25 Proven Side Hustles You Can Start Today

The going is kind of tough right now for most people. It’s getting increasingly difficult to make ends meet, and most people work paycheck to paycheck, month to month, and barely get by. But there are ways to beat the system and set your life on a course to prosperity. It will take some effort as well as a belief in yourself and your own self-worth, but if you persevere, the payout, both financially and mentally, will be completely worth it.

Here are 25 Proven Side Hustles You Can Start Today

It’s time we never get back, and there really isn’t any benefit from most of them. but that could change. Apps like bingo cash, solitaire cash, swagbucks, etc.—there are so many apps that pay you to play games on your phone. Well, you don’t really make much from the actual playing of the games; it’s mostly from watching the ads and filling out various surveys that go along with them. You also won’t get rich doing this. But making a few bucks playing those games is better than earning nothing playing those games, you know? Just make sure to check out these apps before you start playing to avoid getting scammed. Apps like oneopinion or survey junkie will let you average a couple of bucks per hour depending on how many surveys you choose to complete. No survey app is perfect, but as long as they are transparent about what you will earn and don’t ask for much personal information, you should be good. Highly rated apps like branded surveys and Kashkick are good places to get started. Do you have an unused closet? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could be earning passive income with neighbor.com. The best way to describe neighbor.com is “It’s like an air BnB, but for stuff.” And it is for almost any kind of stuff you can think of except those that are banned by the company, such as firearms, fireworks, toxic materials, etc. However, if you own a barn and someone needs to store a boat there, you can turn that passive income into a source of income for yourself!

Or, you like to do photography, painting, or sketching and would love to make some extra cash with your passion. It couldn’t be easier to make that happen. Redbubble and Etsy make it possible but in very different ways. With Etsy, you can make, well, pretty much anything you want to. Then you create your page and start selling! As people order your craftiness, you fill those orders and start an extra revenue source. With Redbubble, you don’t actually have to make anything! Post your art and choose the items on which you’d like it to appear. Redbubble makes the items and fills the orders while you sit back and let the extra income roll in! What could be better than that? (Unless you’re a cat person, in which case I’m sorry for you.) If you love dogs or walking, you can get started immediately as a dog walker with apps like Wag and Rover. New dog walkers tend to make the lower end of the pay scale, which is around $10 for a 30-minute walk. However, if you establish a good reputation and a clientele, you can easily earn $25 to $30 for equal walking sessions. And $25 for a 30-minute walk comes out to around $50 per hour per dog. Even those without pets who have to take long trips hire housesitters to make sure everything stays safe while they are away. Trustedhousesitters.Com and mindmyhouse are companies you could get started with. There will be background checks and other steps you’ll need to get through. but those things are not a big deal in light of the money that could be made for feeding the cats and watering the plants. If you google “tutor app,” you’ll be surprised at the number of results you’ll get. Care.com, Wyzant, tutor.com, and Cambly are but a few of those available. Each site has its own rules and pay scales; you just have to choose the one that works best for you! Yes, people are fond of buying boxes of “stuff” on eBay. Essentially, if you want to try this one, get a variety of boxes and fill them with whatever items you can find. Have old books, a puzzle, Some happy meal toys and unused socks? That’s a box. How about some hardware, a few collectible cups, some comic books, and an extra HDMI cable? That’s a box. I know it sounds silly, but these things really do sell on eBay. (Extra tip: if you live someplace that has large pine cones laying all over the ground, gather them up and put them on eBay. Crafters will pay a good price for them! The research groups that collect data on various topics and demographics will pay well for their data. Sites like focusgroup.com, user interviews, and respondent.io make it easy for someone to get started. Generally, all you need to do is create a profile that lets companies know who you are and where your interests lie. Fill these out, and you could be ready to go. Some sites pay you per question, while others will pay as much as $150 for an hour or two of your time. Old video games from consoles past, especially old board games, first editions of books or editions of books with certain covers, posters from niche brands, or even old concert tees and band swag from classic artists: They say you can’t put a price on memories, but evidently, you can make some good extra cash from them! Fun tip: for some reason, VHS tapes seem to be a popular niche item. Who knew? There are people who literally make thousands each month by answering random questions online in areas where they have some expertise. JustAnswer is one good site to start with, but it certainly isn’t the only one. Prestoexperts pays about $14 per question answered. And if your focus is on current events, news, or politics, you could try YouGov America. Your expertise is valuable; why not profit from it?

Did you know you can rent out your car? There are people who sometimes make thousands of dollars a month doing just that. Sites like Touro, Hyrecar, and Avail are but a few that allow you to make extra money by letting someone else drive your car for a while! Each of these sites has a different fee scale, and all renters must go through background checks to be eligible to get a car, but if you aren’t using your vehicle, you could be making fast cash. The truth is that the cost of buying a new car has skyrocketed, and renting a car is just as expensive. Renting is easier. Everything from assembling furniture to moving boxes during relocation to small home repairs and handyman jobs is available. As with most “Odd Jobs” sites, it’s easy to get started and be matched to available jobs. And TaskRabbit isn’t the only site out there. Thumbtack is also a site that matches skilled home improvement individuals with those in need of their services. Construction companies use drone footage to inspect potential build sites. Realtors hire drone pilots to fly through their homes and properties for footage to put on their websites. While there are apps and websites that specialize in jobs for drone pilots like flyguys.com, dronebase.com, and droneu.com, there are also lots of drone jobs on sites like ziprecruiter.com and indeed.com. and they usually pay well. As long as you have a good driving record and are ready to start working as soon as you start, you’re good to go! Nobody is going to get rich doing the food delivery thing, but if you’re in a situation where every penny counts, driving for one of these companies could make a huge difference in your life. And if you are a person who uses the apps for deliveries, give your driver a good tip. Believe me, they earn it. If you do have any special or unique talents, busking could be the way to go. Busking is easy. Find a busy corner in a metro area or a well-trafficked spot in a park and do your thing! People rarely carry cash, which isn’t a problem either because you can put a QR code in your basket so that people can easily donate! And if you get seen by the right person, stardom could be right around the corner! Sure, everyone has unused “stuff” that can be listed, but if you do it right, you could actually make quite a bit of extra money. Here’s an example: I know a person who stops at thrift stores, picks up small home furnishings items people have discarded on the side of the road and looks through yard sales for inexpensive toys and home items. She takes them home, cleans them up, maybe gives them a paint job or new hardware, and then sells them for a very nice profit. Not only do they do very well with this as a side hustle, but it has become their main job! Most importantly, they have a lot of fun doing it. This is mostly due to the fact that Fivver’s listings are so diverse. If you have experience in anything from designing wedding invitations or business cards all the way to web site design and coding, you can make some great extra cash.

These apps are great if you want to become a personal shopper. But there are other forms of personal shopping as well. A simple Google search brings up many forms of the personal shopper gig. Some of the jobs offered are not simply of the grocery-getter variety. Some personal shopper jobs include buying clothing, household items, and personal items for your clients. Building a good rating and getting positive reviews could take a bit of time, but this is what helps you take this gig to the next level of success. Maybe you have come up with your own hot sauce that all of your friends say is better than what they can buy at the grocery store. Whatever it is you make, taking it to your local farmer’s market could prove to be quite profitable. Local farmer’s markets always have the usual fresh, locally sourced fruits and vegetables. But increasingly, you can find people who make specialized niche products like honey, breads, fresh empanadas, seafood, and the previously mentioned hot sauces. Fees to set up shop in these marketplaces are generally low so that sellers’ profits can stay high. It’s completely necessary, but it definitely helps. Although the work can be sweaty and dirty, the end result could be great. Remember #9? Facebook marketplace? Well, when you do a full cleaning and “junk removal” of a garage, you could nab some desirable items for you to refurbish! Those items could be donated, sure, but if you really need some extra income, there are secondhand clothing stores that sell your old, sorry, vintage clothes. These shops are very popular and do great business. You really don’t have to limit yourself to selling your old clothes. Hit up some yard sales on the weekend and look for other vintage clothes that you can buy for very little money and sell for a mild profit! But with schedules getting increasingly busy and free time at a premium, it can be difficult for them to do the decorating themselves. That’s where you come in! Most people are happy to hire someone to hang their Christmas lights, put out their blow-ups, and add some cheer to the holiday season. And if you add Halloween to your season, you could make even more. In fact, if you do it right, you could lock in decorating for the spooky season and Christmas at the same time! For example, Upwork has a varied list of available jobs from up-and-coming or well-established companies. The jobs you can find there range from engineering and architecture to writing and translation; from development and IT to legal and accounting. Jobble, on the other hand, offers gigs like event staff and parking attendants for your special day. Think of Jobble as more of a temp agency. If you have lots of tech knowledge, freelancer.com would be great for you. You will need to put together a bit of a portfolio, but once you do, jobs could come at you immediately. Look, everyone likes to think their house could pass the Marie Kondo test, but in truth, most of us are somewhere between that and Hoarders. It takes a long time to change your living space from chaos to order, and even though you are all in when you begin the process, the excitement fades quickly, and you end up with a home full of started projects and broken dreams. There are literally thousands of home organization tips and ideas online, and sites like Thumbtack and Joble could connect you with those who would love to help you along your new career path!