How To Make Money From Home
6 Legit Ways to Make Money From Home That You’ve Never Heard Of
These days more and more people are finding that they aren’t limited to a single source of income. With all the unique money-making opportunities available, many people are finding that they can earn a few extra hundred dollars a month by thinking a little outside the box.
While all of the opportunities listed below are legitimate ways to make some money, it would probably be unrealistic to expect to make a full-time income from any of them individually.
So check them out and let us know in the comments which ones you like best and earn the most for you!
1. Get paid using your iPhone (or Android)
There seem to be many apps popping up that pay you to do simple tasks like taking a picture of a menu, or taking a picture of yourself drinking a Starbucks, or verifying that a road is closed — you get the picture. Here are a few that I found:
2. Complete jobs on Zaarly
Zaarly is a website that connects those offering random services (like walking a dog, being a personal assistant for a day, giving guitar lessons, etc.) with buyers who are looking for those services. I would suggest checking out some of the ideas listed on the site and sign up and offer those services as they are in demand.
3. Teach English (or other language) classes online
Did you know that English speakers are in high demand in Asia? As a result many are turning to freelance English teachers using websites like Italki. The site is basically a virtual online classroom for freelance teachers and students. Anyone can offer lessons (and set their own price), and anyone can take lessons. From a quick scan, it looks like making $15 to 20/hour is a fair expectation.
4. Make money by viewing ads on your Android lock screen
I’ve been trying out this Android app called Locket that puts ads on your lock screen and pays you for each time you unlock your phone.
I’ve been using it for a few days now and have made about 3 bucks thus far, so it isn’t huge, but at the same time, I didn’t really have to do any work to earn the money.
If you are interested in seeing how it works, here is a quick video review that you can watch for more info.
5. Sell your service at Fiverr
Fiverr is a website that allows you to sell your service for $5. There are all kinds of crazy things people are offering and getting paid for on there — like taking a picture holding a sign, recording two sentences in an Irish accent, recording a video singing a certain song, and even prank calling a friend all for $5. So if you have a little creativity, there are some fun ways to make some money on the side.
6. Rent out your car for $10+ an hour
I just recently heard about RelayRides, which allows you to either rent or lend your car to others — and get paid in the process. If you live in a big city, this could be pretty profitable.
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50 Legitimate Ways to Make Money from Home
Whether you are a busy mother, a stay at home father, a college student, or just want to earn some extra money – doing some extra work can help you make money from home.
A quick internet search can reveal many work from home scams. They charge you upfront fees and lure you to work with them. But actually they are just cheating you out of your hard-earned money.
I know you want to find some legitimate work from home jobs that are not rip-offs. So, I have scoured through hundreds of ways to work at home, and came up with the 50 legitimate ways to make money from home.
Some will just make you a few bucks a month, but others can become powerful moneymakers depending on the time you have to invest in them.
Read on to find out about some of the exciting ways to make money from home. You may even find something you’ve never heard of before.
Good luck!
Make money online and from home
Don’t have any hidden talents? Don’t worry! We’ve got something for you as well.
We bought our chickens from a woman who raises chicks to sell for $25/each (read on if you don’t want to raise and sell chickens).
1. Take part in surveys to make an extra $250+ a month
Simply answer online surveys or product tests and make money from home. You can easily make an extra $250 a month while watching T.V.
Take a look at some paid survey websites listed below. At all of these websites you not only earn some extra cash, but also get rewarded through gift vouchers, prize drawings, free products, etc. All of these sites are free to sign up and use. Heads up: If any survey site asks you to pay, they are probably scams.
Swagbucks
Survey Junkie
Inbox Dollars
OneOpinion
American Consumer Opinion
Pinecone Research
2. Get Money Back Instantly For Stuff You’ve Already Bought
Do you love getting refunds? How cool would it be to get money back on stuff you’ve already bought without having to do a thing? Paribus is an app that lets you find out if stores you’ve shopped at online owe you a refund. It’s free to sign up. Paribus connects to your email account and checks your receipts. If they find out a retailer has dropped their price they file a price adjustment claim for you automatically. Try out Paribus.
Paribus works with a huge number of merchants that you probably already shop at, including Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Best Buy, Target, Apple, Kohl’s, and more!
3. Get a free $10 Amazon gift card
Sign up for MyPoints and get a free $10 Amazon gift card. It’s easy to get started:
4. Start a blog or online business
Online business is how I’ve made a living since 2003 and what has helped me retire early. I make over $40,000 a month through my blog. You can create your own blog here with my easy 15-minute step-by-step tutorial. You can start a blog for as little as $2.95 a month (less than a cup of coffee!). Create a blog and leverage it into affiliate sales or product endorsement deals. Consider topics like:
Check out my free guide with step-by-step instructions on how to make money blogging.
5. Watch movie previews, YouTube, and like videos
Do you like watching videos in your free time? Now, you can get paid for watching videos including movie previews, news, celebrity videos, and all kinds of other videos.
Sites like Swagbucks ask you to watch certain videos and like them. You have to watch for a certain number of minutes which you’ll be told ahead of time. You could earn over $200 a month (earnings vary). You’ll earn Swagbucks for watching (points that can be redeemed for gift cards or Paypal). You can get $5 just for signing up!
6. Download and install these apps
A lot of companies – including Google – pay you for installing their apps. Moreover, you get paid for each month the apps are installed on your phone. Some of these sites include:
7. Sign up for free gift cards
Ebates will give you a $10 gift card when you sign up and earn your first cashback rebate. It’s great for online shoppers. Ebates is free to use.
You just visit the Ebates website and click through to the store you want to shop at. If you buy from the store Ebates gets a commission that they split with you. It’s an easy way to save. Click here to sign up for Ebates.
8. Test websites for $30 an hour
Ever visit a website and you thought about how bad or how great it was? Now you can get paid to share your thoughts.
Just open a website, click around, and get paid. New or updated website owners compensate you to test their sites.
For example with User Testing you can earn almost $30 for an hour. Here’s how it works:
While you’re visiting a website your screen will be recorded as well as your voice. Their clients include Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, and other Fortune 500 companies. How would you like a few bucks to share your thoughts?
Check out how to make quick money from home testing websites for a full list of companies that will pay you for testing.
9. Get paid for being healthy
The health app AchieveMint gives you points for being healthy and doing things like walking, tracking your food, or taking health surveys. You earn points which can be redeemed for cash or Amazon Gift Cards. For every 10,000 points, you earn $10 and there is no limit on your earnings.
AchieveMint connects to the fitness apps you may already be using including Fitbit, RunKeeper, Healthkit, and MyFitnessPal.
You can earn 10 points just for signing up with AchieveMint and connecting an app.
10. Become a freelancer or freelance writer
Doing freelance work can greatly increase your income. Are you a stay at home mom with an English degree or a guy who naturally can find mistakes in written text?
Huge and trustworthy sites like Upwork have thousands of employers who want to hire for all kinds of tasks where you can write or edit about anything from technology to business articles. Get paid for every single article. Get a great reputation and you can turn this into a full-time job.
11. Technical freelancing
Freelancing isn’t all about writing. You can do everything from design, graphics, marketing, and web programming jobs from sites like:
Pick your payment on per project basis.
12. Become a virtual assistant
Work for someone from home. Virtual assistances (VAs) can do everything from checking emails and making travel plans to handling internet research or working for their small business. High-end earners can command $50-$100 an hour.
Some reputable sites are Zirtual and Upwork
13. Tutoring
Give private tuition classes at your home and use your SAT knowledge. Choose your schedule, if you have some imperative routine tasks.
Or rather, go for online tutoring and earn $20 per hour on Chegg Tutors.
14. Share your views
Share your honest opinions for everyday services and products you use with focus group companies. These organizations can improve their products on your feedback, and you get to make $50, $100, or more. Check out 2020 Panel.
A friend does this at his local mall. He only makes a little side money doing the focus groups, but it pays for a babysitter and a night out occasionally.
15. Rate pizzas
Many companies pay you for rating local pizza shops. You just have to rate the place on the quality of their pizza and note their delivery time. For this, you can get a free pizza, plus $5. Just register on Trendsource and get started.
16. Review stuff
Write a review and earn anything between $1 and $50 per review according to the requirement. Yelp can give you some special invites.
17. Change your search engine
Do you use Google or Yahoo to search for something on the net? Now, leave them behind and opt for the Bing search engine.
Conduct your regular searches on Bing, make it your default search engine, and earn credits that can be redeemed for gift cards. You can earn as much as $5 to $10 per month. Tip: Just stay signed-in, when you perform a search.
Another option is Nielsen Digital Voice. Digital Voice is a part of Nielsen – the big company that publishes T.V. ratings. Just surf the web and you may be able to start earning money.
18. Data entry
Use your accurate and quick typing skills to enter information. Go through Craigslist or Upwork and find data entry and administrative jobs for yourself. These jobs can be easily done through telecommuting.
19. Work for Amazon
Pick micro tasks from Amazon Mechanical Turk. These are services that require human interaction. You can work from home, flexible hours and get paid by one of the world’s largest retailers.
Here are some examples of tasks workers have completed:
Zero Down Your Debt. Click play to find out how:
20. Online travel agent
Do you explore travel websites like Expedia in your free time? Then, do it for a commission by offering your services as an alternative to travel agencies. Start at Wikihow for tips to get started.
21. Associate marketing
If you already have a blog on something that interests you, turn it into a money maker.
Join an associate network like Amazon Affiliate or Google AdSense, choose products to promote, and advertise them on your content site. Whenever someone reads your blog or article, you get paid.
22. Sell lesson plans
Have a soft corner for academic study? Sell your lesson plans, especially to new teachers or first-year teachers.
Teachers Pay Teachers is a market of educators, where you can sell and share your teaching resources.
23. Play online games
Are you an arcade or a poker champion? Play some of your favorite puzzle or card games at InboxDollars. It is fun, plus you can play for free as well as compete for rewards.
24. Take part in an online focus group
Participate in an online focus group like ProOpinion and get paid through a check, gift card, or PayPal deposit.
25. Examine search engines
At Leapforce, you can evaluate search engines by conducting researches on predefined queries, analyzing them, and providing feedback for search engine results by their usage and relevance.
26. Maintain fan pages
Fan pages on Twitter or Facebook require people to connect with them. Log on to Fiverr and get jobs for maintaining social pages.
The Simple Math of How The Rich Get Richer. Click play to listen:
27. Fix Google’s mistakes
Sites like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. pay you for fixing their search results. You just have to mend the errors of the search engine results and make them qualitative, relevant, and useful. Doing this you can earn around $12 per hour.
28. Online juror
Do you love Law and Order? Ever wanted to sit in a courtroom and decide if someone is innocent or guilty?
eJury provides an attorney the opportunity to “pre-try” the case before it goes to trial in front of an actual jury at the courthouse.
eJurors review facts and answer the questions, and click a “Submit Verdict” button upon completion.
For each verdict rendered, eJurors are paid $5 – $10 depending on the length of the case. You certainly won’t get rich serving as an eJuror, but just one case a week would probably pay for your Internet access.
Become a Millionaire on $30,000 a Year. Click play to find out how:
Be a caregiver
29. Pet sitting
Do you adore pets? Go for pet sitting at your place. Make sure your house can accommodate numerous pets.
Websites like Care brings together pet sitters and people looking for pet care. Remember to quote your rates wisely.
30. At-home daycare
If you are home with your children, why not start an at home daycare.
They are highly sought out in our area of Dallas because people like that they are close and that there are much fewer children involved that a more corporate daycare.
You will need to get a certification from your state, but you can make big bucks caring for children while getting to spend the day with your children as well.
Get Creative
31. Calligraphy
Do hand lettering for invitation cards, wedding cards, and other stationery. Use your favorite font combinations and start off with your calligraphy adventure. Look at the Etsy Calligraphy section.
32. Transcriptionist
Even if you don’t like your writing skills or have a programming talent, you can still do freelance transcription. Transcribing is detailed work, but luckily you can do it any time of night or day. Check the same sites listed above.
33. Cook
A college friend makes the most beautiful cookies and finds events to sell them all year long – birthdays, holidays, football parties, the list is endless.
Some people love to cook and bake. If this is you, consider running a catering business from your kitchen. Bake cakes or cookies for birthday parties, dinners, or other events.
Make sure to abide by the food safety laws and have fun.
There are many moms who don’t have time to make homemade food for bake sales and parties and families who want a holiday feast without the trouble.
34. Start a side business
Become an online personal stylist or the many other options to start something on the side. It will take effort, but there are many different routes you can go.
You can work with an existing company, like Avon, Jamberry, and Stitch Fix, which will help you get started. Or find a need in your community that might need addressing. Do local companies need your accounting skills?
Rent your things
35. Rent your parking space
If you don’t use your parking spot during your working hours, consider renting it out on Craigslist.
36. Rent your automobile
Not using your car while on a trip or weekend? Rent it out. RelayRides and GetAround will assist you in this while paying you on a per hour basis.
37. Rent your clothes online
If you have a closet full of clothes that you haven’t worn in a long time, rent them out. Sites like RentNotBuy and Loanables make this possible.
If they don’t fit anymore or not fitting your current lifestyle include them in the garage sale or selling online mentioned above.
38. Rent your bike, cycle, snowsports, or any other gear
When not in use, rent out your favorite equipment. You can use Spinlister to rent your sports gear.
39. Rent out your studio space, music instruments
Is your guitar lying in the corner of your room, without any daily usage? Make money by renting it on Sparkplug. You can do this for other your music instruments also, like amps, mics, harps, or your rehearsal room or studio.
It’s Never Too Late To Get Started. Click play to get inspired:
Make money from stuff you already own
Making money is a hobby that will complement any other hobbies you have, beautifully. – Scott Alexander
40. Tidy up
You probably have much more stuff than you realize. According to The National Association of Homebuilders, the average house size in 1973 was 1,644 square feet. That grew to 2,624 square feet in 2014. Clean the dust, sort out your storage closet, and put up a garage sale.
If you are overwhelmed with “stuff” in your house, check out a great book called, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The book is about changing your perceptions of your things so you can keep what is really important and get rid of what is not.
41. Sell your antiques
Did you collect things when you were younger or have items that fit your last home but don’t fit your new one? Get out all your collectibles and sell them off. If some are antiques or collectibles, make sure to get them appraised. Otherwise, you may sell some rare items at low prices.
Sadly my long kept collection of Star Wars and X-Files trading cards were only selling for a few cents on eBay, so I decided just to keep them for the memories.
42. Flea market tossing or flipping
If you have a crafty side, put it to good use. Visit the nearest flea market, Craigslist, or Freecycle.org and buy some interesting items, restore them, add your special touch, and resell them for a profit.
Think about refinishing tables or converting old plates into art. Turn trash into treasure.
If you need ideas, check out Pinterest. It has a world of ideas, and you’d be surprised how much people will pay for a custom baby nursery lamp or a re-stained bar from the 70s.
If you enjoy this type of work, consider starting an Etsy store. One of my wife’s friends felt staying home with her two boys was great, but she missed having an artistic outlet. She researched what was popular on Etsy and started making artistic versions of people’s photos. It only took a few months for her shop to become as busy.
43. Sell your cell phone
Whether a new model or an old one, you can sell your cell phone. You can go for Amazon that gives gift cards for working iPhones, or websites like Decluttr that give you cash for that old phone.
44. Return printer cartridges
Hand in your empty printer cartridges to office supply stores like Office Depot, Staples, etc. for free credits.
45. Sell your old snapshots
Do you have some random pictures lying somewhere or taking computer space? Sell them on stock photo sites like Shutterstock.
Such websites purchase photos from anyone. Even if you feel that the images are not worth selling, just give it a try. Very often, the most neglected pictures of everyday objects do the trick, like a simple pen and paper.
46. Bed and breakfast or AirBnB
You already have a place to live. If you live near a college campus with visiting parents or near music or sports venues, consider starting a little bed and breakfast.
If that seems too hard, check out sites like AirBnB, which help you rent safely and ensure you get paid. I used this service when traveling in Switzerland with a friend and can confirm it is a great service.
47. Sell online
A garage sale might not be your style, or maybe you only have a few really nice things you want to sell. Consider selling on Ebay, Craigslist, and Facebook groups.
My wife sold some Kate Spade purses that she no longer used and made much more by using Ebay than trying to sell locally. She started by asking a very low price for the purses and the bidding drove the price up much higher than she expected.
48. Open a bank account
A simple Google search for banks giving bonuses for opening accounts returns a list of current offers. Be careful to read the requirements, but if you have time, you can make a few hundred dollars.
49. Sell your books
Check out this recent story from frugal living expert Lauren Greutman:
Even regular books can earn you money. Stores like Half Priced Books and others will give you cents to dollars for each of your current books. It saves space on your shelves for something new, and you earn a few bucks.
But if you want the most cash for your books, check out getting rid of your old books using BookScouter.
The Unknown Millionaire. Click play to hear his story:
50. Shop online and earn cash back
Sites like Fat Wallet pay you back when you shop at their store. This can mean discounts for you or simple cash back deals.
51. Buy groceries and get rebates
Many rebate apps like Ibotta offer cash rebates on grocery store purchases. You just have to take a picture of your grocery receipt with your phone, and you can even buy groceries from your regular grocery store.
52. Share what’s in your fridge
The Nielsen Consumer Panel offers gift points to look what’s in your fridge. You just have to scan barcodes of your fridge products and send it to them. Here’s how it works:
53. Sell your junk mail
Do you love getting junk mail? If you’re like me, you probably don’t – that’s why we call it junk! Other than recycle, trash, or burn it in the winter what can you do with it?
The Small Business Knowledge Center is a market research company that will take your junk mail and email and give you a Visa prepaid card.
19 Real Ways to Make Money from Home
See which opportunities are actually legit.
Most of us love the idea of earning extra income or quitting our full-time jobs altogether and working from home. If you thought work-from-home companies were just running scams, it turns out there are plenty of authentic and reliable ways to make money by working from home. Christine Durst, cofounder of RatRaceRebellion and consultant to the FBI on internet scam issues tells us, "There is currently a 61-to-1 scam ratio among work-at-home job leads on the internet—that is, for every legitimate job, there are 61 scams." But, there are a lot of opportunities for a "real job." The secret is knowing how to separate the scams from what's legit.
Here's a hint: Legitimate jobs will typically never require you to pay a fee to get more information, and they don't come in unsolicited junk e-mail messages. Still, there's plenty of earning potential in working from home because, now, many of the top-earning home-based positions are with big traditional companies like Xerox, Dell and IBM.
No matter what your area of interest or expertise, if you have the desire to work from home, someone, somewhere, has work for you that can use your skills and natural talents. If you remain diligent and flexible, you'll find it. And you won't have to spend money on gas or transportation to get to work.
Rebecca Martin from Covergys, a call-service supplier, says, "be sure you have a quiet, distraction-free designated work space. Decorate your home office in a style that is appealing and inspirational to you." Most women do better if they treat their at home job more like an occupation. Let everyone know you are working. Get dressed in the morning, stick to a routine that works for you and those around you and you'll be on your way to earning substantially more than you thought you could.
Most of the jobs in this article require an up-to-date computer, a high-speed Internet connection, a phone with a dedicated land line and a quiet place to work.
1. CUSTOMER-SERVICE REP
Many companies, such as J. Crew, Express Jet, 1-800-flowers, and even the IRS, outsource customer-service operations to third-party companies who then hire home-based workers or "agents" to take calls and orders. When you call 1-800-flowers, you may be speaking with Rebecca Dooley, a retired police officer and employee of Alpine Access, a major call-center service. When you dialed the number, your call was automatically routed to Rebecca's spare bedroom in Colorado.
Alpine Access currently employs more than 7,500 work-at-home customer-service agents who take in-bound calls (there's no outbound or cold calling) for dozens of companies. "This works perfectly for me because I can set up my hours around my family's busy lifestyle," says Rebecca, who usually works 20 to 32 hours a week, depending on her schedule.
While the typical hourly rate is about $9, Alpine Access agents who work more than 20 hours a week are eligible for benefits plus a 401k program when they have worked for over 1,000 hours. (Some companies consider their staff independent contractors, so they don't provide benefits.) Other companies that hire virtual call agents:
2. TELEMARKETER
To do this job, you need a pleasant voice and personality, and really thick skin—you're bound to encounter some hostility. Still, it's a good way to earn income. Many large companies now outsource their cold-calling campaigns to third parties who hire home-based workers to place the calls. Telemarketers are typically paid by the hour, and they may earn incentives and commission based on performance.
Companies hiring home-based workers include Telereach and Intrep. Apply on their websites. Keep in mind that a legitimate company will typically not require you to pay a fee to get information or leads, and will explain how to apply, exactly what is required and what to expect.
3. ONLINE JUROR
Companies will pay you to sit on mock juries to give attorneys and other jury consultants feedback on cases they are currently handling. Think of these as focus groups. The cases are real, but your verdict will do little more than give those involved a prediction of how things might go. You can earn fees ranging from $5 to $60. Be sure to read all the disclaimers and details. Go to:
4. SURVEY TAKING
If you've ruled out survey taking as a legitimate way to earn money from home, listen to Bonnie Alcala. She and her daughter Andrea Spain, an elementary-school substitute teacher, take surveys online for fun and a little profit. They are careful to avoid any scams by refusing to pay an upfront fee or other charge. Bonnie and Andrea pocket around $100 a month for spending two hours a week taking surveys, which gives each of them extra pin money. In addition, they collect all kinds of gift cards and other prizes.
If you've got a little spare time and want to save up a stash of cash for holiday shopping or even a family vacation, here are Bonnie and Andrea's favorite survey sites:
Also, InboxDollars pays participants cash to fill out surveys, watch ads, play online games and redeem coupons, with one caveat: you must earn $30 before you can cash out (you earn $0.50 per survey).
5. WRITER, BLOGGER, EDITOR, OR PROOFREADER
Everyone says you're a fantastic writer, so isn't it about time you got paid? Good writing is still in demand says Durst, especially for online content. For the best sites try JournalismJobs, About seeks "Guides" in a broad area of topics, and MediaBistro. For blogging jobs, try problogger. If you have experience as a freelance copy editor, writer or proofreader, go to editfast. Rates vary between $15 and $25 an hour.
6. CYBER CRAFTER
If you're a crafter in search of customers, the internet is your showcase, and not only at auction sites like eBay. DeWitt Young of ObviousFront.etsy Has had success turning her crafts into cash in cyberspace. She has a booth at Etsy's Craft Mall, an amazing place where more than 10,000 artisans and crafters offer their goods for sale.
DeWitt turns salvaged parts from old TVs and VCRs into artsy necklaces, earrings and figures. Colleen Jordan uses 3D printing to create her necklaces called wearable planters. Don't be discouraged, Shapeways 3D printing company can get you started with their simple apps so you can easily customize your own designs with a click of a mouse, anything from a wedding band in rose gold, a vase in ceramic or your own bobble head printed in full color. All for the purpose of generating sales.
7. ONLINE GUIDE OR EXPERT
Do your friends look to you for advice on things you're passionate about, such as which car to buy, how to repair appliances or how to make a killer cheesecake? Whatever your area of expertise, if you are also a seasoned writer with an infectious enthusiasm for a particular topic, consider becoming an online expert guide. Guides are freelancers with an ability to communicate well and good grammar and spelling skills.
For example, About guides write articles or reviews in their area of expertise. They earn no less than $725 a month, but some make more than $100,000 a year depending on year-over-year, page-view growth. Go to beaguide.about, where you'll find which areas of expertise are still open. (There are many!)
Also try Chacha, a new search engine similar to Google and Yahoo, and click on "Become a Guide" for more information. At JustAnswer, users agree to pay for the answers to their questions. Guides are paid a percentage of the pre-negotiated price per answer and the number of accepted answers received. Go to Just Answer to find out how.
8. VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
Many small-business owners and mid- to executive-level professionals need personal assistants, but can't afford a permanent position on the payroll. The solution? Hire people from remote locations to do their administrative work.
Virtual assistants handle all kinds of administrative projects, including travel arrangements, event planning, correspondence and other support services that can be done remotely via e-mail and phone.
Lynne Norris, who works out of her home in Pennsylvania (NorrisBusinessSolutions), says that rates for VAs run about $25 to $75 or more an hour, based on the types of services you provide. The startup costs are about $500 to $1,000, assuming you have an up-to-date computer and printer. Lynne loves the flexibility. "My children are happy that I don't miss the important things in their lives." Check out the International Virtual Assistants Association, or virtualassistantjobs and teamdoubleclick for more.
9. ONLINE TUTOR OR ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR
If you have a college degree and the skills to tutor students online in math, science, English or social studies, this job may fit you perfectly. Go to Tutor—tutors who work for the company and have passed their probationary period earn $10 to $14 an hour. According to Durst, "Skype and other web interface tools are bringing English language instructors face-to-face with students from around the world." Try ispeakuspeak, openenglish to get started.
10. ACCEPTING PACKAGES
If your normal 9-to-5 involves working from home, this is one of the easiest ways to earn some extra dough. Sign up with eNeighbr to accept and hold shipments for your neighbors when they aren't home, so they don't get stolen. Earning potential: $3.50 per package
11. COOKING
Sites like CookApp, Cookening, EatWith and MealSharing are to restaurants what Airbnb is to hotels. Sign up as a host to earn dough by cooking and serving a meal to guests in your home. It's up to you what you want to cook and how many people you can accommodate. Cooks are paid directly through the site, so no cash ever changes hands. Earning potential: $50-$100 per meal
12. ENTERING DATA
Sign up with sites like Clickworker and the Smart Crowd to complete virtual jobs like data research, data entry, translation and testing. Earning potential: $5-$6 per hour
13. MYSTERY SHOPPING
You'll have to leave your house for this one, but hospitality consulting firms like Coyle rely on secret shoppers to evaluate their clients' services. Sign up to be an evaluator and you could get paid to receive spa treatments, dine at restaurants or stay at a hotel. There are lots of opportunities in other fields, too, ranging from entertainment (hello, amusement parks!) to automobiles. However, watch out for scams; check the MSPA for a list of legitimate mystery shopping companies. Earning potential: About $10 per hour
14. PETSITTING
DogVacay and Rover match dog sitters with people who need someone to watch their fur babies while they're out of town. Sitters set their own rates and hours, and can choose to watch the pups in their own home or at the owner's place. Earning potential: $1,000 per month.
15. PROVIDING CREATIVE SERVICES
Practically any marketable skill, no matter how small or obscure, can be sold for $5 at creative marketplace Fiverrr, where members offer everything from cover letter writing services to psychic readings. Earning potential: $5 per hour and up
16. RENTING OUT YOUR RIDE
Getaround and Turo are the sharing economy's answer to rental agencies.With Getaround, for example, you can rent out your car on an hourly or daily basis. You set the price, depending on the your vehicle's market value, and the company takes a 40 percent cut to cover 24/7 roadside assistance and driver insurance. Earning potential: From $300 to $10,000 a year
17. SPYING ON STORES
Apps like Gigwalk and FieldAgent pay users to visit local retailers to do independent price checks, business location verification or product reviews. For example, you might take a photo of a product display and answer a few questions about the store. Earning potential: $3-$12 per task
18. TRANSCRIBING
Head over to TranscribeMe to earn up to $20 per audio hour for transcribing files. Competitors like Scribie pay less, but we've seen Fiverrr members offering medical transcription services for $30 per audio hour. Earning potential: $10-$30 per audio hour
19. WEBSITE TESTING
UserFeel needs people to help with usability tests. Virtual workers visit and explore new websites, perform various simple tasks on site, and provide feedback and critiques. Earning potential: Up to $200 per month
These days more and more people are finding that they aren’t limited to a single source of income. With all the unique money-making opportunities available, many people are finding that they can earn a few extra hundred dollars a month by thinking a little outside the box.
While all of the opportunities listed below are legitimate ways to make some money, it would probably be unrealistic to expect to make a full-time income from any of them individually.
So check them out and let us know in the comments which ones you like best and earn the most for you!
1. Get paid using your iPhone (or Android)
There seem to be many apps popping up that pay you to do simple tasks like taking a picture of a menu, or taking a picture of yourself drinking a Starbucks, or verifying that a road is closed — you get the picture. Here are a few that I found:
- Juno Wallet
- Gigwalk
- CheckPoints
- WeReward
2. Complete jobs on Zaarly
Zaarly is a website that connects those offering random services (like walking a dog, being a personal assistant for a day, giving guitar lessons, etc.) with buyers who are looking for those services. I would suggest checking out some of the ideas listed on the site and sign up and offer those services as they are in demand.
3. Teach English (or other language) classes online
Did you know that English speakers are in high demand in Asia? As a result many are turning to freelance English teachers using websites like Italki. The site is basically a virtual online classroom for freelance teachers and students. Anyone can offer lessons (and set their own price), and anyone can take lessons. From a quick scan, it looks like making $15 to 20/hour is a fair expectation.
4. Make money by viewing ads on your Android lock screen
I’ve been trying out this Android app called Locket that puts ads on your lock screen and pays you for each time you unlock your phone.
I’ve been using it for a few days now and have made about 3 bucks thus far, so it isn’t huge, but at the same time, I didn’t really have to do any work to earn the money.
If you are interested in seeing how it works, here is a quick video review that you can watch for more info.
5. Sell your service at Fiverr
Fiverr is a website that allows you to sell your service for $5. There are all kinds of crazy things people are offering and getting paid for on there — like taking a picture holding a sign, recording two sentences in an Irish accent, recording a video singing a certain song, and even prank calling a friend all for $5. So if you have a little creativity, there are some fun ways to make some money on the side.
6. Rent out your car for $10+ an hour
I just recently heard about RelayRides, which allows you to either rent or lend your car to others — and get paid in the process. If you live in a big city, this could be pretty profitable.
Are You Know ?
Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan cars investigated for brake issue
Jobless claims tumble 10,000 to 265,000
McDonald's opens near Vatican, upsetting some purists
50 Legitimate Ways to Make Money from Home
Whether you are a busy mother, a stay at home father, a college student, or just want to earn some extra money – doing some extra work can help you make money from home.
A quick internet search can reveal many work from home scams. They charge you upfront fees and lure you to work with them. But actually they are just cheating you out of your hard-earned money.
I know you want to find some legitimate work from home jobs that are not rip-offs. So, I have scoured through hundreds of ways to work at home, and came up with the 50 legitimate ways to make money from home.
Some will just make you a few bucks a month, but others can become powerful moneymakers depending on the time you have to invest in them.
Read on to find out about some of the exciting ways to make money from home. You may even find something you’ve never heard of before.
Good luck!
Make money online and from home
Don’t have any hidden talents? Don’t worry! We’ve got something for you as well.
I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. – Albert EinsteinMy wife Katie is not crafty so instead planned a local 5K run.
We bought our chickens from a woman who raises chicks to sell for $25/each (read on if you don’t want to raise and sell chickens).
1. Take part in surveys to make an extra $250+ a month
Simply answer online surveys or product tests and make money from home. You can easily make an extra $250 a month while watching T.V.
Take a look at some paid survey websites listed below. At all of these websites you not only earn some extra cash, but also get rewarded through gift vouchers, prize drawings, free products, etc. All of these sites are free to sign up and use. Heads up: If any survey site asks you to pay, they are probably scams.
Swagbucks
Survey Junkie
Inbox Dollars
OneOpinion
American Consumer Opinion
Pinecone Research
2. Get Money Back Instantly For Stuff You’ve Already Bought
Do you love getting refunds? How cool would it be to get money back on stuff you’ve already bought without having to do a thing? Paribus is an app that lets you find out if stores you’ve shopped at online owe you a refund. It’s free to sign up. Paribus connects to your email account and checks your receipts. If they find out a retailer has dropped their price they file a price adjustment claim for you automatically. Try out Paribus.
Paribus works with a huge number of merchants that you probably already shop at, including Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Best Buy, Target, Apple, Kohl’s, and more!
3. Get a free $10 Amazon gift card
Sign up for MyPoints and get a free $10 Amazon gift card. It’s easy to get started:
- Join MyPoints here for free.
- Shop over 1,900 top online retailers (including Amazon, Walmart, and Target) through MyPoints and earn points for your purchases.
- Redeem your points for gift cards, travel miles and more from over 75 top retail, restaurant and travel partners.
4. Start a blog or online business
Online business is how I’ve made a living since 2003 and what has helped me retire early. I make over $40,000 a month through my blog. You can create your own blog here with my easy 15-minute step-by-step tutorial. You can start a blog for as little as $2.95 a month (less than a cup of coffee!). Create a blog and leverage it into affiliate sales or product endorsement deals. Consider topics like:
- Travel
- Cooking
- Health
- Technology
- Personal finance
- Just about anything else
Check out my free guide with step-by-step instructions on how to make money blogging.
5. Watch movie previews, YouTube, and like videos
Do you like watching videos in your free time? Now, you can get paid for watching videos including movie previews, news, celebrity videos, and all kinds of other videos.
Sites like Swagbucks ask you to watch certain videos and like them. You have to watch for a certain number of minutes which you’ll be told ahead of time. You could earn over $200 a month (earnings vary). You’ll earn Swagbucks for watching (points that can be redeemed for gift cards or Paypal). You can get $5 just for signing up!
6. Download and install these apps
A lot of companies – including Google – pay you for installing their apps. Moreover, you get paid for each month the apps are installed on your phone. Some of these sites include:
- ShopTracker – Answer a few questions then launch the app on your device, and you’ll earn $3.00 instantly. Keep the app on your phone to earn money each month and help companies understand what people are buying online.
- Nielsen Mobile Panel – From the people that run Nielsen TV ratings, the Nielsen mobile app rewards you for using your mobile device. You can earn up to $50 a year.
- MobileXpression – Install this app and you’ll be eligible to win prizes each week. You get to play an instant rewards game by participating in market research.
7. Sign up for free gift cards
Ebates will give you a $10 gift card when you sign up and earn your first cashback rebate. It’s great for online shoppers. Ebates is free to use.
You just visit the Ebates website and click through to the store you want to shop at. If you buy from the store Ebates gets a commission that they split with you. It’s an easy way to save. Click here to sign up for Ebates.
8. Test websites for $30 an hour
Ever visit a website and you thought about how bad or how great it was? Now you can get paid to share your thoughts.
Just open a website, click around, and get paid. New or updated website owners compensate you to test their sites.
For example with User Testing you can earn almost $30 for an hour. Here’s how it works:
- You get paid $10 via PayPal for every 20-minute video you complete.
- UserTesting pays you to visit websites or apps, complete a set of tasks, and record your thoughts.
While you’re visiting a website your screen will be recorded as well as your voice. Their clients include Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, and other Fortune 500 companies. How would you like a few bucks to share your thoughts?
Check out how to make quick money from home testing websites for a full list of companies that will pay you for testing.
9. Get paid for being healthy
The health app AchieveMint gives you points for being healthy and doing things like walking, tracking your food, or taking health surveys. You earn points which can be redeemed for cash or Amazon Gift Cards. For every 10,000 points, you earn $10 and there is no limit on your earnings.
AchieveMint connects to the fitness apps you may already be using including Fitbit, RunKeeper, Healthkit, and MyFitnessPal.
You can earn 10 points just for signing up with AchieveMint and connecting an app.
10. Become a freelancer or freelance writer
Doing freelance work can greatly increase your income. Are you a stay at home mom with an English degree or a guy who naturally can find mistakes in written text?
Huge and trustworthy sites like Upwork have thousands of employers who want to hire for all kinds of tasks where you can write or edit about anything from technology to business articles. Get paid for every single article. Get a great reputation and you can turn this into a full-time job.
11. Technical freelancing
Freelancing isn’t all about writing. You can do everything from design, graphics, marketing, and web programming jobs from sites like:
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Freelancer
- Demand Media
Pick your payment on per project basis.
12. Become a virtual assistant
Work for someone from home. Virtual assistances (VAs) can do everything from checking emails and making travel plans to handling internet research or working for their small business. High-end earners can command $50-$100 an hour.
Some reputable sites are Zirtual and Upwork
13. Tutoring
Give private tuition classes at your home and use your SAT knowledge. Choose your schedule, if you have some imperative routine tasks.
Or rather, go for online tutoring and earn $20 per hour on Chegg Tutors.
14. Share your views
Share your honest opinions for everyday services and products you use with focus group companies. These organizations can improve their products on your feedback, and you get to make $50, $100, or more. Check out 2020 Panel.
A friend does this at his local mall. He only makes a little side money doing the focus groups, but it pays for a babysitter and a night out occasionally.
15. Rate pizzas
Many companies pay you for rating local pizza shops. You just have to rate the place on the quality of their pizza and note their delivery time. For this, you can get a free pizza, plus $5. Just register on Trendsource and get started.
16. Review stuff
Write a review and earn anything between $1 and $50 per review according to the requirement. Yelp can give you some special invites.
17. Change your search engine
Do you use Google or Yahoo to search for something on the net? Now, leave them behind and opt for the Bing search engine.
Conduct your regular searches on Bing, make it your default search engine, and earn credits that can be redeemed for gift cards. You can earn as much as $5 to $10 per month. Tip: Just stay signed-in, when you perform a search.
Another option is Nielsen Digital Voice. Digital Voice is a part of Nielsen – the big company that publishes T.V. ratings. Just surf the web and you may be able to start earning money.
18. Data entry
Use your accurate and quick typing skills to enter information. Go through Craigslist or Upwork and find data entry and administrative jobs for yourself. These jobs can be easily done through telecommuting.
19. Work for Amazon
Pick micro tasks from Amazon Mechanical Turk. These are services that require human interaction. You can work from home, flexible hours and get paid by one of the world’s largest retailers.
Here are some examples of tasks workers have completed:
- Select the correct spelling for these search terms
- Is this website suitable for a general audience?
- Find the item number for the product in this image
- Rate the search results for these keywords
- Are these two products the same?
- Choose the appropriate category for products
- Categorize the tone of this article
- Translate a paragraph from English to French
Zero Down Your Debt. Click play to find out how:
Scott is brilliant with finances and has the technical skills and experience to get his extremely helpful advice out to all. He is a generous soul wishing to pass along his good fortune to others in the form of what one can do for one’s self in the murky world of finances.”– A. Marie
20. Online travel agent
Do you explore travel websites like Expedia in your free time? Then, do it for a commission by offering your services as an alternative to travel agencies. Start at Wikihow for tips to get started.
21. Associate marketing
If you already have a blog on something that interests you, turn it into a money maker.
Join an associate network like Amazon Affiliate or Google AdSense, choose products to promote, and advertise them on your content site. Whenever someone reads your blog or article, you get paid.
22. Sell lesson plans
Have a soft corner for academic study? Sell your lesson plans, especially to new teachers or first-year teachers.
Teachers Pay Teachers is a market of educators, where you can sell and share your teaching resources.
23. Play online games
Are you an arcade or a poker champion? Play some of your favorite puzzle or card games at InboxDollars. It is fun, plus you can play for free as well as compete for rewards.
24. Take part in an online focus group
Participate in an online focus group like ProOpinion and get paid through a check, gift card, or PayPal deposit.
25. Examine search engines
At Leapforce, you can evaluate search engines by conducting researches on predefined queries, analyzing them, and providing feedback for search engine results by their usage and relevance.
26. Maintain fan pages
Fan pages on Twitter or Facebook require people to connect with them. Log on to Fiverr and get jobs for maintaining social pages.
The Simple Math of How The Rich Get Richer. Click play to listen:
I am so glad I stumbled across the Financial Rock Star! The advice is personal, fun, encouraging, awesome, and will guide you to smart decisions and financial freedom! Top Notch show and Rockstar host!”– Joel L.
27. Fix Google’s mistakes
Sites like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. pay you for fixing their search results. You just have to mend the errors of the search engine results and make them qualitative, relevant, and useful. Doing this you can earn around $12 per hour.
- Leapforce
- LionBridge
- Appen
28. Online juror
Do you love Law and Order? Ever wanted to sit in a courtroom and decide if someone is innocent or guilty?
eJury provides an attorney the opportunity to “pre-try” the case before it goes to trial in front of an actual jury at the courthouse.
eJurors review facts and answer the questions, and click a “Submit Verdict” button upon completion.
For each verdict rendered, eJurors are paid $5 – $10 depending on the length of the case. You certainly won’t get rich serving as an eJuror, but just one case a week would probably pay for your Internet access.
Become a Millionaire on $30,000 a Year. Click play to find out how:
LOVE Scott’s energy! Business/money can be a pretty dry and boring topic depending on who’s doing the talking and that is definitely not the case with Scott. Keeps me engaged and motivated. Also, what an awesome ‘radio’ voice. Highly recommend!”– Britany Felix
Be a caregiver
29. Pet sitting
Do you adore pets? Go for pet sitting at your place. Make sure your house can accommodate numerous pets.
Websites like Care brings together pet sitters and people looking for pet care. Remember to quote your rates wisely.
30. At-home daycare
If you are home with your children, why not start an at home daycare.
They are highly sought out in our area of Dallas because people like that they are close and that there are much fewer children involved that a more corporate daycare.
You will need to get a certification from your state, but you can make big bucks caring for children while getting to spend the day with your children as well.
Get Creative
31. Calligraphy
Do hand lettering for invitation cards, wedding cards, and other stationery. Use your favorite font combinations and start off with your calligraphy adventure. Look at the Etsy Calligraphy section.
32. Transcriptionist
Even if you don’t like your writing skills or have a programming talent, you can still do freelance transcription. Transcribing is detailed work, but luckily you can do it any time of night or day. Check the same sites listed above.
33. Cook
A college friend makes the most beautiful cookies and finds events to sell them all year long – birthdays, holidays, football parties, the list is endless.
Some people love to cook and bake. If this is you, consider running a catering business from your kitchen. Bake cakes or cookies for birthday parties, dinners, or other events.
Make sure to abide by the food safety laws and have fun.
There are many moms who don’t have time to make homemade food for bake sales and parties and families who want a holiday feast without the trouble.
34. Start a side business
Become an online personal stylist or the many other options to start something on the side. It will take effort, but there are many different routes you can go.
You can work with an existing company, like Avon, Jamberry, and Stitch Fix, which will help you get started. Or find a need in your community that might need addressing. Do local companies need your accounting skills?
Rent your things
35. Rent your parking space
If you don’t use your parking spot during your working hours, consider renting it out on Craigslist.
36. Rent your automobile
Not using your car while on a trip or weekend? Rent it out. RelayRides and GetAround will assist you in this while paying you on a per hour basis.
37. Rent your clothes online
If you have a closet full of clothes that you haven’t worn in a long time, rent them out. Sites like RentNotBuy and Loanables make this possible.
If they don’t fit anymore or not fitting your current lifestyle include them in the garage sale or selling online mentioned above.
38. Rent your bike, cycle, snowsports, or any other gear
When not in use, rent out your favorite equipment. You can use Spinlister to rent your sports gear.
39. Rent out your studio space, music instruments
Is your guitar lying in the corner of your room, without any daily usage? Make money by renting it on Sparkplug. You can do this for other your music instruments also, like amps, mics, harps, or your rehearsal room or studio.
It’s Never Too Late To Get Started. Click play to get inspired:
I live overseas and often find the programs available for planning and budgeting just do not make sense to me. The guidance that Scott provides can be applied to any household regardless of where in the world you live.”– Parenting Abroad
Make money from stuff you already own
Making money is a hobby that will complement any other hobbies you have, beautifully. – Scott Alexander
40. Tidy up
You probably have much more stuff than you realize. According to The National Association of Homebuilders, the average house size in 1973 was 1,644 square feet. That grew to 2,624 square feet in 2014. Clean the dust, sort out your storage closet, and put up a garage sale.
If you are overwhelmed with “stuff” in your house, check out a great book called, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The book is about changing your perceptions of your things so you can keep what is really important and get rid of what is not.
41. Sell your antiques
Did you collect things when you were younger or have items that fit your last home but don’t fit your new one? Get out all your collectibles and sell them off. If some are antiques or collectibles, make sure to get them appraised. Otherwise, you may sell some rare items at low prices.
Sadly my long kept collection of Star Wars and X-Files trading cards were only selling for a few cents on eBay, so I decided just to keep them for the memories.
42. Flea market tossing or flipping
If you have a crafty side, put it to good use. Visit the nearest flea market, Craigslist, or Freecycle.org and buy some interesting items, restore them, add your special touch, and resell them for a profit.
Think about refinishing tables or converting old plates into art. Turn trash into treasure.
If you need ideas, check out Pinterest. It has a world of ideas, and you’d be surprised how much people will pay for a custom baby nursery lamp or a re-stained bar from the 70s.
If you enjoy this type of work, consider starting an Etsy store. One of my wife’s friends felt staying home with her two boys was great, but she missed having an artistic outlet. She researched what was popular on Etsy and started making artistic versions of people’s photos. It only took a few months for her shop to become as busy.
43. Sell your cell phone
Whether a new model or an old one, you can sell your cell phone. You can go for Amazon that gives gift cards for working iPhones, or websites like Decluttr that give you cash for that old phone.
44. Return printer cartridges
Hand in your empty printer cartridges to office supply stores like Office Depot, Staples, etc. for free credits.
45. Sell your old snapshots
Do you have some random pictures lying somewhere or taking computer space? Sell them on stock photo sites like Shutterstock.
Such websites purchase photos from anyone. Even if you feel that the images are not worth selling, just give it a try. Very often, the most neglected pictures of everyday objects do the trick, like a simple pen and paper.
46. Bed and breakfast or AirBnB
You already have a place to live. If you live near a college campus with visiting parents or near music or sports venues, consider starting a little bed and breakfast.
If that seems too hard, check out sites like AirBnB, which help you rent safely and ensure you get paid. I used this service when traveling in Switzerland with a friend and can confirm it is a great service.
47. Sell online
A garage sale might not be your style, or maybe you only have a few really nice things you want to sell. Consider selling on Ebay, Craigslist, and Facebook groups.
My wife sold some Kate Spade purses that she no longer used and made much more by using Ebay than trying to sell locally. She started by asking a very low price for the purses and the bidding drove the price up much higher than she expected.
48. Open a bank account
A simple Google search for banks giving bonuses for opening accounts returns a list of current offers. Be careful to read the requirements, but if you have time, you can make a few hundred dollars.
49. Sell your books
Check out this recent story from frugal living expert Lauren Greutman:
My 10-year-old son brought home a book from our park’s free library box. It was a biology textbook – teachers edition. He said it looked interesting and hey, it was free (having no idea you could sell it). I scanned it in my Amazon seller app and realized it was worth around $150. He was so excited. We listed it for sale for $130 and it sold! Going to tell him, he just made $130!My father-in-law did this with his old seminary books. I couldn’t believe that books 30 years old were still worth so much!
Even regular books can earn you money. Stores like Half Priced Books and others will give you cents to dollars for each of your current books. It saves space on your shelves for something new, and you earn a few bucks.
But if you want the most cash for your books, check out getting rid of your old books using BookScouter.
- Enter the ISBN of your book into BookScouter
- BookScouter searches their database for the highest paying book buyback companies.
- Once you find the company offering you the most money for your books, you fill out some information
- Ship off your book, and get paid! Most companies offer pre-paid shipping labels which saves you time from having to print shipping or go to the post office. It’s super easy!
The Unknown Millionaire. Click play to hear his story:
Scott ROCKS ON this podcast with his upbeat personality and his advice. He provides a lot of good information to improve our finances, from basic steps to more advanced. His website is also full of great information! Thank you Scott!”– Jess
50. Shop online and earn cash back
Sites like Fat Wallet pay you back when you shop at their store. This can mean discounts for you or simple cash back deals.
51. Buy groceries and get rebates
Many rebate apps like Ibotta offer cash rebates on grocery store purchases. You just have to take a picture of your grocery receipt with your phone, and you can even buy groceries from your regular grocery store.
52. Share what’s in your fridge
The Nielsen Consumer Panel offers gift points to look what’s in your fridge. You just have to scan barcodes of your fridge products and send it to them. Here’s how it works:
- Each week, you scan all of your purchases and transmit the data. You may also be contacted from time to time about your opinions and to answer questions.
- Being a panelist takes about an hour a week.
- You accumulate points with each interaction and earn more points the longer you’re on the panel.
- When you’re ready, you cash these points in to get rewards.
53. Sell your junk mail
Do you love getting junk mail? If you’re like me, you probably don’t – that’s why we call it junk! Other than recycle, trash, or burn it in the winter what can you do with it?
The Small Business Knowledge Center is a market research company that will take your junk mail and email and give you a Visa prepaid card.
19 Real Ways to Make Money from Home
See which opportunities are actually legit.
Most of us love the idea of earning extra income or quitting our full-time jobs altogether and working from home. If you thought work-from-home companies were just running scams, it turns out there are plenty of authentic and reliable ways to make money by working from home. Christine Durst, cofounder of RatRaceRebellion and consultant to the FBI on internet scam issues tells us, "There is currently a 61-to-1 scam ratio among work-at-home job leads on the internet—that is, for every legitimate job, there are 61 scams." But, there are a lot of opportunities for a "real job." The secret is knowing how to separate the scams from what's legit.
Here's a hint: Legitimate jobs will typically never require you to pay a fee to get more information, and they don't come in unsolicited junk e-mail messages. Still, there's plenty of earning potential in working from home because, now, many of the top-earning home-based positions are with big traditional companies like Xerox, Dell and IBM.
No matter what your area of interest or expertise, if you have the desire to work from home, someone, somewhere, has work for you that can use your skills and natural talents. If you remain diligent and flexible, you'll find it. And you won't have to spend money on gas or transportation to get to work.
Rebecca Martin from Covergys, a call-service supplier, says, "be sure you have a quiet, distraction-free designated work space. Decorate your home office in a style that is appealing and inspirational to you." Most women do better if they treat their at home job more like an occupation. Let everyone know you are working. Get dressed in the morning, stick to a routine that works for you and those around you and you'll be on your way to earning substantially more than you thought you could.
Most of the jobs in this article require an up-to-date computer, a high-speed Internet connection, a phone with a dedicated land line and a quiet place to work.
1. CUSTOMER-SERVICE REP
Many companies, such as J. Crew, Express Jet, 1-800-flowers, and even the IRS, outsource customer-service operations to third-party companies who then hire home-based workers or "agents" to take calls and orders. When you call 1-800-flowers, you may be speaking with Rebecca Dooley, a retired police officer and employee of Alpine Access, a major call-center service. When you dialed the number, your call was automatically routed to Rebecca's spare bedroom in Colorado.
Alpine Access currently employs more than 7,500 work-at-home customer-service agents who take in-bound calls (there's no outbound or cold calling) for dozens of companies. "This works perfectly for me because I can set up my hours around my family's busy lifestyle," says Rebecca, who usually works 20 to 32 hours a week, depending on her schedule.
While the typical hourly rate is about $9, Alpine Access agents who work more than 20 hours a week are eligible for benefits plus a 401k program when they have worked for over 1,000 hours. (Some companies consider their staff independent contractors, so they don't provide benefits.) Other companies that hire virtual call agents:
- LiveOps
- Arise
- WestatHome
- WorkingSolutions
- ACDDirect
2. TELEMARKETER
To do this job, you need a pleasant voice and personality, and really thick skin—you're bound to encounter some hostility. Still, it's a good way to earn income. Many large companies now outsource their cold-calling campaigns to third parties who hire home-based workers to place the calls. Telemarketers are typically paid by the hour, and they may earn incentives and commission based on performance.
Companies hiring home-based workers include Telereach and Intrep. Apply on their websites. Keep in mind that a legitimate company will typically not require you to pay a fee to get information or leads, and will explain how to apply, exactly what is required and what to expect.
3. ONLINE JUROR
Companies will pay you to sit on mock juries to give attorneys and other jury consultants feedback on cases they are currently handling. Think of these as focus groups. The cases are real, but your verdict will do little more than give those involved a prediction of how things might go. You can earn fees ranging from $5 to $60. Be sure to read all the disclaimers and details. Go to:
- eJury
- OnlineVerdict
4. SURVEY TAKING
If you've ruled out survey taking as a legitimate way to earn money from home, listen to Bonnie Alcala. She and her daughter Andrea Spain, an elementary-school substitute teacher, take surveys online for fun and a little profit. They are careful to avoid any scams by refusing to pay an upfront fee or other charge. Bonnie and Andrea pocket around $100 a month for spending two hours a week taking surveys, which gives each of them extra pin money. In addition, they collect all kinds of gift cards and other prizes.
If you've got a little spare time and want to save up a stash of cash for holiday shopping or even a family vacation, here are Bonnie and Andrea's favorite survey sites:
- npdor
- SurveySavvy
- ACOP
- ViewpointForum
- ePoll
- GreenfieldOnline
- MySurvey
Also, InboxDollars pays participants cash to fill out surveys, watch ads, play online games and redeem coupons, with one caveat: you must earn $30 before you can cash out (you earn $0.50 per survey).
5. WRITER, BLOGGER, EDITOR, OR PROOFREADER
Everyone says you're a fantastic writer, so isn't it about time you got paid? Good writing is still in demand says Durst, especially for online content. For the best sites try JournalismJobs, About seeks "Guides" in a broad area of topics, and MediaBistro. For blogging jobs, try problogger. If you have experience as a freelance copy editor, writer or proofreader, go to editfast. Rates vary between $15 and $25 an hour.
6. CYBER CRAFTER
If you're a crafter in search of customers, the internet is your showcase, and not only at auction sites like eBay. DeWitt Young of ObviousFront.etsy Has had success turning her crafts into cash in cyberspace. She has a booth at Etsy's Craft Mall, an amazing place where more than 10,000 artisans and crafters offer their goods for sale.
DeWitt turns salvaged parts from old TVs and VCRs into artsy necklaces, earrings and figures. Colleen Jordan uses 3D printing to create her necklaces called wearable planters. Don't be discouraged, Shapeways 3D printing company can get you started with their simple apps so you can easily customize your own designs with a click of a mouse, anything from a wedding band in rose gold, a vase in ceramic or your own bobble head printed in full color. All for the purpose of generating sales.
7. ONLINE GUIDE OR EXPERT
Do your friends look to you for advice on things you're passionate about, such as which car to buy, how to repair appliances or how to make a killer cheesecake? Whatever your area of expertise, if you are also a seasoned writer with an infectious enthusiasm for a particular topic, consider becoming an online expert guide. Guides are freelancers with an ability to communicate well and good grammar and spelling skills.
For example, About guides write articles or reviews in their area of expertise. They earn no less than $725 a month, but some make more than $100,000 a year depending on year-over-year, page-view growth. Go to beaguide.about, where you'll find which areas of expertise are still open. (There are many!)
Also try Chacha, a new search engine similar to Google and Yahoo, and click on "Become a Guide" for more information. At JustAnswer, users agree to pay for the answers to their questions. Guides are paid a percentage of the pre-negotiated price per answer and the number of accepted answers received. Go to Just Answer to find out how.
8. VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
Many small-business owners and mid- to executive-level professionals need personal assistants, but can't afford a permanent position on the payroll. The solution? Hire people from remote locations to do their administrative work.
Virtual assistants handle all kinds of administrative projects, including travel arrangements, event planning, correspondence and other support services that can be done remotely via e-mail and phone.
Lynne Norris, who works out of her home in Pennsylvania (NorrisBusinessSolutions), says that rates for VAs run about $25 to $75 or more an hour, based on the types of services you provide. The startup costs are about $500 to $1,000, assuming you have an up-to-date computer and printer. Lynne loves the flexibility. "My children are happy that I don't miss the important things in their lives." Check out the International Virtual Assistants Association, or virtualassistantjobs and teamdoubleclick for more.
9. ONLINE TUTOR OR ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR
If you have a college degree and the skills to tutor students online in math, science, English or social studies, this job may fit you perfectly. Go to Tutor—tutors who work for the company and have passed their probationary period earn $10 to $14 an hour. According to Durst, "Skype and other web interface tools are bringing English language instructors face-to-face with students from around the world." Try ispeakuspeak, openenglish to get started.
10. ACCEPTING PACKAGES
If your normal 9-to-5 involves working from home, this is one of the easiest ways to earn some extra dough. Sign up with eNeighbr to accept and hold shipments for your neighbors when they aren't home, so they don't get stolen. Earning potential: $3.50 per package
11. COOKING
Sites like CookApp, Cookening, EatWith and MealSharing are to restaurants what Airbnb is to hotels. Sign up as a host to earn dough by cooking and serving a meal to guests in your home. It's up to you what you want to cook and how many people you can accommodate. Cooks are paid directly through the site, so no cash ever changes hands. Earning potential: $50-$100 per meal
12. ENTERING DATA
Sign up with sites like Clickworker and the Smart Crowd to complete virtual jobs like data research, data entry, translation and testing. Earning potential: $5-$6 per hour
13. MYSTERY SHOPPING
You'll have to leave your house for this one, but hospitality consulting firms like Coyle rely on secret shoppers to evaluate their clients' services. Sign up to be an evaluator and you could get paid to receive spa treatments, dine at restaurants or stay at a hotel. There are lots of opportunities in other fields, too, ranging from entertainment (hello, amusement parks!) to automobiles. However, watch out for scams; check the MSPA for a list of legitimate mystery shopping companies. Earning potential: About $10 per hour
14. PETSITTING
DogVacay and Rover match dog sitters with people who need someone to watch their fur babies while they're out of town. Sitters set their own rates and hours, and can choose to watch the pups in their own home or at the owner's place. Earning potential: $1,000 per month.
15. PROVIDING CREATIVE SERVICES
Practically any marketable skill, no matter how small or obscure, can be sold for $5 at creative marketplace Fiverrr, where members offer everything from cover letter writing services to psychic readings. Earning potential: $5 per hour and up
16. RENTING OUT YOUR RIDE
Getaround and Turo are the sharing economy's answer to rental agencies.With Getaround, for example, you can rent out your car on an hourly or daily basis. You set the price, depending on the your vehicle's market value, and the company takes a 40 percent cut to cover 24/7 roadside assistance and driver insurance. Earning potential: From $300 to $10,000 a year
17. SPYING ON STORES
Apps like Gigwalk and FieldAgent pay users to visit local retailers to do independent price checks, business location verification or product reviews. For example, you might take a photo of a product display and answer a few questions about the store. Earning potential: $3-$12 per task
18. TRANSCRIBING
Head over to TranscribeMe to earn up to $20 per audio hour for transcribing files. Competitors like Scribie pay less, but we've seen Fiverrr members offering medical transcription services for $30 per audio hour. Earning potential: $10-$30 per audio hour
19. WEBSITE TESTING
UserFeel needs people to help with usability tests. Virtual workers visit and explore new websites, perform various simple tasks on site, and provide feedback and critiques. Earning potential: Up to $200 per month
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