There are countless lists out there of ways to make more money. But I've found many of them to near useless – with a lot of junk ideas that I know don't actually work. So I want to put together a list of ways you can make cash, that actually work. I've tried and tested all of these methods and I've included how much money I actually make. Best of all – anyone can copy these ideas.
Here are some of my top ideas for making a little extra cash in 2020.
Swagbucks: $8 an hour
I recently completed a little challenge to see how much I could make on Swagbucks in an hour. I was able to make around $8. Which is less than minimum wage! However, I was able to do this while watching TV at the same time. I see it as a way to turn your spare time into a little bit of extra cash.
- Complete Surveys – this is the easiest way to earn money through swagbucks. They have a ton of surveys and more then I can complete in any one day.
- Install the Swagbutton – The Swagbutton is a browser extension that lets you earn cashback on your online shopping.
- Invite your friends for passive income – Expand your income by inviting friends to use Swagbucks. You'll earn 10% of whatever they earn. It's a great way to add passive income.
You can sign up to Swagbucks for free here
Start a Blog: $1 – $10k per month
Starting a blog was probably the smartest financial decision I have made. It's now pretty much my full time job. When I first started out it was hard work and I didn't make much money. But after a year or so everything just clicked into gear.
A blog can generate both passive and regular income. And it's the type of income that doesn't rely on you being in an office or working 9-5. You can work on it as much or as little as you want.
Starting your own blog is easy – I recommend and use Siteground. It's fast, reasonably priced and very reliable. Plus they make the whole process of setting up a blog completely automated.
You can make money from a blog in a number of ways. This blog makes money from advertising – like the banner in the sidebar and affiliate marketing. The trick is to find a niche or topic that is unique or at least not saturated. This is my guide on how to start your own money making blog.
- Start a blog on SiteGround – You'll need about $50 to get started. This will give you a whole years worth of hosting, which is plenty of time to really get things going.
- Choose a topic you enjoy writing about – I love finance so I blog about finance. Choose something that you'll easily be able to write about.
- Find an Affiliate Program to Promote – Before starting a blog, it's often useful to have a product in mind that you will eventually promote.
Earn interest on your money: $5-$100 per month
These days banks are offering very little interest. But thanks to crypto there are new opportunities to earn interest on your money. In fact you can easily earn around 7.5% per annum.
- Dharma.io – A magical front-end interface for the complex world of decentralised crypto lending. You simply deposit either USDC or Dai (both are stablecoins) and your money will instantly start earning interest. Best of all, thanks to smart contracts, Dharma never has custody of your funds. (it blows my mind how it all works on the backend – it truly is magical internet money!)
- Buy USDC and Dai on Coinbase – you can convert your fiat currency into USDC or Dai through Coinbase.
- Withdraw at anytime – you can withdraw your funds back to Coinbase or another exchange to convert it into fiat.
- Earn interest on Bitcoin with BlockFi – if you want to earn interest on other cryptos like Bitcoin or Ethereum, then BlockFi is your best bet.
Sell your old stuff: $1-$1k+
I've been recently cleaning out my apartment to selling bits and pieces online. I didn't realise just how much value I had sitting around collecting dust. I honestly had forgotten about half the stuff I ended up selling. You can sell old or neglected electronics, clothes, exercise gear, games, and much more.
There are various online marketplaces that make it really easy – just use the most popular one in your locale. Remember, even if you don't think something is valuable, it might be to someone else. Just do a quick search to see other listings to get an idea of what the market is like.
Invest
Investing has to be the easiest and most passive way to generate extra cash. People who aren't very financially literate tend to keep their money in savings accounts. What they don't realise is they are actually losing wealth due to inflation. So be smart and invest instead of just saving.
I use Acorns (which is now Raiz in Australia). It's a micro-investing app that lets you invest small amounts in a diverse portfolio of stocks and bonds. On average I currently make around $50 a month on average in dividends. This is the average as dividends aren't paid out every month. These dividends are reinvested back into my portfolio so it grows faster.
- Start with as little as $5 – you don't need to be a millionaire to invest. Micro-investing apps like Acorns let you start investing with as little as $5. These small amounts will snowball.
- Stick with 1 app – don't spread your investments across a lot of different apps. Compounding will have the biggest effect when you focus on one account.
Setting up an investment portfolio can feel like an uphill struggle to begin with. But once your nest egg reaches a certain size it starts to grow noticeably. So stick with it and you could end up with a purely passive source of income later on in life.
How much you earn from investing will depend entirely on how much capital you have to begin with.
Write your own Book: $50-$200 per month
These days anyone can write a book. And it doesn't need to be something that takes years to put together. Some successful books on the kindle store are just 6000 words long. The great thing about writing a book is that it will earn passive income for potentially years.
- Write Non-Fiction – pick something you're knowledgeable about. Non-fiction books tend to be easier to write and perform well on the kindle store.
- Sell through Kindle – Amazon offers a service called Kindle Direct Publishing where you can self publish your book.
More Ideas: Looking for more ideas on how to make money online? I have a financial freedom newsletter that has the latest methods I'm working on.
Looking for Passive Income? Check out my guide for earning more passive income.
