There are countless ways that you can earn money on the side but many of them take time or money to build up. Sometimes you have to wait months or longer before turning a profit. For example, starting an Etsy shop is a great way to generate an income, but it takes time to get it off the ground if you do it right.
Today I want to share some ideas of things you can do now to earn money this month.
Sell Your Used Stuff Locally
If you take a look through your closets and drawers, you might be surprised at what you have that you could sell. Don’t just focus of furniture or larger items. Shoes, clothes, seasonal items, toys and books all sell well. Clean your items up a bit and take appealing photos. Be sure to describe your items accurately too. You really can make a profit selling used stuff.
You have lots of options for where to sell your items. Craigslist is a popular free place to market your stuff. Another great option is to join a local buy-sell-trade group on Facebook. If the weather permits, hosting a garage sale is a great way to sell your things. When you sell locally you don’t have to worry about logistics of shipping or having a third party take a commission. Plus, you get your payment immediately.
Sell Your Used Stuff to the World
Selling locally is great for items that are logistically difficult to ship or won’t sell for enough to make a third party service worthwhile. When the world is your marketplace, you have many more eyes on your items which means many more potential buyers and people willing to pay higher prices. You will be looking at around a 10% commission taken off of your sale and you will have the responsibility to ship the items to your buyers.
Both Amazon and Ebay are great options for selling your used items to the world. Which marketplace is best for your particular item will depend on what the item is. Search both sites for similar items to get an idea.
Trade-in Your Stuff to Amazon
Amazon has a trade-in program that in convenient and allows you to get paid right away, rather than having to wait for each item to sell and have to ship them individually. You can look up your books, electronics, video games, DVDs and more to see if Amazon will buy them from you and how much they will pay you. You won’t make as much as if you sold each item yourself, but the convenience factor and the quick turnaround can make it worth it. Shipping the items to Amazon is free. You receive your payment in Amazon credit.
Sell Your Specialty
Do you make excellent cinnamon rolls or fresh baked bread? Do you sew baby clothes or knit hats? Your crafty wood carving or hair bows that you make for your girls might be just what one of your friends is looking for. In the age of social media, it’s easier than ever to market your wares.
Maybe in the long run you want to open an Etsy shop to sell your wares to the world, but in the meantime you can make some cash by selling to friends and friends of friends on Facebook. Pass the word around at work or at church that you are making your special holiday pies and selling them for $15.
Sell Your Services
People pay for services all the time, from having their oil changed to taking care of their kids. In most cases, people would rather pay someone that they know rather than a stranger, but they usually don’t offer the job to their acquaintances unless they know they are looking for work. Get the word out on social media, among your personal network, and on craigslist that you have a service to offer. If you are earning money for a specific goal, don’t be afraid to share it. People like knowing that their money is going to a good cause.
What are you willing to do? You could:
- clean houses
- babysit
- house-sit
- mow lawns
- wrap gifts
- run errands
- pet sit
- web design
- freelance writing
- teach or tutor
- wash cars
The sky’s the limit! Get creative!
Sell Your Plasma
Plasma is the liquid part of blood that carries the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Although it is 90% water, it carries components used in life-saving technologies. Having a family member who is immuno-compromised, I have seen the amazing effects of intravenous imunoglobulin (IVIG) treatments, which are possible because of plasma donations.
When I was in college, giving plasma was a popular way to earn money fast. Donors typically earn $30-$45 per donation and, in many cases, they can go twice per week. The process for giving plasma is very similar to donating blood.
Rewards Programs
Not all rewards programs can help you earn money this month. Some take more time to reach a minimum payout or have inconsistent earning opportunities. Here are a few that will allow you to earn cash or Amazon gift cards (or other rewards) in a timely manner.
Swagbucks is a rewards program for all the things you do online, from searching the internet to making purchases, from printing coupons to watching videos. With the search tool, you will randomly (it seems) be awarded various amounts of Swagbucks every so often.
If you are new to Swagbucks, I recommend giving it a try to see if it works for you. Through Friday 11/14/2014 you can get 70 bonus Swagbucks when you register with Swagbucks. Click on “I have a sign up code” when you’re initially signing up and enter sixfigures. Then continue to fill out your profile for another 30 Swagbucks!
I am relatively new to using Bing Rewards, but it’s pretty straight forward. You can earn rewards for searching the internet using Microsoft’s Bing search. Unlike Swagbucks search where you don’t have any control over how much you’ll earn through your searches, Bing tells you exactly how many credits you will get and what the maximum is each day.
You earn 1 credit for every 2 searches. You can get 15 credits per day searching on your PC and 10 credits per day searching on your phone. At 25 credits a day, you can earn 750 credits in a typical month just from searching the internet. You get other bonuses along the way. A $5 gift card is between 475 to 525 credits. Register with Bing using any email address (or a Microsoft login if you already have one) and give it a try!
How About You?
I have just scratched the surface here. There are many more ways to earn extra cash both online and in person. What creative ways have you earned money quickly? What ideas would you recommend?
Note: This post contains affiliate or referral links. For more information, see my disclosure policy.
I have another way to earn extra money this and every month. It’s almost as easy to do as going for a walk! Clean up litter material outside commercial properties. The work is done on-foot using simple hand tools. I started providing this green service as a side hustle and grew it into a business of 40+ years.
Nice story. I got out of law school with only $5000 debt. I slept on the floor the first year. I couldn’t afford a bed. We have come a long way.
I like your count down to end debt slavery.
That’s great that you got out of law school with so little debt! 🙂
Some good ideas in here, although here in Canada we can’t sell any bodily fluids so plasma is out. Also, as a professional web designer it bothers me when it shows up on these lists along with jobs that don’t require technical training.
Find it to be a useful mechanism to keep a track of things and does make a difference in decision making…..I have tried out something money for motoring – try vehiclecommercial (dot) com and get paid to drive your car….Cheers!
I do ironing for a few teachers at my kids’ school. I can earn around $60 a week during school terms for this. Being in Australia our school year has just started. In the last 3 weeks I have already earned nearly $180 for doing a job that most people can’t stand.
That’s awesome Rivkah! Way to find a need and fill it!
Hi Stephanie!
I don’t want my comment to get things off on the wrong foot, so I’d first like to say that I absolutely ADORE your blog! I’m in the beginning of my own PhD debt journey (90k student loans, booo hisssss). Thankfully, I landed a great job in a low COL town before my grace period expires and will be starting my journey in a matter of weeks with my first paycheck. I am grateful that there are other people like you blogging about our shared experience; it is really motivating to see other people succeed, and I am cheering you and your family on!
That being said, I wanted to note that the USA is the only Western country that allows plasma donors to donate twice a week; everyone else thinks it isn’t safe to do it more than once every two weeks. Looking into the plasma research more, there are some serious health issues associated with donating plasma too often (usually due to the anti-coagulation process that takes place while people are “plassing”). You’re not explicitly encouraging twice-a-week donations in your post per se, but it might be good to make a note of this. I was gearing up for frequent donations before the tales about blackouts, extreme weight gain, depression, and pneumonia–among other scary things–stopped me in my tracks. I’m still planning on donating *infrequently* because I think its a great cause, but interested readers may also want to research their intended plasma donation center/organization to make sure that their plasma will actually be used to help people rather than being donated for, say, cosmetics research.
I totally agree! Definitely do your research before making any commitments, especially when it deals with your own health!
I’m glad to hear that things are working out well for you and that you’re getting started to conquer your debt! Best wishes!
Thanks, you too!
I just know we’ll be debt-eating MACHINES in 2015. 😉
do people generally make anything off the advertisements on their blogs?
The amount of money that you make from ads on your blog really depends on how much traffic you have. If you have decent traffic, then you can definitely make money from ads on your blog.
I am a big fan of the side hustle – I too signed up to be a pet sitter and dog walker with a reputable company and have made around $3000 this year in my spare time!
I’ve also downloaded a few apps for my phone – Rewardable, Field Agent and Easy Shift – to earn money while grocery shopping and running errands! I have earned around $400 this year simply by answering a few Q’s and taking pics with my phone!
I found a company that will buy Beanie Babies as long as they meet the company’s requirements. They will pay postage as long as you have at least $25 of items to sell them. I went through my children’s collection, which they no longer wanted and was just packed away in our basement storage room, and was able to sell $145 worth to the company and they paid the shipping on all that I sent them. They don’t pay very much but the alternative of continuing to store them was not very appealing and they don’t sell well in garage sales around here. Extra money in my pocket for Christmas!
That’s awesome Dawn! That’s a lot of money!! I’m sure it’s not anywhere near what you originally spent, but like you said, they weren’t doing any good just taking up storage space. Thanks for sharing!
I have an eBay store and I am a drop shipper. This was my first year and it has gone very well. I also have been doing Swagbucks for years….I also have Inbox Dollars http://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=ref15727194. Inbox Dollars is kinda like Swagbucks and they have their own debit card they can load your funds to once you get the card.
Another great PT job for someone who is outgoing and isn’t afraid to talk with people is being a brand ambassador or promo model….don’t let the word “model” fool you, these are those people that hand you samples of product at grocery stores, malls, etc. The work is very flexible, you can choose which events to work and I’ve made $12-$20/hr just depending on the product being promoted. You can find them on Craigslist jobs & gigs section. This is the busy season, there will be steady work through to Valentine’s Day.
Thanks for sharing your ideas! A brand ambassador could be really fun for the right person!
I had never heard of Amazon’s trade in program. Might just be the motivation needed to finally get rid of our books and media that’s just being stored.
These are great ideas! I actually started my own Etsy shop and I’ve received a lot of local support from it. Thanks for the ideas!
That’s awesome Mari! I haven’t ever done anything locally with my Etsy shop.
There is a retired couple in my neighborhood who is our “go to” couple for all sorts of odd jobs. The husband does: oil changes, car cleaning, lawn mowing, house repairs, carpentry, etc. The wife cat and dog-sits, gardens, cleans houses, paints, you name it. She even sells stuff for us on ebay. Last summer they hosted a neighbourhood garage sale, and took a 25% commission on all the sales since they did most of the work. It worked out great for all of us. This couple has been trusted by our neighborhood for years to do all kinds of jobs. They have a little flyer with a menu of things they do, but they will pretty much do anything.
Wow! They sound like a great pair. You can definitely tell that they are driven and motivated!
I take part in medical studies at our university when I see a good one. I took part in an anaestesiology study that was testing an already approved drug for a new use and it paid 2k for 5 hours of my time. Plus it makes me feel like I’m giving back to the greater good. However, I’m a scientist so I am very aware of molecular effects and side effects so makes sure to read the study paperwork you do this!
That’s a great payout Judi! In law school, my husband did a study drinking soy milk (or maybe it was a different kind… whatever it was it was gross). It lasted a couple of months and he had to do several blood draws, physicals, and stool samples. I can’t remember how much it paid, but it was worth it for sure. He’s a trooper!
The university also had studies for babies and kids to participate in for development, cognition, language, etc that I would bring my kids to. It was a nice, easy and fun way to earn some extra cash!
I started doing dog sitting for dogvacay.com . The very next day after I did my profile, I already had customers. I have made over $2000 this year walking dogs and keeping them in our home. Our cat isn’t happy, but it helps the budget. I am putting most of this money into my IRA.
That’s awesome Diana! It sounds like there is a real need to fill there!
Hadn’t heard of the Bing rewards. I might have to try that!
It’s super easy and who isn’t already searching the internet anyway?