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SmartCentsMom

10 Ways to Make Extra Money at Home

I am always looking for ways to make extra money at home. As a busy mom of 3 boys ages 5 and under, I have to squeeze in ways to make extra money  in the nooks and crannies of my day.

These are the top 10 brilliant ways to make extra money at home. You can earn $10 – $1000+ per month with these extra income side hustles. How much you earn depends on the amount of time you can fit into your day and the side hustle you choose to work.

~ This article may contain affiliate links. I only suggest product or services I believe will benefit my readers. All opinions are 100% mine! ~

Ways to Make Extra Money at Home

#1 Surveys that Pay with Paypal

Surveys are a great way to make money at home. You can easily fit surveys into your day while watching TV or while the kids are playing for a few minutes. Most surveys take between 10 – 20 minutes.

You can earn $30 – $150 per month taking surveys. There is a whole system that is involved in making the most out of surveys. Survey sites pay primarily in 2 ways either through cash (Paypal or Check) or giftcards. You can read more about strategies for surveys here.

mystery shopping guide

#2 Mystery Shopping

Mystery Shopping is a great side hustle if you are looking to get free products and make a little side cash. You can expect to find deals like getting your oil changed, having lunch or dinner at a restaurant, or even getting products from a store.

The type of jobs that are available to you depend on where you live. If you are in a bigger city then you will most likely have more opportunities for better mystery shopping. You are typically paid for your time during the mystery shop as well as reimbursed for the service/products that you may have bought during the mystery shopping event.

Here is a great read for more details: Guide to Mystery Shopping with Bestmark

get paid to test websites

#3 Get Paid to Test Websites

Testing websites is a great way to make extra money. Many companies need their websites to be user friendly. You can get paid to test websites, apps, and other online products. These types of work at home side hustles are perfect because you can choose when you do them. There is no set requirement for the amount you need to do. Most of these testing websites pay $10 for a 15 – 20 minute test.

Read more about how to Get Paid to Test Websites here.

#4 Working as a Search Engine Evaluator

Working as a search engine evaluator is a flexible online job that doesn’t require a quiet background. A search engine evaluator basically helps Google or other search engines clean up their mess. You will be assigned a project and work on analyzing web pages or social media content. This can be detailed work at times, but the pay is good for a side hustle. (I can’t say how much I make to non-disclosure agreements, but you can do a quick google search and find out information.)

I have experience with Leapforce where I have worked on several projects as a search engine evaluator. You can read more about my experience working for Leapforce and how you can get started too! 

teaching english online

#5 Teach English to Chinese Students with VIP Kid

As a former elementary school teacher, I honestly love teaching English to Chinese students through VIP Kid. This is a unique work from home opportunity. I have a virtual classroom where I teach students from Beijing, China early in the morning (5:00 am EST/5:00 pm Beijing time).

This is a more consistent way to make money online. Students sign up for your class, and over time you can have regular students each week. It can take a few weeks to build up your schedule, but the pay is great and the kids are fun too!

You can earn $20 an hour teaching with VIP Kid. Read more details about working with VIP Kid here.

flea market flipping

#6 Flipping Flea Market Items on Ebay

Flipping flea market items is an easy side hustle to start. You can invest for as little as $30. Melissa from Flea Market Flipper gives some great advice about how to get started selling goods on Ebay.

Melissa and her husband made $130,000 in 2016 flipping flea market goods! You can see more of her experience and how to get started flea market flipping, here.

#7 Starting an Etsy Shop

If you love being crafty, then you can get creative making money selling goods on Etsy. Cece from Lively Designs shares how she got started selling handmade T-shirts in her Etsy shop. She has now sold over 10,000 shirts in about 6 months! Her business is growing quickly and she has some great tips for anyone else who wants to get started with an Etsy shop.

direct sales tips for growth

#8 Direct Sales

Direct Sales are a great way to build relationships, sale products, and make money. You can earn money by selling products to friends and families. You probably know friends or family who are selling a product.

If you find a product that you love and enjoy selling, then starting a direct sales business could be a great side hustle. You can also expand your business with these tips for growing your business beyond friends and family with these amazing tips! 

how to make passive income with Amazon

#9 Make Passive Income with Amazon

You can make passive income by selling t-shirts on Merch by Amazon, a print on demand service offered by Amazon.com. Print-on-demand means that you create a design, upload it to Amazon, and then Amazon takes care of the rest when a shirt is ordered. As a Merch seller, you don’t have to print, pack, ship, or handle returns!

This is a great way to be creative and sell to Amazon’s huge audience. Many people do not have to pay for any advertising for their shirts. They simply use organic search and keywords to sell on Amazon. You can learn more about Merch by Amazon here and sign up for the program.

While you’re waiting to get onto the Merch platform, you can start selling on other POD (print on demand) sites like TeeSpring and Cafepress.

#10 Get Paid to Freelance Write

Freelance writing is a great way to make extra money from home. There are sites that you can work through to find work or you can network and find clients to pay you for your work. I love freelance writing because I can choose topics that I am interested about and get paid to write.

This has been another very flexible job that I can do during nap time or when the kids to go to bed. Some freelance writers earn up to $500 or more for a post! Now is a great time to become a freelance writer because there is an increasing need for content.

Find out how to get started with a freelance writing side hustle here.

Final Thoughts:

There are so many great ways to work from home and make extra money. You need to jump in and start trying different work from home jobs so that you can find something that you enjoy doing.

How do you plan to make extra money?