is a great way to generate passive income as the published copy will be listed and you don’t really have to do anything after generating a sale. Here is a summary of the steps you can take to publish an ebook:
- Write a compelling book!
- Format your ebook
- Create a cover for your ebook
- Create an Amazon KDP account
- Upload your book on Amazon KDP
- Market your ebook
- Launch and publish your ebook
25. Sell Your Photos
If you are good at taking pictures and want to sell them online, you can do so at:
Selling your photos is an excellent way if you’re interested in learning how to make extra money if you like taking photos and are good at editing them.
How to Make Extra Money – Side Hustle
26. Pet-sitting
Pet owners are always looking for people to pet sit their furry friends when they are out for things like vacation or work. If you like pets and don’t mind playing, feeding, and walking with pets, pet-sitting is a good way on how to make extra money. Some of the most popular pet-sitting apps are:
- Rover
- Wag!
- Barkly Pets
- Fetch! Pet Care
27. Babysitting or Nannying
If you like babies (who doesn’t) and kids and taking care of them, babysitting and nannying is one of the higher paying side-hustles you can do. There are many ways you can look for clients who need babysitters and nannies.
- Online: Care.com, Sittercity
- Join Facebook groups
- Advertise your service on Craigslist
- Finding postings on job sites like Indeed.com, Monster.com, Glassdoor.com.
The pay for babysitters varies in terms of location, qualifications, and the number of kids. According to the UrbanSitter’s 2020 National Childcare Rate Survey, the hourly pay for babysitters is $17.73 for one child, $20.30 for two children.
28. Performing Odd Jobs
Doing odd jobs is probably one of the oldest hustle on how to make extra money. Odd jobs are various tasks that have to be done at someone’s house, such as cleaning and repairing things. Yard work is probably one of the best odd jobs you can do as people are always looking for someone to help with yard work amidst their busy life. You can either start finding odd jobs the traditional way – going door-to-door and asking if the homeowner has any odd jobs for you, or visit the websites below to source for listed ones.
29. Donate Plasma
Not going to lie, this one does sound a little bit sketchy at first. However, donating your plasma can not only earn you extra money but also help save lives while doing so. Be sure to research where you want to donate your plasma, and you can expect to earn about $20-$50 doing so. How much you weigh also correlates to how much you get paid as you’ll be able to donate more plasma if you weigh more.
30. Selling Used Stuff
Another great way on how to make extra money is by selling used items that you already have. The principle that one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure rings true as there is always someone out there that may want something that you don’t and is willing to pay you for it. Things that you can sell are clothes, household items, gift cards, books, tech, etc. Below are some of the best places to sell your used stuff:
- Organizing a yard sale
- Decluttr (Best for tech)
- Raise (Best for gift cards)
- Poshmark (Best for clothes)
- eBay
- Facebook Marketplace (I’ve sold multiple items pretty easily here)
31. Flip Items For a Profit
Besides selling used stuff that you already own, you can also flip items for a profit. This means buying any item low and selling them high. You can really flip anything, from shoes, cards, games, furniture, books, electronics, etc. but you’ll need to put in the work to find items that are being sold for less than what it’s worth.
Flipping items also means you may have to put in some labor to improve the quality and cosmetics of the product you are selling to fetch a higher price. I would highly encourage serious flippers to watch Gary Vee’s YouTube videos on how to flip items successfully for a profit!
Final Thoughts
There you have it, how to make extra money 30 different ways. Of course, this list is not exhaustive and is just a brief overview of the different ways stated. If you truly want to learn how to make extra money, you have to be willing to work hard and be resourceful. Generating extra money is hard but definitely rewarding for you to achieve your financial goals and objectives.
This post may contain affiliate links. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products at no additional cost to you. Read our full disclosure here.
