Making money does not have to be boring. It does not mean having to drag yourself to an office to deal with people you don’t really like in clothes that you hate wearing.

You can make money on your own schedule anywhere you have an internet connection. You can make more money doing things you really enjoy rather than working yourself to exhaustion to fill someone else’s pocket.

You can also find ways to make a passive income. You can combine several of these creative ways to make money. The possibilities are endless. Your ability to find new ways to make money and gain financial freedom is boundless. From taking surveys to coding to selling your crafts, there are some fantastic, creative ways to make extra money.

Related: Earn gift cards and PayPal cash taking paid surveys on Swagbucks.

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Passive Income Ideas

You can earn passive income in many ways from starting your own online store to building an online course and then waiting for the money to roll in. Here are some more set it and forget it ways to make money:

  • Affiliate marketing. You can make more if you post links on your own website or blog.
  • Find and fund a high yield savings account.
  • Allow advertisers to wrap or paint their logos and business info on your own car.
  • Start a YouTube channel. Try to get a few sponsored posts to boost your affiliate sales and get more eyes on your content.
  • Sell ebooks in your own online shop. You can write your own or buy them from freelancers.

Using Yourself to Make Money Online

You can create an online business with nothing but your own self. From doing voice-over work to selling your own saliva, if you have it or can take a picture of it, someone will want to buy it.

Here are some more creative but kind of wacky ways to make money.

  • Fetish modeling. A 23-year-old who calls herself “Toe Daddy” makes thousands every month with pictures of her feet plus selling foot-related items. Pretty hands, weird ears, clicking kneecaps. All of it will make bank if you can market it to the right people.
  • Sell your body fluids. Yep, you can sell plasma, saliva, and even breast milk. Prices vary but with the shortages of formula, overproducers may be able to get even more money from their milk.
  • Become a model for an art studio. Imagine getting paid to sit still while future artists try to capture your form and intrinsic beauty.
  • Get paid to deliver messages for people. In an episode of “Friends” Phoebe is asked to help Chandler break up with his girlfriend after his own attempt goes wrong. Delivering sad or bad news comes naturally to some people. If this is you, get paid to do someone else’s dirty work.
  • Be a friend. Did you know that there are jobs where all you do is be friendly to people, take them out to activities, or sometimes just hang out and do nothing? Lonely people can quickly become sick people so they turn to services to get them out into the world again.

The Traditional Side Hustles

About 34% of Americans have a side hustle. That number may be slightly higher as some people may not report their side hustle earnings for one reason or another. These are the jobs that you do to supplement the income made from your regular, full-time job.

  • Drive for Uber, Lyft, or other companies using your own car.
  • Become a tutor or teach online courses. Did you know that you can get paid just by talking to people in English? Companies will hire you to chat with their employees so that they improve their conversational English.
  • Become a dog walker or babysitter.
  • Sell items on the Facebook Marketplace. You can choose to sell items that can be shipped to reach a wider audience or stick with local sales that can be picked up at your discretion. There is almost no limit to where you can sell your stuff online.
  • Rent out a spare room or a parking spot.

Have Talent, Will Hire

The benefits of being one of the thousands of independent contractors include setting your own hours, determining your value, and usually doing what you love. Of course, you are going to be competing with thousands of others but good work gets noticed fast, even in the super-competitive world.

No matter what your talent, start your search by joining a website like Fiverr. You may need to establish yourself by doing small tasks at first but you can quickly build a reputation. Some of the possibilities:

  • Freelance writing. You can make money fast by writing as many articles as you can handle without sacrificing quality.
  • Editing and formatting. Love to read? Editors are needed for everything from new graphic novels to established magazine writers and professionals.
  • Have an ear for talent? Start reviewing unsigned artists and get paid to find your next favorite jam.
  • Love to play video games? Get paid to test out finished games or become a game developer and get paid to create new games.
  • Know your way around Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook? Help a small business build its brand on its social media accounts.
  • Become a virtual assistant. If you have top organizational skills and enjoy setting appointments, giving reminders, and doing other tasks, you could excel at this job.
  • Answer questions. If you have the knowledge or the expertise in a topic you can be paid to answer any questions that are posted by community members.
  • Do research. If you are good at finding information, can provide links to the information, and organize what you have found in a helpful way, you can be a research assistant.

Your Hobby can Set You Free

In a survey of hobbies that are enjoyed by people in the US, there is a number that can be used to make money in one way or another. Some of the hobbies may require that you engage in several activities, such as taking photos or writing a review but that is a small trade-off in most cases.

  • Buy or find furniture and restore it, remake it, or break it down for parts. There is a huge resurgence in furniture flipping in the online marketplace. Consider Facebook Marketplace and similar sites to be one of your free resources and never say no to an item even if you end up scrapping it.
  • Love to take pics wherever you go? Sell your animal, scenic views, and other snaps to stock photography sites.
  • Your needle crafts can earn you good money. Crochet, knit, quilt, felting, or whatever, your handcrafted goods can bring in solid money whether you sell online, at trade shows, by commission, or even at garage sales. Eventually, your success may dictate that you set up your own shop.
  • Are you a gym rat? Help others reach their fitness goals as a fitness coach.

Shop on Someone Else’s Time and Dime

Ever wish that you could just whisk into a store, pick up anything that you fancy and never once look at a price tag? You might be able to do just that but the drawback is you are buying the stuff for other people.

Some people hate the idea of buying clothes online but they do not have the time or inclination to go to do their own in-store shopping. And here is how you combine your sense of style, love of shopping, and someone else’s money into a job.

  • Become a personal stylist. You create “looks” for events or career changes.
  • Become a mystery shopper. You are given tasks and complete them, documenting your experience with photos and a review.
  • Work for Instacart. You can either do just the shopping and never leave the store or you can do both the shopping and delivery. You set your hours, pick up jobs, and complete the order.
  • Are you a huge fan of shopping online? Get paid to test websites to see if they are user-friendly or hard to use.

Survey Says…

If you are not interested in starting a business or working a part-time job there are still ways to earn some extra cash just by setting aside an hour a day or finding a few spare minutes during the day.

Most survey websites allow you to earn points for taking online surveys or being part of focus groups. Points can be used to get cash or gift cards. Most sites also have additional ways to earn money like watching videos or earning cashback on items that you are purchasing. Good sites to get started with:

  • Swagbucks. Free to join, easy to use. You get free cash in your spare time by taking surveys, answering the daily poll, earning SB on purchases plus getting additional SB and cashback. Refer friends and earn points plus a portion of what the friend earns.
  • Inbox Dollars. Also free to join. Take a few surveys, try a few new products, sign up for a newsletter or two, earn points, and get rewarded.
  • Upromise. Link your account with your qualified 529 plan and earn a percentage back on purchases made online and in-store. Get even more money back into your account by using the branded Mastercard.
  • Life Points
  • Survey Junkie
  • Branded Surveys

Most sites also have a mobile site so that you can earn money while on the go.

Earn While You Burn

Ever wish that you could get paid for the time you spend exercising? Thanks to the following apps, that dream is now a sweaty reality. Get paid to hit your step count, your weight loss goal, or other milestones that you have set. Bet real money and then take your challenge either collecting your prize money at the end or losing your bet.

Some of the apps also have the option to earn cryptocurrency.

  • Charity Miles. Walk, run, or bike indoors or out. Choose from 24 charities to send the money that you earn to.
  • Achievement. Limited to only 80 points per day. Earn $10 per every 10,000 points that you make. Can connect to a fitness tracker or your phone.
  • Step Bet. Bet money, link your fitness tracker, and then work to hit your goal to win.
  • Sweat Coin. Can only count outdoor walking/running. Can earn crypto or Paypal cash.

On the West Coast, limited cities are testing an app called People Walker. It is exactly what it sounds like. You make money by taking other people for a walk.

Investing in Your Future

Sometimes you have to already have money to make money. Investing usually requires you to have your personal finance ducks in a row. Investing can be very rewarding but there is always some level of risk involved.

  • Coinbase lets you earn crypto while learning about it. You can also buy, sell, or trade a variety of cryptocurrencies with your account.
  • Robinhood is one of the few sites that lets you start an account with only $5. Trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, and learn about the stock market with minimal risk. You can also earn free stocks by referring friends.
  • Real estate investing lets you buy properties and either hold them until the market is right or fix them up and sell them for profit.

Like Finding Free Money

Have you ever pulled a jacket out of a closet and found $20? That’s a lucky day, right? It is estimated that billions of dollars in unclaimed assets including property and cash are just sitting there, waiting to be found.

Sadly, there is not a nationwide database that you can search. But, you can still search a variety of government sites for unclaimed money. Here are some more ways to make sure that you are getting money with little to no additional effort needed:

  • Sign up for rewards or loyalty programs to save money on everyday purchases, and earn points for gas savings, special coupons, and members-only discounts. Most also give additional savings or rewards for birthdays and other events.
  • When shopping online, choose recurring shipments on things you are ordering every month. Not only will you pay less for the order, but you will also usually get free shipping as well.
  • Sign up for newsletters or other alerts on most websites and you will be rewarded with a substantial discount on your first order.

The Final Word on Creative Money Making

Sure, you aren’t going to become a millionaire with the majority of these tips. But, if you make a few dollars to pad the savings account or buy yourself something fun every now and then, it should be considered a win.

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