Easy Ways to Make Money
Making money is easy once you know how. By exercising a little ingenuity and putting in some effort, you can quickly increase your income.
Sell Your Old Clothes, Furniture, Toys, and Electronics
We all have too much stuff. De-clutter your home and make some cash while doing it. To bring in reasonable prices, clothing should be clean and in good shape. It’s easiest to sell clothes at consignment stores locally. Alternatively, look at online clothing marketplaces like Poshmark or thredUP.
For furniture, toys, and electronics, you’ve got more leeway. Swap your old phone out for an Amazon gift card or sell it online. C2C marketplaces like eBay, OfferUp. Letgo, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist are very popular. Read their policies.
Be a Driver or a Shopper
Enlist with Lyft or Uber and put your driving skills to good use. If you’d rather not deal with passengers, sign up with Uber Eats or Amazon Flex. If you’d prefer grocery shopping, check out Instacart’s hiring policies.
Work as a House Sitter, Pet Sitter, or Babysitter
For any of these three gigs, you’ll need some experience. Build your customer base, and any of the three jobs becomes a nice earner for you. You can promote yourself or sign up with a service like Care.com or Rover.
Work as a Freelancer
The outsourcing market is vast. Look at places like Upwork or Freelancer for writing, designing, and a range of other freelance gigs.
Test Apps or Websites
If you love surfing the internet, put your time to good use by signing up with a site like UserTesting.com. You’ll get paid around $10 per test, resulting in a pay rate of about $30 an hour. It’s boring at times–but better than working a minimum wage job.
Set Up Your Print-on-Demand Store
File this one under long-term goals. Getting your first sale if you don’t have an online following could take upwards of six months. If you’ve got a flair for design, it could be worth the effort. Online stores like RedBubble and Zazzle make it easy to design your products. They handle the printing, shipping, and dealing with clients.
With a little research, you can learn how to turn these stores into an excellent passive income stream.
Identify a Side Hustle That Works for You
Does your community need a service that you can provide? Look for opportunities all around you. You’ll be surprised at the service gaps that you notice.
Easy Ways to Save Money
No explanation of how to make money would be complete without ways to save money, too–since, as Ben Franklin wrote, “a penny saved is a penny earned.” The further you can stretch each dime you make, the less you need to earn in the first place.
Start by keeping a spending diary for two weeks to a month. This eye-opening exercise will reveal to you where and when you spend your money.
Cut unnecessary spending, not just on daily splurge items, but also on your monthly bills. Is there a better deal on your phone service, cable or satellite, insurance? Could you save money on your utility plan or Georgia natural gas rates, for example? Check out the cost-effective 12-month Fixed Plans at Georgia Natural Gas.
What discounts can you get by paying expenses upfront? Insurers might give you a substantial discount for paying your insurance annually rather than monthly, for example.
If you’re not using that gym membership, cancel it. Even if you have to pay contract cancellation fees, you’ll still save yourself money over time.
Brown bag your lunch, yes, but stick to convenient, tasty options. Part of the reason that we eat convenience foods is that they’re, um, convenient. The other explanation is that they taste good. Replicate both at home, and you’ll be a winner.
Remember, the secret is not to spend the money that you’ve saved. Instead, set it aside in an emergency fund. You should have an emergency fund of at least $1,000 and build it to three month’s worth of salary.
Why not pay your debt down instead? Yes, it’s important to pay down your debt. However, it’s just as vital to have an emergency fund. If something goes wrong, and you don’t have money saved, you’ll borrow it. When you’re desperate, you won’t be fussy about interest rates, so you fall into deeper debt. Set up your emergency fund and then pay down your debt.
Finally, identify your spending triggers and avoid those situations. If you always buy candy while waiting in line at the store, consider ordering online. Alternatively, visit the store once a week instead of daily.
