If you're looking for ways to earn extra money beyond a day job, numerous websites and apps can help you do just that.
In fact, in many cases, you can leverage resources you already have – your phone, your car, the junk in your garage – to earn additional income.
You'll see what we mean in a moment. Here are 30 ideas that can help you make some extra cash.
Use Your Car to Make Money
With this strategy, keep in mind that you'll spend money on gas, your insurance may go up and your car will experience wear and tear. But your car can be a major resource to help you earn money through these services:
To be an Uber driver, your car can't be 15 years old or older, and it has to have at least four doors. You need to have at least one year of driving experience (three years if you're under 23). This also should go without saying, but you'll need a valid driver's license. The amount of money you'll earn depends on how much you drive and where you live. But you'll be paid upfront for every drive, and any tips you receive are all yours.
You must be at least 21 to drive for this ride-hailing service, though it depends on the state; in some states, you need to be 25 years old. You'll also need to undergo a criminal background check. Your car has to have at least four doors. As for the money you'll make, it's the same deal as Uber: It depends on how much you drive and where you live. You're paid by the mile and minute, and tips and bonuses are all yours.
You need to be at least 18 to deliver restaurant-prepped meals and goods through this courier service. You'll be making deliveries, which is usually done by car, but you could also use a bicycle, the bus, or hoof it on foot. The rate you receive depends on when and where you're making deliveries.
If you are a full-service shopper, you'll make grocery deliveries through Instacart. How much you earn varies: drivers have reported making around $17 an hour. While the gig is pretty straightforward, you may have to attend an in-person orientation, and there will be paperwork, like a W-9 or W-4 tax form, depending on whether you're working as an independent contractor or a part-time employee.
With this service, you rent out your car when you aren't using it. Getaround suggests that if you have a nice car you may make several hundred dollars a month, but of course, it does depend on your car and how often it's driven. You'll keep 60% of that while Getaround takes a 40% cut. That may sound like a lot, and it is, but your car will be insured, and Getaround also covers roadside assistance. Your car must be at least a 2007 model or newer and can't have more than 200,000 miles on it.
To deliver food door-to-door with this service, you need to be 18. A car is great, but a motorcycle or scooter is fine, and in some cities, you're allowed to deliver by bicycle. DoorDash's main concern is that you pick up food from a restaurant and have reliable transportation to get meals to customers. There are a few other rules, like agreeing to a background check.
With this service, your car becomes something of a mobile billboard (without damaging its paint job), so you're carting around a message – but not people, and nobody's taking your car for a spin without you being there. You just drive around and live your life. Generally, drivers earn around $100 a month, which should pay for at least some of your gas, but Carvertise says you might be able to make up to $300 a month. You'll need to be at least 21, have a good driving record, and drive a car that isn't from the 1990s or older.
This is a similar company. The website suggests, however, that you'll make $264 to $452 a month, depending on how much advertising you have wrapped around your car. The brands Wrapify works with tend to be household names, and some vehicles, the website notes, are too hard to wrap ads around. So if you own a Hummer, Wrangler, PT Cruiser, HHR, VW Beetle, or a soft-top convertible, you're out of luck. Alas, it also doesn't wrap motorcycles or motorhomes.
Make Money While Shopping
If you're saving money, you can argue that you're making money. But don't get carried away using these sites to get deals. You are spending money with these sites – just less money.
You may know this company by its previous name, EBates. You earn cash back when you shop at stores partnered with Rakuten. Generally, you'll get around 1% to 3% cash back, though it's not uncommon to find deals where you'll get 5% or 6% cash back and even up to 10% or more cashback. This can be a good deal if you're planning to do some online shopping anyway.
This is also a cash-back site, and you'll find coupon codes and promo codes, just like you can on Rakuten. You'll save money using either website, but again, you're spending money to "make" this money.
This service specializes in finding the best price on products you buy online or in stores. It was previously called Wikibuy, but Capital One purchased it a couple of years ago. Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension, and you don't need a Capital One credit card to use it. Its cash-back option is somewhat limited; you don't get cash deposited in your account like with some cash-back sites, but you can get points to redeem for gift cards.
You take a photo of the receipts you collect from stores and restaurants, and then you get points that turn into rewards – most, if not all, which will be digital gift cards. It does seem easy enough if you get into the habit of taking those photos. Keep in mind that if your account is inactive for 91 days, your points will expire.
Make Money While Exercising
There's nothing to consider: It gets you out moving and away from junk food, and you can earn extra money as well.
This is an app that you download, and as long as your phone stays with you, you end up earning digital cash as you walk around or run. You can exchange Sweatcoins at the app's storefront to buy things, or you can donate them to charity. The website says it doesn't sell customers' data, but it may share information with brands that want to reach health-conscious consumers.
This is a website where you bet money so that you can lose weight in a certain amount of time. (Your weight needs to be verified, which you can do by sending in a video or by having a HealthyWage "referee" remotely witness you stepping on your scale.) If you lose the desired weight, you win prize money – and the money you bet. If you don't lose weight, you don't win money – and you lose the money that you've bet. What you win depends on how much you bet and if you're successful at losing weight. If you aren't careful when using this site, and if you go into this rashly, you may lose money instead of weight.
Formerly known as Achievement, this is an app that pays you to track your steps as well as other activities, such as the time you sleep or how much you're eating. (The company partners with health companies for market studies.) You can earn $10 for every 10,000 points you collect. Unfortunately, one step does not equal one point. It may take you a while to compile 10,000 points. The most points you can collect per day is 80.
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