Have you ever wondered how you can make money without a job? And by “job” I am referring to the traditional 9-to-5 desk and cubicle gig.
I remember those days, and I certainly do not miss it nor ever wish to go back to that. Of course, it’s not easy to go without a job when we all need money to survive.
However, there are many ways to make extra money on the side or even passively — without holding down a full-time job.
And these options below won’t necessarily replace all your potential income from a 9-to-5 job, but some very-well could. Where others options, will be passive income streams that can elevate your finances a bit more.
Ways to Make Money Without A Job
These money making options in this first section won’t exactly replace what a yearly salary from a traditional career can bring in, but many can of these can start to add up nicely.
1. Survey sites
Survey sites offer an opportunity to make money from home without a job. They might not offer a lot of money per site nor make you rich, but if you batch several surveys at once you can make a pretty decent return.
Depending on the site, you may get paid with gift cards or with cash. Some good ones to try are Swagbucks, Inboxdollars and Survey Junkie.
2. Get paid to walk dogs
Do you love dogs and are keen to make some extra cash? You can actually make a decent dollar taking care of other people’s dogs. You can get paid to take other people’s dogs for walk through apps such as Wag!.
If your home is suitable, you can also offer dog boarding and become a dog sitter for owners who leave their home for longer periods of time. As a dog sitter on Rover you can earn a good $25 to $35 per night!
3. Shop and delivery
In your spare time, you can make some extra money helping others with their grocery purchases.
Through apps such as Instacart you can pick up groceries for customers and get paid. You’ll earn a certain rate per trip and you’ll also have a chance to earn tips.
You can also do a similar type of service for apps such as UberEats, Postmates and Shipt. You won’t always need a car; with some of these services you can use a bike, a scooter or even do the walking yourself.
4. Drive for Uber/Lyft
Talking about cars: if you own a reliable car, a phone and have a good driving record, you can make a decent income driving for Uber or Lyft.
If you work at peak times and optimize your car expenses, you can make a decent $25 per hour driving other people around. Consider joining both Uber and Lyft to maximize the amount of customers you can take on.
5. Get paid to lose weight
HealthyWage is a company that uses financial incentives to help people lose weight.
According to academic research, giving people money is a great way to encourage them to lose weight.
HealthyWage uses this approach by offering dollars, prizes and gifts to people through weight loss challenges. Depending on your challenge and prize, you could earn over $1,000 (and you get fit!).
6. Search for unclaimed money
Finding unclaimed money can be a very nice unexpected surprise if you do the searching. There may be hundreds or thousands of dollars that may be rightfully yours but no company has come forward to offer it.
The main challenge when it comes to claiming your money is that no one will tell you where it is. You’ll need to do your research and look for places that may be keeping your money, such as old savings accounts, certificates of deposits or checks that were never cashed.
According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, 1 in 10 people have money that’s theirs out there!
7. Become a virtual assistant
A virtual assistant is someone who helps clients with administrative tasks online. This could be anything from replying to emails, managing their calendar and writing proposals or doing data entry.
It’s a relatively easy position to do online, and there are several sites such as Upwork and Freelancer that will help you get started.
8. Teach English online (VIPKid)
There’s a huge demand for English teachers, especially in countries such as China. With VIPKid, you can teach English online and easily make $22 per hour working just several hours per week.
You will need a bachelor’s degree and some kind of experience teaching online.
9. Flip garage sale finds
If you’ve got a lot of clutter at home with items you no longer need, consider setting up a garage or yard sale to sell all your stuff.
You can also sell your items on places like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, other sites like Craigslist, or join a local weekly yard sale.
10. Donate Plasma
By donating plasma you can make anything from $25 to $50 per donation.
You’ll need to pass an initial screening, wait for your turn and fill in a personal questionnaire in order to qualify — but after that, it’s a quick and easy way to make money.
Make Good Money Without A 9-to-5
The above section was more about making money on the side without having a job. However, those may only last you so long before you need more to cover your cost of living, but also to improve your financial health.
Yet, there are other ways to make money without a 9-to-5 and become your own full-time gig, with the traditional job hassles. Most won’t happen overnight, but these have potential to create a high income for you with some work.
11. E-commerce
The e-Commerce world is booming! It is estimated that 95% of purchases will be made online by 2040, which makes sense but is also crazy to think about.
While there is plenty of competition, starting an e-commerce store is a great way to make money without a job.
Sell your own product
Creating and selling products online can be a great way to replace your 9-to-5 income. By using a platform such as Shopify, your shop is essentially already set up — all you need to do is find the products.
You’ll also need to decide which niche you want to get into and what type of products you want to sell. You can choose to sell your own product, such as a handmade item or something you can paint or build yourself.
If there isn’t a product you can build yourself, consider dropshipping…
Dropshipping
Dropshipping basically consists of selling products from other manufacturers with your markup, and they send it directly to the customer.
You are the middleman, but this can eventually become fairly passive — once you build the audience.
This way you never touch the actual product: but you’ll handle the marketing, customer service, and general sales.
Many will choose Shopify and Oberlo to get started, or others will utilize an eBay store to get an audience around the products faster. Learn more about Dropshipping here.
12. Start a blog
Managing a blog is a great way to make a decent income online because you have the flexibility to work whenever and wherever you want. It will take penty of hard work and dedication to make it, so don’t let any bloggers try to sell you the dream
But in the long term some people reach six figure incomes and if anything some extra money every month.
How can you make money with a blog? You can place ads on your blogs with ad networks, be an affiliate for certain products, publish sponsored articles, sell digital products, and more.
If you think you’d like building large audiences and connecting with readers from around the world (and writing), this could be a good option for you.
Get started on Bluehost in a few steps. It’s great for beginners for hosting, buying a domain, and already having WordPress connected. Learn more and sign-up here.
13. Etsy Store
If you’re selling homemade or digital products, Etsy is the place to be. Etsy is popular for its hands and crafts products, but you can also sell cards, invitations and even specific types of spreadsheets.
If you’re very creative and enjoy creating products yourself, this is a great way to have fun and make a good income on the side.
14. Amazon FBA
Selling items on Amazon is another business alternative that can turn out to be very lucrative. But it also has its challenges, tons of competition, and will take some time if you want to be successful and avoid that traditional 9-to-5.
Similar to dropshipping, you can also set up a store on Amazon and sell products through them. You don’t touch the product at all – all you do is the marketing and sales.
With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you are storing your products in their fulfillment centers. You can even put your own packaging and labels on them. When you make a sale, Amazon handles it all from the packing, shiping, and even providing the customer service.
Finding the right products and setting up your store properly to receive sales will take effort. So I recommend you really look into how Amazon FBA works.
15. Freelancer
Like: writing, graphic design, marketing, web programming, etc.
Being hired for a skill you do is one of the fastest ways to make a good income online.
If you enjoy writing, becoming a freelance writer is a great way to make a decent income. This could range from newsletter writing, to publishing articles on Medium, to writing freelance articles.
If your grammar is decent and you can explain things clearly try building some experience as a freelancer. You can also start with something more direct such as proofreading or transcription. Sign up to sites such as Upwork or Freelancer to get started.
If writing is not your thing, you can also make a decent income as a freelance graphic designer or programmer. You can also learn digital skills such as SEO and digital marketing and then sell your services as a consultant.
If you’re not sure where to get started, do some free online courses and see what’s something that piques your interest.