Listen. I don’t know about you, but these days I think being out of debt is basically the coolest milestone a person can achieve. I am here for it! I’ve spent too much of my adulthood with my head buried in the sand, because I preferred that to seeing the big picture. Not cool. In recent months, I’ve spent time pulling my credit report and looking through bills to see exactly what my financial situation was. I started following Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps and joined a couple like-minded groups on Facebook. Need to earn extra money to pay toward debt? Want to cashflow Christmas gifts and holiday travel? Get a side hustle! Earn extra money with these side hustles.
This post contains affiliate links.
A couple of years ago I shared 2 super easy ways to earn extra money for Christmas shopping, but there are several more I want to mention here, most of which I’ve done myself!
Purge & Sell
When we moved over the summer, we went through just about every item we owned. We purged somewhere around half of it! Two truckloads went to the Salvation Army, but a good portion of it, I was able to sell on Facebook Marketplace. I am a HUGE fan of the Marketplace! It obviously depends on the area you live in, but where we are, you can make pretty good money selling your junk. I’ve sold baby items, children’s toys, home decor, small appliances, and more. In the past, I’ve sold on Instagram, eBay and Craigslist, with success. You just have to do a little research to figure out the best place to sell whatever the item is.
Caregiving
I get it—you’re busy. You already have a household full of family obligations. Teamwork makes the dream work! If your significant other is home with the kids Friday night (Saturday, etc.) then why not try to pick up a babysitting gig for an extra $40 to 100 bucks? Maybe there is a situation where you can help someone out a couple of days a week, and keep your toddler with you. You won’t know until you look! I was a nanny for 8 years and have been babysitting for 25. I’ve had a lot of luck finding jobs on Sittercity and Care.com. I used to find them on Craigslist, but I would be weary of that today. Search Facebook for local groups. I’m in one now where moms or babysitters can post listings. There are other types of caregiving jobs as well, such as companions and pet sitters. If it’s dogs you’re interested in caring for, check out Rover. I just signed up to do checking in with 30 minute home visits, as well as 30 minute walks! (Heads up, there is a required background check, starting at $25.)
Cleaning / Organizing
Care.com recently added housekeeping to their listing options. I have had several family members start up their own office cleaning businesses, and a friend who does cleaning for people she’s acquainted with. This is such a great side hustle for regularly earning extra money, as you can set up a schedule with your customers. Start by sending out an email to your local friends and family, with what you’re offering and your rate. Ask them to share your information. Maybe you just go in for a weekly or bi-weekly deep clean, or maybe there is a specific project you can complete. I’ve been paid to help people organize their closets, office, and children’s homework/art space. Maybe someone needs help setting up their pantry or planting a garden. Think outside the box!
Freelance
Do you have any creative skills? Photography, graphic design, writing, editing/proofreading, making music, etc. — these are all highly sought after skills, that make for a great side hustle! Check out and list your skills on sites like fiverr and Upwork. Market yourself to your friends on Facebook or share in your social circle, that you’re looking for freelance gigs. Create a Facebook page for yourself, where clients can write reviews. I have been freelancing for just over four years now. Some freelance gigs are a one time thing, and others, like what I do, are regular commitments. I write Atlanta family content for myself, as well as several other outlets, on a freelance basis every month. I’ve also sold my photography to media agencies in the past.
Deliver the Goods
There are so many options for delivering goods to people these days. If you’ve got a car and a clean record, you can deliver just about anything to earn extra money. Start with Doordash, UberEats, Shipt, and Postmates. Also, look into Amazon Delivery, which pays a minimum of $15/hr.
Shop & Earn Cash Back
I’ve written about Swagbucks and ibotta before (here). I’ve earned $296.41 with Swagbucks as of today. I used to spend a lot of time filling out surveys but now I pretty much just do the easy tasks, like answer the daily poll, complete the daily search, and use the SwagButton to enter pop-up Swag Codes. Get yours here. Like ibotta, I use RecieptPal, and Coinout to earn money back on purchases I’m already making. It’s super simple to photograph your receipts!
Young Living
I have been using and selling Young Living wellness products for over five years now. I’ve personally made between $250 and $1250 a month depending on my commitment and the time of year. It requires a $50/mo. purchase, which I achieve easily as this is where I purchase our laundry and dish soap, my personal care products, and supplements, not to mention essential oils! There is no cap on the income potential. I wrote all about the Young Living Essential Oils business opportunity, here. (Income Disclosure)
Get Started with Young Living!
Personal or Virtual Assistant
For nearly a decade, I worked as a nanny and personal assistant. I would do everything from carpool to dropping off the dog at the groomer or pick up clothes from the dry cleaners. I’d go grocery shopping, set up appointments, and organize travel. These days I work from home, and utilize a virtual assistant myself. A virtual assistant’s job can vary, but this person needs to be self-motivated and organized. I use my virtual assistant (also one of my very good friends, who I’ve collaborated with creatively for 15 years) to [at times] share my social media, create pins and manage my Pinterest account, work on the backend of my website, help me flesh out network bios, brainstorm content, and ghost write from outlines for freelance work, etc. In the future, I would love for her to help manage my inbox and pitch content ideas to brands. For another type of job, a virtual assistant might help with calendar management, research tasks, personal shopping, proofreading, and more.
“The average salary for a Virtual Assistant is $16.01 per hour in the United States.” Source
Earn Extra Money by Becoming an Affiliate
Perhaps the easiest way to earn passive income — becoming an affiliate with brands you already care about! If there is a product or brand that I find myself buying or using often, I will look to see if there is an affiliate program. Just like sharing a great book or movie with friends/family, most of us like sharing favorite finds. When you’re an affiliate you make a small percentage of the purchase made through your affiliate link or code. There is no additional charge to the customer, and you typically make anywhere from 1%-20% depending on the brand or item. Personally, I am very selective about the brands I work with in this way. It has to make sense for me as a person and me as a brand. My favorite affiliates are PenGems, CityPASS, and the Love, Joleen Amazon Shop. I’ve made over $2,000 through my affiliate links over the last year and I know there are a lot of more popular bloggers who earn that much in a month. I am super appreciative to everyone who shops through my links!
Visit my Amazon Shop!
I hope these side hustle ideas for earning extra money are useful! Maybe none of these will work for you, but hopefully they’ve got the juices flowing so that you can come up with other ideas. We all have gifts and talents to share with the world. Why not use them to better our circumstances? If you try any of these or if you already have, I’d love to hear about it in the comments! Happy hustlin’!
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