8 Ways to Make Money When You’re Strapped for Cash

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When you’re scrambling for extra money, it can be a serious struggle to figure out how to make more. If  your job isn’t providing you with enough income, there are plenty of other ways to earn cash. We’ve gathered some of the best methods to do so below.

 

Sell your stuff

Do you live in a pedestrian friendly area or within two miles of your work? You might want to consider selling your car. Not only would this strategy save you money on gas, but it would also be an environmentally friendly decision. Instead, you can simply walk where you need to go, use public transportation, or hop on a bike (with a helmet, of course).

Studies have shown that you can save an average of $10,000 a year by not driving a car. Pretty impressive!

If you don’t want to commit to selling your car, you can sell other items. This includes clothing, shoes, electronics, old sports equipment, etc. You can use traditional sites like Craigslist to offload clutter-causing possessions or, use an app like OfferUp or Poshmark.

 

Rideshare on the side

One of the easiest ways to make money on the side is by becoming an Uber or Lyft driver. Busy drivers can make up to $35 an hour. Of course, you’ll need to make sure that you’re driving an energy-efficient car, otherwise your profit margin is going to be pretty small given the rising cost of gas.

 

Budget

While this doesn’t necessarily help you in the short term, learning how to budget can help you better understand your cashflow and where money is being spent. If you can cut back on discretionary spending, you might just have a little extra cash on the side.

 

Take paid surveys

If you want to work from home, you can make an extra $50-$100 a month by taking paid surveys. Most surveys take less than five minutes of your time to complete.

 

Find remote work

Are you great at copywriting, proofreading, or transcribing? You might want to consider turning your talent into a freelance side gig. Check out sites like Fiverr or ClearVoice to start finding clients, you might be surprised by how much extra income you can bring in.

You can also tutor from home as well. All it takes to find a freelance job is a drive to find your next client.

Rent a room

Do you live in a multi-room space? You may want to consider renting out a room to bring in rental income. Of course, if you go that route, you’ll need to ensure that you’re in compliance with all local laws. However, renting out a room can bring in hundreds, if not thousands, of extra dollars per week. It’s a worthwhile venture to look into if your space and lease allows for it.

 

Deliver food

If you’re not keen on customer service and driving people around, you could simply opt to deliver their food around instead. You can deliver food for a huge variety of services, including GrubHub, Doordash, UberEats, and more. And, for many of those services, you don’t even need a car to do the job! If you have a bike, you can still deliver.

 

Babysit or nanny

If you love kids, why not look into babysitting or nannying? This is an especially lucrative opportunity if you live in a neighborhood with lots of families or near a school. Advertise your services at the local coffee shop or sign up and create a profile on websites like Care.com.

 

Takeaways

It’s not fun to be short on cash. But if you find yourself looking at a stack of bills with an empty bank account, you have plenty of ways to make up the shortfall. The key takeaway here is that you might have to combine multiple strategies to make enough money to keep you comfortable. For example, maybe you babysit during the weekends and drive for Uber during the week.

Regardless of the side hustle route you decide to take, it’s important to always scan for new opportunities. With time, patience, and persistence, you might even be able to transition to a full-time job that pays you enough, so you don’t even need side hustles.

 

 

 

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