No matter how carefully you plan, money can run a little short at times. Maybe your your car broke down, you’re preparing for the next recession or you just want an extra night on the town.
Whatever the reason, if you need an extra $10, $100 or $1,000, there are plenty of ways to find it these days, because the internet is the greatest job creator the world has ever known.
Following are more than 100 ways to make extra cash and some of them take just a few minutes to get started. Before you start reading, bookmark this page … you never know. And if you want to get tons more ideas to make extra money, signup for our free newsletter.
Earn while you shop
First, let’s be clear: We don’t mean that you can make money shopping like a fool, but we do think you should get money back when you shop for things you need to buy. These sites and apps are easy to use and provide reliable returns:
Ebates: Get back cash when you shop online through this site, get a $10 gift certificate for signing up, and get $25 for getting your friends to sign up. Learn more here.
Swagbucks: Earn cash back when you make online purchases at thousands of stores when you shop through this portal. Learn more here.
TopCashback operates in a very similar way to the previous two.
Qmee: Earn cash for things you already do online — searching the web and shopping. Qmee will reward you for sharing your opinions on your favorite brands and sites.
ReceiptHog: Simply snap a picture of your receipt every time you buy something, and this company will send a little money your way through PayPal. There is a ReceiptHog app for iPhones and an app for Android devices.
Ibotta: This app allows you to choose from discounts on hundreds of products. Submit pictures of your receipts when you buy those products and get cash rebates.
Take on tasks
Thumbtack: Know how to pound a nail, groom a dog or take a portrait? This site matches you and your skills with local folks who will pay for your help.
Fiverr: This online marketplace is a place to land freelance projects doing things like graphic design, writing, marketing and computer programming.
Gigwalk: This app will pay you to do small jobs like mystery shopping, testing apps or taking photos. According to the site: “A Gig is represented by a pin on the map in our mobile application and can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours to complete and pay anywhere from $3 to $100.”
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: This site allows you to earn money by performing an array of tasks — things like writing product descriptions, transcribing, data processing, taking market surveys and selecting the best photograph for a product.
Field Agent: This app pays you to do things like check prices and scan bar codes with your cellphone when you are at stores and elsewhere.
UserTesting.com: You can earn quick cash by looking at someone’s website and giving feedback about what might be confusing for the average user.
TaskRabbit: This site connects you with local people willing to pay you for a wide variety of tasks — from bartending and decorating for events to light carpentry and cleaning.
Take class notes: Are you a college student with meticulous study notes? Upload them on sites like Stuvia or Notesale and make some cash when other students download them.
Drive your car
Uber: If you’ve got a four-door car, you put it to use earning extra money by driving in your spare time. Click here to find out how drivers can make ride-sharing work for them. You don’t need to have professional driving experience.
Lyft: Driving for this ride-sharing service — more popular in some locales — is another option. Some people make money by driving for both Lyft and Uber.
Uber Eats: If you have a car that doesn’t make the grade for driving passengers, you can still make money delivering food to customers who connect through the Uber Eats app.
Be there and take care
Pet sit: What’s better than playing with a puppy? Getting paid for it. You can get started dog walking or dog sitting with friends or family, or sign up for a national service like Rover, a site that connects you to local pet owners who need help.
Baby-sit and more: Baby-sitting isn’t just for teenagers. Sites like Sitter.com and Care.com can connect you with a gig. They also have jobs for child care, special needs care, senior care, pet care, housekeeping and more.
House sit: When friends or neighbors go out of town, offer to keep an eye on their house, pick up the mail or water the plants. Don’t know of anyone who’s leaving? Try an online job portal such as Mindahome.com. Rover is also a conduit for house sitting opportunities.
Sell something
Sell gift cards: Have any gift cards you’re not going to use? Sell them through Cardpool or Raise.
Sell electronics: Sell your old smartphone or other electronics at sites like Gazelle or NextWorth.
Sell or auction things on eBay: You can sell or auction off practically anything you own at the grandfather of all auction sites.
Sell on Bonanza: This is a marketplace for both used and new items that is billed as an alternative to eBay. You can set your own prices, and the site will collect a small fee for anything you sell.
Sell at used-entertainment sites: You can sell used video games, DVDs and even CDs to local resellers, or online through sites like SecondSpin.com. You may also be able to sell them to national chains like GameStop or to Amazon's Trade-In program, although the latter will only pay you in Amazon gift cards.
Decluttr: This site will buy your CDs, DVDs, games and books, as well as technology like cellphones and game consoles. You enter a barcode or make/model number, and the site will generate an offer price. Decluttr promises to pay the day after receiving the items.
Sell on Craigslist: Through this free site, you can sell anything from shoes to cars. Typically you sell to a local buyer, meet in person and get paid cash. Another site that operates in a similar fashion is Letgo.
Sell stuff on Amazon: You can also sell gently used (or new and unopened) stuff on Amazon. Fees start at 99 cents per item.
Hold garage sales: Garage sales are a great way to declutter your home and earn extra cash. Some cities require a permit for yard and garage sales. Here are 15 tips to do it right.
Be a garage sale “picker”: Earn money by shopping for treasures at garage sales and then reselling them. Check out: “7 Tips for Making Thousands of Dollars Shopping Yard Sales.”
Use consignment shops: Clothing consignment stores typically accept designer items and like-new clothes, shoes and accessories. When the item sells, you get a portion of the proceeds. Do it locally or do it online at sites like Swap.com — especially good for maternity, baby and children’s items — and TheRealReal, which focuses on gently used designer clothes and accessories.
Sell books: Stores like Half Price Books buy used books for cash.
Rent something out
Rent your car: Got a car you’re not using? Sites like Turo let you rent it out for a day or as long as you want to pre-screened renters. Here’s a story we did about it.
Rent space to visitors: You can rent out your house, a room or even just your couch to vacationers through sites like AirBnB, VRBO and HomeStay. Be sure to check local regulations first, though, to make sure it’s legal.
Rent your car as ad space: Get paid for advertising a company or product with a car wrap. Carvertise matches drivers to marketing campaigns, depending on where they live. When a campaign is over, you get a new car wrap.
Rent your garage: With parking space at a premium in many places, rent your coveted parking space, garage or driveway — by the hour, week or longer. Get started with apps like Parklee or ParqEx.
Rent your backyard: AirBnB can hook you up with traveling campers. You can provide the tent, or ask guests to bring theirs.
Rent your RV: Do you have an RV sitting in the driveway because you don’t use it nearly a much as you thought you would? Rent it out on RVshare.
Get artsy-craftsy
Etsy: This is an online marketplace where artists and crafters can sell everything from paintings to knitted scarves. We’ve talked to people who make six figures doing this.
ArtFire: Similar to Etsy, this site is a venue for selling arts and crafts, “handmade with love,” as well as “vintage treasures and antique finds.”
Sell at craft fairs: Check FestivalNet.com for upcoming events in your area.
Sell your art, images and designs for custom-made products: Sell your creations through CafePress which can print them on posters, T-shirts, stickers, towels, aprons — you name it — for customers who want something unique. You do the designing, CafePress handles the transaction and shipping. The sites Red Bubble and Society6 operate in very much the same way.
DeviantART: This site provides a place to sell prints of your photos, animation, digital works and other artwork.
Sell your cellphone pictures: Foap is an app that lets you upload photos you take with your phone and list them for sale on its website, paying you $5 each time one of your photos is sold. Go here if you are using an Android device.
Take stock photos: For photographers with good digital cameras and willingness to do more documentation, there’s more money to be made by shooting and submitting stock images and video through commercial sites like Shutterstock, Fotolia or iStock.
Find it
Claim lost money: Possibly the easiest way to make money is to check out Unclaimed.org to see if any state where you’ve lived is holding money that you’re owed but haven’t received. Examples include old paychecks, rebates or refunds. Check out this story for details.
Collect from a lawsuit: Find out whether you bought a product involved in a class-action lawsuit at ClassActionRebates, and claim money if you’re eligible.
Sell your body
Sell your hair. If you have long hair that’s not dyed, you can sell it for a fee on sites like BuyandSellHair.com.
Sell blood plasma: A local blood bank or hospital may pay for your plasma.
Participate in medical research: Medical researchers will pay you to participate in clinical trials. Check out ClinicalConnection.com.
Help conduct research
Swagbucks: This cash-back site will also pay you to watch videos, play games, answer surveys, shop online or use their search engine and this company. Learn more here.
Surveys: There are plenty of survey-taking scams out there, but there are some legitimate companies, too. Check out PointClub and Springboard America, and learn about how to take surveys for money online.
Marketing studies: Marketing firms like Concepts Consumer Research and retailers often test their products on a panel of paid consumers.
Mock juror: Get paid to help attorneys prepare for trials online or in person. Check out OnlineVerdict, eJury or Sign Up Direct, and earn anywhere from $10 to more than $100 a day.
Secret shopping: Secret shopping is also rife with scams, but there are legitimate companies offering cash for evaluating a business. To avoid fraudulent ones, stick with companies that are members of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Examples include Sinclair Customer Metrics, Market Force and Intelli-shop.
National Consumer Panel: This Nielsen research group will pay you to share with them what’s in your shopping cart — from oranges and chicken to clothes and car parts.
Be a reviewer
Review music: Help identify the best up-and-coming artists by reviewing new music. Slicethepie pays listeners to review songs in various genres, and shares your opinions with the artists themselves and major record labels.
Watch videos: Earn cash for your opinions on a variety of content, including movie previews, commercials and television shows. Check out InboxDollars and Swagbucks for viewing opportunities. Click here to learn more about watching videos and other ways to make money online.
Use your talents
Caddy: If you love and understand golf and think you’re up to the task — which can be physically taxing — being a caddy can net you some decent money.
Music teacher: If you have musical talent, offer lessons.
Tutor: If you are particularly knowledgeable in a certain subject, you can likely find a student who needs help. Check out WyzAnt.com, where you can set your own prices. However, the website does take a cut for its service.
Personal trainer: As with mystery shopping, you will need to get certified. But if you love to exercise, this can be a relatively lucrative gig.
Handyperson: Do you know how to lay tile, fix plumbing or electric problems or do home repairs? Make quick cash doing minor jobs.
Cook: If you love to cook, make meals for people who hate to cook or have no time. Click here to learn how to turn this passion into cash.
Translate: If you’re fluent in a second language, get paid to translate, edit, write or proofread material, or interpret for others. Check out TranslatorsCafe as a starting place.
Teach English: If you have a college degree, you can earn $14 to $22 an hour teaching English as a second language with VIPKID, which made FlexJobs’ 2017 list of the best companies for work-from-home jobs.
Be a tour guide: Are you proud of your city, knowledgeable about its history and up on all of the coolest and quirkiest things to do? Show it off by giving walking tours with Vayable. Click here for tips on creating a tour. Other sites that offer similar opportunities, with variations on fees and approach, include: Rent a Local Friend, Tours by Locals and Shiroube.
Be a home organizer: Do you have a knack for creating order out of chaos? Your skills are in demand. Become a home organizer and bring some calm into the lives of those neck-deep in “stuff.” Advertise on your own, or work through a site like Thumbtack.
Offer professional expertise: If you have knowledge that people pay for, become an expert on JustAnswer. Make money helping people with everyday problems, from home improvement issues to sick pets and weird car noises, or with more specialized knowledge on legal or financial matters. Click here to learn more about how to become an online expert.
Earn on YouTube: If you have sought-after expertise or a particular skill — or just like to make cat videos — share your knowledge on YouTube. You can receive a percentage of ad revenue for every 1,000 views of a video.
Teach a course: A more formal way to make money with your expertise is to design an online course and get paid for student sign-ups on a site like Udemy.
Promote products: If you have a strong social media or web following, join the Awin marketing network and make money promoting services and products to your followers. If someone buys something using a link you’ve shared, you’ll make a commission.
Do chores
Mow lawns: All you need is a lawn mower and customers. Start by asking your neighbors, then move on to apps like Thumbtack.
Shovel snow: If you live in a cold climate, offer to shovel driveways and walkways for a fee.
Clean gutters: In the fall, offer to clean out your neighbors’ clogged gutters.
Clean pools: If you know the best way to keep pool water sparkling, this can be a lucrative gig.
Walk dogs: Love dogs? Walk them for busy owners. Check out services like Rover or Wag! to get started.
Clean houses: Know any busy parents? They’d probably be happy to pay you to clean their house.
Be a mover: If you have a truck, offer to move friends for a fee.
Wash cars: My neighbor washes almost every car on the block once a week for $10 a pop. He can do the whole block in an afternoon.
Paint: Some people hate to paint. If you don’t, offer your services.
Scoop poop: Offer to keep pets’ yards clean. This is particularly lucrative when spring arrives and the melting snow reveals what Fido has left on the lawn.
Have fun and, maybe, get lucky
Play HQ Trivia: This game of trivia, played live each day via an app on your iPhone or Android device, splits a daily prize among the successful contestants. It’s not an easy way to get rich, but it’s a fun way to try.
Digital lottery: If you feel lucky, digital lotteries offer the chance to win cash, gift cards and prizes. Lucktastic says players can win up to $10,000 daily. Check out more digital lottery games on Google Play.
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