Yahoo Finance 50 Lesser-Known Ways To Make Extra Money To Avoid Going Broke in 2024
Even with a full-time job, many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. As most places in the U.S. become less affordable, there’s a greater need to earn additional income.
Here are 50 ways to earn some cash to keep yourself afloat financially.
Find Out: How To Earn $750 a Week in Passive Income
Learn More: 6 Unusual Ways To Make Extra Money (That Actually Work)
Babysitting
Earnings potential: $18 per hour
Babysitting is a caretaking position where you look after children when their parents are not home. Babysitting might involve preparing simple meals, helping with homework, playing with children and planning activities. Today, some babysitters work online through virtual platforms like Virtual Babysitters Club.
Discover More: 29 Best Games That Pay Real Money in 2024
Check Out: Tony Robbins: 10 Passive Income Ideas To Build Your Fortune
Wealthy people know the best money secrets. Learn how to copy them.
Reading Tarot Cards
Earnings potential: $19 per hour
Tarot card readers interpret tarot cards to give people insights into their past, present and future. They explain the cards clients select to help them gain personal insights and new perspectives about their lives.
Explore More: 8 Ways To Make $200 (or More) a Day Working From Home
Pet Sitting
Earnings potential: $16 per hour
Pet sitters care for pets when their owners are away. This may include duties like feeding, providing fresh water, walking, cleaning and administering medications. This job may require spending the night in a client’s home or keeping a pet in your own home overnight.
Online Tutoring
Earnings potential: $19 per hour
Online tutors assist learners virtually in a variety of subjects. Topics range from elementary math to advanced French lessons. Online tutors are responsible for planning lessons and communicating concepts effectively. Popular online tutoring platforms include VIPKid, Udemy and Italki.
Conducting Market Research
Earnings potential: $17 per hour
Market research involves gathering and analyzing data in various ways according to market trends and consumer preferences. Market researchers help businesses make informed decisions and develop effective strategies to engage with their target audience better.
Recycling
Earnings potential: $17 per hour
Recycling as a side gig involves gathering recyclable objects from various locations like homes, businesses and public places. Recyclers then sort their materials and transport them to recycling facilities.
Trending Now: 6 Cheap Hobbies To Start in 2024 That Will Make You Extra Money
Blogging
Earnings potential: $30 per hour
Blogging involves researching and writing online content about specific topics in areas such as finance, travel, fashion and technology. Bloggers can make money by writing for clients or receiving ad, sponsorship or affiliate marketing revenue from interaction with their own websites.
Dropshipping
Earnings potential: $20 per hour
Dropshippers sell products online without holding any physical inventory. Dropshippers use e-commerce stores that ship products directly to customers while they deal with marketing, maintaining a website and managing orders.
Resume Writing
Earnings potential: $39 per hour
Resume writers are professionals who help individuals write or edit their resumes and cover letters to maximize the chance of successfully landing a position. These writers can improve resumes with professional writing, formatting and keywords that will help get the resumes past recruiters’ and hiring managers’ initial screenings.
Video Editing
Earnings potential: $31 per hour
Video editors take recorded footage and arrange it according to their clients’ wishes. They may work with professionally shot film footage or phone footage intended for a social media platform.
Be Aware: How To Generate Passive Income With Just $1,000
Selling Digital Art
Earnings potential: $48 per hour
Digital artists create images with tools like graphic design software and drawing tablets before selling their work online. They make creative pieces, market their products and upload them to platforms like Etsy.
Participating in Clinical Trials
Earnings potential: $38 per hour
Clinical trial participants help contribute to research by agreeing to test new treatments, medications or medical devices. To become a participant, you must pass a series of screenings. While this can be an easy way to make money, you may encounter potential health risks.
Being a Personal Trainer
Earnings potential: $29 per hour
Personal trainers help others get fit by designing programs, coaching and motivating individuals in fitness settings. Personal trainers must pass exams to receive certifications. These trainers may work in gyms, at home or virtually through online platforms.
Taking Stock Photography
Earnings potential: $30 per hour
Stock photography involves taking high-resolution pictures of various locations or settings and posting them online to sell. Your earnings will depend largely on the demand for and quality of the photographs. Popular stock photography platforms are iStock, Getty Images and Shutterstock.
Read Next: ‘Rich Dad’ Robert Kiyosaki: Buy These 8 Assets To Get So Rich You Can Quit Your Job Forever
Officiating
Earnings potential: $18 per hour
With a deep understanding of a sport like soccer or basketball, you can get a job officiating in rec league games. Referees maintain order and ensure teams and players follow the rules of the sport they’re officiating. Qualifications to become a referee vary and may require training.
Being a Virtual Assistant
Earnings potential: $24 per hour
Virtual assistants can help their clients in various ways from remote locations. They may engage in tasks such as scheduling appointments, managing emails, updating websites or handling customer interactions. Popular virtual assistant platforms include Fancy Hands and Zirtual.
Being a Dating Coach
Earnings potential: $22 per hour
Dating coaches help clients improve their dating abilities, understand complicated relationships and get over breakups. Dating coaches may help through having one-on-one interactions, providing video courses or offering feedback through other means.
Proofreading
Earnings potential: $28 per hour
Proofreaders have excellent grammar skills and attention to detail. Proofreading entails checking texts for correct grammar, spelling, formatting and punctuation. Proofreaders look over various texts, including books, articles, websites and advertisements.
For You: How To Make Passive Income Just By Moving Money In These Ways
App Testing
Earnings potential: $37 per hour
App testers assess mobile and web applications, determining their functionality and the user experience. Testers provide developers with feedback that includes any bugs and glitches affecting the platform.
Operating Vending Machines
Earnings potential: $20 per hour
Operating vending machines requires purchasing, placing and stocking vending machines. Operators need to collect payments from machines and make decisions about product selection and pricing.
Telephone Interviewing
Earnings potential: $16 per hour
Companies use telephone interviewers to call customers and gather feedback about their products and services. Interviewers often work from home or a call center.
Product Testing
Earnings potential: $36 per hour
Product testers try out new products and give feedback so companies can improve their quality and appeal. They may need to follow specific instructions from the businesses and report their experiences. Product testing platforms include Pinecone Research and American Consumer Opinion.
Read More: Barbara Corcoran’s 5 Best Passive Income Ideas
Knife Sharpening
Earnings potential: $18 per hour
Knife sharpeners work for individuals, businesses or restaurants. They use tools like sharpening rods, whetstones and electric sharpeners to sharpen blades to meet their clients’ needs.
Sewing
Earnings potential: $18 per hour
Working as a seamstress or tailor involves using sewing tools to alter and repair clothing or other items. This job may require you to fix tears and zippers, add buttons, and alter the length or fit of clothing.
Car Washing
Earnings potential: $16 per hour
Car washers clean clients’ vehicles. Car washing can involve scrubbing and waxing the vehicle’s exterior and cleaning and vacuuming the inside. Car washers may work from their home or another location, like a car washing facility.
Producing Music
Earnings potential: $81 per hour (though the average can vary by as much as $176.68)
Music producers create, record and edit music tracks. These tracks may be used for purposes such as commercials, films, YouTube videos or other musical artists. Platforms for music producers include SoundCloud, Envato and Artlist.
Try This: I Earn Over $30K a Week in Semi-Passive Income on Amazon – Here’s How
Renting a Room
Earnings potential: $18 per hour
Those with spare rooms or properties can rent them out to earn extra income. Hosts who don’t hire a property manager will need to coordinate with renters, clean and maintain the property, and cater to guests’ needs. Income will depend on the demand for your property. Platforms that can help you rent a room include Airbnb and Vrbo.
IRL Streaming
Earnings potential: $27 per hour
In-real-life (IRL) streamers broadcast daily activities and experiences for viewers to watch. Possible content includes travel, social interactions, physical activities and creative projects. IRL streamers earn based on the number of viewers who watch their content, donations and sponsorships.
Testing Websites
Earnings potential: $38 per hour
Website testing requires individuals to use websites and evaluate them for user experience. Testers will note bugs, errors and technical problems while using the sites. Platforms that offer website testing jobs include Userlytics and UserTesting.
Podcasting
Earnings potential: $36 per hour
Podcasting involves creating, recording and producing audio content that users can stream and listen to. Podcasts often focus on a specific niche or area of interest to attract listeners. Popular podcast platforms include Podbean and Patreon.
Learn More: I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: Here’s What My Salary Looked Like Over the Years
Voice Acting
Earnings potential: $48 per hour
Voice actors record themselves acting out scripts and narrations for different media types, ranging from video games to commercials. Voice recording may occur at a home studio or in a professional studio setting.
Taking Online Surveys
Earnings potential: $31 per hour
Individuals who take online surveys share feedback and opinions about products, services and brands. Completing surveys can result in cash, gift cards or other forms of payment. Platforms like Survey Junkie and Swagbucks offer survey-taking opportunities.
Writing Newsletters
Earnings potential: $20 per hour
Newsletter writers craft informative and engaging content that subscribers send out regularly. Writers may compose their own newsletters or join a company’s content strategy team.
DJing
Earnings potential: $41 per hour
Disc jockeys (DJs) entertain people with music. DJs can play in large venues, at private events or at radio stations. DJing may involve preplanning a playlist or creating it on the spot.
Check Out: 12 Ways To Get Ahead of 99% of People Financially According to ChatGPT
Participating in Mock Trials
Earnings potential: $71 per hour
Mock trials require paid participants who can act as jurors, witnesses or attorneys. Mock trials help with research and legal training for law students and lawyers.
Dog Walking
Earnings potential: $17 per hour
Dog walkers take dogs on walks to get fresh air and exercise. Dog walking may mean walking a single dog or multiple dogs at once, helping these pets to stay happy and healthy.
Affiliate Marketing
Earnings potential: $39 per hour
Affiliate marketers promote products and services from other companies through various types of media, like blog posts and videos. When customers click on an affiliate marketing link and purchase a product, the marketer earns a commission. Popular affiliate marketing platforms include Amazon Associates and CJ Affiliate.
Lawn Mowing
Earnings potential: $16 per hour
Lawn mowers maintain residential or commercial landscapes by cutting the grass to an appropriate height. Lawn mowing may extend to other lawn duties, such as trimming hedges and clearing leaves. It requires specific machinery and tools to do it effectively.
Find Out: What Is the Median Household Income for the Upper Middle Class in 2024?
Starting a YouTube Channel
Earnings potential: $33 per hour
YouTubers can make money through ad revenue when people watch their content on the platform. To monetize a channel, you must have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time. The earnings depend on the number of views, ads and what advertisers are willing to pay to appear on the video.
Search Engine Optimizing
Earnings potential: $32 per hour
Search engine optimization (SEO) specialists analyze websites and incorporate changes so they rank higher in online search results. SEO specialists will consider the site’s content, meta tags, links and images to determine how to improve its visibility on Google and other search engines.
Party Planning
Earnings potential: $31 per hour
Party planners organize and coordinate various events, like weddings, birthdays and corporate gatherings. Depending on the client’s budget, planners manage the location, catering, decor and entertainment for events.
Translating
Earnings potential: $28 per hour
Translating requires you to be fluent in two or more languages. Translators work with various material that can range from documents to videos. The job involves taking the information presented in one language and converting it accurately to another other language.
Read Next: I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: Here’s My Monthly Budget
Being an Influencer
Earnings potential: $31 per hour
Influencing requires gaining thousands of followers on a social media platform, like Instagram or X, and using your leverage to promote products and services. Earnings vary greatly, as influencers seek sponsors that pay according to their niche and following.
Grocery Shopping
Earnings potential: $17 per hour
Grocery shoppers take online requests from clients and do their grocery shopping for them. This requires going to the supermarket, selecting the appropriate products and delivering them to the client. Popular platforms include Gopuff and Instacart.
Housekeeping
Earnings potential: $16 per hour
Housekeepers clean and maintain their clients’ houses or spaces. Depending on the client’s needs, housekeepers may need to do other household chores as well, like laundry and meal preparation.
Driving for a Ride-Share Service
Earnings potential: $19 per hour
Ride-share driving allows drivers to offer taxi-like services in their personal vehicles. Drivers often operate through apps or platforms, like Uber and Lyft. The amount that ride-share drivers make depends on the number of passengers they get and the destinations they’re required to drive to.
Be Aware: 6 Reasons the Poor Stay Poor and Middle Class Doesn’t Become Wealthy
Doing Print-on-Demand
Earnings potential: $19 per hour
Print-on-demand involves creating artwork available on various surfaces like mugs, T-shirts, posters and phone cases. Once a customer orders a product through an online platform, a printing company, like Printful or Printify, creates the product and sends it out.
Mystery Shopper
Earnings potential: $18 per hour
Mystery shoppers visit establishments pretending to be regular customers but are there to assess the efficiency and quality of the service. Mystery shoppers may need to analyze cleanliness, product quality and customer service.
Housesitting
Earnings potential: $17 per hour
Housesitters stay in someone else’s house while they are away. They are responsible for keeping the property secure, clean and looked after. Homeowners may include other specific tasks, such as caring for pets, watering plants and collecting mail.
Transcribing
Earnings potential: $20 per hour
Transcription involves listening to audio or video recordings and accurately typing out the words. Transcriptionists may convert meetings, interviews, conversations or videos into text. Popular transcription platforms include TranscribeMe and Rev.
All earnings figures are according to ZipRecruiter’s national average.
More From GOBankingRates
5 Places in America To Retire That Are Just as Cheap as Mexico, Portugal and Costa Rica
This is The Single Most Overlooked Tool for Becoming Debt-Free
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 50 Lesser-Known Ways To Make Extra Money To Avoid Going Broke in 2024
