10 Things I’ve Done To Make Extra Money

Just a little over one year ago, my life revolved around making extra money so that I could pay down my student loans quickly and so that I could stop living paycheck to paycheck.

Eventually, I paid off my student loans which allowed me to have more financial freedom. I eventually left my day job and transformed my side hustles into my full-time career.

Without my side hustle income, I really don’t know what life would be like. Side income allowed me to drastically change and improve my life more quickly than if I only had income from one source.

I’ve done a lot over the years to make extra income, and it helped me improve my life as I described above.

Due to this, I thought it would be fun to talk about the different ways I’ve side hustled in the past. Below are some of the things I’ve done to make extra money:

1. I entered giveaways.

I don’t enter many giveaways anymore, but it’s something I would like to get back into. I used to win money, gift cards, products, and more when I would enter giveaways. It wasn’t hard either, and it was a ton of fun to win stuff.

I would usually keep everything I would win, but I know others who sell their winnings on eBay or Craigslist if they don’t have any use for it.

2. I used to staff write for side income, and now it’s a part of my business.

Freelance writing is something I still do and it’s what launched me into the whole side hustle world. I started freelance writing after someone read my blog and asked me to write for their website. I thought the whole idea was crazy, but I accepted the offer and everything just grew from there.

Read So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?

3. I mystery shopped.

I haven’t done any mystery shopping in a long time, but it was fun while it lasted. It didn’t bring in a ton of income, but it was a way to get free meals, free cosmetics, and more.

You can read an old post of mine about mystery shopping here.

4. I babysat.

I haven’t babysat for money in a very long time, but it was a fun side hustle when I did. I used to babysit for a child who lived in my neighborhood starting when I was 14 years old. It paid around $10 an hour, and I babysat around 40 hours or more a week during the summer (and slightly less hours during the school year).

5. I used to take surveys.

Taking surveys was a “job” somewhat similar to mystery shopping. I would take surveys but they never really paid very much. The positives of taking surveys were usually the free items you were allowed to try out and the little bit of cash they paid as well.

6. I sold stuff around my home.

One thing I should probably still be doing is selling stuff around my home. I used to list items on eBay all the time, and I made a decent amount of side income by doing so. The only thing I didn’t like about selling stuff on eBay was the crazy amount of time it took. I know others find eBay fun, but I do not.

Now, I mainly just sell my stuff to consignment stores, donate, or give my stuff away.

7. I would pet sit.

I didn’t pet sit for long, but I did do it on a couple of occasions. I love, love, LOVE animals, so pet sitting was always a fun little job to do. I would get paid for letting out dogs, walking them, feeding, giving them any medications, and more.

8. I rented extra rooms in my house.

We have had three renters in our home since we bought our home five years ago. Two of these renters weren’t here for long, but my sister lived with us for a couple of years.

Renting a home in our house was a very easy way to make extra money since we always had the room and no work really had to be done.

9. I sold drinks at a concert.

Back in high school, I helped out a friend of mine and worked at a concert venue. They just needed someone for one day to hand out drinks to those entering the venue, and I was told I would get paid for being there, that it was a relaxed environment, and that I would be able to enjoy the concert after just working there for a few hours. That meant I was still able to enjoy the main band completely, and I got paid. I was also able to hang out with my friends so it was an easy one day job!

It wasn’t a ton of money, but it was a fun way to get free entry to a concert. You can usually do this with festivals and other events as well.

10. I used to blog for side income, and now it’s a part of my business.

Of course, I saved the best for last. Blogging for income is definitely not a get rich quick scheme, but if you try hard enough, it is possible to make extra money from blogging.

It took me around 6 months to make my first $100 from my blog, and everything grew from there. Blogging is a lot of fun, so it’s nice to be able to make an income from this blog.

Here are some articles to help you out with blogging:

What have you done to make money? What would you not do?

What are you making extra money for?

P.S. I recently read a great article written by a blogger about what she did at one point to make extra money. Check it out – You Can Sell Your Eggs To Pay Down Debt by Kathleen at Frugal Portland.

Michelle S