Earning More Saving

13 Ways to Make Money Online

Do you ever find yourself short on bills at the end of the month? Wish you had more wiggle room in your shopping budget? Looking to put your savings account into overdrive?

There’s a goldmine out there filled with all kinds of odd jobs and side gigs that pay quick cash and require little to no special skills, and you’re looking right at it: the internet.

I’m not talking about investment scams and multi-level marketing. I’m talking about legitimate ways to make some extra cash from your couch. Don’t expect to make a full-time living out of most of these (although it’s possible with some of these), but they are great for supplementing your income.

  1. Amazon Mechanical Turk: Complete quick, easy tasks for spare change

This is a big favorite when it comes to making a few extra bucks online completing fairly easy tasks. People request tasks they need completed, and if you complete them, you get paid. The tasks are very quick and easy but they also don’t pay much. People who really stick with it and complete tasks regularly have found themselves earning over $1,000/month just on Mechanical Turk.

  1. Appen: “Get paid for using social media!”

Appen was named by Forbes as “One of the Top 100 Companies Offering Flexible Jobs” for three years in a row. Appen is regularly looking for Social Media Evaluators who are familiar with a variety of social media platforms to scroll through social media feeds of their clients and help them improve. You don’t have a schedule, but you do have to be able to commit to at least 1-4 hours per day for at least 5 days per week. Some people make upwards of $14/hour. They also hire people to do part-time data entry and search engine work.

  1. Swagbucks: Make money responding to surveys

This is one of the most popular websites for making a little quick cash out there. They offer over a dozen platforms for making a few bucks here and there just for watching videos on their mobile apps, taking surveys, doing polls, completing quick tasks, and more. Simply watching videos on their mobile apps from time to time can accrue over $25/month.

  1. instaGC: Take polls, click ads, and earn

Like Swagbucks, instaGC gives you small amounts of cash for completing very simple tasks such as taking polls, clicking on ads, visiting websites, or downloading applications. You get paid in gift cards for a variety of stores, which you can then use or sell.

  1. EarnHoney: Watch videos for a few bucks

Yet another platform that pays users to complete idle tasks like watch videos, click ads, take surveys, and visit websites. Just running videos on your computer can earn you over $30/month.

  1. PerkTV: Let videos run on your devices and make money while you sleep

This is a mobile application that pays you to play videos on your phone or iPod touch. Videos automatically play continuously, so you can leave them running and earn money while you’re doing something else, and there’s no limit to how many devices you can do this on at once. You make a fraction of one cent for each short video you run, so don’t expect to get rich.

  1. SliceThePie: Get paid to review music

Here’s a fun one: this website pays you to write music reviews. Choose a song, listen to the first 1 minute 30 seconds of a song, and then write a helpful review of it.

  1. Flipping: Buy items for less, sell them for more

This is an interesting one. It’s essentially buying things (can be just about anything) and then reselling them online (often on eBay) for more than you paid. The trick is finding the hidden gem items that are priced way below what you’d be able to sell them at. People flip items found on craigslist, at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales,and more, and some even make a full-time income doing it while only working 20 hours per week.

If you don’t want to make the trip to your local yard sale, you can also get into domain flipping. Domains are basically virtual real estate, so if you buy one you think people might want in the future and sit on it for a short while, you can potentially sell it for far more than what you paid on a website like Flippa.

  1. Fiverr: Sell a random skill for a quick $5

If you have any skills, no matter how easy or common, you can sell them on the online marketplace Fiverr. People sell everything from transcription services to logo design to relationship advice to tarot card readings, starting at $5.

  1. Qmee: Get paid to Google

Qmee pays you to simply search the web, as long as you download their app to your browser. Their ads will play on the side, and when you click them you can make more money. You can also earn money by taking surveys and giving your opinion.

  1. WhatUsersDo: Browse the web and make $1/minute

WhatUsersDo does research on how users interact with their clients’ websites in order to provide data and feedback regarding the user experience. You have to download a little more software, have a microphone, and agree to having your movements and vocal feedback recorded while you browse the websites they give you, but WhatUsersDo pays more than most easy money sites. You can earn $10-$15 each time you spend 15 minutes browsing one of the websites they’re testing.

  1. Lionbridge: A stable, steady stream of online work

Lionbridge is known as one of the more legitimate make money online sites, as they offer work that is essentially a typical full-time job and pays decently. They also offer part-time online gigs. Their gigs involve things like analyzing and rating websites, and they bring in a more steady stream of work and income than many of the sites in this article.

  1. Online Tutoring: Help kids study, even if you aren’t a teacher

There are a number of sites that pay you to do occasional tutoring and homework help work, and you don’t have to have any teaching experience. Cambly will pay you to tutor English online with people from all around the globe. eNotes will pay you up to $8 to thoroughly answer homework questions posted by their users, and a few dollars to upload study guides. If you can pass their subject tests, WyzAnt will pay you to tutor online in certain subject areas.

About the author

Elizabeth Aldrich

Elizabeth is a freelance writer and “digital nomad” specializing in small business, entrepreneurship, career advice, real estate, travel, arts, and culture. She’s written for outlets as varied as Rawckus Music and Arts Magazine, Itcher Entertainment, Sweden Tips, Houzz, Hometalk, JobHero, Tico Times, and Eugene Weekly. Thanks to a three-year stint in a travel job, a knack for mining great deals, and credit card churning, she has not paid for a single flight since 2012, despite her constant travels. You can find her on Twitter @LizzieAldrich or her website, www.elizabethaldrich.com.

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