Updated February 27, 2020.
When it comes to making extra money, there are plenty of opportunities out there for everyone. As long as you can focus and set aside some extra time to grow and develop these income streams you may not even need to work for someone else anymore. One of the best ways to build wealth is to have multiple streams of revenue. In the case that something happens to your primary source of income you will be fine because you have other ways to make money. I go into more detail here regarding financial stability. Below I will go into how to make side money.
Get a Part-time Job
One of the quick ways to make extra money is to get a second job. Update your resume and head over to Indeed: Indeed has 1,000’s of jobs posted every day. They have everything from CFO positions to customer service positions. You can also check out Craigslist and Monster. Part-time jobs are also a great way to build your skills in something that you’d like to learn. Maybe you work in real estate now, but want to learn about social media marketing. You can take a paid internship and develop better skills for your self. One of the best things about a part-time job is you usually happier to be there since you know you don’t have to. It’s such a freeing feeling. This is definitely one of the ways to make extra money fast.
Build a Side Business
Ahh, side business, this is my absolute favorite option regarding ways to make extra money. The best part is your side business can eventually become your full-time job: start your side business so you can quit working for other people! Below I have listed just a few of the opportunities available to you when looking for ways to make money on the side. Some of the options even will help you with how to make money from home!
| Driver For Uber and Lyft | Sell Things on Amazon |
| Social Media Marketing | Clinic Trials |
| Develop Websites | Pet Sit, Train, or Groom animals |
| Meal Prep | Content Creator |
| Start A Blog | Sell Real Estate |
| Virtual Assistant | Life Coach |
| Tutoring | Babysitting |
| Charging Lime and Bird Scooters | Become a Proof Reader |
| Create an Etsy Shop | Start a YouTube Channel |
| Create Podcasts | Write an E-Book |
| Walk Dogs | Sell Art |
| Mystery Shopper | Photography |
Ransack Your Home
I think we all can agree that our homes and apartments have some items we don’t need or use any more. Stop being a hoarder and start selling those shoes, girls!
You can sell your clothes and purses on PoshMark. PoshMark is fantastic because of that fact your selling to other women who have the same style as you. They also allow you to trade with other users, which obviously won’t help you make money, but it is an awesome perk. Use my code to get $5.00 just for signing up “TDLEWIS94”.
Use Letgo and Offerup to sell furniture or other knick-knacks you have around the house. Letgo and Offer up allow you to either drop/ship the item off or have the buyer come pick up the item. The choice is yours to make. Although to get the best offers you should probably add shipping, so be sure to include that expense in the price.
Rent Out Your Car or Spare Bedroom
Renting out your bedroom or car is a super easy way to make extra income. There are a few sites that assist you when listing a room for rent. Some of the best ones are Airbnb, Roomster, and Craiglist. Airbnb is best for short rentals, and they have a fantastic insurance policy for the homeowners. They also screen the renters for you, which is helpful if you don’t want to do it your self. Roomster and Craigslist are a great way to connect people with rooms to rent and renters. Just make sure to thoroughly review your candidates before you place them in your house: there can be crazies out there. Renting out your room or car is a great option when your looking into how to make money online.
Another creative way to make money is to rent out your car. There are a ton of apps out there that can assist you, but I’m only going to go over HyreCar and Turo. HyreCar is a platform that allows you to rent out your car to rideshare drivers. It’s a great way to help others and make some money for yourself. You can read all about their insurance here. Turo is another a great option that caters to people traveling whether on a business trip or vacation. Their coverage is very comprehensive and has multiple levels. You can choose to have a $0.00 deductible, which the percentage they take is slightly higher, or up to a $3,000.00 deductible, where you keep most of the booking revenue.
Investing Apps
Investing your money is one of the great ways to make money on the side as well. There are hundreds of apps and websites that make investing relatively easy, but always remember to research the market and stock before you commit to buying a lot of any stock. I use Robinhood because you can purchase stock without the app taking any money from you and its beginner friendly which is always a plus.
One of the best investing apps for beginners is Acorn. Acorn allows for micro-investing, which means investing minimal amounts of money. They allow you to invest your change into the stock market by you linking multiple credit and debit cards. As soon as your change sums up to $5.00 the app automatically debits the amount from your accounts and invests it.
If you’re a little further along on your investment journey and are ready to invest right now, then Stash is an excellent option for you. With Stash you pick the companies to invest in, so you have a little more freedom. Start trading as soon as you load $5.00 into your Stash account. Stash also has a ton of tips and tricks available for you to continue learning about how to invest.
No matter what app or website you choose, make sure to do some preliminary research before you invest your whole savings account into stock. And I want to add some clarification here: never invest your entire savings into the stock market. The stock market constantly fluctuates and there is always a risk, but with these apps and the tools available to you can learn to limit the risk and make a nice profit.
Fire Your Bank
Canceling your current savings account is probably one of the easiest ways to make extra money. Most brick and mortars in the banking community have pretty crappy interest on their savings accounts. Good for banks, bad for us. An alternative for brick and mortars are online banks, and most of them have double the interest rate as the traditional banks.
Savings accounts are probably one of the few times you want a high-interest rate because they allow you to earn passive income. Each year you get a certain percentage added to your savings account based on the interest you have earned. Make sure to read the terms and conditions of the savings account before you settle on anyone in particular. Some may require a large deposit to open or may only have a great interest rate for 12 months. Some of the highest interest savings accounts for 2019 from online banks are below:
| Bank | Interest Rate | Website |
|---|---|---|
| CIT Bank | 2.45% | |
| Goldman Sachs Bank | 2.75% | |
| Synchrony Bank | 2.20% | |
| Vio Bank | 2.65% |
Your Current Job
The last option we’re going to talk about on ways to make extra money is taking advantage of your current job. Ask your boss if you can work overtime to make some extra income. There are probably more hours available; you just have to ask! You can also ask for a raise, but there are some things you should prepare before you set that meeting.
- Make sure you have a proven track record of being an excellent employee
- Quality work performed
- Always on time
- Stayed late or came in early when possible
- Missed as little as work as possible
- Research the average income for what you do
- Track the duties and roles you have
- Use a salary calculator to gauge how much you can ask for
- Request a meeting
- Ask for a performance meeting
- Make sure to let your boss know you will also be discussing salary
- Take the list you created when tracking your duties and write a page or two about your accomplishments and value added to the company
- Make sure to keep the conversation positive. Don’t talk about what other people in the office make or what is fair: your boss will shut down
Your employer may so no. If they do, ask what you could do to perform better to get the pay raise. Begin working with your boss to develop the skills that will help you get an increase. If your supervisor brings up a real performance issue make sure to work your butt off to eliminate that stigma you, unfortunately, have around you.
Sometimes the only way to get a pay raise is to move to a different company. I have had to move companies because with the work I was doing I should have been paid twice what they were paying me. It happens, and it’s okay to quit your job once you have a better one. In some cases, if you find a better job, you can even bring your offer to your company, and they will match or exceed what the new proposal is.
Summary of Ways To Make Extra Money
We’ve barely scratched the surface, but definitely wanted to drive home the point that there are plenty of different avenues to take to increase your different streams of income.
Grab your computer and look into the ideas above that fit what you think you can successfully do. And then do it.
I’m here to tell you, you can do it. And you have thousands of other women in the financial freedom community rooting for you! If you’d like some tips on how to save money, also check out this article.
Thanks for reading! Please share!
Xoxo,
The Finance Fairy