When you consider your side hustle options, driving with a rideshare service might come to mind. For drivers with extra time, the ability to earn at any time can really help increase your income. 

For women and nonbinary individuals considering rideshare driving, Lyft’s Women+ Connect feature will definitely be of interest. Women+ Connect is designed to help women and nonbinary drivers feel more comfortable driving with the rideshare company. 

In partnership with Lyft, let’s explore what this new feature is and how it might open the door for more rideshare drivers. If you're curious to get started, sign up for Lyft here >>

What Is Women+ Connect?

Women+ Connect is Lyft’s latest user-friendly feature. Essentially, it matches women and nonbinary drivers with women and nonbinary riders more often. The hope is that the Women+ Connect feature will allow more women to drive with Lyft with confidence.

“Women+ Connect is all about providing more women and nonbinary people the opportunity to earn money on their terms and giving riders more choice,” said Lyft CEO David Risher in a recent blog post. “We hope this gives millions of drivers and riders another reason to choose Lyft.”

How It Works

Any woman or nonbinary driver can turn on Women+ Connect. After opting in, you’ll be more likely to match with women and nonbinary riders. 

It’s important to note that the Women+ Connect feature indicates a preference within your Lyft account. However, opting into this feature doesn’t guarantee that you’ll only be paired with women and nonbinary passengers.

If you change your mind about opting into this feature, you can turn off Women+ Connect through your Lyft app.

Sign Up For Lyft Here. >>

Benefits Of Driving With Lyft

As you weigh your side hustle options, consider the following additional benefits of driving with Lyft:

• Earn extra income. Most of us can appreciate the opportunity for supplemental earnings.
• Flexibility. As a rideshare driver, you can work on your own schedule.  
• Bonuses. Lyft offers drivers extra incentives in the form of various bonus opportunities that can boost your rideshare earnings.

Building an extra stream of income in the form of a side hustle can completely transform your financial situation. You can use the extra funds to pay off debt, save for emergencies, build wealth for retirement, and even splurge on lifestyle purchases.

The Bottom Line

Lyft’s Women+ Connect feature has the potential to help more women and nonbinary sidehustlers take the rideshare leap. Although starting a side hustle of any kind can be challenging, flexibility helps make this extra income stream worthwhile.

Get started with Lyft's Women+ Connect here >>

Freelance writing is the ultimate side hustle - you get paid to write! It’s flexible, it pays well, and it’s enjoyable.

In fact, freelance blogging helped me go from earning $1,600 per month to earning more than $5,500 per month. This profession was my golden ticket to bigger and better opportunities.

The flexibility and sheer amount of opportunity that comes along with freelance writing makes it a fantastic side hustle for anyone who enjoys to write. It can be worked into any college student’s schedule and can be a great side income for everyone looking to accelerate student loan pay-off.

If you want to get your foot in the door and start earning some extra cash here are 14 ways to get paid to write.

Blogs That Will Pay for Your Tips and Stories

If you love sharing your tips and stories and are looking for some one-off ways to get paid for your words, writing for blogs can be a very lucrative endeavor.

The benefit of this side hustle is that you can get paid well but have no commitment to submit articles on a recurring basis. If you have a great idea just pitch it to one of these blogs to get paid!

ACHS – American College of Healthcare Science is look for posts that are 600-1,000 words long related to your favorite topic on holistic health and wellness. They pay $50 per post.

Income Diary – Income Diary is a blog about making money online. If you’re a marketer or successful entrepreneur this could be a good fit for you. They pay anywhere from $50-$200 per post payable via PayPal.

Great Escape Publishing – This outlet is looking for articles about travel. They pay anywhere from $50-$200, depending on the type of assignment you take on.

iWorkWell – iWork Well is a website for businesses covering a broad range of topics. This site will pay you up to $200 per post.

Breaking Into Magazine Writing

One high-paying writing niche that’s a little tougher to break into is magazine writing.

Writing for a magazine can net you anywhere for $0.10-$2 per word. That can add up to a lot of money. If you’re successful in this niche you can make a lot more versus freelance blogging. The only downside is that your work may be a little less consistent.

If you want to break into magazine writing one of the best places to begin your search is the Writer's Market. This book contains hundreds of different publications that will pay you for your words. Not only that, but the Writer's Market has the name of editors to pitch as well submission guidelines and pay.

This is one book I’ve had on my shelf for a couple of years now and is a wealth of information.

Getting Jobs Off of Popular Job Boards

When I first embarked upon my freelance writing journey job boards were my go-to. I scoured my favorite job boards daily applying to as many writing jobs as I could.

You can find jobs like blog post writing, resume writing, and more on job boards.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Problogger Job Board – The Problogger Job Board has many opportunities in many different niches on a weekly basis. Scour this job board daily and apply to anything that seems like a good fit to you.

Freelance Writing Gigs – Freelance Writing Gigs is a blog that scours the web and curates all the best new job offers on a daily basis.

You can find a list of other freelance writing job board sites here.

*Tip* When applying to job boards it’s extremely important that you’re only applying for jobs that you have specific knowledge in. Job Boards can be extremely competitive so the more you can position yourself as the “expert” the higher your chances of snagging that job will be.

Finding Unique Gigs on Craigslist

Another one of my go-to places when I was a beginner freelance writer was Craigslist.

Craigslist is a place you can find unique opportunities. There’s also the possibility of getting scammed on Craigslist so it’s important to do your due diligence and sign a contract before performing any work.

To find writing gigs on Craigslist simply search big cities (like New York or L.A. for example) and then go to the “Jobs” section and click “writing/editing.”

From here you’ll be able to look through the listings and find the work from home opportunities.

My favorite job from Craigslist was writing business descriptions for directories. I would write 100 word descriptions of various business (everything from AstroTurf companies to high-end hotels) which would be submitted to directories. I only received $2 per description, but since they were fairly easy to write the money added up quickly.

I usually netted at least $300 a week doing this in my spare time.

Cold Pitch to Find Your Own Clients

After going the job board and Craigslist route for months I finally transitioned to finding my own clients. I found this method to be the absolute best for creating a steady stream of clients who I actually enjoyed working with.

While finding your own clients is probably ideal, there are a few things you’ll need to do to make this work:

Choose a Writing Niche – Pinpoint exactly what you want to write about.

To get jobs you need to establish that you have expertise in a particular subject. Choose a topic that you enjoy writing about but also are very knowledgeable in.

Build a Freelancer’s Websites or Blog – The next step is to make your own little “home” on the internet. If you already have a blog in the niche you want to write in you can simply add a “hire-me” page to your blog.

If you don’t have a blog then create a freelancers website with the domain as your first and last name. You can then add an about me page, a services page, and also be sure to list contact information.

Collect a Few Writing Samples – If you have published work in the niche you want to break into then you’re in good shape! Simply link to those pieces from your writer’s website.

If you have no previous work then you’re going to need to find a blog or business you can submit a couple of articles to for free.

Start Pitching – The next step is to narrow down business and blogs that use freelance writers and pitch them. Be sure to make your pitches customized for each particular business or blog.

Rinse and repeat!

Cold pitching companies can sound a little overwhelming at first but once you get the process down it becomes very simple. If you’re serious about making a living freelance writing this is one of the absolute best ways to get a steady stream of paying clients, I promise!

If you want to start a freelance writing business (especially for bloggers), check out this course: Freelance Writing For Bloggers. It will teach you everything you need to know about how to start writing for online publications.

Get Paid to Write

If you’re interested in earning some extra income by writing I hope that one of the ideas above has inspired you to take action!

Freelance writing can be a fantastic way to earn money and can even lead to full-time income if you can consistently produce quality work.

Do you have any questions about earning money through freelance writing?

It can be challenging to find a side hustle that's worthwhile. The best side hustles allow you to make the most money, while also balancing your time and growth potential.

Side hustling can allow you to earn that little bit of extra money that can help you achieve your financial goals faster - whether it's paying off student loans or saving for retirement. But finding the best side hustle can be tough - you don't want to waste your time or money - you want to start earning!

There are a lot of side hustle ideas out there (here's our list of 50+ Side Hustle Ideas). I'm a huge fan of earning more money, and I think everyone should have a side hustle. My goal today is to show you the best side hustles you can start AND why. 

I have three main criteria for side hustles, which I talk about below.

1. Earning Potential
2. Scheduling
3. Growth

Each one of the ideas below strikes a good balance of these. Let's break it down. 

Our Picks Of The Best Side Hustles

Here's our list of the best side hustles that you can do today to start earning more money.

1. Deliver Food And Groceries

Right behind ridesharing is delivering food and groceries. This has become one of the fastest growing trends nationwide, and as such, it's also one of the best side hustles. If you don't like people in your car, but still want to make extra money on your own terms, this is a great way to do it.

The only drawbacks are you can't do it all the time (restaurants aren't usually open at 2am), and you may make less that traditional ridesharing. However, it's still a great way to earn extra cash!

How To Start:

• UberEats - The original food delivery platform still has one of the largest selections and is a great side hustle.
  
• DoorDash - Currently the fastest platform, expanding in many cities. Check out the DoorDash review here.

Earning Potential: $600 per month

Schedule: 8/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

2. Ridesharing

Yes, everyone talks about ridesharing - some people love it and some people despise it. However, it's our #2 pick for the best side hustle because it's one of the few side hustle jobs that you can literally do anytime, anywhere. Want to earn some extra money at 2am? You can do it? Don't want a set schedule? That's fine! 

With ridesharing, you can earn when you want, on your terms. It's one of the only side hustles that is truly anytime, anywhere. 

Harry Campbell is The Rideshare Guy, and he built his entire business around driving for rideshare. Now he helps drivers get started. Check out The Rideshare Guy here if you're interested in this side hustle.

How To Start:

• Uber - The first and largest ridesharing platform. Read our review on driving for Uber.
• Lyft - Check Lyft for specials they have for new drivers. Learn more insights on driving for Lyft here.

Earning Potential: $1,000 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

3. Start A Blog

This is my favorite side hustle (this blog was started as a side hustle), but it's not an immediately income-producing opportunity. Starting and growing a blog does take time, but I estimate you can start earning at least $1,000 per month at the 12 month mark - if you do it consistently (e.g. 3x per week). 

But, it does start slow, and it's a lot of work. However, the growth potential of a blog is nearly limitless! So, if you're looking for a long term side hustle, this could be it!

This was one of my earliest side hustles. I started several websites, some of which I still operate (like this one), and others which I've sold. Here's my story of how I built a blog and sold it for $11,000 in my spare time. Basically, if you commit the time to creating the content, you can create a lot of potential for yourself.

How To Start:

• Bluehost - Start your blog on Bluehost for just $2.95 per month
• Read This - How To Start A Personal Blog Or Website
• Become a Pro with this Course - Full-Time Blogger

Earning Potential: $1,000 per month with 12 months

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 10/10

4. Tutoring As A Side Hustle

If you're a teacher, or really anyone with a college degree, you can get paid to tutor kids online. One of the hottest growing areas of demand right now is teaching English as a second language online to children overseas. But you can also tutor students in almost any area imaginable! And the demand has never been higher - growing at a rate of 14% per year!

One of the benefits of this is time zone differences. Our nighttime here in the United States is typically the day in other counties - meaning that this is the perfect side hustle if you're looking for something you can do at home, on your computer, at night. 

These companies require you be a teacher or have at least a bachelor's degree. You should also be comfortable teaching over webcam at home - so lights, good camera and mic, and some technical computer skills. 

Remember, you can also tutor any subject offline by finding students in your area. This could be a great way to start a side hustle in an area you're strong at!

How To Start:

• Tutor.com - One of the largest platforms to connect tutors and students.
• Skooli - A fast upcoming platform that is growing and hiring teachers to tutor students.

Earning Potential: $400 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 4/10

5. Online Freelancing

There are so many ways to make money online freelancing. If you can read, write, program, make videos, or are open to learning a variety of skills, you can make money freelancing online. You could even do bookkeeping for other businesses online!

Some areas that are easy to start a side hustle with are online transcription work (think of all the podcasts that need thins), online virtual assistant services, bookkeeping for other businesses and even online social media management.

Adrian Brambila (pictured) has created over a dozen different side hustle income streams using tactics that he shares in his course below. Today, he's a 7-figure online business owner, but it all started with teaching people to dance online. 

The bottom line is that the potential is limitless if you are even a little tech savvy or have writing skills. 

How To Start:

• The Brambila Method - 8 days of online training, plus 4 online side hustle ideas you can launch right away, this is perhaps the best course in general online freelancing anywhere!
• Proofread Launchpad - Learn how to get paid to be a professional proofreader
• Transcribe Anywhere - Learn how to transcribe audio and get paid online
• Facebook Side Hustle Course - Learn how to dominate social media for small businesses
• $10k VA - Learn how to become a high paid virtual assistant
• Bookkeepers - Learn how to become a bookkeeper and help businesses with accounting online

Earning Potential: $5,000 per month within 12 months

Schedule: 7/10

Growth Potential: 8/10

6. Take Online Surveys

I had to include this on here because there are definitely places that you can make money online. And this is a really low paying opportunity, but one that you can do in your spare time - any time.

In fact, I used to take these surveys when I was in class in college - so I was getting an education and getting paid. Basically, if you can turn on your computer, you can be earning a little bit of money. 

But, the income potential with this is very low with this side hustle. Seriously - very low. But if you're looking to kill time while watching TV, filling out surveys can suddenly become very rewarding.

How To Start:

• Swagbucks Surveys - Swagbucks now has a dedicated survey section, and you can get $5 just for signing up. Sign up here.
• Survey Junkie - Earn cash and rewards for sharing your thoughts and opinions. Click here.
• FreeCash - Just like it sounds, you can earn cash for completing surveys!

Check out our full list of paid surveys here.

Earning Potential: $50 per month (sometimes paid via gift card)

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 1/10

7. Rent Your Car

One of the coolest new ways to build side hustle income is to rent out your car. If you have a car that you don't use often - maybe you're in school or work at home - you can rent it out to others! In fact, I have a friend who bought 3 cars just to rent via these services - and she makes back her payment and more each month!

Just read this story from my friends Heather and Joe. They make a great side hustle income from renting their cars.

These services allow you to list your car for rent on your terms. You set the price and availability - so if you want to drive it, you don't have to worry. Plus, they cover insurance as well! And if you're willing to offer upsells like airport delivery, you can earn even more!

How To Start:

• Turo - The original car rental service, and one of the largest platforms
• Getaround - A new competitor that also allows you to rent your car

Earning Potential: $600 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

8. Deliver For Amazon

Have you noticed those Amazon deliveries that come from people in their own cars? This is called Amazon Flex. With the huge need for delivery drivers to deliver packages, food, and more, Amazon Flex is more in demand than ever.

Unlike other delivery apps, Amazon pays an hourly rate of $18 to $25 per hour. Once you're accepted into the program, you can select two hour windows in which you'll be available - and then you'll start receiving tasks during that time.

Related: 10 Other Ways That You Can Get Paid For Driving

How To Start:

• Amazon Flex

Earning Potential: $600 per month

Schedule: 2/10

Growth Potential: 2/10

9. List Your House Or Room For Rent

Similar to listing your car, you can also list your house, or room, or garage, or any other space you might have where someone could stay. I've even seen people listing their backyard for camping locations! The possibilities are limitless.

It all depends on the property that you're renting how much you can make. I have a friend with a lake house in Michigan that can cover all their expenses and make a small profit in just three months every year. However, I have another friend who just sold their property in Indiana as it wasn't working financially. 

You just need to put in a little effort to make your house or space friendly for potential people to come over, but otherwise, everything can be handled online! Check out our comparison of the top two companies - Airbnb vs Booking.com. 

How To Start:

• Airbnb - The original space sharing platform, and one of the largest to let you list your space
• Booking.com - A huge travel site that allows individual listings

Earning Potential: $1,000 per month

Schedule: 6/10

Growth Potential: 4/10

10. Rent Out Space In Your House

Do you have empty space in your house or yard that you always wondered "could I do something with that?" Well, you can! Rent it out to others who could use it.

For example, do you have a side yard that could store an RV? You could easily rent that space out. Do you have a basement or shed that someone could store their stuff in? Rent that space out! Here's an example of our neighbor's property where they are renting our two RV spots!

There are companies out there that will allow you to rent your space, and you can profit! 

Side note: this is one of my favorite side hustle ideas!

How To Start:

• Neighbor

Earning Potential: $250 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

11. Buy And Resell Stuff

This was one of the first side hustles I ever did. I would go to garage and estate sales and then start selling the items on eBay or Amazon. And that was after I sold all of my own stuff (you can see my eBay seller account that I start way back in 2002).

Today, the technology has improved so much that there are a lot of people who make this their full time job. Search for flippers on Instagram and you'll see all kinds of people who are hustling and reselling stuff (or even doing online arbitrage). And even better deal - search Craigslist Free Stuff and go get free things to resell. It's possible!

Check out this list of Craigslist alternatives to sell your stuff as well.

How To Start:

• eBay
• Amazon

Earning Potential: $1,000 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 5/10

12. Create Stuff To Sell

Maybe you're not into scavenging for things to sell, but you have the skills to craft things to sell. If so, you can sell your own crafts and products online.

From creating stationary and unique gifts, to household items, to printables or downloadables, the potential for selling your own stuff is limitless. The amazing thing about printables is that you're simply creating a document and you get paid when people download it!

Julie Berninger sells Etsy printables to the tune of $1,000s of dollars per month - and she created an E-Printables course to show you how to do it as well!

How To Start:

• The E-Printables Selling Course - Learn how to create online items to sell on Fiverr and Etsy in your first day of this online course that's proven to work.
• Etsy Sellers Shop
• Amazon KDP

Earning Potential: $600 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 8/10

13. Help People Move

If you have the ability to help people move, you can easily make money in your spare time. Maybe you have a truck, or are strong and can lift heavy furniture.

There are people all over that pay for help moving - from moving their own houses, to when they buy furniture and need someone to help get it home. 

If you're just the muscle, you won't earn as much, but if you have a truck too, you can really earn a lot. 

I've personally used the service to have people help me move, and it's great. You can hire one or two people, and request a vehicle if needed. You can also tip in the app (and if you're the mover, the tip is all yours).

How To Start:

• Dolly - An app that connects people looking for help moving. Read our full Dolly review here.

Earning Potential: $300 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

14. Be A Handyman

Are you handy around the house? Can you mount pictures or a TV? Can you assemble furniture, or setup a smart home device? If so, you can get paid for doing it for people near you.

If you have the skills, there are people out there looking for help. In fact, this is another service I've used to help me assemble massive amounts of Ikea furniture. The time saving on my end was well worth the cost - and the handyman was great.

If you have even basic handyman skills, this can be a great way to make money side hustling. 

How To Start:

• Handy - An app that connects to people looking for handy individuals. Read our full Handy review.
  

Earning Potential: $500 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

15. Babysitting

Do you love kids? Would you enjoy making some extra money babysitting in your spare time? But maybe you don't know anyone who would pay you?

Now there's apps that allow you to connect online with people looking for your services. This makes it easy to be found, and also has a trust factor involved. 

If you have the time and want to do these gigs, they are usually good pay for the work involved. 

How To Start:

• Sitter City - A platform and app for both babysitting and dog sitting.
• Care - A huge platform that connects caregivers and those seeking help
  

Earning Potential: $500 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

16. Dogsitting or Dogwalking 

Let's reverse the above - do you love dogs? Would you enjoy making some extra money dog sitting or dog walking in your spare time? But maybe you don't know anyone who would pay you? 

Now there's apps that allow you to connect online with people looking for your services.

In fact, my sister has used both of these apps to book a lot of services for her pup. From finding dog walkers, to dog trainers, to boarding. If you offer these services or have the potential to, they can be a great way to make extra money. 

How To Start:

• Rover - An app specific to dog sitting that lets you connect with people needing help. Read our full Rover review here.
• Wag - This app connect you specifically for dog walking. Read our full Wag review here.
• SniffSpot - This app allows you to rent your space for dog meetups and play. Read our SniffSpot review here.

Earning Potential: $500 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

17. Become A Mobile Notary

There is a huge market out there for people that need things notarized. From bank forms, to loan documents, people need things notarized - and they're willing to pay for you to come to them.

Becoming a mobile notary is a basic entry to getting paid for your time and signature. If you want to take it up a notch, you can become a loan signing agent - where you help people sign all those documents required by lenders.

The amazing thing is that you could get paid anywhere from $75 to $200 per hour doing this, once you're experienced.

How To Start:

• Loan Signing System Training

Earning Potential: $500 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

18. Start Streaming

Are you into online gaming? Do you like to play and chat with other players? Are you willing to consistently put in the time and effort to get online everyday at the same time?

If so, then starting a Twitch channel (and related YouTube and Discord) could be a great way to start side hustling this year.

Twitch has a $100 payout minimum to use the platform, and reports are that of those regularly earning from streaming on Twitch, they are making $25 to $130 per month. But if you build a following, there is huge growth potential. Plus, hopefully you love to play video games anyway!

How To Start:

• Twitch

Earning Potential: $150 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 8/10

19. Work Odd Gigs

This is one of my favorite ways to make money if you really have no idea what you want to do. Have you ever noticed people doing odd gigs around town - maybe working an event, or helping at a fair, or something that's just a one-off.

Well, you can find these gigs online and get paid to do 1 or 2 day random events. If you go to Craigslist -> Gigs, there are a bunch of listing for people looking for help with a random event.

It's not consistent work, but it's quick and easy to get paid. 

How To Start:

• Craigslist Gigs

Earning Potential: $300 per month

Schedule: 3/10

Growth Potential: 1/10

20. Sign Up For Freebies

Here's another fun side hustle that doesn't have a huge amount of earnings potential, but definitely is a way to put extra money in your pocket. There's a huge list of companies that give away money just for signing up for their product or service!

Check out our full list of places to find free money, but here's a short version of the easiest options below. 

Once again, not an amazing long term side hustle, but if you want to make a little money right now, do it!

How To Start:

• Upromise - $25 bonus (read our full Upromise review)
• Acorns - $20 bonus (read our full Acorns review)
• Rakuten - $10 Bonus
• Swagbucks - $5 Bonus (read our full Swagbucks review)
• MyPoints - $5 Bonus (read our full MyPoints review)
• InboxDollars - $5 Bonus (read our full InboxDollars review)
• Robinhood - Free stock (read our full Robinhood review)
  
• Webull - Free stock (read our full Webull review)

Also, check out these lists of bonus offers:

• Best Bank Bonus Offers
• Best Investing Bonus Offers

Earning Potential: $50

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 1/10

What To Look For In Earning Potential

Whenever you're assessing the best side hustle, earning potential is probably going to be your number one priority. However, it will also likely be in relationship to scheduling.

For example, driving and delivering packages has a good earning potential with totally flexible scheduling. If you were going to compare this to working a second job, there is low earning potential and poor scheduling.

Earning potential also depends on your time horizon. If you have the time to invest in your side hustle, you can likely grow your earning potential over time. However, if you need immediate income today, you likely won't have huge growth potential.

For our rating, we share the dollar amount you can potentially earn each month.

Best Side Hustles: How Much Can You Really Make?

Let's be honest - how much can you really make side hustling? With the best side hustles we list above, the amount is truly limitless. 

I can tell you from my own personal experience, I've made thousands side hustling. Here's a couple of my own stories:

Selling on eBay: When I was buying and reselling collectables to sell online, I was able to net up to $2,000 per month after fees and expenses (like shipping, packing, etc.). It took about 20 hours per month to earn that. That time was spent going to garage sales, listing items online, and then packing and shipping.

Freelance Writing: When I was freelancing writing, I was able to earn about $10,000 per year working about 5-10 hours per month. The amazing thing about freelance writing was I could scale up as needed. While most months I would earn about $500 (writing 5 articles or so), some months I would ramp that up to $1,500 by writing more. It's more work, but more income as well.

How To Find Flexible Scheduling

A key factor in side hustles is flexibility. If flexibility didn't matter, you would just go get a job. But the reason most people are looking for a side hustle is because they are trying to easily accommodate extra income on the side of whatever they are doing during the day. 

Best Online Side Hustles

The most flexible jobs are all online based (or app based, like ride sharing and delivering). That's why the bulk of this list has online opportunities. By using your computer, the internet, or an app on your phone, you can unlock a lot of side income potential.

However, you can still do many of these jobs offline - especially tutoring. And there is good flexibility and earning potential there as well. But without access to a marketplace, it could be hard to find work (and get paid). 

For our rating, we use a 1 through 10 scale, with 1 being the least flexible, and 10 being the most flexible. To be a 10, this means you can do the side hustle at any time, 24 hours per day, whenever you want.

Related: 80 Ways To Make Money From Home

How To Assess Growth Potential

If you want your side hustle to grow over time, you need to think about growth potential as well. Some of these jobs have no growth potential. Others, like starting a blog, have huge growth potential.

This is really a personal question about where you want your side gig to go. Some people might just want some extra money for Christmas. Other people may want to try and scale their side hustle into their full time job. 

There is no right or wrong answer here, but you should realize the future potential when you get started. 

For our rating of growth potential, we use a 1 through 10 scale, with 1 being no growth potential, and 10 being unlimited growth potential. For example, we consider filling out surveys to be a 1, because no matter what, you're really not going to have any potential to earn more money here.

What About Taxes?

One of the biggest "what ifs" I hear about doing a side hustle is "what about paying taxes on your side hustle earnings". The short answer is yes - you will pay taxes on your earnings. But as a side hustle, your earnings are technically "self employment earnings". This means that you'll only pay taxes on your net earnings.

What are net earnings? This is your profit from side hustling after expenses. For example, if you drive for ridesharing, you'll have mileage you get to deduct. The 2024 mileage rate is $0.67 per mile, according to the IRS.

So, if you drive 100 miles, you might earn $95 for those rides. However, you get to deduct the mileage - $6.70. So, you'll only pay taxes on $88.30.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully these give you some good insights into what I think makes a good side hustle. Plus, this list of the best side hustles goes a long way to making things happen.

Remember, the key to the best side hustles are balancing both your earning ability with scheduling and growth potential.

If you're still on the fence and want other ideas, check out these articles:

Unlock Surveys is a market research platform that lets you earn rewards by answering surveys. 

There are dozens of paid survey websites like Unlock Surveys, such as Survey Junkie, Inbox Dollars, and Swagbucks, but not all are legit. 

In this Unlock Surveys review, we explain how it works, cover the key features and pros and cons, to help you decide if this rewards website is worth joining.

What Is Unlock Surveys?

Unlock Surveys began as Springboard America in 2009, but rebranded in 2024. Like other paid survey sites, Unlock helps household brands, and various government, nonprofit, and media organizations by gathering insightful data from the general population. 

What Does It Offer?

Unlock Surveys allows you to earn reward points for answering surveys, and then redeem your points for a wide range of gift cards. In addition to reward points, you may be given contest entries where you can win cash or other rewards. 

Complete Surveys

Unlock Surveys is different from sites like Swagbucks in that the primary way to earn is by answering surveys. There is a sign up bonus, and you may be invited to participate in the occasional referral campaign, but it's not a regular thing. 

How Much Are Surveys Worth? 

According to Unlock, most surveys are worth between 50 and 500 points ($0.50 to $5.00), if you qualify and finish the survey. Typically, the longer the survey, the more points you will receive. However, you might only be entered into a contest draw, although Unlock will let you know what you can earn in the survey invitation. 

Redeeming Your Points

You can redeem your rewards when you reach 2500 points, which has a value of $25. Gift card options are as follows: 

• Virtual or physical Mastercard 
• Amazon e-gift card 
• iTunes 
• Google Play 
• Charitable donation 
• Various other gift cards

It takes about a week to receive your rewards after you've made your point redemption. To find out your points balance, simply login to the Unlock Member Portal. 

Will My Rewards Points Expire? 

As long as your account remains active, your points will not expire. Unlock Surveys reserves the right to close your account and reclaim any outstanding points if you have been inactive in the Unlock Surveys community for more than five consecutive months. 

Is There A Referral Program? 

Unlike some paid survey sites, Unlock Surveys doesn't have a regular refer-a-friend program. That said, they will sometimes target a select group of users with a limited-time referral campaign. They do not provide details on how to qualify for one of these programs. 

How Many Surveys Will I Receive?

Unlock Surveys doesn't disclose how often you will receive surveys. It depends on several factors, including the type of market research they are doing, what the quotas are for specific surveys. From there, they use a random selection process. That said, you can improve your chances at receiving relevant surveys by completing the Monthly Mosaic and Profiling surveys as they are sent out. This lets Unlock Surveys know more about you and makes it easier for them to send you relevant surveys. 

Are There Any Fees?

No. Like most online survey websites, Unlock Surveys is completely free to join. In fact, never join a survey or get-paid-to (GPT) website that charges a fee for membership. 

How Does Unlock Compare?

As mentioned, there are dozens of online survey sites to choose from, and some that have more to offer than Unlock Surveys. Two of the best platforms are Survey Junkie and Swagbucks. 

Survey Junkie is a dedicated survey website. It has a low $5 minimum payout threshold, and you can choose from three payout options: PayPal Cash, bank transfer, or gift cards. Plus, you may have an opportunity to earn more with focus groups. 

Swagbucks is more than just a survey site. It offers many ways to earn. You can answer surveys, but you can also get paid to shop online, play online games, search the web, take advantage of bonus codes and special offers, and more. It has a very low minimum payment threshold of $1 (which you can redeem for an Amazon gift card) and payment can be in the form of PayPal Cash, gift cards, or prepaid Visa cards. 

How Do I Open An Account?

You can get started with Unlock Surveys by clicking on the blue, Join Now button on its website homepage. You'll receive a 500 point-bonus ($5 value) for signing up. To qualify, you must be at least 18 years of age, a U.S. resident, and not be employed in market research or a related industry. 

During the sign up process, Unlock Surveys will require you to provide some personal information via a short survey, and confirm your account by responding to an email. 

Is It Safe And Secure?

Unlock Surveys should be considered safe to use. For starters, they are not collecting or storing any highly sensitive data, like credit card or bank account numbers, or your Social Security Number. A detailed privacy policy is available on its website, and Unlock Surveys states that it keeps all of your personal information and survey responses strictly confidential and will never sell, exchange, or distribute your personal details to any party without your prior consent. 

Contact

If you need assistance, you can contact Unlock Surveys by email at support@unlocksurveys.com or by regular mail to the following address: 

Unlock Surveys
225 W Wacker Drive, Suite 1900 
Chicago, IL 60606
USA

Is It Worth It?

If you're only signing up for one paid survey site, then Unlock shouldn't be the one you join. It offers fewer ways to earn points than top sites like Swagbucks, and fewer redemption options than Survey Junkie and others. Not having the option to redeem for cash, whether it's via PayPal, bank deposit, or a check in the mail, is disappointing. Also, Unlock is very vague about whether you will even have a chance to earn rewards points for a survey — you may only be entered into a random draw. 

That said, the best way to maximize your earnings with online survey sites is to sign up for multiple platforms to increase the number of survey opportunities. If that's your strategy, than Unlock Surveys is worth a shot. It is free, after all. 

Check out Unlock Surveys here >>

Features

Are you strapped for cash? Looking for ways to make an extra $100 a month or more?

I know you care about your personal finances or else you wouldn’t be reading this blog.

But if you’re like me there are times when you feel a slight ping of envy that others are able to save and invest so much money. They just make it look so easy!

Luckily, when it comes to saving, paying off debt, and investing, an extra $100 a month can really add up fast!

That's why we're big believers that it's not just about saving money each month, but solid financial plans should also focus on earning more money each month.

If you’re looking for ways to make a little bit of easy cash here are 10 ways to make an extra $100 per month.

# 1 – Tutor

If you’re in college chances are you’ve got in demand knowledge on particular subjects. A great way to profit from your knowledge is tutor high school aged kids who are struggling.

Parents of struggling high school and elementary aged students would love to have a college student tutor their children. Advertise your services in places that are sure to catch the eye of parents.

Check out our guide on how to get started tutoring in college (and you can do it online as well).

# 2 - Driving With Uber Or Lyft

Driving with Uber or Lyft is one of the most convenient ways to earn extra money, especially if you enjoy driving and want the freedom to choose your hours. With ridesharing more popular than ever, drivers can make a solid income by putting in consistent effort.

For women and non-binary drivers considering ridesharing, Lyft’s Women+ Connect feature offers an additional layer of comfort and control. This option allows women and nonbinary drivers to match more often with women and nonbinary riders, making the driving experience feel more welcoming. Women+ Connect can be enabled in the Lyft Driver app and turned on or off as needed, adding flexibility to the already customizable nature of rideshare driving.

If you’re interested, you can sign up to drive with Lyft and see what bonuses they’re currently offering for new drivers. 

Prefer to deliver food instead? UberEATS provides an option for those who’d rather deliver meals than take passengers. For Lyft, signing up can also bring in extra earnings, and you’ll have the chance to explore Women+ Connect, adding another level of ease to your driving experience.

# 3 – Babysit Or Dogsit

If you have patience and a place where you can babysit you can earn extra cash from the comfort of your home.

The babysitter I use charges $20 per day per kid. This is actually a pretty low price so you may be able to get much more money for your services.

Just don’t take on too many kids at once. Babysitting is definitely a job that can be frustrating at times depending on the ages of the kids you’re watching. Keep that in mind.

And you don't just have to watch kids... you can watch people's other type of kids - dogs. Dog walkers and dog sitters are in high demand. Check out Rover and see if you can snag a gig.

# 4 – Write

There are all kinds of ways you can earn money from freelance writing.

You can write for blogs, magazines, content mills, or local businesses. Your first step in finding a writing job is deciding what kind of writing you want to do.

By writing for magazines you can earn as much as $500 an article – but this is a harder field to break into. If you choose to write for blogs you can average $20 - $25 per blog post when first starting out. Or, if you’re looking for the really easy route you can write for a content mill. Just be aware that content mills will pay the least amount of money.

If you want to get started, check this out: How To Get Paid To Write.

# 5 - Sell Your Junk

If you’ve been holding on to too much stuff for a while why not de clutter and make money while you’re at it?

You can sell clothes, shoes, and home décor fairly well on Facebook Yardsales. For items like DVDs, CDs, college textbooks, and video games give Amazon a try. For large items Craigslist will do the trick.

Here's 10 crazy ways to earn $10,000 - and a lot of it involves selling junk.

# 6 - Sell Other Peoples Junk

If you’re good at selling your own stuff you can take it a step farther and sell other peoples unwanted items.

To do this you’ll need to draw up a contract which states you get a commission for successfully selling an item. You can try doing this with your friends and family first and if it works good advertise your services to others.

Then, take their junk and sell it online. This online arbitrage can be a lucrative way to make some extra money.

# 7 – Sell Photos

Stock photos are in demand. If you’re a photographer or just enjoy taking photos you can actually make money by selling them.

The cool thing is that you can sell the same photo over and over again. All you do is create an account with a place like shutterstock.com and every time someone buys one of your photos you’ll receive a commission.

If you build up a large portfolio of photos you can enjoy repeat passive income.

# 8 – Join a Focus Group

Businesses use focus groups to help perfect their product or service. When you attend a focus group you’ll be giving your opinions and reviews on a certain product or service. The best part is that you get paid for doing this!

There are focus groups in all types of areas. Some focus groups are conducted online while others are conducted in person. To find a focus group to participate in just perform a Google search for “focus groups in your area.”

There are also online focus groups and surveys that you can take to earn money. Here's a couple of our favorites:

• Survey Junkie
• SwagBucks (Plus Get A $5 Bonus)
• HeyCash

# 9 – Clean Houses

There are many people who either hate cleaning their house or just don’t have time for it. If you enjoy cleaning or can at least put up with it to earn some extra cash, this can be an easy solution for you.

You can charge around $50 per house meaning you’ll only have to clean two houses per month to earn your extra $100!

# 10 – Become a Mystery Shopper

Mystery shopping is one of those side gigs that feels too good to be true: you get paid to buy things!

Many companies will offer you money to go in and buy a certain product and review the service you get. Other jobs will be based on service only. For instance you’ll have to test drive a car and rate the service you received at a dealership.

Either way you can easily earn an extra $100 a month by becoming a mystery shopper. You can find mystery shopping jobs at bestmark.com

Other Ways to Make an Extra $100 a Month

Here are some more ways you can make an extra $100 a month.

• Become a Search Engine Evaluator
• Offer Painting Services
• Detail Cars
• Blog
• Become an Affiliate
• Participate in Medical Research
• Do Independent Sales

If you’re in need of some extra cash but are strapped for time give one of these ideas a try. You never know you might enjoy your new side hustle and bring in an extra $1,000 a month!

What are some other ways to make an extra $100 a month?