70+ Creative Ways to Make Money in 2023

Fast forward to 2023, and 1 in 4 Americans now struggle to pay their bills.

With money being so tight nowadays, it’s no wonder that many people are looking for creative ways to make money.

Thankfully, I have plenty of creative ways for you to bring in extra cash on the side whether you need money to pay off a credit card, cover the cost of car repairs, or just to pay your bills and get by.

Easy & Creative Ways to Make Money

So if you ever wanted to learn creative and unconventional ways to make money, here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Show people around your town

• Average pay: $19 an hour. $40,429 per year.

You could be a tour guide in your city. Tour guides get paid to show people around a city, landmark, historical site, and other points of interest.

There’s lots of demand for tour guides. The market size of the tourism industry, measured by revenue, was $1.2tr in 2022. This is a growing market too. The market size of the tourism industry increased 31.2% in 2022.

Here are some places to find work as a tour guide:

2. Sell your hair

A weird but effective way to earn money is to sell your hair. Yes, you really can sell your hair!

Some sites where you can get money for your hair include:

3. Take part in mock trials

• Average pay: $5 to $60 depending on the case

Since lawyers need to practice for trials, they often participate in mock trials online. This means they need mock jurors, like you!

This is a creative way to make money! And, you can get paid to be a mock juror right from home. All you need to get started is a computer and internet access.

Here are some websites where you can find work as a mock juror:

The pay rate varies from place to place.

Pay at eJury is $5 to $10 depending on the length of the case.

With online verdict, you’re paid $20 to $60.

4. Become a bridesmaid for hire

Surprisingly, you can actually get paid to be a bridesmaid. Yup, you can become a professional bridesmaid with Bridesmaid For Hire. Getting paid to go to weddings is definitely a creative way to make money!

5. Take photos on your phone

• Average pay: $22 an hour. $46,621 per year.

One of the most creative ways to make money is through photography. Yes, you really can get paid for your photos!

You can do this on the side of your regular job too. In fact, you can even get paid for photos from your phone!

You could work as a photographer locally and get paid to photograph everything from weddings to family portraits. Or you could sell photos online.

You can actually sell photos you’ve taken on your phone.

Here are some places where you can sell your photos online:

6. Sell t-shirts and other merch

Selling t-shirts and other merch is a unique way to make money. Just create some designs on your computer, upload them to a print-on-demand site, and then wait for the sales to come in.

Online you can sell a variety of items that include your designs, such as:

• T-shirts
• Phone cases
• Mugs
• Scarves
• Masks
• Jigsaws
• Throws
• Shower curtains
• Throw pillow covers
• Hoodies
• Dresses
• And much, much more!

Here are some great print on demand websites where you can sell t-shirts and other merch:

The best part about these sites is that you don’t need to print any of these products yourself!

Instead, you just upload your designs, and when they sell, the print-on-demand company will print and ship the products for you.

These sites do charge a commission rate for their services, but you don’t have to do much other than upload your designs and wait for them to sell.

7. Walk, exercise, and get healthy

Can you really get paid to walk, lose weight, and do other healthy tasks? You sure can! There are actually apps that’ll pay you to do all of the above!

This includes:

This is one of the more unique ways to make money and you get to reach your health and fitness goals in the process. Great, right?

8. Make YouTube videos

• Average pay: $32 an hour. $65,999 per year.

YouTube reached 2.6 billion active users in 2022!

You may be one of the billions of people who watch YouTube, but have you ever thought about making your own videos on there?

Well, you should. It can be very profitable. You can start your own YouTube channel and when it gets enough views, you’ll be eligible to join the YouTube Partner Program.

As a YouTube Partner, you earn money from the ads on your videos. You’re paid through your AdSense account.

And, there are plenty of other ways to monetize a YouTube channel too, like by creating sponsored videos, for example.

You can create a channel on anything you want, like cooking, Minecraft, or even just your daily life.

9. Be in movies

• Average pay: $24 an hour. $48,988 per year.

If you’re looking for creative ways to make money, then you should consider working as a movie extra.

What’s more fun than being in a movie? And you can actually get paid for it!

Movie extras appear in the background of movies, which is why they are also sometimes called background actors.

And, don’t worry, you don’t have to move on out to LA for this one. Movies are shot all over the country. So, you can likely find work regardless of where you live.

Here’s where you can find work as a movie extra:

10. Watch TV

Getting paid to watch TV is definitely one of the more unique ways to make money. This is a great job where you are hired to watch TV.

As a professional TV watcher, you watch hours of TV so that you can find the right clips for shows and news broadcasts. A lot of shows hire people to do this.

Although being a TV watcher is a creative and fun job, it isn’t always easy to find these gigs. They do appear from time to time though.

You just have a check now and then to see if any TV watching jobs are available.

Here’s where you can find jobs as a TV watcher:

11. Taste food

• Average pay: $18 an hour. $37,983 per year.

Food tasters get paid to test out foods for different characteristics, such as smell, taste, flavor, appearance, and the quality of the ingredients. They are quality assurance workers.

Getting paid to eat is definitely a creative way to make money!

Here’s where you can find food taster jobs:

12. Start a store on Etsy

If you are the creative type, you might want to consider starting a store on Etsy.

Etsy generated a revenue of $2.5 billion in 2022, a 10.1% increase year-over-year. So. you could get in on the profits by starting your own Etsy store. Also, almost 94 million people are active buyers on Etsy. So, there are plenty of potential customers on the platform.

You can make money selling things like handmade items, vintage pieces, clothing, and antiques there.

Etsy does charge a listing fee, which is $0.20 for each item that you list for sale on Etsy.com or Etsy’s mobile apps. You’re also charged a fee when you make a sale.

When your item sells, you will be charged a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price you display for each listing plus the amount you charge for delivery and gift wrapping.

13. Be a park ranger

• Average pay: $20 an hour. $41,682 per year.

Working as a park ranger is a fun job.

As a park ranger, you protect our state and national parks, which includes the wildlife within them, and the people who visit them.

With this job, you get to be out in nature and you can socialize with visitors too.

There are seasonal jobs and personal positions available, so you can find a job that suits you.

This job does come along with a fair share of responsibility of course, but it’s fun and definitely a unique way to make money. It’s rewarding too!

You can find work as a park ranger here.

14. Start a podcast

• Average pay: $35 an hour. $73,300 per year.

Starting a podcast is another good option. Podcasts are super popular, so this can be a good way to make money.

In fact, the global podcasting market size was valued at USD 18.52 billion in 2022 and is estimated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.6% from 2023 to 2030.

So, this is a growing industry that you could profit from.

Podcasters can make money through sponsors and advertisers, and donations if they have a large enough following.

If you bring in a large number of listeners, then you can increase your chances of having them donate to you to support your podcast.

You can find a step-by-step guide from ThePodcastHost.com on how to start a podcast here.

Provided that you can build up a good following, you could make quite a lot of money from your podcast.

A podcaster can earn around $300 to $5,000 per episode with 10,000 downloads. Very successful podcasts can earn much more than that though. They can earn millions in annual income.

You will need to deliver quality content on a consistent basis though in order to make money from your podcast.

15. Start a blog

• Average pay: $35 an hour. $73,199 per year.

Blogging is a creative way to make money. You can start a blog on any subject you want from movies to beauty products to cooking.

To get started, you need to get a domain name and hosting from sites like Bluehost, HostGator, and GoDaddy. You will also need to use a site like WordPress.org to publish your content.

Choose a topic, do some keyword research to get some post ideas, and then you can start uploading content.

Be sure to upload content to your blog on a consistent basis because this will help you to get more traffic and build up an audience for your blog.

Although you won’t make money from your blog right away, once you build up traffic to your site, blogging can be really profitable.

There are lots of ways to make money from your blog, including:

• Putting Google ads on your site
• Using affiliate links in your posts
• Creating sponsored content for brands

You’re going to need to get visitors to your site if you want to make money from your blog. The more traffic you get, the better because you’ll get more views on ads, more clicks on affiliate links, etc., which means more money.

You’ll need to put some effort into your blog by uploading content and learning about things like SEO and marketing. Blogging can be very lucrative if you put in the effort.

16. Self-publish books with Kindle Direct Publishing

When it comes to creative jobs, I don’t think you can get better than an eBook author. Being an author is a dream for many. And just a couple of decades back, you’d need to find an agent and work with a traditional publishing house if you wanted to publish a book.

Thankfully, that’s not the case anymore.

Now, anyone can publish a book with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

Launched by Amazon in 2007, concurrently with the first Amazon Kindle device, KDP enables anyone to publish a fiction or non-fiction book and list it for sale on Amazon.

This could be a great option for you if you enjoy writing.

And, eBooks are a growing industry.

In fact, the global revenue in the eBooks segment of the media market was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2027 by, in total, 1.2 billion U.S. dollars (+8.29 percent). The revenue is estimated to amount to 15.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2027.

The start-up costs of publishing on KDP are pretty low, which is always awesome.

It’s a good idea to pay someone to design a book cover for you so that your book looks professional. This can cost $100 or less.

But, you could consider using a book cover design tool, many of which are free, like Canva’s Free Book Cover Maker and the Adobe Express book cover maker, and publish your book without spending anything.

Once you have created your book, you can publish it on Amazon.

Amazon pays you a 35% to 70% commission on your book sales.

With KDP, it’s a good idea to have multiple books up for sale. That way, if a reader enjoys one of your books, and they look to see what other titles you have for sale, there are more books available to purchase.

The more books you have available, the more money you can make. It’s also a good idea to market your books.

17. Rent out your spare room or entire home

Consider renting out a spare room in your home or even your entire property if you’re looking for a unique way to earn money. Renting out your entire home is a good option if you often go out of town for work, for example.

You can rent out your spare room or entire home on these sites:

18. Enter writing contests

• Pay: $100s or $1,000s per competition

Are you wondering, “How can I make money as a creative?” If so, give writing contests a try.

There are writing contests for all sorts of writing from short stories to novels. Writing contests have cash prizes, which can be $100s or even $1,000s!

Here are some examples of writing contests in 2023:

Some writing contests do require you to pay an entry fee, but others are free to enter. Reedsy has a list of writing contests, which you can check out here.

You can also do a search online for writing contests.

19. Sell courses

If you’re knowledgeable about a particular subject, then you could create a course about it and sell it. You can sell courses on topics like writing, painting, or WordPress. Basically, you can create a course on any topic that you’re knowledgeable about.

Here are a few places to sell your courses:

How much you earn depends on how much you sell your courses for and the number of courses you sell.

Skillshare states that its top-earning teachers make $100,000 or more per year. So, you could make a profit selling courses online.

20. Rent out your parking spot

Did you know that you could make money renting out your parking spot? Really! People need a place to park their cars after all.

If you live in a city or are close to things like college campuses, sports arenas, the beach, or other major attractions, then this could be a particularly good money-making option for you.

These sites allow you to rent out your parking space:

21. Create and sell art

• Average pay: $20 an hour. $42,601 per year.

What’s more creative than working as an artist? You could create art and sell it.

Although not impossible, it can be pretty difficult to make a full-time living as an artist. But, this is one of the best jobs for creative types. You can develop your craft and promote your work online.

22. Sell stock music

You could sell stock music. People purchase music to add to things like YouTube videos, apps, and ads.

You can create this music and sell it through stock music websites, like:

Some sites charge commission. Once your music is up for sale, simply wait for the money to come in.

23. Sell memes

Pay: Varies

Memes are really popular, and you can leverage this popularity by selling them.

PicturePunches will pay you for posting memes. You can sell memes on Fiverr too.

You can also make money with memes by selling them on t-shirts, mugs, and other items on the following sites: 

24. Participate in focus groups

• Pay: $20 to $400 per study

As a focus group participant, you’re paid to provide your opinion. Focus groups are similar to online surveys. The difference is that you talk about a product or service with a group of people. You’ll get paid to provide your opinion.

Focus group studies can be conducted in person or online. Opt for the online studies if you want to make money from home.

Here are some places where you can find paid focus groups:

25. Watch ads

Did you know that there are actually websites and apps that’ll pay you for watching ads? This is a simple way to earn money.

This can include:

• Watching video ads
• Watching trailers
• Clicking on ads
• Viewing and participating in offers from advertisers
• Answering surveys for brands and advertisers

You won’t earn a ton of money from this. But it’s a good way to bring in a little extra cash.

To learn more, have a read of my post on getting paid to watch ads.

26. Stream content on Twitch

• Pay: $3,000 to $5,000 a month

Twitch is a platform for gamers and eSports fans. People on there stream various games like Grand Theft Autio, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Call of Duty.

You can actually make money streaming on Twitch by being either a Twitch Partner or a Twitch Affiliate.

How much you earn will depend on how many followers and subscribers you have and how many views you get.

Have a read of my post on how much Twitch streamers make to learn more.

27. Be a movie/TV critic

• Average pay: $20 an hour. $40,954 per year.

Did you know that you can get paid to watch TV? Movie and TV critics, also known as reviewers, get paid to provide their opinions on the content they watch.

Here are a few places to learn about becoming a movie critic:

Here’s where you can find TV/movie critic jobs:

28. Be an influencer

• Average pay: $28 an hour. $57,262 per year.

Make money from that time you spend scrolling on social media as an influencer. Social media influencers earn money promoting brands on their social media accounts, blogs, or YouTube channels.

Of course, you’ll need to have a decent-sized following to make money as an influencer.

Here are some places where you can find influencer opportunities:

You can also reach out to brands for sponsorship opportunities.

29. Post on forums

People who operate forums, particularly for a business, often pay people for posting because they want their communities to be active.

This means that you could earn money by posting comments on existing forum threads, and for creating new ones.

There are two methods for earning money with this:

• Join forums that pay you to post
• Sign up for sites that offer forum posting jobs

Be sure to check out my post on getting paid to post in forums to learn more.

30. Make and sell jewelry

You can earn yourself a good side income by starting your own jewelry-making business.

Create some custom jewelry, and sell it locally or online on sites like Etsy and Facebook.

The amount of money you’ll earn depends on how many pieces of jewelry you sell and how much each piece sells for.

31. Play games

Playing games is fun, right? So, why not get paid for it? There are websites and apps out there that’ll actually pay you to install and play gaming apps.

Many of these apps pay you money to your PayPal account or you can get gift cards for places like Amazon, Starbucks, GameStop, eBay, and Walmart instead.

Here are some websites and apps that pay you to play games:

32. Do fun tasks on reward sites

Did you know that you can get paid for doing many of the online tasks that you already do, like browsing the internet and watching videos?

With rewards sites, you can!

Reward websites or get paid to (GPT) websites, will pay you for doing a variety of online tasks, like:

• Taking surveys
• Playing games
• Completing offers
• Browsing the internet
• Shopping online
• Watching videos

You’ll earn money or points for doing these tasks that you can redeem for rewards like PayPal cash and gift cards.

Here are some good reward websites:

33. Go shopping

• Average pay: $16 an hour. $32,281 per year.

You can actually get paid to shop! Yes, as a personal shopper, you make money shopping for other people.

Personal shoppers mostly shop for clothes and accessories, but many also shop for other items such as groceries and furniture.

Here’s where you can find personal shopper jobs:

34. Be a martial arts instructor

• Average pay: $22 an hour. $45,191 per year.

You could offer classes if you’re knowledgeable about a martial art. This is a good way to earn some extra cash.

You could start your own business and rent a space or use an existing space you have to teach classes or private lessons.

35. Do some voiceover work

• Average pay: $30 an hour. $62,806 per year.

If you have the voice for it, you could get paid to be a voiceover artist. Voiceover actors get paid to provide narration for a variety of media, like audiobooks, YouTube videos, and online tutorials.

Here’s where you can find voiceover work:

36. Get paid to have ads on your car with Wrapify

• Average pay: $181 to $452 per month

Did you know that you can get paid to drive your car? And I’m not talking about driving for Uber or DoorDash. No, you don’t even need to give people lifts or deliver food to make money with your car.

Wrapify will pay you to put ads on your car. Then you just drive your car like you normally would and get paid!

37. Earn with gigs on Fiverr

There are so many creative ways to make money on Fiverr. So give it a try.

Fiverr is a freelance marketplace where you can get paid for providing a variety of services to clients.

There are more than 200 categories featured on there. You can provide services like:

• Animation
• Book writing
• Creative writing
• Email marketing
• Freelance writing
• Game art
• Graphic design
• Infographic design
• Logo design
• Photo editing
• Podcast editing
• Podcast writing
• Proofreading
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Social Media Management
• Social Media Marketing
• Songwriting
• Speechwriting
• Video editing
• Voiceover work
• Web programming
• WordPress sites customization

What’s great about Fiverr is that it allows you to set your own rates.

You can charge anywhere from $5 to $10,000 for a service on Fiverr. The website does take a 20% cut of your earnings though.

38. Do some gigs on Craigslist

Craigslist is an awesome site for making money. On there, you can find gig work in a variety of categories from freelance writing to furniture assembly.

Go to the “Jobs” section of your city’s Craigslist, and you’ll be able to browse job openings. You’ll be able to find jobs separated by category, such as “general labor” and “writing/editing.”

It’s important to watch out for scams on Craigslist. Don’t pay to apply for or to do a job or provide any personal information, such as your credit card details.

39. Be a guest blogger

Guest blogging is a creative way to make money.

Since websites need content to publish, they may take submissions. All you need to do is submit a blog post or idea, and if it’s approved, you’ll get paid for each post that you contribute.

You can find guest blogging opportunities by searching “get paid to write for us” or “contribute to our blog.” Searching those terms in quotes is a good idea.

Listverse and Photoshop Tutorials are two examples of sites that take guest posts.

40. Provide a junk hauling service

Did you know that you can get paid just to haul away people’s junk? Well, you can. This is an outside-of-the-box money-making option that many people don’t consider. If you have a truck or a van, this could be an awesome option for you.

You could provide a junk hauling service to people near you. People always have stuff that they want to get rid of.

You could set your own rates and find paying work locally.

41. Collect and charge scooters

• Pay: $3 to $20 per charged scooter

You can get paid for collecting and charging scooters with Lime.

With this gig, you collect scooters in your nearby metropolitan area, put them in your vehicle, and then charge them.

42. Be a paid expert

Did you know that you can get paid to answer questions? Paid experts make money answering questions online.

You can earn money answering everything from medical questions to questions on home repairs.

Here’s where you can find work:

• JustAnswer
• Experts123
• Wonder (Wonder is not currently accepting applications, but check back to see if they accept applications in the future).

Make sure you check out my post on getting paid to answer questions to learn more.

43. Rent out your car with Turo

• Pay: $10,000 or more per year

If you’re looking for a creative way to make money, then rent out your car with Turo. You could earn more than $10,000 in year. It’s an easy way to make money and a particularly good way to earn if your car often just sits in the driveway or garage.

44. Be a car delivery person

• Pay: $300 to $400 per vehicle delivered

You can actually get paid to deliver cars. This is a pretty unique way to earn money.

Lots of places, like local garages and driveway companies, need people to pick up cars and deliver them.

Here are a couple of places that pay you for delivering cars:

Be sure to have a read of my post on getting paid to deliver cars to learn more.

45. Sell printables

Selling physical products can be a great way to make money. And, many people have success selling them on sites like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.

However, selling physical products can be a little bit of a hassle. I mean you have shipping to contend with, right? And storing stuff can be a bit of an annoyance too.

That’s why selling printables can be such a good option. There’s no physical shipping or storage required!

Some examples of printables to sell include:

• Calendars
• Planner stickers
• Journal print outs
• Budgeting binders
• Gift tags
• Greeting cards

There are plenty of places to sell printables online, such as:

Just some do research online to see which types of printables are popular.

What’s great about this option is that the start-up costs are next to nothing. So, anyone can get started with making printables.

46. Invest in a new skill

This is an outside-of-box option that people don’t consider. It’s really something that can help you in the future though. And that’s to learn a new skill. By doing this, you’re investing in yourself.

You don’t have to go to college either. College is expensive after all. Sure, if you can afford it or you can get financial aid, you could consider doing a college course or degree that could get you a high-paying job in the future.

However, another option that requires a much smaller investment and is therefore more accessible is to learn online.

You can learn new skills for free or without having to spend a fortune on a traditional education thanks to the internet!

You’ll find a ton of information online about a huge variety of topics.

There are also sites like Skillshare and Udemy where you can take courses on a multitude of subjects.

Learning skills is a great way to build wealth. This can open up so many money-making opportunities for you in the future.

47. Scan store receipts

Get creative and use your receipts to get free money. Yes, you really get paid for your receipts.

All you need to do is upload a photo of your receipt to a website or app that pays you for your receipts.

Here are some apps that pay you for your receipts:

Typically, you just need to upload a photo of your receipt to get paid.

Some apps though, like Checkout51 and Ibotta, do require you to purchase specific items in order to get paid.

For example, there might be an offer available where you get $1 back when you purchase Folger’s coffee. So, you’d purchase the coffee, and scan your receipt to show that you’ve bought it, and then you’ll get a rebate.

Other apps, like Receipt Hog and ReceiptPal, don’t require you to purchase any specific products, instead, they will just pay you for any itemized receipt.

48. Sell books and textbooks

Make money by simply clearing out your bookshelves! Yes, you could make money by dusting off your old books and textbooks and selling them. You could even get more creative and purchase books from used bookstores to sell them online.

Here are some great sites to check out if you’re looking to sell books:

49. Flip furniture

Get creative by flipping furniture for a profit. This is a fun way to earn money. You can purchase furniture that’s in need of a little TLC and then restore it back to its former glory. Then, resell it for a profit. It’s simple!

You can sell a variety of different types of furniture, like:

• Chairs
• Tables
• Ottomans
• Side tables
• Dining tables
• Desks
• Bookcases
• End tables
• Nightstands

Furniture can sell fast. This is because it’s always in demand whether it’s a first-time buyer who wants to furnish their new home with secondhand furniture, or a college student looking to decorate their dorm room.

Here’s where you can sell used furniture:

50. Sell stuff on eBay

• Average pay: $19 an hour. $39,555 per year.

You can earn money selling stuff on eBay. You can get creative and sell pretty much anything you can think of on there, like sports cards, Funko pops, mulch (Yes, people will buy unwanted mulch!), compost, clothing, bags, and much more! Whatever it is you have to sell, it’s likely that you can sell it on eBay.

51. Sell your used video games and game consoles

Dust off your old video games and any consoles you no longer use and sell them. You can sell video game consoles, such as Xbox consoles and PlayStation consoles and any video games you no longer play.

A lot of people purchase used video game console items because they’re expensive to buy new. So, this can be a good way to make money.

Here’s where you can sell game consoles and video games:  

52. Help people with their errands on TaskRabbit

Did you know that you could get paid for things like waiting in line or delivering stuff? Well, with TaskRabbit, you can!

TaskRabbit is an app that will pay you to help people with their errands and to-dos, like:

• Furniture assembly
• Home repairs
• Helping people to move
• Cleaning
• Mounting
• Yard work
• Shopping
• Delivery
• Lifting
• And more.

53. Help people to move with Bellhops

Bellhops pays you to help people to move. Yup, you really can get paid to assist people with their move. Bellhops pays weekly, which is great if you’re looking for creative ways to make money fast.

54. Be a translator

• Average pay: $37 an hour. $76,070 per year.

Do you know more than one language? Well, that can actually be a profitable skill. You could leverage your language skills to make money as a translator.

As a translator, you get paid to translate the written word from one language into another.

Here’s where you can find work:

55. Teach people how to speak English

• Average pay: $26 an hour. $54,804 per year.

Speak English? Did you know that you actually make money from that?

Yes, you can get paid to teach people English online. This is known as an ESL (English as a second language) teacher.

You can work from home teaching people in different countries how to speak English.

It’s a flexible gig as many jobs allow you to work as much or as little as you want to.

Here’s where you can find ESL teacher jobs:

56. Test websites

• Average pay: $26 an hour. $54,727 per year

Like most of us, you likely visit several websites on a daily basis. Did you know that you can actually get paid for this? Work as a website tester and you’ll get paid to visit websites.

You’ll need to visit different websites and then report on your experience, including things like how easy the site was to navigate and if there were any broken links.

Here’s where you can find website testing work:

57. Be a mystery shopper

• Average pay: $18 an hour. $36,712 per year

You likely go shopping every week, right? So, you may as well get paid for it! And you can as a mystery shopper.

Mystery shoppers are paid to visit local stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and other businesses and provide feedback on their visit.

Here’s where you can find work as a mystery shopper:

58. Sell unused gift cards

If you’re looking for little-known ways to make money, then consider selling gift cards.

Many of us get gift cards we’re just not going to use. When you do, you just sort of put it in a drawer and forget about it. That’s a waste of perfectly good cash though. You can instead dust off these unwanted gift cards and sell them.

While you won’t get the full value of the card back, you do get cash that you can spend on whatever you want.

Here’s where you can sell gift cards:

59. Search engine evaluator

• Average pay: $24 an hour. $50,884 per year.

You use search engines all the time, right? Did you know that you can actually get paid for using them?

Yes, simply work as a search engine evaluator, or search engine tester as they’re also known.

Search engine evaluators get paid to ensure that the right results are generated by a search engine’s algorithm when they enter a specific word or phrase.

Here’s where you can find search engine evaluator jobs:

60. Game tester

• Average pay: $20 an hour. $40,617 per year.

Love playing video games? You’re not alone. 3.1 billion people worldwide play videos games. Why not leverage your hobby and make money from it? You can do this as a video game tester.

Game testers get paid to test out video games on consoles, PCs, and mobile devices.

Game developers want to make sure that their games offer a great user experience, so they use game testers to play the game entirely, or to a certain level, and provide feedback on their experience. This is a really fun way to make money.

Here’s where you can find work as a video game tester:

61. Try dropshipping with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

Amazon.com is the most visited eCommerce site in the United States, with approximately 2.45 billion monthly visits! Crazy, right?

You can make a profit from Amazon’s huge customer base with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

This is a form of dropshipping. With this method, you take a pre-existing product and put your own branding and logos on it before selling it to consumers.

Private labeling is also sometimes known as brand creation or white labeling. Many stores do this. It’s a good model because you don’t have to manufacture any products yourself, but you still get to label them with your own branding.

Once you have the products, you can start selling them with FBA.

With FBA, you, or your supplier, send the products directly to Amazon’s warehouse, and then Amazon handles everything else, like the shipping, for you. As I said before, this is a form of dropshipping.

Fulfilment By Amazon is the most popular way to sell with 57% of sellers using FBA to sell.

Here’s how it works:

• Choose a product you want to sell. You’ll need a place to get your stuff from. Some sellers use wholesale websites like Alibaba.
• Have your items delivered to an Amazon fulfillment center.
• Then, Amazon will handle the rest for you. Amazon will ship your items when they sell and even deal with customer service as well.

For providing these services, Amazon does charge you fulfillment fees, which you can learn more about here.

FBA makes selling on Amazon easier, so give it a try.

62. Invest in crowd-funded real estate

Investing in real estate is something that many people consider doing. It’s just not affordable to many though.

Crowd-funded real estate is a great option for those who don’t have the means to invest in a property themselves. It makes investing much more affordable.

Fundrise allows you to invest in crowdfunded real estate for a relatively small amount of cash.

Although there is an investment upfront, you can see some big profits in the long run. This option isn’t for everyone. But, if you have the money to invest upfront and are interested in the real estate business, then it’s a good option.

It allows you to invest in real estate without the hands-on hassle that comes along with being a landlord.

63. Sell other people’s products with affiliate marketing

• Average pay: $85 an hour. $177,586 per year.

Want to get paid for selling stuff without the hassle of storing inventory or sourcing products? That’s exactly what affiliate marketing has to offer.

With affiliate marketing, you get paid to sell other people’s products. There’s no shipping or creating of products required.

You get the profits of selling without having to handle any products yourself.

Instead, you join an affiliate program and get affiliate links for products. You can find affiliate products in pretty much every category you can think of from clothing to cosmetics.

Once you have your affiliate links, you can post them online in places, like:

• Videos
• Landing pages
• Blog posts
• Newsletters
• A product resources page
• A comparison review site
• Social media posts

When a customer clicks on one of your affiliate links, they’re taken to the product page, as they normally would be, and you get a commission on the sale if they make a purchase.

There are lots of affiliate programs available, such as:

Although affiliate marketing is easy in the sense that you are selling other people’s products, if you want to make money, you will need to drive traffic to your links, which does require some effort on your part.

Once the links are out there though, you can keep earning money passively, even in your sleep. So, it’s a good passive income stream. Also, affiliate marketing requires little investment, which means that you could potentially earn a lot of money without paying much upfront.

64. Sell crafts on Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade is a website where artisans can sell their handcrafted items online. Give it a try if you’re looking for crafty ways to make money.

The program is open to artisans who make items in the following categories:

• Accessories
• Artwork
• Baby, Beauty & Personal Care
• Clothing, Shoes & Handbags
• Home
• Outdoor & Home Care
• Jewelry & Watches
• Kitchen & Dining
• Pet Supplies
• Sporting Goods
• Stationery & Party Supplies

It’s free to list your products for sale on there and you only pay a fee when your stuff sells.

Amazon also waives the fee that’s normally associated with its Professional Selling Plan.

During registration, you’ll register with a Professional Selling Plan that offers lots of tools and support to help you grow your business. Although this plan costs $39.99 per month for an Amazon seller, this fee is waived for Handmade-approved applicants.

Amazon charges a 15% referral fee when your items sell.

With Amazon Handmade, you will need to apply to join the program and then wait for approval, which can take a while. It’s a good option and you can leverage Amazon’s large customer base to make money.

65. Write people’s resumes for them

• Average pay: $18 an hour. $37,000 per year.

Yes, you can actually get paid to write people’s resumes for them. Because people who are looking for a new job want to make sure that they have a good resume, some of them hire a resume writer to write their resume for them. You can do this job right from home.

Some jobs pay per resume, rather than per hour. This can be anywhere from $50 to $500 per resume depending on the client or company that you work with and your experience.

Here’s where you can find resume writing work:

66. Rent your land to campers

Your lawn or outdoor areas could be a sought-after destination for campers, van-lifers, and vacationers. With Hicamp, you can advertise a place to stay for travelers.

Hicamp is a resource for outdoor stays. It’s an online marketplace that offers outdoor stays and camping experiences through a website and mobile app.

The site works with landowners to offer tent camping, RV parks, cabins, treehouses, and glamping. This gives landowners a way to make money. So, give it a try!

67. Sell coffee mugs

Vintage cups can bring in some decent cash. We’re talking $50 or even a couple hundred!

Collectors will pay money for specific mugs. So, if you have any vintage or retro mugs, then consider selling them.

You can do this locally or online on sites like Facebook Marketplace and eBay. Check your cupboards, the garage, and the attic to see if you have any mugs you can sell.

68. Donate plasma

• Pay: $280 to $400 a month

Get paid to donate plasma. If you don’t mind giving blood, then this could be a good option. You can donate plasma twice per week.

Here are a few places that will pay you to donate plasma:

Read my post on donating plasma for money to learn more.

69. Store people’s stuff

You could earn some extra cash if you don’t mind storing people’s stuff in your home. This is a weird way to make money, but really easy.

There’s a site called Neighbor that allows people to find storage. You can list your unused space on the site and earn money by providing storage space to people.

70. Write slogans

You can get paid to write slogans for companies. This is a creative way to earn some cash. You can find slogan writing gigs on Freelancer and Fiverr.

71. Write or illustrate greeting cards

Consider writing or illustrating greeting cards if you’re the artistic or creative type.

There are lots of places that’ll pay you to write or illustrate greeting cards, like:

72. Get paid for your junk mail

• Pay: $10 a month and $0.25 per piece of processed mail

Junk mail can be annoying, right? What if you could get paid for it though? You can get paid to get mail with US Monitor.

US monitor works with clients to manage quality control and efficiency when it comes to their mail.

Basically, companies want to ensure that their flyers and mailers arrive on time and in good condition.

As a decoy, you’ll check for things like whether the mail was torn and report back. It’s a win-win for everyone. You’re paid and the company knows whether their mail is sent out as it should be.

US Monitor is a company that works with a range of clients who send mail out to agents (you) to find out:

• How long the mail takes to arrive
• What condition it arrives in
• If there is unauthorized use of their mailing list.

Companies use US Monitor’s mail decoy service for lots of different types of mail, like:

• Standard mailers
• Periodical mailers – like timely articles and editorials and seasonal ads.
• First class mailers – like shipping information, invoices, and contracts.
• Parcel select mailers

US Monitor hires decoys, like you, who go on a client’s mailing list to receive whatever it is they’re sending out.

Once you’re on the list, you’ll start to receive items in the mail, such as:

• Newsletters
• Catalogs
• Offers
• Flyers

Then, you’ll have to check the mail and report what condition it was in. You’ll be paid for doing this. You get paid by check.

Check out my US Monitor review to learn more.

73. Sell firewood

Did you know that you could use firewood to put some extra cash in your pocket?

Yup, you can!

And this is as close as you can get to that old-school honest ways to make money!

If you have access to firewood, whether you live in a rural area, or just have it lying around your house, you could make money selling and delivering it to people.

During the winter months, you can harvest some firewood and sell bundles to make a few extra bucks.

74. Trade in old bottles for cash

Make money from your old plastic or glass bottles with bottle redemption. You can trade bottles at a bottle redemption center to make some extra cash. In order to do this, you must live in a state that has bottle redemption laws and not all of them do.

There are ten states that have bottle redemption laws:

• California
• Connecticut
• Hawaii
• Iowa
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New York
• Oregon
• Vermont

You can redeem your bottles for cash if you reside in one of these states.

Here’s how much you could get depending on your state:

• California: 5¢ for containers that are less than 24 oz. and 10¢ for containers that are 24 oz. or greater.
• Connecticut: 5¢
• Hawaii: 5¢
• Iowa: 5¢
• Maine: 15¢ for wine and liquor and 5¢ for all other containers.
• Massachusetts: 5¢
• Michigan: 10¢
• New York: 5¢
• Oregon: 10¢
• Vermont: 15¢ for liquor and 5¢ for all other containers

It’s a good way to make extra money, particularly if your family drinks a lot of bottled beverages, such as water, soda, or wine.

Have a read of my post on how to make money with bottle redemption to learn more.

75. Rent out your stuff

Got stuff that people need? This could be a camera, camping gear, a bike, or anything else you could think of.

Well, people are willing to pay you. You could make money renting out your stuff. There are lots of peer-to-peer lending websites that connect people who have stuff with people who need those items.

This is a creative way to make money that requires little effort on your part.

Here are some places to rent out your stuff:

Crafting Ways to Make Money!

Unleash your creativity and unlock your financial potential with these innovative amazing side hustles and money-making strategies. From turning hobbies into income streams to embracing artistic ventures, whether it’s selling your hair, writing resumes for people or selling stuff on Etsy, there are plenty of creative and out-of-the-box ways to make money. These allow you to bring in some extra cash and who doesn’t need extra cash nowadays, right?

Hopefully, this list inspired you to give some of these creative ways to make money a try or even come up with your own unique and unconventional way to make extra money!