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Best Side Hustles to Make Some Extra Money

When the economy is tough, and you just aren't making enough, turn towards the best side hustles to increase your paycheck.

By Rachel BlanchardPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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When your full time job just isn’t cutting it, or you’re struggling to make enough money, opting for a side gig for some extra cash can be a great idea to gain experience, new hobbies, and of course, moola.

The best thing about side hustles is that they are versatile. You can get hired by a company or be 100 percent independent, and you can work in person or online. The options are all there; you just have to seek them out.

With the rise of the freelance economy, if you’re wondering what type of side jobs you can get into literally within the next day or few, I’m here to help you out. Let’s check out the best side hustles you can get the most cash from quickly.

Dog Walking

If you love pets—and want to make money while getting a workout—dog walking may be one of the best side hustles for you. Many people have one or more dogs, yet they find it difficult to ensure their canines get enough exercise while they are away at work or running errands the majority of the day.

If you want to expand your skill sets even further, you can also offer to pet sit for the day or overnight as a source of extra income.

Renting Out Space with Airbnb

To make extra money with minimal effort, why not rent out a space? Anything from apartments, to lodges, to cottages can all be rented or leased.

If you already have a room or space to lease or rent out, you’re already well on your way to getting to getting started with Airbnb where you can find potential renters.

Best of all, you can collect money from those who stay on your property without even having to be present. It’s a great way to continue working full time while making extra cash on the side.

Driving People Around with Uber or Lyft

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Forget Taxis; everyone’s on that Uber and Lyft grind. Take people from point A to point B in your personal vehicle while earning cash in the process. Driving people around can be a great way to gain more driving experience, have great conversations, and meet new people.

Even better, offering your services is an easy way to receive tips if you do you job well (and get people safely to their destination).

Freelancing Online

Freelancing is another great side job to make extra money and for some can be considered one of the best side hustles as you have significant control over your work days, hours, and amount of work.

One of the most common types of freelancing skill sets is geared around content writing and copywriting, marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), web design and development, video editing, graph designing, and social media managers.

For convenience, you can freelance right from your computer on websites like Upwork or Fiverr, providing services for both individuals, agencies, and businesses.

It’s believed that freelancing is the “future” of the workforce, and if you commit to it, learn how to manage your time properly, and reel in enough clients, you can make enough extra cash to replace your annual income as you begin to gain experience and increase your hourly or fixed rates with time.

Delivering Food via DoorDash

Say you love to drive but don’t want to drive people around. You can still drive for a living if you sign up with DoorDash as a food deliverer.

For local businesses who don’t offer their own delivery services but are associated with DoorDash, you can go pick up and personally deliver customers’ food straight to their door. It’s also a great way to get tips.

Personal Grocery Shopping

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If you love grocery shopping, you can turn it into a sweet side hustle, and of course, get paid for doing it. There’s just something so refreshing and exciting about going to the grocery store—even when it becomes your side job.

You’d be surprised many people choose to have someone else pick up their groceries for them: the elderly, individuals with disabilities, people without a license and/or mode of transportation, individuals with busy lives, and those who hate grocery shopping or shopping on a broad scale.

Starting a YouTube Channel

The thing with YouTube is that it is flexible, and you can make and post videos based on your personal convenience.

Thousands of YouTubers make a great flow of income just from making videos. Videos can be anything from skits, to product reviews or unboxings, to makeup tutorials, to good ole vlogs.

If you think you’ve got a great personality, a lot to share with others, or simply have a longing to make and edit videos, start getting involved on Youtube, and see where it leads you.

Blogging

For those of you who love to write, post pictures, and generally share your life, my best advice would be to start a blog.

You can start off with a free web domain, and if you like what you’re doing, you can opt for an actual domain, starting to utilize keywords to rank higher in SEO, and sharing your posts on social media to gain an audience. Blogging doesn't have to be a full time job, either. You can use it to supplement other income, or you can go all in and try it full time.

To make money off of your blog, add paid advertisements with Google Adsense, get paid by local businesses to sponsor them on your website, or even offer paid webinars or products on your blog.

Mystery Shopping

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Calling all shopping lovers! Mystery shopping is one of the funnest (but still serious) side hustles out there – and nobody even has to know you’re on the job.

After you’re assigned a list of shops and/or restaurants within your area, you’ll have to engage in specific tasks (e.g., as a staff member a certain question, take a picture of the shoe aisle, check out the quality of the bathrooms) and record what you’ve noticed – both good and bad.

Mystery shopping jobs are free to sign up for; all you need is your time and a mode of transportation.

Marketing research companies want to know exactly how chain restaurants and stores are in terms of cleanliness, customer service, organization, and the like and how they can improve them, so they need you.

Starting Your Own Small Business

Creating your own business can be a great way to make extra cash on the side. You can start a business in any industry and sell products or provide your services online, in a storefront, at a flea market, or at your local farmers’ market.

A small business can stay small, or it can eventually become your main and only source of income. And you can make your business as serious as a casual as you'd like.

One misconception that comes with starting a business is that it’s hard and only designed for “certain individuals.” However, to start a small business, all you truly need is a skill set; motivation; city, county, and/or state licensing or certification; and a small amount of money.

You can do it all without a loan or borrowing money from family or friends depending on what business you wish to start.

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About the Creator

Rachel Blanchard

Does hot yoga, has 3 Yorkies and a hamster, and listens to John Mayer religiously.

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