114 Side Hustles: Ways to Make More Money

Seems to me, the hardest part of side hustling is getting started. If you can’t make rent, want ways to save for that awesome vacation or are just trying to buy a flipping couch, here are 114 ways to get ‘er done!

  1. KnowledgeGet paid for public speaking.
  2. Turn your own forms for budgeting and organizing into something other people can use.
  3. Substitute teach.
  4. Or teach a college course as an adjunct.
  5. Become an antique picker
  6. Referee or coach something. Or teach fitness classes like yoga.
  7. Teach music lessons. This website isn’t even good. You could totally pull that off and then drop off advertisements at your local schools.  
  8. Flip items that you have special, but often overlooked by others, knowledge about.
  9. Sell your old college term papers for, er, research purposes.* 
  10. Become a freelance writer.
  11. Develop your own course at Udemy or Skillshare and set your own rates. 
  12. Write standardized test questions
  13. Write an eBook.
  14. Like researching stuff? Answer questions at ChaCha to pick up a few dollars. 
  15. Tutor.
  16. Are you a teacher? Share your lesson plans and other cool resources at Teachers pay Teachers.
  17. Multilingual? Use it to generate some cash.

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  1. trainingBecome a personal trainer.
  2. Work from home and make your own hours as a transcriptionist
  3. Take a basic bar tending class and then get your drink on. Or, um, other people’s drink on. Or skip the class all together and find a small bar willing to take a chance on you. 
  4. Become an Emergency Medical Technician on evenings and weekends. 
  5. Live near a big city with lots of big theaters? Take a class in moving light programming and become a programmer.
  6. Become a notary.
  7. Get ordained and start marrying folks (warning some R-rated language in this link).
  8. Lifeguard – you’ll probably need some training to pull this one off. 
  9. Work as a masseuse
  1. cash-in-handBuy something other people want in bulk and sell it individually
  2. Start your own vending machine business
  3. Flip books from thrift stores and garage sales. 
  4. Start your own photo booth business
  5. Don’t mind early mornings? Start your own newspaper route.
  6. Become an Avon lady (er, or gentleman?).
  7. Invest in peer to peer lending, like Lending Club and Prosper.

 

 

 

Screen Shot 2017-03-16 at 4.47.20 PM

 

  1. broke Churn frequent flier miles.
  2. Get a roommate
  3. Put an ad on your car
  4. Or just the bumper.
  5. Donate plasma
  6. If you know how to use an iPad and own black clothes? Help host auctions for rich folk. 
  7. House sit
  8. Sign up to be an eJuror.
  9. Have a heartwarming life story? Write it down and submit it to Chicken Soup for the Soul for $200.
  10. Be a trivia host at your local bar.
  11. Become a taste tester
  12. Pass out samples
  13. Mystery shopping.
  14. Work a phone-a-thon.
  15. Start a pet taxi service. Yes, you read that right, and it’s a real thing. If someone’s making that money, it might as well be you. 
  16. Work as a gofer and do odd jobs. 
  17. Work as a voice actor
  18. Do menial tasks for Amazon and make some cash with Mechanical Turk
  19. Join up with a company like Mary Kay, Herbalife, Jamberry, Paparazzi or Pure Romance.
  20. Love dogs? You could take one in for a week while it’s owner is on vacation and rack up some cash.
  21. Start your own designated driver service.
  22. Download one of these apps to make money while you shop – Gigwalk, iBotta, Receipt Hog, SavingStar, Field Agent, CheckPoints, EasyShift, or Shopkick.
  23. Donate your sperm or your eggs.*
  24. Sign up for focus groups and get paid for your opinion.
  25. Develop your own airport shuttling business.
  26. Willing to dress up in some really odd outfits? If you live in a big city, check out Alt Terrain for some interesting side gigs. 

stuff

  1. Make some cash playing Second Life
  2. Got basic graphic design skills? Design logos, programs, brochures and business cards here.
  3. Build PowerPoints for folks who don’t know how. Seriously, it’s a thing. Put up some of your old school projects on eLance
  4. Evaluate websites
  5. Solve people’s computer problems
  6. Do some freelance coding
  7. Build the app for that. 
  8. happy-computerBuild websites for other people.

 

  1. Rent out your car to other people.
  2. Sell books for money.
  3. Sell whatever you’ve got lying around on eBay.
  4. Use your home to host an exchange student.
  5. If it’s scrap metal, recycle it. 
  6. Loan that stuff out with Loanables.

manual-labor

  1. Start your own car washing business
  2. Join the military
  3. Clean vending machines.
  4. Be a bouncer.
  5. Work in the food service industry
  6. Got any carpentry skills? Build sets for local theatrical productions
  7. Become a dog walker
  8. Clean other people’s houses
  9. Babysitting

 

  1. organizedPlan other people’s trips.
  2. 84.) Organize unorganized people’s homes
  3. 85.) Host estate sales.
  4. 86.) Become a virtual assistant
  5. 87.) Run an on-line store
  6. 88.) Develop a tour of your home city and list it on Vayable

crafty

  1. Set up an etsy store and start selling that stuff!
  2. Good with artwork? Sell a design at Threadless
  3. Got some clever slogans? Pretty them up and sell them on Zazzle
  4. Build and shop for props for local theatrical production. 
  5. Take great photos? Check out this list of places you can submit stock photos
  6. Or team up with mom365 and photograph newborns in local hospitals. 
  7. Can you sew? Freelance as a seamstress by the hour. 
  8. Crafty and into pop culture? Capitalize on it. Check out this etsy shop. It’s super easy to make some of those items – the names alone are why she’s probably making a killing. I know. I have Pumpkin Pasties in my purse.
  9. Build puppets.

dreadful_and_weird_640_15

  1. Become a mascot.
  2. Got pretty feet? Work as a foot model.
  3. Volunteer for medical experiments
  4. Be a movie extra
  5. Charge people to watch you eat online. 
  6. Get into the sex industry as a phone sex operator.* 
  7. Make money by going to the gym with GymPact.
  8. Count worms for your local bait supplier. 
  9. Be your own human billboard service.
  10. Become a gun permit instructor
  11. Start your own bird removal business.
  12. Help people gamble.
  13. Or do it yourself.* 
  14. Join rent-a-friend and start making some cash by being friendly. 
  15. Farm some chickens
  16. Make and market your own board game, like the Cards Against Humanity folks.
  17. Become a professional cuddler

* = You may want to think twice before going with these methods.

On a related note, during my research I came across this great post over at Budget Blonde called The Truth About Side Hustling, which I thought was fantastic. I especially loved point #4 – you’re the only one who can force yourself to get started. For a long time, I thought there just weren’t any side hustles I could succeed at, and this past month I’ve realized that is definitely not true. Even more, researching this list led me to a new one scheme that I’m cooking up right now – so hopefully I’ll have some updates on that in a few weeks too.

Take a risk! Give it a try! Really, what’s the worst that could happen (er, except for the starred suggestions – because the worst that could happen with those is really something to consider before jumping into those side hustles)?

89 thoughts on “114 Side Hustles: Ways to Make More Money

  1. Great list! #1 had me sold, this is something I really want to look into!

    28.) Start your own vending machine business. — This link is dead. But it reminded me that someone (probably on a blog) bought an arcade machine then rented it to local bars for several months at a time. It wasn’t a ton of profit but after the purchase was easy enough.
    Leslie Beslie recently posted…How Having Goals Can Hurt YouMy Profile

  2. This is really such a thorough list! I can tell you put research into this, and it’s true, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort and use your skills, there’s plenty of ways to think outside the box to make a living!
    Rachel G recently posted…15 Must-Have Wedding PhotosMy Profile

  3. Holy, moly, what a list! I’ve thought about pursuing a couple of these. Should really get on it. I’ve done a couple more of them. My sibling has been an extra in a couple of movies, but made no $ off of it. But we’re talking literally a stadium full of extras in one case….think Pittsburghers might have been too excited to be in a movie to ask for cash? Or maybe they just don’t pay crowds?
    femmefrugality recently posted…Financially Savvy Saturdays: Twenty Seventh EditionMy Profile

  4. Visiting from the Sits Girl Sharefest but I must say what an impressive list of great ways to make money. Some seem so obvious but I would have never thought of them. I am currently unable to work outside the home right now and it is causing a lot of stress on our family. I’ve bookmarked this post and will be trying out some of your suggestions. 🙂
    Deb Devita recently posted…The 5 Books You Simply Must Read Before You Die.My Profile

  5. #75 Join the military – definitely needs to be specified as “reserves or national guard.” Most people in the military are active duty, which is definitely NOT a “side” hustle

      • I don’t think the reserves should be on the list as a side hustle because as a former active duty sailor and reservist I have been called back to full time active duty, so what you may think of as a side hustle may cause you to have to leave your family, your home and your job, and if you are in the lower ranks you may end up bankrupt because you have to leave a higher paying full time job when Uncle Sam comes calling. This should only be done if you really love the military or need to meet active duty contract obligations.

  6. So many ideas! I’ll be sure to share this post with my audience.
    I giggled at ‘be a foot model’ 🙂 it’s definitely an option (well, not for me per se). Same for hand models, I saw an article once about one who regularly put top-notch hand creme on their precious hands and took almost obsessive care of them. Scary stuff 🙂
    Heidi @ Thriftytricks recently posted…Infographic: Is It Time To Move Out?My Profile

    • I can neither confirm or deny that is actually works, since someday I’d like to be a professor…. but maybe there was a younger version of me that didn’t want to be a professor and just needed some cash. Perhaps that version could confirm it actually works.

  7. Mel, what a funny & great list! I’m so glad you asterisked some of them though as not the greatest of options. 😉 Thanks for linking my site… Jamberry has been amazing for me & definitely a great “side hustle” for this stay-at-home-mom. I can’t believe you came up with 114 of these!! lol

  8. That’s a great list you have here. There really are many ways in which we can earn online, and sometimes we already got the solutions already. All it needs is just a little push and a little internet innovation.

    Thanks, and I hope this post reaches many.

  9. I’m definitely going to try some of these things out! I will say, as far as Avon goes, I know alot of people have luck with selling it. I myself have not, simply because to make any money from it, you have to have orders of a certain amount before you make money. I discovered that selling Thirty One makes me alot more money than Avon!

  10. This is an amazing list! I personally love the survey sites. I have been a member of one in particular for over 2 years and they pay real cash, not points or gift cards. You can earn in different ways too, like searching the web, downloading apps, doing tasks and listening to music, along with doing surveys. I love that they have a phone app so you can earn even when you aren’t at home. Check it out and it’s free http://bit.ly/1svfD3M

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  12. Wow so many ideas here thank you for sharing! They are so fresh and out of the box. So many blog posts just repeat themselves on this topic…. it’s weird to think that even in desperate situations, some people will be so lazy nowadays that they won’t even read these let alone try any that require leaving the home.
    Deanna recently posted…By: Deanna BaldwinMy Profile

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  14. This is an interesting list Mel. I’ve been running my own side hustle for 5 years now (website marketing service). It’s been a very rewarding ride with both up’s and down’s. Learning how to build and run a business is an awesome experience…and doing it on the side is even better because you don’t have the same pressures as if it were your sole source of income!
    Ryan Cote recently posted…What I Learned From The One ThingMy Profile

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  17. This has to be hands-down one of the most innovative lists I’ve seen in a long time! Some of these ideas had me laughing. The reality of the situation is that there are literally hundreds if not thousands of ways to make money – online and offline. You’ve just go to decide one way and take action immediately. Nice blog by the way. Some of these ideas I can use on my own blog.
    Corrisa recently posted…Selling Products Online From Home – the Easier WayMy Profile

  18. This is such a great list of side hustles! Another great way to make fun and flexible extra income is by being a Brand Ambassador. Brand Ambassadors make $18-$50/hr on the side for attending awesome events and handing out free stuff.

    Mel: I wrote up a detailed how-to post on how to make money as a Brand Ambassador which I’d love to share here if that’s okay?

    Kenny Azama
    http://brandambassadorworld.com

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  29. Great read, always looking for extra ways to make a buck. I just wanted to share something I’ve been doing recently. I run an office and have noticed that unused toner was piling up in storage. Looked into returning but that was no good. Tried out the site http://www.tonerconnect.net/ and was impressed. They had quick service and that payout was nice.

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