Ways To Make Extra Money

There are so many people struggling to pay their bills, living paycheck to paycheck with no savings in the bank. One unexpected bill can put many families into debt and create a vicious cycle of paying off creditors. This is a stressful way to live, not having financial security puts strain on all aspects of life. If you do not have a job that is paying you what you need to get by you need to start being creative and search for ways to make extra money.

There is the traditional method of getting a second job with a company as a way to make extra money, but you can also accomplish this goal of additional income yourself without seeking employment outside of your home. By creating your way to make the extra income you desire you can work the hours that fit into your current schedule and have the flexibility to work the number of hours you desire. Additional income can mean being able to pay your bills each month, feeding your family well, getting out of debt, and saving for your future. Financial security is worth the extra effort, security for you and those you love is important.

Ways to Make Extra Money

There is almost a limitless way to make extra income. The number of ways to make extra money is astounding. For each individual, you need to look at your current skills and what you do well. Everyone has skills and interests that can lead to extra money, you just need to figure out what your particular skill or interest is and how you can make it work for you. You need to get creative and look for opportunities. some options are obvious, others may take some creative thinking. The world of online business has opened up many new opportunities for income.

I enjoy saving and being thrifty. I enjoy the thrill of a deal and enjoy the feeling that I get when I pay less for something. I enjoy the feeling of transforming and upcycling something. I find absolute happiness when I save for my family and feel like I am contributing more to our financial goals. Every dollar I save is a dollar earned (in my opinion) and money that we can use in other areas of our life or put into savings. This is why I consider saving and being thrifty to be my “superpower”, it is my skill and passion.

I have heard people say that they don’t have any special skills… that simply isn’t true. Everyone has skills, everyone has something unique to contribute, everyone has something that they find joy in, everyone is good at something. The trick is figuring out what your area of interest/skill is and what makes you happy, then figuring out how you can transform this skill into an income. The dream job is being paid to do what you love.

How To Identify Your Skills:

Start by asking yourself these types of questions:

-What is it that I am good at?
-What seems to come to me naturally in life?
-What areas do others seek advice from me on?
-What do I learn easily?
-What brings me joy?
-What do I do when I have free time?
-What is my dream job?

Look and your answers and determine what area(s) of your life make you unique. Maybe you are crafty, maybe you like sports, maybe you love woodworking, maybe you are naturally nurturing and great with kids, the sky is the limit. Identifying your passion helps you narrow down your options and possible secondary jobs for ways to make extra money.

If you can combine your skills and interests into a secondary income working will be less of a chore and more of enjoyment in your daily life. If it is something you would enjoy doing without pay, doing it and getting paid is just a bonus.

Even if you don’t have a particular skill at this moment but there is something that you find very interesting, you could work toward improving your skill in that area. You could research online, watch YouTube videos and learn new skills. You don’t always have to be the ultimate expert in something, but you do need to have enough foundational skills that you can apply your knowledge effectively. There are so many resources online where you can gain extra knowledge and skills for free. Research and time dedicated to learning is never a waste of time. Life is a continual journey of acquiring new skills and knowledge.

Possible Ways to make Additional Income:

It is important to note that income is required to be reported on your taxes. Please ensure that you do your research regarding the tax and financial implications of any additional income you make. You do not want to be surprised at tax time and owe a large amount of money. It is important to seek financial guidance for additional income and know how it will impact you financially. Reporting all your income on your taxes is required, even if it is a side job.

Below are possible options to ways to make extra money, there are many more. Do your research, look online at your particular skill(s), and find what is best for you. Hopefully, the ideas below will help you see that many options and skills can turn into income.

Possible Ways to make Additional Income:

Online Jobs

With the advances in technology, there are many ways to make additional money online. Many companies are looking for help and offer remote work, all you need is a computer and/or phone and internet connection. There are call center jobs, editor jobs, content creators, administrative, personal assistants, and many other positions waiting to be filled. If your skills or interests align with technology then these additional streams of income may be right for you. Look at the time, effort, and skill required for each job and ensure it aligns with your life and financial goals.

Many companies also seek people and pay to have surveys completed, look for product testers or focus group members. Companies seek people to provide feedback and pay for your time. This doesn’t take a unique skill, you just need to be able to find the time to complete the work. If you do not have a lot of spare time this may be a good option for you as it is flexible and can usually be done at your own pace.
Household Work

If your skillset is more domestic, then you may want to consider using those skills to help others. Maybe you are a great cook: you could look to use that skill to help others (teach cooking classes, sell cakes, write a cookbook, sell canned goods, etc.). With many families having both parents working or a single working parent time to cook is precious and this skill is in demand. People are looking for ready-to-eat meals, healthy options and want to learn how to cook hearty family meals.

If you are great at cleaning you could start a small business and clean one or two homes a week to bring in extra income. There may be seniors in your area who need help cleaning their homes and/or running basic errands, this could be a way to not only help someone but gain a small amount of income each week. Many people don’t realize this basic skill is in demand and a great way to make extra money.

Sewing is another in-demand skill. Many people look for clothing to be altered, curtains to be hemmed, etc. It is a skill that is not as common as it once was but still very much needed. Everyone can relate to having a hole in something and needing it repaired, or buying pants that need to be hemmed. You can purchase sewing machines at an affordable price second-hand if you do not already own one and sew from the comfort of your home. This is a flexible way to make additional money as you can do it in your spare time and do not need much in terms of equipment to start this from home.

Childcare is a struggle for most families with younger children, it is extremely expensive and childcare expenses can consume the majority of one income when there are multiple children. If you are nurturing and love looking after children, this may be an option for additional income. You could look to take care of children in your home or provide before and after-school care. If you already have your children you are caring for it can also provide playmates and social engagement for them.

Lawn/ Garden/Home maintenance and snow removal are also ways to make extra money. This is not just a job for teenagers. You could post your availability to do lawn work or snow removal on local Facebook groups. There are always people looking for help and if you have the appropriate skills to help it is a great match.
Reselling

Selling items is a great way to make extra money. There is a wide degree of resellers. Some people just resell items in their homes that are no longer needed or useful to them. This can bring in extra cash and help subsidize your family budget as well as reduce the waste that is going to our landfills. It is economical and environmentally friendly. You would be surprised at how many things you can find in most homes to sell that are no longer needed. People tend to hold on to things even when they don’t need/ use them. If you want to become a reseller this is a great way to start. There are many platforms for selling items locally. Facebook Marketplace and Facebook neighborhood buy and sell groups are easy places to start (or Kijiji/ craigslist). I recommend reading online to ensure that you know how to post and sell items on whatever platform you choose. In addition, you should read about safety best practices for sellers (meeting in public locations, not giving personal information, going with a friend when meeting someone, etc.). You need to remember the people you are interacting with are strangers so you must be cautious when interacting with people you don’t know. Selling locally is easier for many people as they do not have to deal with the hassle and cost of shipping.

There are also many online platforms for selling your items. eBay is extremely popular for all types of goods and other more specialized platforms like Poshmark, Etsy, etc. Many people make a healthy second income by reselling items online. Each platform has its own rules, types of items, and processes. Do your research on the platform before selling online (there is a wealth of information online and on YouTube for resellers specific to each platform). Shipping can make these platforms a bit more complicated and there is a learning curve to this (depending on your country it can be extremely expensive to ship items and not worth the time/ price). Look online for information from resellers in your country on how they use the online platforms for selling and the pros/ cons. Making an educated decision on the work involved, fees taken by the platform, and guidelines help ensure success.

Once you have purged your home of any unnecessary items if you still are interested in reselling for the additional income you can purchase items to resell to make a profit. Thrift stores are a goldmine for underpriced items that you can resell for profit. Top 10 Thrifting Tips provides a lot of tips and tricks for shopping thrift items and how to identify the best deals. Knowing what sells in your area and what is in demand helps. Even though something may be a good deal to purchase, there have to be buyers for the item to make a profit. Knowing how to identify a great deal is key to reselling profit. eBay is also a great tool for researching items. You can search for items and see what they are selling for, and also filter by sold items to see what people are paying (and the sell-through rate). The eBay FAQ page is helpful to answer basic seller questions. Ebay.ca FAQ

When reselling there can be significant delays from the time of purchase to the time of sale so you need to consider that as well and how that works with your budget. There is no guarantee and item will sell quickly. You need to be certain that you have the flexibility to wait for the item to sell if you want this to be a viable way to make extra money.

Another common mistake people make when reselling items is that they are quick to purchase items to sell (as that is usually the fun part), but not quick to list the item for sale (this is the not-so-fun part of the job). This can create a large stockpile and backlog of items (which can have a significant amount of money invested). To make sure this doesn’t happen set guidelines for yourself and stick to them if you plan to become a reseller. Don’t allow yourself to purchase items unless you are listing and selling items.

When reselling if you can purchase a good quality pair of sneakers that are in demand/good shape for $5 and sell for $30 that is a pretty significant profit (even if you have to pay fees on the platform)! Doing that a few times a month can significantly impact people struggling to pay for their essential bills/ groceries, etc.

You need to decide what your time is worth and what profit margin you want to get on the items you resell. This helps you narrow down what to purchase when thrifting and target items that are worth the time and effort to resell.
Furniture Flipping

Buying and selling furniture is another great option for ways to make additional money. Many people are selling old furniture or downsizing, so there is a great supply of items. If you are talented in reupholster or painting then this avenue of income may be for you. You need to have patience when reselling furniture, as there may be a delay while you find the right buyer, as well you need to be able to store the item while you refinish and sell the piece.

Flipping (or upcycling) furniture is a wonderful way to reuse items that may otherwise end up being thrown away. It is a way to give beautiful furniture a new life. I have refinished many pieces of furniture for my own home, I would say the majority of our furniture has been recycled or upcycled. Many people don’t want to take the time to do this and instead look for furniture they do not have to modify for immediate use in their home. If you can get a quality piece of furniture for $50, repaint and sell for $300 that is a great profit margin.

Upcycling Furniture Basics provides a high-level overview of updating older furniture. How to identify quality pieces and how to select your furniture.

When flipping furniture for resale and not personal use there are a few additional things to keep in mind:

– Know your audience. Knowing current popular trends and color pallets help ensure you know what will sell in your area. An example of this is the Mid Century Modern Trend (MCM). MCM is extremely popular right now, and items that look and feel are selling well. Keeping this in mind helps to identify furniture for sale that aligns with that design trend.

– Neutral versus Bold. It is important to note that many people look for furniture that will match their current décor. This means that more neutral/ standard colors will appeal to a larger audience. White, cream, navy, beige and black are very common whereas a bright pink or bright purple item may appeal to fewer buyers. There is a market for bold furniture statement pieces, but know that it may take longer to find the right buyer.

– Quality. People are looking for furniture that looks professionally done. Brushstrokes, unclean edges, and messy finishes scream amateur workmanship. If you want to get the most value for your furniture you need to ensure that you put the time/effort into it and make it look professional. I have seen many pieces for sale that fall in this category and the person wonders why they don’t sell. It is because people do not want to pay for something less than perfect.

-Less is sometimes more. Creativity is a wonderful thing but can be overdone when refinishing furniture. You want to make sure you don’t get too carried away and make something too bold or chaotic. Most people are looking for classic and simple furniture. There are pieces out there with too many decals, patterns, paint colors, etc. They may show the talent of the seller but overall it can be distracting and take away from a nice piece of furniture. Sometimes a nice paint job and new hardware are all that is needed, let beautiful furniture speak for itself. You will attract a larger audience of buyers if you are selling simple, beautiful furniture.
Reduce Bills/Expenditures

Cutting your monthly costs is keeping your hard-earned money in the bank. This can be just as important as creating another revenue stream as a way to make extra money. List your monthly bills and know what your monthly expenditures are. You can then look at your bills and determine where you can cut costs.

Are you using all the services you pay for? Could you cancel your landline phone, could you reduce your cell plan to a cheaper one, do you need cable? Investigating your bills and making sure you are getting value for your money is important. If you can reduce your bills/services you are automatically saving money.

For the essential bills, you can look at how you can reduce them. Are there alternate providers of the same service that are cheaper (if so it may be worth the effort to switch)? You can shop for service providers just like you do for deals, to ensure that you are getting the lowest price. In many situations, you get a great rate from a provider as a new customer and then the price eventually rises once you are their long-term customer. For internet service for example you can call your provider each year and talk to the retention department. You can let them know the competitor’s rate and let them know that if they are not able to match that rate you will switch companies. In many instances this is all it takes to get your bill lowered, they do not want to lose you as a customer. You can also do this with interest rates on credit cards (if a competitor has lower interest rates it may be worth looking into consolidating and/or moving any debt to a place where you pay less interest). Insurance, loans, mortgages, car payments, and heating costs should be reviewed to look for opportunities to save.

Reducing basic bills like household requirements and groceries can also create huge savings. For additional details on how to get started, you should review the Top 10 Deals and Coupon Tips. There are many ways to save on daily items and reduce your basic family expenses. It is amazing how a bit of planning and research can save large amounts of money each month.

Small daily expenditures can also add up to big bills over time. Look at where you are spending your money on optional things. Getting coffee from a coffee shop daily or eating out can quickly add up to a large amount of money each month. It doesn’t seem like much to pay $2 a day for coffee (instead of making one at home), but that adds up over a year to $730 on coffee!!! I don’t know about you but I can think of many other ways I would like to spend $730! Cutting back your daily spending to essentials only can drastically impact your budget. Look at your habits and where you can be more thrifty. Pack your lunch, make your coffee at home, make more meals at home instead of takeout, there are lots of options to be thrifty. For more thrifty life tips visit: Top 10 Thrifty Tips and Tricks

The list above is only a tiny glimpse into the possibilities of ways to make extra money. You could become a pet sitter, a fitness coach, make jewelry, create online courses, write eBooks, a handyman/handywoman, a sports referee, create art, or become a social media personality. The possibilities are endless. Figure out what you love, your skills, your talents and make them work for you. You can start small and build your way up to a healthy second income through dedication and hard work. Financial freedom all while doing what you love is worth the effort.