Are you wondering how you can earn extra cash to add to your budget? Perhaps you just need a few extra hundred to pay off some debt or to get ahead of an unexpected expense.
In an ideal world, you would rely solely on your 9 to 5 income, but we know that’s not always possible these days. It seems impossible to stretch that paycheck to your next payday! Beyond the 9 to 5, we need easy, simple, and consistent ways to bring in extra cash so we can pay bills, pay off debt and save for a better future.
My preferred side hustle is blogging or writing online; however, some of you are looking for other ways to earn extra cash. With that said, today let’s explore 21+ ways you can add $150 to your budget.
Related Reading: 80+ Ways to Make Extra Money
Earn Extra Cash Through Services
1) Fiverr – Fiverr is an online portal where freelancers offer different services. Are you Miss Cleo? Well, you maybe you can advertise astrology readings (yes, I’m serious…that’s a category). There are also business-related categories to list writing, graphic design, accounting services, and more. You can earn $5.00 or more for each gig you list.
2) Tutoring – There are several online websites that let you tutor people from the comfort of your own home. In some instances, you can tutor around town too. The one I’m most familiar with is tutor.com because I know some friends who have used it to earn additional money. You can earn as much or as little as you like, you just need to be proficient in a subject area with a lot of great demand.
3) Teach ESL – The best part of this side hustle is it doesn’t require any type of special experience for native speakers. Many sites or companies require you to have a Bachelor’s degree or TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) certification, but it’s possible to find people who want to learn the language casually so they search boards like Craigslist for tutors. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, you can offer lessons via Skype or a local cafe. For more info on teaching ESL, check out this article, The Ultimate Guide to Teaching ESL Online.
Earn Extra Cash Through Surveys
1) Survey Junkie – I love survey companies that allow you to redeem points for cash. Survey Junkie allows you to do just that by cashing out using Paypal. You can also redeem points for gift cards too. Just make sure you fill out your profile completely because doing so can earn around 150 points which will get you a couple extra bucks. Sign up for Survey Junkie here.
2) Swagbucks – I’m saving one of my favorites for last because honestly, there are so many ways to earn money with Swagbucks. Swagbucks only requires a little effort (maybe 5 or 10 minutes a day) and you can accumulate enough Swagbucks to cash out for things like Starbucks, Amazon gift cards, and more. If you sign up using this link, you will receive a $5.00 sign-up bonus that you can immediately cash out for a $5.00 Amazon gift card!
3) Pinecone Research- By far the easiest survey company to sign up and earn extra cash from. I receive an email every other day to complete a quick survey and they give me $3.00. Simple as that. Sign up for Pinecone Research here.
UPDATE 3/13/2024 All of the survey companies listed below are no longer. We will continue to check the progress of any of these program’s returns and if they do, we will provide sign-up links. Until then, Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, and Inboxdollars seem to be the best ways to earn extra money through taking surveys. Hopefully, the landscape of surveys will broaden again soon!
3) Clearvoice – Clearvoice is a free survey company that seeks the opinions of consumers on many well-known brands. You can redeem for Amazon gift cards once you reach $10.
4) Harris Poll – Harris Poll is a 50-year-old survey company that collects data on behalf of several well-known brands. The best part about them is you can redeem survey points for gift cards to places like Amazon, iTunes, and Starbucks. After you complete an initial screening survey, you will start receiving invitations to regular surveys on different topics like tech, finance, beauty, and more.
5) Product Report Card – Product Report Card is pretty straightforward. You sign up, receive surveys within 24 hours, and start earning. In addition to earning checks or gift cards, you can earn free products to try as well.
6) Shop Tracker – Shop Tracker is an insanely easy way to earn a couple extra bucks each month. All it takes is two minutes to register and install Shop Tracker. They only analyze your shopping data and you have the opportunity to earn each month. They pay $3.00 each month and sometimes will offer double earnings.
7) Vindale – Vindale is one of the best survey sites out there. They need people to give feedback on consumer brands and will pay you cash for completing market surveys. Payout ranges anywhere from $.25 to $50.00. You can earn additional money via social media bonuses and they also have a generous referral program at $5.00 per referral.
8) YouGov – These surveys are more geared towards your opinion on many of today’s major issues like politics. They are pretty interesting to take and honestly give me a little place to vent all of my frustrations. It’s therapeutic to say the least and at least I’m earning points to do so. You receive points and 35,000 points is equivalent to a $25.00 Amazon gift card. Don’t worry about the high number because the point values are pretty high and you can earn from referrals, daily surveys, and product testing.
Earn Extra Cash From Your Home
1) Sell unwanted clothes on websites like Poshmark, ThredUp, or Ebay.
2) Have a yard sale. Check your cupboards, closets, bookshelves, attics, basements, and garage for things you haven’t used or don’t plan to use.
3) Join a Facebook sell group for your local area to earn extra cash. You don’t necessarily have to post anything for sale, you could wait for the right opportunity. For example, I had a very comfortable rocker in my son’s nursery that was taking up too much room. I thought about getting rid of it, but never took the time to post it. One day I was searching my FB timeline and someone posted an “in search of” status for a nursery rocker. I sent a picture of the rocker and had $75.00 in my hand the next day.
4) Start a garden. See if anyone you know would be interested in participating in a community vegetable garden. Bonus points if its organic! If you have a large yard, you can rent out garden space and don’t forget to check with your local restaurants who are interested in serving locally grown food. Last, grow your own vegetables and sell them around the neighborhood or at your local flea market.
5) Rent out space on Airbnb. If you’re comfortable opening your doors to complete strangers, put a listing up on Airbnb. Sign up for Airbnb today and start earning extra cash.
Earn Extra Cash Through Affiliates (Bloggers and Website Owners)
1) Share-a-Sale – This affiliate company has a host of different affiliate programs for bloggers to participate in. Some of their categories include fashion, accessories, education, family, food, and drink. Check out some of the categories for yourself and sign up to earn more affiliate income.
2) Flex Offers – This affiliate company has programs for Macy’s, Kohls, Barnes and Nobles, and more. Check out some of their other categories and sign up here to earn affiliate income through Flex Offers.
3) CJ – (Formerly Commission Junction) is another popular affiliate company that has a wide range of categories. Some of their affiliate companies include FTD, Banana Republic, Ashley Stewart and more. Check out some of their other companies here.
4) Google Adsense – Google Adsense is an ad network for website owners. Bloggers can apply to join the network and will be paid when their earnings hit the $100 threshold.
5) Send Owl – Send Owl helps online content creators sell their e-books. You can also offer an affiliate program using Send Owl so that others can help you sell your product. If you have an e-book that you want to sell to your audience, sign up with Send-Owl.
Earn Extra Cash Through Gigs/Tasks
1) Shipt – Shipt is an on-demand grocery delivery service that I’ve used before and loved! Shoppers earn $15 to $25 per hour and set their own hours. They are looking for drivers in several states so check them out.
2) Gigwalk – With this app, you download it onto your phone and register for a Gigwalk account. You find and complete gigs in your area and are paid through Paypal. Each gig takes you anywhere from five minutes to a few hours and you can earn between $3 and $100.
3) Airtasker – Business, and regular people like you and me outsource several tasks each day. With this site, someone will post a task that they need to be completed like home and garden, handyman tasks, delivery and pick up, business admin tasks, and more. The person who posts the tasks will select a worker and once the task is completed you get paid. The site boasts income of up to $5,000 per month.
4) Easy Shift – This is a free app that will pay you to shop and eat just about anywhere. Inside of the app, there will be tasks to complete at different locations. Some of the tasks can be as simple as looking for a beverage on a shelf to taking a picture of a storefront. You may have to check prices or write short reviews of a store. Once completed, you’re paid to your Paypal account within 48 hours.
5) User Testing – I’ve used this site several times and it’s the easiest $10 I’ve made online. You test websites through a computer recorded software and that records your thoughts and movements on a website. Some are as quick as 10 minutes and others take about 20 minutes. You get paid via Paypal once completed. Click here for more info on earning money using User Testing.
6) ShopKick – When you download the Shopkick app on your phone, you can earn kicks performing several tasks. The easiest tasks simply involve walking into one of the stores registered on the app. Other ways to earn kicks is through scanning products into the app in-store or scanning your receipt if you purchased a qualifying item.
7) Ibotta – Ibotta is one of my favorites! You download the free app to your phone and select the store you’re shopping at. Select any products you plan to purchase to add them to your shopping profile. Once you’ve purchased the items, you will earn cash back that will be applied to your account. After you reach the $20 threshold, you can cash out using Paypal or you can get a gift card to a retailer of your choice. I’ve earned $39 bucks so far this month!
Download Ibotta, redeem a rebate, and get a FREE $10.00!
8) Field Agent – This app allows you to be a field agent to collect specific information from stores or restaurants as requested. You complete an agent profile and complete tasks near you. Most jobs include price checks, taking pictures of products on shelves, etc. Each job pays between $3 and $12 and you can be paid via Paypal or Dwolla.
10) Sign up to become an Instacart Shopper– Set your schedule and deliver groceries! With Instacart, all you’ll be doing is going to your local grocery or drugstore and picking up items that folks purchase on Instacart’s website or app. The app guides you through everything you need to do to complete the jobs. Click here to learn about how to become an Instacart shopper.
Other Ways to Earn Extra Cash
1) Shop and sell store clearance items. Here is a family who is earning a full-time income doing this by reselling closeout and clearance items on Amazon FBA. You can check out my full interview on how to make money from home on Amazon FBA.
2) Refurbish and sell furniture for extra cash. If you have a good consignment or thrift shop in your local area, check it out for furniture. Be sure to check yard, garage sales, and curbside giveaways too. There is plenty of good furniture being sold or thrown away that just need a little bit of elbow grease. You do the work and you can cash in on it.
3) Rent out your home or extra space. If you have a spare bedroom or basement, you could rent out these areas to local students or other singles looking for a cheap place to rent. If you have an attic or extra garage space, offer to store other people’s belongings for a fee.
Wrapping It Up
With a little effort and dedication, it’s possible to earn extra cash. To get started, try one idea from every category and see what kind of difference it makes in your finances.
It may motivate you to pursue an even bigger hustle. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be though because, with just a few of these ideas, you shouldn’t have a problem adding $150 to your budget.
Which one of these ideas will you do to earn extra cash?