22 Side Hustle Ideas to Earn Extra Cash
If you want to reach a savings goal, pay more toward your student loans, or just add some breathing room to your budget (thanks to inflation), side hustles are a great way to make more money.
This list is your inspiration for what kind of side hustle(s) you can take on to make more progress toward your current money goal. Some are quick ways to earn extra dough, and others require more time and training. But the key to winning with any side hustle is to focus on your specific skills and take advantage of them.
So, get ready to hustle!
- Drive for Lyft or Uber.
If you like driving, people, and working when you want – check out Lyft or Uber. Both offer flexible scheduling, extra pay during peak hours, and insurance protection for while you’re out on the job.
2. Deliver food.
For a driving side gig with less face-to-face time, check out delivering through Grubhub, DoorDash or Uber Eats. Hey, everyone has to eat, and a lot of people would rather pay to have the food come to them. Bring the joy of meals to others – and make extra cash in the process.
3. Deliver groceries.
If you love driving and shopping, check out Instacart or Shipt. You’ll get paid to shop and deliver groceries to clients through these on-demand services. And Shipt claims you can make up to $22 an hour working for them.1 Yes, please!
4. Become a photographer and videographer
With the rise of digital creators and influencers, videography and photography is the hot cake right now.
People need photos and video all year long, from family portraits, graduation ceremonies, Christmas pictures for people to put on their Christmas card and Easter pictures in the spring.
5. Tutor online.
You don’t have to know everything to teach others. If you’ve got a good understanding of a particular subject and good communication skills, look into online tutoring with Tutor.com, TutorMe or Studypool. And the pay isn’t too shabby, either. TutorMe says you can earn at least $16 an hour.
6. Become a transcriptionist.
If you’re good at typing and listening and you have good attention to detail, then this could be the job for you. A transcriptionist is a professional typist who listens to recorded or live audio files and types up written versions of them. They’re super important in the medical and legal industries, but other areas of the corporate world need them as well.
You have to be trained and certified, but you can make around $20 to $45 an hour depending on your skill level and speed.Once you’ve got your certification, you can get some jobs on Rev.
7. Join a focus group or take surveys.
Want to get paid for sharing your opinion? Not a bad way to make some extra cash online. You can join a focus group (try Focus Group) or look into survey sites like MyPoints.com or Survey Junkie.
10. Resell thrifted items.
This one requires some cash up front, but it’s another option for people who love shopping and understand the market value of things. The idea is simple: You buy low and sell higher.
Head to your local thrift stores, garage sales or flea markets and look for deals. Do your research to see what’s trending and how much things are selling for online. You might come across a valuable vintage piece hiding in plain sight. Or something you can fix up and sell for more?
Your easiest route is to resell through sites like Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, eBay, Poshmark, Thredup and GameStop – to name a few.
11. Get paid for your creative talents.
If you have creative skills, people need you. Sites like Fiverr, Upwork or 99designs connect freelancers specializing in writing, editing, graphic design and voice-over work for clients who need those creative minds.
All you have to do to get started is create a profile (kind of like an online resumé) so potential employers can check out your experience, rates and specialties. Then you can make that extra money from the comfort of your own home!
12. Become a personal chef.
What if you could earn extra income just by doubling or tripling the recipes you’re already making for your family this week? If you like the idea of prepping extra meals, packing them up and delivering them, this could be a fun side hustle for you.
Let people at work, church and your kids’ school know you do this, and take on only as many clients as your kitchen and free time can handle. This can be a great way to make money by doing something you’re already doing (meal planning and prepping) – just on a larger scale.
13. Babysit.
Maybe you did some babysitting when you were younger. But you can still snag some of that babysitting cash as an adult. Parents need sitters all the time for date nights or busy days. Just get the word out and tell people you know that you’re up for watching their kids for a fee.
14. Become a user tester.
When a business realizes something isn’t working, they need to know why. Sometimes they turn to their customers or random people to be user experience testers. That’s where you come in! Companies like UserTesting, Analysia and TryMyUI will pay you to test out websites, apps and products – and give your feedback. Most of them boast you’ll get $10 for each test you complete! Not bad at all.
15. Dog walk or pet sit.
If you’re an animal person, raise your hand. Wow. That’s a lot of you. What if you turned your love of animals into a profit? You can pet sit while the fur parents are away or find a couple clients whose dogs you can walk during the week.
You can advertise your own pet-sitting business on social media, put up signs in your neighborhood, post at work, or use a website like Rover or Wag. They let you set your schedule and adjust your fees.
16. Clean houses.
Cleaning houses is hard work, but if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, this could be the perfect fit for you. We all need our houses cleaned, and lots of people would rather pay someone else to do it. Jump on this opportunity!
Start-up costs are low. You’ll need some tools and supplies – though some picky homeowners might even provide the products they want you to use. You can make good money while burning some calories and listening to music, audiobooks or podcasts. Win-win!
17. Sell products on Etsy.
Are you crafty? (Not like a fox – like an entrepreneur.) Then maybe you should sell your crafty products on Etsy. Jewelry, scarves, paintings, hand-lettered inspirational prints and more – Etsy’s a great place to sell anything you’re good at making.
Setting up a profile is simple, and listing a product is easy. Etsy charges $0.20 per listing and takes a percentage of the sale.8 But it’s worth it because people trust Etsy. Plus, you can buy your shipping labels on Etsy – which means you can send everything from your own mailbox (aka no last-minute runs to the post office). So. Simple.
18. Do tasks for people.
Are you good at quick fix-it jobs or running errands? People will pay you to complete their honey-do lists through sites like TaskRabbit or Handy. You can do all kinds of things from hanging shelves to putting together furniture. And if you’re a certified plumber or electrician looking for extra jobs, Handy offers those too!
19. Become a freelance writer or proofreader.
Some companies have their own in-house writers and editors. Others hire out project by project. If you’re good at wordsmithing, pick up some freelance writing gigs. Emails, blog articles, print pieces – somebody’s got to write them!
If you’re more into correcting the words than writing them, take on freelance editing or proofreading. Do an online search and get the word out to people you know that you’re open for freelance work. You can use Fiverr and Upwork for this as well.
20. Become a coach.
There’s more than one way to get paid as a coach. You could be a finance coach, project management coach, marketing coach, relationship coach, life coach, career coach, business coach… as long as you have expertise and knowledge in a particular field or industry.
Just like teaching, it all comes down to having a heart to help others get better at something you’ve got a natural knack or passion for. You might need special certifications, but if you feel the call, coaching is a solid side hustle idea!
21. Become a makeup artist
The beauty industry is a billion dollar industry so if you naturally good at doing makeup, the. You should be taking a slice outta all those billions.
Do you love helping women feel their best? Consider doing makeup for special events like weddings, photo shoots, proms and performances! You can become a freelance makeup artist, and you can take on as many clients as you like. You’ll have to invest in some good tools and a variety of makeup options. But it can be a fun way to do something you love and get paid!
22. Become an event planner.
Do you enjoy a good party? Are you detail-oriented? Then you might have what it takes to be an event planner! You could help plan or coordinate birthday parties, weddings or business events. You’d work with a client (and their budget) to help their vision come to life – and get a small commission (and maybe some free cake!).
You can start on a smaller scale, like a coworker’s bridal shower. But you get to decide how many events you do each month. And who knows? You might even decide to make event planning your full-time.
