So you’re broke. You’re always broke. And it sucks. You know you should get a job, but there’s always something that gets in the way. Maybe you’ve got some sort of moral qualm about it, maybe you just can’t be bothered, or maybe you just can’t find one. Or maybe you’re lazy. Whatever the reason, you’re on this page, so you must be looking for a way out of your money woes, and we’re here to help.
These are 30 ways you can make money without having to get a real job. You won’t become rich doing these, but hey, every little bit counts.
See also: Job Interview Tips: Secrets To Ace Any Interview
1. Perform on the street
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the simple things in life, like playing an instrument on the street for fun. If you’re good enough at it, you might even be able to get people to put a few coins in your case.
2. Be a human statue
Similar to being a street performer, but you stand still rather than performing anything. This is also a great deal easier because you don’t need any sort of license to do it. All you have to do is find a busy area and stand perfectly still. People will start taking pictures of you and, in some cases, even give you money.
3. Sell your talents
There are a lot of ways to make money from your talents. If you’re musically inclined, you can try selling your songs or even performing at local venues. If you’re artistically inclined, you can try to sell your paintings or other artwork. Even if you’re just good at writing, there are lots of opportunities to make money with your talent. You could try doing something locally, or even start writing online blogs on different websites that allow you to do so for payment.
4. Collect and sell aluminum cans, bottles and other recycables
This one requires a little bit of travel, but you can usually collect enough money to buy your food with the money you get from recycling. The average amount of money you can make in a week’s time is about $50, although some people make substantially more than that depending on where they live.
5. Get a rebate for recycling
Who knew? It seems that some companies will give you a rebate for returning your used plastic bottles and cans! Obviously, this is more effort than just throwing them into a recycling bin, but it’s still something. Check out sites like Earth 911 to find out where the highest rebating centers are in your area.
6. Get paid to host a yard sale
If you’re like most people, you have a bunch of junk cluttering up your house taking up space. Why not clear out some of that clutter and get paid for it? There are services that will actually come to your home or set you up at a local storefront, give you space and pay you on commission. Plus, they’ll advertise for you! So, get searching through all those boxes in your closet and make some money!
See also: 60 Good Reasons to Work from Home
7. Get paid to lose weight
If you’re overweight, why not get paid to slim down? Some companies will pay you to participate in their programs that include exercise and diet plans. Once you reach your goal weight, you get to keep some of that money! Apps like HealthyWage.com and DietBet.com are a couple of the more popular ones.
8. Babysit
This is probably one of the most common ways teenagers make money, and it’s definitely legitimate. Just make sure there is some adult hanging around when you’re watching other people’s children. If you want to get fancy with it, you can get trained in child development so you’ll be more prepared for various situations, although that’s not necessary if you’re just doing it for friends and family.
9. Rake leaves
Most people would rather pay someone a small fee to do this frustrating task than do it themselves. All you have to do is go from house to house and offer your services. If you want to get fancy, you can call attention to your service by putting up a small flier on the local community board or neighborhood message system.
10. Shovel snow
This is kind of like raking leaves, except it pays better. Many people prefer to get their sidewalks and driveways shoveled by professionals, rather than doing it themselves or hiring an amateur. Put up a small sign advertising your services, and wait for the phone to start ringing!
11. Walk dogs
This might be one of the most enjoyable ways to make money (as long as it isn’t one of those high-maintenance little dogs that bark incessantly). Check around your area for pet stores that offer dog walking as a service.
12. Offer to watch a friend’s pets
If you know anyone who owns an animal (dog, cat, hamster, snake…) and they go out of town, offer to take care of it for them. Most of the time they’ll be happy to pay you a small fee for watching their pet.
13. Sell your plasma
Plasma is a liquid that contains blood platelets. It’s used to help people with low blood platelet counts, like cancer patients going through chemotherapy. If you’re a little bit healthy (don’t try this if you’ve got a disease or something), you can go to one of the many donation centers that pay you to sit there and have your blood slowly drained from your body. You generally get paid around $20 for each visit, and most of them ask you to come in at least twice a week.
14. Sell your hair
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the world is so bereft of human kindness that there is actually a demand for human hair. No doubt some of it goes into those wigs for bald people, but there’s got to be a whole market of creepy people out there looking for enough hair to make a wig for themselves. Get paid up to $400 for a donation to the right place!
15. Sell your eggs
If you’re a woman between the ages of 18 and 30 (although there are outlets that will accept older women), you can qualify to be an egg donor. Assuming you pass all the tests and get accepted, you can make up to $5,000 for a donation. That’s a lot of money for doing something that involves passing eggs from your body.
16. Sell your stuff on eBay
There are people out there making a full-time living by selling stuff on eBay, so if you’ve got more stuff than most people, you could be in luck. Just make sure your stuff is going to be in demand. Think you’ve found a gold mine with a box of old comic books you’ve had since you were a kid? Think again. Those things are out there, but they’ve got to be in pretty good condition and be rare titles to fetch a good price.
17. Sell digital photos
If you have a smartphone and like taking pictures, why not get paid for it? There are several ways of doing this. One is selling your photos to stock-image websites. Simply do a Google search for “sell photos” along with the type of photos you take and you should find several sites that will allow you to sell your images. Another way is to get your photos onto websites like Flickr and then sell your printed photos on another website (not eBay).
18. Sell your artwork
If you’re artistic, put your talents to good use. Make and sell paintings, sketches, or anything else you can think of. Of course, unless you’re incredibly talented, you’re probably going to have a hard time making much money doing this.
19. Start a YouTube channel
If you’re good at doing something, why not film yourself doing it and put it online for others to see? That’s what a lot of people do with YouTube. You don’t even have to be that good at something, because if you can laugh at yourself or fun of your failures, that can be just as entertaining for others.
20. Get paid taking surverys online
Surveys can be a legitimate way to make money – if you qualify. Many survey companies will pay you to share your opinion on a wide range of topics from products you use, to politicians you like and dislike, to celebrities you find appealing or unappealing. Many of these are legitimate, but be careful as there are also a lot of scams out there!
21. Get paid searching the web
Several sites, like Qmee, will pay you for searching the web. Each search earns a certain amount of points, and after you reach a certain amount of points, you can trade them in for cash or gift cards. A few other sites will also pay you to read emails, click ads or even watch videos.
22. Start a blog
Start a website that you can dedicate to something you’re interested in. For instance, if you’re really into sneakers, start a blog dedicated to sneakers. You can write about your collection, look for rare sneakers, share news about upcoming releases, and more. The key is to make it interesting and develop a good following so people will continue to return.
23. Write and sell an eBook
Another easy way to make money online. Simply write an eBook or create a big document packed with information and sell it online. If you want to get fancy, you can even go the traditional publishing company route.
24. Become an online seller
Are you on Facebook a lot? Why not use it to sell items? This method isn’t for everyone, but if you have a lot of friends on Facebook then you can try selling items in your feed, or you can create a group where people can come and buy items. Another method is to create an account on eBay and sell items through them. Selling items online can be a lot of work and is sometimes difficult, but can definitely be worth it.
25. Do some consulting
Everyone has a specialty. Maybe you’re an expert on Star Wars trivia, or you’ve memorized every line from The Big Lebowski. Whatever it is, you can probably get paid to share your talents. All you need to do is find out what that talent is and how to advertise yourself. The Internet makes this task much easier.
26. Become an online tutor
If you’re good at math, science or even foreign languages, you might be able to become a tutor for someone younger or less experienced than you. There are several websites out there that can pair you up with people looking for a little help in various areas. You set your own price and schedule, so this could be a good way to make some money in your free time.
27. Sell handcrafted items
Do you make crafts or other hand-made items? You can make extra money by selling them on websites like Etsy, or even at local craft fairs. If you don’t have the time or interest in making the items yourself, you can always buy them from others and sell them at a small markup, or even just find items that are selling well and sell them yourself.
28. Join a focus group
There are companies out there that will pay you (sometimes well) to take part in a focus group. These involve you going to someone’s office or a special location and answering questions about a particular product that is being created. The only real requirements are that you must be 18 or over and have the ability to give thoughtful answers about products.
29. Become a model
I’m not talking about spending lots of money on fancy agents and photo shoots. You can do something simple like forging a good relationship with a photographer in your area and doing a photoshoot with them. This can be anything from modeling outfits they already have, to be photographed in a mock-up of a jewelry store, to being captured doing something exciting like skydiving (which will cost money for the photographer, by the way).
30. Get paid to get drunk
There are bars and other locations that pay people to drink. Some pay better than others. We’ve heard of people getting paid $100 an hour to get plastered, though you might have to go to a specific location and do it during a specific time. Just remember: don’t drink and drive!
BONUS: Become a bounty hunter
If you have the skills to track someone down and bring them to justice, you might be able to do this as a full-time job. It’s not easy or safe, but it can be very lucrative if you get hired by the right people. For example, if you were in Texas and wanted to capture someone who skipped out on bail, you would be rewarded $15,000 for bringing that person in alive.
As you can see, there are quite a few ways to make money if you’re stuck in a bind. We’d suggest trying some of these ways before taking out a payday loan or putting yourself further into debt. If you need to make more money, think about the long-term and get a part-time job. You’re likely to make more than enough to cover the costs with less headache and worry (and stress).