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Maybe you’re in a financial bind this month or you’re just interested in making more money, in general. Whatever your reason, there are ways to make money. In this article you will learn about 13 underrated ways to make money. These money-making ideas are great for people who are looking for a side income.
You’ll find both online and offline opportunities in our roundup, too:
- Freelance writing
- Dog walking
- Doordash driving
- Instacart shopper
- Selling plasma
- Flipping websites
- Professional cuddler
- Get paid to wait
- Play games
- Watch videos
- Share your opinion
- Sample free stuff
- Sell photos online
Let’s get to it!
13 Underrated and Creative Ways to Make Money
1. Freelance writing
Make money writing for clients on the side. If you love writing, this gig could be the perfect fit. I started doing this when I was working my 9 to 5. I worked as a freelancer for a well known publisher and I wrote articles on how to make and save money.
It was fun and rewarding.
Back then I was only making around $25 per article. Now, I can fetch up to $200 to $300 per article. New writers can set a rate at around $0.05/word and you can find freelance writing jobs in places like:
2. Dog walking
Get paid to walk dogs? Is this a job?
Yep.
It seems like a dream job, especially for animal walkers. With companies like Wag Walking and Rover, you’ll work independently as a contractor, making money playing with dogs, dog sitting and walking dogs.
This is good if you want to be active in your side hustle and you enjoy the outdoors and enjoy animals, of course.
3. Doordash driving
Doordash does meal delivery. I’m a huge fan and I order from this service at least once a month.
In fact last night my family ordered Indian from Doordash.
It’s a super convenient way to get your favorite food delivered right to your doorstep.
Drivers from Doordash make money per delivery they accept plus tips.
I’ve heard rumors that drivers can average up to $250 to $300 per day. And, this video (below) I watched showed a driver make $8,000 from a competing delivery company.
Really interesting right?
You need a car and you should meet other requirements in order to start driving but the good thing is:
- You can work when you want
- You can dress casually
- Work from the comfort of your car
Click here to learn more about becoming a Doordash driver.
4. Instacart shopping
Instacart is kind of like Doordash as a service but it’s for grocery delivery.
So if you need home delivery from your favorite grocery store like Publix, HEB, Kroger, Costco or others, you can order food through this company which connects with the store and gets your grocery order delivered to your home.
As an Instacart shopper, you will make money grocery shopping.
You get paid to shop grocery orders for customers.
If you know your way around a grocery store well and you don’t mind being on your feet or using your car for work to drive from grocery stores to customer homes for deliveries, this job might be what you’re looking for.
At the peak of Instacart delivery season, around when the pandemic was kicking off in the U.S., it was rumored that drivers were making $1,000 to $2,000 per week.
While I’m sure it’s come down since then, you still might be able to make pretty good money here.
Click here to learn about the Instacart shopper job.
5. Selling plasma
Back in the day I used to hear about people donating their blood for money, earning up to $400 per month with this.
Not bad for sitting back for around an hour or so and getting your blood drawn.
Today, there are opportunities that promise up to $1,200 for selling your plasma!
Like this company Biolife..
You can click here to visit this page to learn about how to become a donor, eligibility and more.
6. Flipping websites
Website flipping is one of my favorite hustles. I’ve been doing it for around 7 years now and I still do it today!
You build, grow and sell websites.
These can be zero income and zero traffic sites or you can spend some time developing them to get traffic and income, selling for an even higher price.
My highest sale fetched me nearly $100K!
Here are some resources to check out to learn more about flipping websites:
7. Professional cuddler
Yes, this is a gig.
You make money cuddling others.
This can provide support and comfort for others. Professional cuddlers can make up to $80/hour.
Two companies to look into for this are Cuddlist and Cuddle Comfort.
8. Get paid to wait
This can be popular in big cities like NYC. You make money waiting, or holding a spot in line for others. Think about special events or big sales that happen with retailers. People line up for hours, sometimes overnight to secure their spot. Now, there’s an opportunity for them to outsource that to a professional “waiter.”
Making $25-$100 per hour for this gig is not unheard of.
Think about getting clients by putting an ad online on places like Craigslist or creating a small website for yourself to share your services.
People also call this a line sitter or line stander.
And, there are jobs on TaskRabbit for this and other sites online, I’m sure. If this sounds interesting, check it out.
9. Play games
Make money playing games online. This can be a fun, rewarding way to make some extra cash on the side.
Do this from home, in your free time, and have fun doing it.
Here are some places to check out for this:
10. Watch videos
Watching videos can include watching video ads, watching video trailers, app trailers, and other kinds of videos and movies online.
Do this when you want, how often you want, just like playing games we shared above. Check out the same sites above, Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars to get started.
Make money sharing your personal opinion with paid online surveys. These are short and easy. If you have a bit more time, you can check out paid online studies which are a little more high paying.
These are the sites to visit for paid survey opportunities:
12. Sample free stuff
This is product testing. You can be sent free stuff and make money testing it out and sharing your feedback. In many cases you can keep the stuff you test out.
These sites can get you started:
13. Sell photos online
Lastly, if you’re into photography, put your amateur or pro photography skills to work and make money selling your photos. You can earn per photo with stock photo sites like Clickasnap.
Other sites to make money selling your photos include:
- Dreamstime
- Alamy
- Getty Images
Requirements for making money
There you go! All these opportunities are free, no strings attached. That means you don’t have to pay a membership fee or any up front investment to get started. They are online and offline to suit whatever mood you’re in and you can get started with them right away.
The requirements for each one vary depending on the opportunity. For example, with Doordash driving, you’ll need a car and with the opportunity to earn watching videos you need access to a device with internet like a smartphone, laptop, or tablet.
Final thoughts on these underrated ways to make money
I hope this list of 13 underrated ways to make money really inspire you. This just goes to show that there are a ton of different ways to make extra money on the side.
Did we miss any on the list? Comment below to share.