From pajamas to paychecks – Here are 14 of my best side hustle hacks that helped me conquer my financial goals in my teens. The best thing is, I never had to put on real pants ever (again!)
I’ve been making money online full time for about 12 years now, and I know a thing or two about crafting cashflows on a laptop with an internet connection.
If I knew then what I knew today, I would be 10x richer!
I wrote this so you could have the advantage I never had.
Regardless of whether you’re tech savvy or not, anyone who knows how to Google search, type, click and watch a video can easily make a profit – Yes, even stay-at-home parents.
We know that most of us search on Google every day, but what if you could get paid extra $10–$200 a day just for surfing on google and completing some simple tasks!?? Isn’t that cool!?
During the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in 2020, I couldn’t express how grateful I was to be able to work from home.
As the Covid-19 outbreak escalated, many people lost their jobs and side income opportunities.
Therefore, I thought it would be really helpful to share some of my secret side hustle hacks right here in this article.
If you are willing to put an hour or two a day into some of these side hustles instead of watching TV or mindlessly scrolling through TikTok, you’ll be surprised at how much you can earn.
This extra money can help you with some bills, pay off your debt, or even add to your rainy day fund!
Some of the side hustles even have the potential to make you more than your day job once it takes off – allowing you to leave a job you hate (just as I did)!
So let’s take a look at the evidence first so you can believe me.
Here’s just one example of a platform I use to earn an extra $1000:
You can check out the rest of the platforms below where you can make extra money from home one by one…
1. Share Your Opinion and Make Money
Answering survey questions is an easy and quick way to make extra money for free online.
The work is pretty simple and suitable for beginners.
To get started with taking surveys, all you need is a reliable paid survey website and a computer with a good Internet connection.
Set aside 30 minutes to an hour a day, share your thoughts and you could potentially make an extra $100 a month without any effort.
I’ve personally tried and tested many survey sites and Unique Rewards is my favorite site for taking paid surveys. They pay you for each survey you complete.
Unique Rewards will give you a list of fun surveys based on your interests. You will earn real cash, not points for each completed task. Once you reach $20 in your account balance, you’ll be able to cash out via PayPal, Bitcoin or by check.
Not only you can take surveys for cash, you can also earning money by completing simple web-based tasks like clicking on ads, reading emails, listening to music and shopping online.
And the best part is- you can get free $5 just for signing up here.
You can easily complete these survey questions and earn few bucks a day while you binge watch.
If you love taking surveys for cash, join these online survey sites:
- Survey Junkie
- Timebucks
- PaidWork
- Unique Rewards
- Earn BTC Survey Sites
- my other favorite surveys here.
2. Get Paid to Watch Videos Online
Watching videos is one of the hobbies that can make you money.
Even if you only get paid very little, it’s still a fun and no-brainer way of making extra cash doing what you love.
If you want to make money watching videos just sign up here:
If you live outside the U.S. and have no luck earning using Unique Rewards, then Timebucks is for you. A great survey site that offers a variety of ways to make money. You can easily cash in by just watching videos online, watching TV, playing games, reading paid emails and even surfing the web. It’s available for everyone to join.
Plus, you’ll get a bonus $1 just for signing up.
Wondering if it’s worth your time, check out my review on Timebucks here.
Cointiply: Earn Coins from completing offers, surveys and watching short entertaining videos. You can redeem your Coins for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin only.
FreeCash: Similar to Cointiply, FreeCash lets you earn money by doing simple tasks including watching videos. You have the option to redeem your rewards as CS:GO skins, Fortnite V-Bucks, Amazon Giftcards, PayPal, Crypto and more!
3. Get Paid to Play Games Online
If you’re a gamer, you’ll absolutely love this money-making opportunity!
There are many sites that let you play games for money.
PaidWork is a legit platform that lets you earn easy cash via PayPal or Bank Account. You earn more if you love playing games!
Here’s how it works: PaidWork will recommend the top games and apps according to availability or your interest. You click on one of the choices of games being offered, download the app, play it and earn some cash.
Simple rules for earning more:
The better you are at achieving certain objectives within the game, the more money you’ll make!
The harder the objective of the game, the more you get paid.
4. Start Your Own Blog
If you’re looking to build something out of nothing, making a good living from your passion and could potentially allow you to quit your 9-5, I recommend you start your own blog. Blogging is by far the most low-risk, cost-efficient way to establish an online business.
Unlike other side hustles on this list, blogging is more of a long-term business method. You can’t get any instant return by writing a blog post or article.
But as your blog starts to grow, you’ll see the opportunity to monetize it and earn some money:
- you can establish yourself as an expert in your niche and sell coaching and consulting services.
- you can make money with advertising: sponsored post, pay-per-click advertising, pop-ups etc.
- you can make money with affiliate marketing.
- you can create online courses and sell it through your blog.
- and many more.
Plus, you won’t need much time or money to start a blog. Check out how to build one using Hostinger’s AI Website Tool.
Starting a website just costs $2.49/month, which is cheaper than a cup of coffee these days.
And you don’t really need massive traffic to start making money with your new blog.
Here’s a screenshot of my second earning with Bluehost in less than a month!
I made $65 for a sale and used that to pay the cost for my hosting. You could say that the $15 left is chump change, a tiny amount of money that barely covers a decent meal. But what I see is a seed of another stream to allow me resources to continue to do what I love.
Over time you will gradually start to earn more creating a new passive income stream without much work.
No doubt about it, it takes lots of hard works and effort to run a successful blog. If you’re serious about blogging and eventually make money with it, I’ve written a guide here.
5. Publish Your Own Book
If you’re a long time reader of ThinkMaverick, you’ll know that my solo-preneurial journey started roughly 10 years ago, when I self-published eBooks on Amazon.
Selling ebooks was my favorite all-time side-hustle that allowed me to enjoy the freedom that I have today.
I have hundreds of eBooks that continue to sell on Amazon even while I sleep, which is a passive purr – A deep, contented rumble of inner satisfaction fueled by the gentle hum of income generating in your sleep.
Once you publish your first eBook, you can earn passive income by selling it over and over again!
If you are ready to self-publish a book, here’re a couple of resources that can help you:
Your Kindle Publishing Jumpstart: Get my FREE eBook today! Get your new guide straight to your inbox. Discover how I became a 6-figure author with no previous experience in writing, marketing, publishing or social media!
6. Sell Your Photos
Did you know you can earn extra cash by selling your digital pictures?
Photo agencies, companies and marketers actually prefer authentic pictures over stock images that lack originality. And they’re willing to pay you for your photos- and often they pay pretty well.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a pro photographer or invest in an expensive camera and lenses to start selling your photos for some quick cash.
All you need is a smartphone and a good eye for photography.
There are many apps out there that allow you to sell your photos for money and one great site is EyeEm.
Simply batch upload your photos to EyeEm marketplace and make 50% every time someone downloads one of your photos. This way, you can sell the same photo for different clients for an unlimited time.
You can earn up to $250 per photo. You just need to upload your photo once and keep selling it repeatedly. It’s really that simple!
If you love taking pictures and get rewarded for your creativity, check out my other favorites here.
7. Get Paid To Rent Things Out
Did you know you can turn the things you already own into extra cash?
You can rent out pretty much anything for money: books, cameras, bikes, tents, drones, designer clothes, chairs, tables, shoes, speakers, surfboards, scooters, ladders, guitars, boats, cars and almost anything you can think of!
Instead of letting your stuff collecting dust in your home, why not put them to work by renting out and make some extra cash on the side.
FriendWithA, “the Airbnb for stuff” is a peer to peer rental marketplace.
It’s free to list your item for rental with FriendWithA. Register a FriendWithA account, list your item, upload a few photos, add a title, a description and any detailed information such as color, size etc.
Sit back and relax. FriendWithA will automatically find a renter for your gear. Your things will continue to generate recurring income as long as you want.
Depends on the item you have and its condition, you can easily make an extra $1000 a month without extra work.
And if you are interested in making money with your existing things, check out this guide to renting out your stuff online.
Try Listing your toaster for FREE today on FWA and tell me how it goes! Get Instant Property Coverage for stuff you love! Confirm bookings with a single click. Earn $10 after your 1st successful transaction.
8. Deliver Food
Right now, businesses are closed, restaurants are only serving food-to-go and the streets are pretty much empty.
During a period of COVID-19-induced self-isolation and quarantine, a neighborhood grocery and food delivery service have popped up… to keep your hunger satiated.
Thus, delivering food might be your best option to keep your bank account active. It’s quick to start and begin earning money.
Companies like Postmates, Uber Eats and Doordash offer an easy way for you to earn extra cash by delivering food in your spare time for free.
Simply sign up an account, select your first delivery and you’ll get paid almost immediately every time you complete a delivery. You can cash out once you accumulate a sizeable amount of money.
But remember, take some precautions, wear a mask, wash your hands regularly, keep some distance while delivering food to recipients. If possible, avoid face-to-face contact and put the food in front of the door.
If you don’t want to leave the house, use Postmates to order food, drinks, medicine, groceries and have it delivered to your door.
New customers get $100 in delivery fee credits for your first 7 days!
Use code: ‘GETFOOD’ to start your free delivery.
9. Get Cash Back from Shopping Online
How about earning some free bitcoins while you shop for essentials during the Coronavirus pandemic?
While many of you are at home and stocking up on essentials, you can also shop to earn the most bitcoin back with Lolli.
Lolli is a Bitcoin reward application that allows you to earn up to 30% for over 500+ top brands all across the web, with virtually no effort.
Get your Free $10 in bitcoin when making your first purchase.
Here’s how it works:
- Install Lolli extension on your chrome browser.
- Shop the web, Lolli will pop up to notify you on the percentage of Bitcoin you can earn-back.
- Buy whatever you’re planning to buy as normal.
- Earn free Bitcoin when you checkout using Lolli.
I just started using Lolli and already get my first rewards in Bitcoin! It’s awesome.
(1) Grocery
Delivery may not be available in all areas. Check with your local grocery store for more information.
- Safeway – 1% bitcoin back
- Albertsons – 1% bitcoin back
- Pavilions – 1% bitcoin back
- Randalls – 1% bitcoin back
- Jewel Osco – 1% bitcoin back
- Tom Thumb – 1% bitcoin back
- Vons – 1% bitcoin back
(2) Nutrition, Vitamins & Immunity
Running low on vitamins and supplements? Shop with Lolli’s top health brands.
- Onnit – 13.5% bitcoin back
- Herbspro – 9% bitcoin back
- Vitamin World – 7% bitcoin back
- Vitacost – 5% bitcoin back
- Swanson Health – 5% bitcoin back
- The Vitamin Shoppe – 2.5% bitcoin back
(3) Home Supplies
A few of our top partners for household items…
Office Supplies:
- Office Depot & OfficeMax – up to 5% bitcoin back
- Staples – up to 4.5% bitcoin back
Food Delivery:
- Postmates $2.25 bitcoin back
- Caviar – up to 3.5% bitcoin back
Pet Food:
- Chewy – up to 5% bitcoin back
- Petco – up to 3.5% bitcoin back
- PetCareRX – up to 9% bitcoin back
Video Games:
- GameStop – up to 5% bitcoin back
- Microsoft – up to 1.5% bitcoin back
Coffee:
- Keurig – up to 7% bitcoin back
- Bulletproof – up to 7% bitcoin back
Want to make more money with Lolli?
Simply invite your friend to use Lolli by sharing your referral code. Earn $10 in Bitcoin when they make their first purchase.
Want to learn how to shop smarter and make money with Lolli? Check out my complete guide on Lolli here.
10. Create an Online Course
Everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn.
Online courses are extremely common now. People are willing to pay to learn something from you. People like the convenience of getting useful and relevant information all in one-stop.
You don’t need to be an expert in absolute terms to share your expertise and package it into an online course.
You just need to know more than your potential students on a particular topic, to fast-track their learning.
If you have a good knowledge and depth of understanding of certain subject, you can also create and sell your course through Udemy for free. One thing great about Udemy is that you’ll get instant access to over 30 millions of students who are ready to pay for your course. Learn more about the process here.
You can also earn money by teaching people around the world on other best online learning sites like SkillShareand Thinkific.
11. Rent Out Your Extra Room or Home
Do you have a spare room in your home or apartment?
Whether you have a whole apartment, house, an extra room or even just a couch, you can quickly monetize it using site like Airbnb.
Airbnb is the world’s top online marketplace for vacation rental.
Renting out your private room, entire home, or shared living room on Airbnb is fairly safe and simple.
They have built-in protections for you in case things do go wrong. Plus, you can screen your potential guests, read the reviews, ask questions and accept or reject them before the bookings are finalized.
Are you going on holiday? Consider listing your home on Airbnb and earn money while you are away.
Learn how to list a home on Airbnb here.
Other websites to rent your room or home for money:
- VRBO: acronym for Vacation Rental by Owner. Unlike Airbnb, VRBO only lists larger spaces-whole houses, apartments and cabins.
- Flip Key: A vacation rental marketplace with more than 300,000 rental around the world. It lets you earn money by renting out your home or room on Tripadvisor.
- Homestay: Make extra money renting out your spare room to tourists, students and professionals, for short and long term stays.
- HouseTrip
12. Become a Freelancer
There is plenty of work from home jobs that do not require any experience.
Open accounts at sites such as Rev Freelance, Upwork, Fiverr , Freelancer and start doing some extra freelance work from the comfort of your home!
Have good communication skills and don’t mind picking up a phone? Then work as a virtual customer assistant.
Good at writing? Then sell your writing services.
If you’re fluent in more than one language, you can offer your translation services to earn some extra cash online.
Depends on your skills, you can also work as a virtual assistant, social media manager, writer, editor, proofreader, transcriptionist and data entry freelancer.
Are you interested in starting a freelance career?
I’ve compiled a list of 49 best freelance job websites to help find your online jobs and start making money in no time.
13. Test websites and apps
Can you really make money by testing websites, products, apps and sharing your opinions?
Yes, you can.
In order to improve a website, make it user-friendly and easy to navigate, business owners and app developers are ready to pay you for testing their sites.
Some companies require you to record a video or audio of your opinions and activity while navigating the websites.
For each 10-20 minute website test, you’ll earn about $10. It’s a great side gig to make a few extra bucks in your spare time.
If you love to share your reviews, opinions feedbacks on websites and apps, check out these sites:
- UserTesting– Earn up to $60 per test.
- UserFeel – Earn $10 per test. You can do it from your smartphone or computer.
- UserBrain– On average you earn $3 for each 5-15minute test.
- UserLytics – Earn $10 per task. You need to have a microphone. I would recommend this Logitech HD Pro Webcam , it works like a charm for me.
- Testing Time– Earn up to $50 for each product test. It takes about 30-90minutes to complete.
14. Get Paid to Teach Online
If you live in the U.S, Canada or the UK and have bachelor’s degree, teaching english online is an excellent way to build a lucrative and extremely rewarding career.
It’s perfect for school teachers looking to earn extra income, retired teachers, stay-at-home mums, college students, and someone who enjoys teaching from home.
VIPKID is a website that allows you to work from home by teaching English to Chinese students aged 5-12. You set your own schedule and earn up to $22 per hour.
You don’t need to speak Chinese to teach English on VIPKID, everything is conducted in English.
If you like teaching from home, also check out Education First and Chegg Tutors.
For Malaysians who are looking to make money teaching online, you can sign up on platforms such as Champion Tutor, Snapask.
Conclusion
Make money as you want and break free from the 9-to-5 with some of these side hustles. Never underestimate the power of compound interest!
These are some of the little things in my life that offers me so much financial freedom.
Whether you want to earn some extra income to pay the bills or just to start something that you can call your own, these teen side hustles are sure to offer you some financial euphoria.
Don’t let all your mindless gif scrolling go to waste. Pick up a side hustle here as a hobby and get paid today!
Helpful! great post! I’ll be trying some of these 🙂
Thank you Li Tian 🙂