If you are working a steady 9-5 type job and you work for only one employer, you are still in the majority.   There is another type of person going from one job to another either during the same day or in the form of temporary work or they work for multiple employers because they are stretching for their dreams, but those dreams haven’t been realized yet.  These people are referred to as being part of the “gig” economy.

The “Gig” Economy

“Gig” which used to, in a band context, mean one show.  If you had multiple ‘gigs’ lined up, then you had multiple shows on the books that you would be performing at.  According to the Brookings Institution freelancing, contract work and other ‘gig’ type employment is growing and could overtake traditional 9-5 employment – and those numbers come from 2016!  In 2016, three out of every ten people in the workforce worked in ‘gig’ employment and made over one TRILLION dollars.  Yes, that’s trillion with a “T.”

It makes sense.  As a business owner, I’ve worked with people through Upwork and Fiverr.  I’ve hired people for ‘gig’ work to proofread my book and workbook.  I’ve also hired people for ‘gig’ types of employment to do my book cover and work on my website.  Gig employment is just about everywhere.

Financial Preparedness 

Hey, hey!  I hear ya.  What does gig employment have to do with financial preparedness?  Oh……just A TON!  In this age, if you are working 9-5 or you’re a stay-at-home-mom, you can still bring in extra income.  In some cases, people can replace their traditional 9-5 jobs because of gig type income.

While we’ve talked about budgeting, saving money, having an emergency fund, and starting sinking funds, those are all on one side of the equation.  Sometimes what you need are figures on the OTHER side of the equation.  How can you make more money?  How can you do it in such a way that it doesn’t cramp your current life situation – at least not too much, huh?

Some of you just need to make some extra money for preparedness items or to pad your savings, or for specific sinking funds.  Some of you, however, need to seriously make more money.  You have way too little on one side of the equation.  Let’s talk about adding some on the positive side.

18 Honest Ways to Make Money From Home

Make money by taking surveys

Can you really make money from doing surveys in your downtime?  Yes.  Believe it or not, you really can.  I’ve seen figures around $250 a month just taking surveys in your spare time.

Yes, there are fraudulent companies out there who are out to get you, but there are several very legit survey companies through which you can make honest money.

(1) Inbox Dollars – This one is very similar to Swagbucks with the exception that you don’t earn points.  You simply earn dollars.  You can click through to e-mails, watch videos, take surveys, play games and more.  Another great thing with this company, you earn $5 just for signing up.

(2) Survey Junkie – Survey Junkie will pay you through gift cards or PayPal.  Since you can deposit Paypal money into a bank account, this is just about the same as earning an actual check.

(3) Swagbucks – This is a company that I used to take surveys for long ago in what seems like another life.  You can earn gift cards through Swagbucks, but you can earn them for so much more than just taking surveys.   You can earn points toward gift cards through watching videos, doing searches, playing games, printing coupons and so much more!  With this one, if you sign up through this link, you’ll start by getting 300 points ($3) automatically.

(4) My Survey – This is another reputable survey company.  They pay for each survey in points which can then be converted into Paypal or gift cards.

Make money by watching videos

There are several companies which allow you to earn money while you watch videos including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and even streaming TV from your phone.  Viggle is probably the most well-known of these.  You simply “tap the app” once a minute while you’re watching to earn points. Some shows will even give you extra points.  These can be cashed in for cash, gift cards, and prizes.

Paribus

Get money back on items that you’ve already purchased using Paribus.  Full disclosure, Paribus monitors your e-mail to see what you’ve ordered.  If you’ve ordered from a place that will refund you if the price drops after you purchase it, Paribus will contact them and get you the extra money back for you!  How cool is that!

Air BNB

Have an extra clean room that could be rented out for short-term guests?  Use Air BNB to list the room.  Depending on the room and how often you let it out, you could bring in some serious extra money.

Uber

If driving people around at YOUR convenience and earning money for it sounds like a pretty decent ‘gig’ to you, then you should check out Uber.  They do require your vehicle make and model and will not allow some vehicles to be used for driving.

Getaround App

Just like you can rent out your home through Air BnB, you can rent out your second car through the Getaround app.  Getaround even ensures your car while other people are driving it and will provide 24/7 roadside assistance.  Pretty cool.

Shopkick

With Shopkick, you earn ‘kicks’ which translate into gift cards. You can earn a kick by walking into a physical store, by browsing certain websites, by buying items at participating stores, or even just by scanning barcodes of certain items. According to the Shopkick website, most people earn enough kicks each week for a gift card.  I can even earn ‘kicks’ from going into stores like Aldi – which I go into weekly.  Costco, Walgreens, Petsmart, Target and others that people often go into are on the list.  When you earn these gift cards, hold onto those throughout the year and either use them to pay for your Christmas or save them up for preparedness items.

Freelancing

Do you have technical abilities?  Can you make graphics?  Do you have computer skills, editing skills, or formatting skills?  These things can all translate into money if you sell your abilities.  You can put your abilities out there on Upwork or Fiverr and people can hire you to work for them.

Virtual Assistant

Money Saving Mom is the first one who taught me about couponing.  I learned a lot about saving money from her, but she has branched out.  Now she also teaches people how to make money.  She’s even written a book called Money Making Mom.  She has written several times on being a virtual assistant.  In this blog post, she even links to a free class about becoming a virtual assistant.

Make money by teaching what you know

You may say that you don’t know a lot.  Everyone knows SOMETHING of value that other people want to know.  You can teach what you know online fairly simply.  Have you ever heard of Udemy?  It’s where you can set up a class and teach other people whatever it is that you know.  Classes can be as inexpensive as $10, but they can go for much more.  If you have something to teach, if you want to make a difference in people’s lives, check out Udemy.

Make money by writing a book

Writing a book is easier than you think.  This blog came out of me writing my book – A Year Without the Grocery Store.  The process of writing my book took about 2 1/2 months.  After that, it was technical issues such as getting a cover designed, getting it edited, getting it formatted, etc.  The whole process took me about five months, but it took me that long because it scared me.  I tend to procrastinate when something scares me.  If I did it all over again, it probably wouldn’t take me quite as long.

Now, I did take a class from Self-Publishing School which did walk me through the entire process.  A Year Without the Grocery Store wasn’t the first book I had written, but I didn’t know what to do with my other book once it was written and edited, so it just sat there.  Self-Publishing School taught me exactly what I needed to know for my book to be a success.

Make money by starting a blog   

Does my blog make money?  Yes and no.  Right now, my book is paying for my blog expenses.  I earn a little from my blog, but nowhere near enough to cover my expenses.  That being said, you all are amazing, and my readership is definitely growing!  I talked to a fellow blogger who’s been at this for several years, and I was told not to count on making hardly anything your first year in blogging, but at some point after that, things will turn around.  You just have to be consistent.

I know people who make a lot of money blogging, but they worked their way there.  Blogging is NOT a get rich quick scheme, but it is definitely worth the work.  Again Money Saving Mom has a second great website called Your Blogging Mentor.  If you’re interested in starting a blog, I would highly recommend that site as a great source of information to get you started.

Make money by making videos

This one has a bit more startup costs than some of the other ones, now you can even use your phone to create videos.  I’ve never been a big YouTube fan.  From time to time, I’d hop over and search a topic that I really needed to know about – like how to fix my grain mill once when I got it clogged.

But recently, I have a new (almost) obsession with a YouTube show called “18th Century Cooking.”  Now don’t let the name fool you, it IS about cooking, but it’s not all about just cooking.  It’s really about life in the 18th Century, and it FASCINATES me.  I watch almost every episode as they come out.  They also have a website where you can buy things that they use on their show.  I know that this YouTube channel makes money enough for them to hire several people to work with them.  If you have a fascination with a topic and can do videos, this may just be a way for you to make a side income (or a full income) for your family!

Make money by starting a side business

Side businesses can easily turn into more than just a side business.  I personally know people who make money by doing each of these activities.  Some of these you can do from your own kitchen, but make sure to check out the laws in your area if you are selling food goods.  Sometimes, your state may have laws that require you to cook using a dedicated business type kitchen.

That being said here are some ideas to get you started if you are looking

to augment or create new income.

Baking – bread, muffins, cinnamon rolls,

Canning – jams, jellies, fruit-butters, nut-butters

Knitting / Crocheting – Stuffed animals, baby layette items, sweaters, socks, scarves, mittens and so much more.

Etsy – Everything from lettering to drawing pictures, to calendars and so much more

Selling other people’s services

Did you know that you don’t have to have a product of your own to sell in order to make money?  Yep, that’s right, you don’t!  There is a way of HONESTLY making money out there called affiliate marketing.  The affiliate marketing company about which I know the most is PepperJam.  PepperJam is a reputable company that matches people who have items to sell with people who want to help sell or promote those items.

It can be (but doesn’t mean it will be) as easy as setting up a dedicated webpage (not even an entire website) to promote an item that you want to affiliate market.  Set up pages for various items that you want to market, and you could work toward creating a passive income.

That being said, if this is something that interests you, I’d check out this article and this article.  They flesh out the whole situation for you better than I will in this article.

So What About You?

Do any of these ways to make money intrigue you?  Are you doing any of them already?  Are you really successful at any of them?  I’d love to hear!  Please leave a comment below, so we can all learn.

Together lets Love, Learn, Practice, Overcome

There are links in this post.  Some of the links may be affiliate links.  Some of the links may not be.  My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. These are the items that I have bought for my own family.  You can feel free to use my affiliate links, of which I will get a small amount in compensation, or you can choose to search out your products on your own.