32 Legitimate Ways to Make Money at Home
Listen - we all know that the Internet is full of scams "make money at home," so we've scoured through thousands of different ideas to find that 32 of the legitimate.
These are
all ideas we've done before, so we know they are real and that you will
pay. In addition, I guarantee that there are some here who have never
heard of ...
1. Give your opinion to make $ 100 + / Month
Most
of you know surveys are not our favorite way to earn extra money, but
we make an exception when we just vegetate on the couch. We realize, as
long as we're just watching television, there is no reason why we can
not click a few buttons at the same time.Vip Voice and Ipsos Panel are some of the only legitimate paid survey companies out there (which is rated A + with the Better Business Bureau).
I
heard some high-end surveys can pay up to $ 95, but those are rare and
may take some time to complete. Most surveys pay a dollar or two and
only take 10-15 minutes, so it's pretty easy to earn $ 100 or more per
month.
2. browse the Internet
I love it because you just set it and forget it.
Did you know that Swagbucks will pay you for making searches
the computer or phone? Swagbucks is powered by Yahoo search, so it's
the same result as normally seen, plus it gives you a free $ 5 to see to sign up!
Not
much money, but usually they earn about $ 100- $ 200 / year in passive
income doing this. Easy work, however - can not complain.
3. Become a partner Uber driver
If you find comfort in the way and enjoy finding the best route through the city, this is a great way to make money with it!
As an Uber contractor, you are responsible for setting your schedule and motivate yourself to work - no one is watching you. 80% of everything they earn as conductor (Uber maintains 20%) is obtained.
If you want to give it a try, there are some things to consider. Must be at least 21 years old, have three years of driving experience, have a driver's license in the state, a clean driving record and be able to pass a criminal background check.
Finally, the car should be a four-door seat at least four passengers (excluding the driver), it is registered in the state, and be covered by insurance in the state.
Here is a link to apply with Uber..
4. To help doctors find a cure
Medical tests could be a fun way to make money?
Jillian Shea believes it is: She made $ 12.000 from participating in sleep studies. She answered some questions online from home in Florida before going to Boston for the lucrative study.
And he is not alone.NASA’s sleep study Johnson Space Center in Houston participants paid $ 5,000 per month to stay in bed.
You want to give it a try? If you have one of these diseases, which might be able to earn some extra money ...
- Migraines - If you have never had a migraine, with pleasure you can just take my word for it: I really, really are the worst. local research studies can provide payment / compensation of up to $ 625 (learn more here). These studies help doctors find better ways to treat - and hopefully eliminate - migraines.
5. Get Paid to Go on Top-Secret Missions
Remember scavenger hunts when you were a kid? Ever pretend you were a
private investigator on an important mission? Don’t let a few years get
in the way of your fun.
Was
that CVS you visited last month clean? How do the lines look at that
McDonald’s you’ve stopped by for lunch? QuickThoughts Missions relies on
your input — and sneakily-taken cellphone photography — to give
businesses important feedback.
And like any respectable PI,.you get paid for your investigative footwork.
Pretending that an adult looks better and better! Using GPS technology
on your phone, the application will ask for information of places you
have visited in recent weeks, and detects places you are visiting at
this time.
It even has missions that can accept and complete in
the future. For example, you may be asked to go to your local Walgreens
and take a picture display stations.
Super fun, right? And you
will gain valuable cards for Amazon and iTunes gift while you're at it.
Unfortunately for users of iOS, this opportunity is only for Android at
this time.
Which is a kind of assembly, when you think about it. What would a private eye better than a real Android?
6. Download these Apps
There
are a number of companies like Google, which will pay to install your
application on your cell phone. And you'll pay for each month that keeps
them installed.
Applications collect data from their phone
companies and cooperation of cells to better understand web and mobile
usage better - such as what times of day people navigate, how long they
stay on the web and use applications sites, and what types of sites and applications are popular (or not).
Here are my favorites (install them all and win $ 400 / year or more):
– MobileExpressions for iPhones – This can only be downloaded on iPhones. After you've installed for a week, you get to play a game of instant prizes for a prize (everyone wins something). I won a gift card from Amazon $ 25, but some of the other prizes include iPads and Samsung TVs.
– MobileExpressions for Android – After
installing this application for a week, you get to play a game of
instant prizes for a prize (everyone wins something). I won a gift card
from Amazon $ 25, but some of the other prizes include iPads and Samsung TVs.
– SavvyConnect – You’ll
earn $5 per device for each month SavvyConnect is installed on one of
your devices and you can earn up to a total of $180 per year
– Media Insiders Panel –If
you are male or 44 years of age or older and enjoy watching TV
programs, the company will pay $ 5 a month to keep your application on
your smartphone or Android tablet. In addition, you will be invited to
participate in simple surveys about those programs that Stream, DVR or watch live for additional prizes.
– Nielsen Mobile Panel for Ages 45+ –if you have a smartphone and you are 45 years old or more, the Nielsen panel will pay $ 50 / year to keep this application on your cell phone.
7. Earn $250 By Opening a Second Bank Account
hidesy/Shutterstock
We’ve put together a
huge list of banks that will pay you just to open a bank account! Some of them will pay you up to $250 just for opening a savings account!
There’s
no harm in having multiple bank accounts. In fact, I often find it’s
helpful to have multiple places to save (I’m less likely to touch the
money), so I have savings accounts for my Christmas fund and my vacation
fund.
The top bank bonus is $250 right now —
head over to this list to see all of the banks in your area that are offering free cash.
8. Get a Free $5 From Clink to Start Saving
Macro of Five American Dollar Bill.
I’m kind of obsessed with
Clink (and not just because they give you $5).
Clink helps you save for a rainy day or retirement by taking small amounts of money our of your checking account each day (around $1).
To get the $5 bonus,
download the Clink smartphone app and setup your account with the same email address.
Be sure to use the promo code: PH2016
I
already got my bonus and now I’m investing $5/week. I’m already up to
$40! That might sound small, but for someone who resists saving money
like the plague, it’s a pretty remarkable start!
9. Earn Up to $60/Hour as a Part-Time Bookkeeper
Does earning $60 an hour sound appealing? How about the freedom to work remotely while helping others succeed?
Those are the perks of working as a bookkeeper, says
Ben Robinson, a certified public accountant and business owner who teaches others to become virtual bookkeepers.
And no, you don’t have to have a CPA to be successful in this business. In fact,
all you really need are decent computer skills and a passion for helping business owners tackle real-world problems.
It’s
a great opportunity for moms who want to work part time, millennials
who are just out of college and anyone who wants to bring in real money
while working from home.
We talked to Robinson about what it takes
to become a virtual bookkeeper, as well as tips and advice for making
this career track work for you. You can read the
full interview here, or check out
his website for more information.
10. Rate Your Local Pizza Place
Awww…yeah! Who wouldn’t want $5 and a free large pizza?
As many of you know I was a professional mystery shopper for many years (I got my start conducting
liquor audits all over the Southeast).
One
of the most popular types of mystery shops is for pizza companies —
both Papa Johns and Pizza Hut regularly conduct mystery shops at all of
their locations. As part of the assignment you’re required to time their
delivery service, quality of pizza, etc.
It’s pretty easy to do and you can do it several times a year. If you’re interested in giving it a try, here’s a
list of my favorite mystery shopping companies.
11. Watch More Television
Alright, just hear me out on this one. It’s definitely possible to get paid to watch TV. There’s a new company called “
RewardTV” that pays you to answer trivia questions about last night’s TV shows.
Do you know who they killed off on Game of Thrones last week? Tell them about it and they’ll pay you.
Did you know which contestant got kicked off “The Voice” this week? They’ll pay you.
You’re not going to get rich doing this, but it’s a fun way to make an extra $15-$20/month. Pretty cool, right?
12. Earn up to $700/Month Fixing Search Results
I’ll
make about $700 this month for evaluating search engine results this month.
And the best part? Most of it is done while sitting at home in my pajamas.
What am I doing? Let me explain…
Search
engines use complicated algorithms to determine the results you see.
For example, if you type the name of one of our writers, Steve Gillman,
into a Google search box, a half-million possibly-relevant web pages
will be narrowed down using various criteria until a second later you
see his smiling face. You’ll also see links to his personal website,
his blog on the Huffington Post, and LinkedIn profiles for a bunch of
guys who share his name.
But the search engines don’t always get it right.
They
are full of errors, so they need real humans to look at the results and
judge them for quality, relevancy, and usefulness. If you’re interested
in this type of work, head over to
this article to get more info on how to apply.
13. Turn Your Grocery Receipts in For Rebate
You don’t have to cut back at the grocery store if you know the right tricks. Have you heard of rebate apps?
My favorite is the
Ibotta app which
works by giving you a cash rebate on your grocery store purchases if
you take a picture of your receipt with your smartphone.
Many of the
rebates are for things like steak, ground beef, bread and eggs.
Plus, you can shop at your normal grocery store. There’s no need to run
clear across town to save money. And right now, Ibotta is giving new
users a $10 sign-up bonus, just for redeeming their first receipt.
Some other good ones are
SavingStar and
Checkout51. Download them all and sometimes you can get three rebates on the same item.
14. Sell Your Old Books
We’ve
all got way too much extra junk just sitting around. Get rid of some of
it and use the extra money for your Christmas shopping.
Have any
old college textbooks? You could, of course, have a garage sale or sell
them on Craigslist, but one of my favorite ways to get rid of them is
using
Direct Textbook.
You
just type your book’s ISBN (International Standard Book Number — it’s
near the book’s barcode and copyright info) into the search bar and let
Direct Textbook connect you with over 25 of the best-paying and most
reputable buyback companies online. Cool, right?
Once you’ve found
the buyback company offering the most cash, you just fill out a little
information about where you want your payment sent (usually PayPal) and
prepare the books to be shipped. Most of the buyback companies offer
prepaid shipping labels too, so there aren’t any costs associated with
this.
15. Make an Extra $50/Week Working for Amazon
Have you heard of Amazon Mechanical Turk? Unlike other online sites
that look for contract help, the Amazon Mechanical Turk service offers
easy to accomplish tasks that can be completed by almost anyone with a
computer.
From the articles and advice I’ve read from others
completing tasks, the key seems to be just to jump in and quickly accept
the next task you are qualified for. Don’t spend time hunting for the
perfect task, just do them next, next, next, etc.
While basic
tasks may only pay $0.10, they are easy and quick to complete. It does
not take long to complete a task in less than a minute, so in an hour,
with little experience, you can make $6 to $10, depending on how fast
you are.
Amazon Mechanical Turk is not a get-rich-quick scam
or one of those “make massive income in your spare time” ripoffs. But,
realistically you can make an extra $50 or so each month.
16. Sell Your CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, Video Games and Electronics
Have a bunch of movies or CDs collecting dust on a shelf? Decluttr will pay you for them!
Decluttr buys your old CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and video games, plus hardware like cell phones, tablets, game consoles and iPods.
One
user, Gary Clements, told TPH he recently sold 620 CDs to Decluttr for
an average price of 52 cents each — a total of $323.97! Gil Flores sold
about 100 DVDs and 75 CDs for a total of $275.
Just download the app and start scanning the barcodes on your media to get immediate quotes.
17. Earn Up to $25/Hour Delivering Groceries
Are you 21 years older with reliable transportation? Sign up to be a delivery driver with
Instacart!
This
app and website lets people who don’t have the time or motivation to
battle the crowds for a box of cereal skip the grocery store. As their
personal shopper, you are in charge of picking up their groceries and
delivering them within two hours.
If you’re interested in giving it a try, you can fill out the
Instacart application here.
They ask potential shoppers to take a short online quiz about common
grocery store items. The quiz asks you to identify grocery items, like a
lemon or an 18-pack of eggs, but you only have two minutes to answer
the 21 questions.
After that, your city’s manager will call you to
set up a time for a 15-minute phone interview to learn about your
background and experience. They tend to look for people with past
customer service experience and candidates who have experience doing
plenty of shopping for either their roommates, families or themselves.
18. Sell Your Crafts on Etsy
Just
because you don’t have a dedicated crafts room like Martha Stewart or
Rosie O’Donnell doesn’t mean you can’t become a successful entrepreneur
by selling your crafts online.
In the past crafters have had to
slug it out at craft fairs and farmer’s markets, often meaning long
hours and little profit. All of that has changed in the last few years
as a number of online marketplaces like Etsy have opened that allow
amateur crafters a forum to sell their goods.
In fact, we recently found a mom who’s earning $70,000/month on Etsy!
Click here to read her story.
19. Get Paid $50+ to Write an Article for These Sites
If
you like to write, we found a few blogs that will pay you to share your
thoughts. And there’s no limit to the number of articles you can
submit, so this really is a nice side gig.
- TheKrazyCouponLady.com – $50
This site accepts articles on a broad range of topics including
style/fashion, couponing, family/parenting, and personal finance. The
ladies guarantee that you’ll hear back from them within 7 days and will
receive $50 via Paypal if they choose to publish your article. You can
read all the details here. Editor’s Note: We recently found out TheKrazyCouponLady is no longer paying for submissions. Please be advised.
- Listverse.com – $100
Listverse publishes nothing but lists.
Their posts are all long lists (usually beyond 1,500 words long)
containing at least 10 items, with an explanation of why each item
deserves its place on the list. Read more details here.
- ThePennyHoarder.com – $75
Got
a crazy way to make/save extra money? We also pay our readers to submit
articles and would love to have you contribute. Read all of our guidelines here.
20. Sell Your Smartphone Photos
If
you have a smartphone and a photographic eye, making money may have
just gotten a lot easier. Oh yeah – you’ll also need access to
marketable scenery.
There’s a new app called
Foap that allows you to turn your smartphone
photos into cash.
Here’s
how it works. You download the free app. You sign up for an account.
You take a quality photo. You upload photo to Foap’s marketplace.
Someone buys the license to your photo for $10. You make $5.
If
your photo sells 20 times, you make $5 each time and end up with $100 in
your pocket — all for about five minutes of work. Pretty cool, right?
21. Sign Up for Free Gift Card Promotions
Believe it or not, there are sites that will give you free gift cards just for signing up with them.
One of my favorites is
Ebates, the cash-back shopping site. They’re
giving away $10 gift cards if you sign up as a new member and earn your first cashback rebate. You can choose a $10 gift card from Target, Walmart, Macy’s or Kohl’s.
You do have to wait 30 days, but it’s free money so can you really complain?
22. Earn a $100 Bonus by Opening a New Credit Card
As long as you pay down your credit balance in full each month, rewards cards are a great way to make some extra money.
This one’s for my sports fans! Right now you can get a $100 cash-back bonus when you open an NFL Extra Points Visa Signature card.
Qualifying
transactions will get you a 10,000-point bonus, which is enough to
redeem for $100 in cold, hard cash. Then, you’ll continue to earn points
to redeem for cash back and other prizes as you use your card for
everyday purchases.
Plus,
you’ll get discounts and special access to tickets and NFL swag — and the card is customizable to represent your favorite team!
23. Live in California? Get Paid Up to $300 to Turn Off the Lights
California residents can earn up to $300/year by syncing their utility accounts to a program called
OhmConnect and agreeing to help reduce energy usage by one hour per week. Here’s how it works:
1.
Sign up for a free OhmConnect account and sync it with your online utility account.
OhmConnect will give you $40 just for signing up!
2.
You must have an online account with one of these three utility
companies to participate: Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Diego
Gas & Electric or Southern California Edison.
2. OhmConnect
will send you weekly payments for reducing your electricity for one hour
per week. They do this because you’re helping to not contribute to the
high demand that prompts unclean power sources to turn on.
They’ll send you up to $300/year per year, plus you’re helping save the planet!
24. Sell Your Trash
Americans
throw away approximately 266 million tons of trash every year, and it
turns out we might as well be throwing away cash! There’s a reason
dumpster diving has become so popular in recent years and that’s because things that you think are worth nothing often have value.
Anything from your empty wine bottles to old magazines can be sold online. Here’s a
full list of the things in your trash that might be worth cash.
25. Sell Your Skills for $5 on Fiverr
Earning $5 at a time may not sound like much, but those little sales can add up to thousands of dollars.
That’s the idea behind
Fiverr.com, an online platform where users sell their products and services for $5 each.
Fiverr says users create 4,000 new listings, or “gigs,” every day.
Gigs
range from the standard data entry and research tasks to the truly
out-there. For example, as I write this, sellers in the “
Fun and Bizarre” section are offering:
- A piece of rare metal that will melt in your hand
- A prank phone call to anyone you choose
- Three balloons released into the sky with your message in them
- Your name written on two grains of rice
- A photo of you on the cover of “Rolling Stone”
- A video of a woman pretending to be “crazy in love with you” — which has 253 buyers and a 98% positive rating so far
You can seriously sell almost anything on Fiverr. Here are
some more ideas.
26. Earn $100 By Helping a Company Name Itself
Professional
branders aren’t going anywhere, but for small businesses that can’t
afford the million dollar price tag, crowdsourcing allows businesses to
outsource the creative process to people like you and me through “naming
contests.”
There are hundreds of naming contests on websites like
NamingForce.com and
SquadHelp.com.
The way it works is that nameless businesses list a little information
about their company and a prize amount for the person who can come up
with the best name. The rewards are anywhere from $50-$500, with the
average amount around $100.
For example, one company on SquadHelp
says they are a company that buys used video games and they will pay $80
to the person who can come up with the best name. A few of the
submissions so far are “Cash 2 Gamers” and “Game Epix.” Think you can do
better? Give it a try
here.
27. Let Someone Borrow Your House/Apartment for the Night
I’ve
used Airbnb to both rent out my apartment and stay in many others while
traveling, and it’s a fantastic way to put your home to work for you.
However, taking a few simple steps can make the difference between a
great experience and a less-than-satisfactory one.
Whether you’re renting out a single room or your entire home, make the most of your Airbnb rental by following these
tips. If you do it well, you could add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to your savings account.
28. Become an Online Tutor
Education is one of the world’s leading industries, and the
private tutoring market alone is expected to top $102 billion by 2018.
Have
you ever considered becoming an online tutor to make extra money?
Well, if you haven’t, you most certainly should. You can make some
serious coin by answering student’s questions, explaining your notes and
uploading tutorials.
That’s right, by sharing your knowledge, you can be rewarded handsomely.
Try marketing your services on a site like Tutor.com, where instructors earn $9-$13/hour, plus $5.50/hour just for being logged in waiting for students.
29. Become a Dog Masseuse
We’ve talked before about ways to
get paid to spend time with cats and dogs, but this is a new one: pet massage.
That’s
right — some people earn money for massaging animals. It might sound a
little strange, but apparently many cats and dogs enjoy a good massage
as much as humans do.
If you like
petting your furry friends, why not explore this option? With a bit of training
you can make $50 per hour as a pet massage therapist. Here’s
how to get started.
30. Write Slogans for Major Companies
Can you sum up a product in a sentence? Think of something funny — and not
another joke about too many candles — to put on a birthday card? Make a point in few concise words?
If so, you might be able to
make money writing slogans.
Companies
sometimes need new corporate taglines, advertising slogans and jingles.
Bumper sticker and greeting card makers want cute, endearing or funny
thoughts to put on their products.
When these businesses need
help, they sometimes collect submissions from freelance writers or run
contests that anyone can enter — including you!
Try one or more of these platforms to get started:
- Slogan Slingers helps
companies create slogan contests in which their registered writers
compete. It’s free to sign up as a writer, and the company claims you
can “make up to $999 per contest (minus our small admin fee).”
- Get a Slogan is
a “crowd-sourcing platform that brings in custom, creative and catchy
slogans from a variety of sloganeers.” Companies come to them for help,
and writers submit their ideas. It’s free to sign up, but you initially
have only “qualifying” status. Once you obtain “qualified” status,
you’ll receive $50 for each of your winning slogans.
- Freelancer.com has
a section devoted to slogan-writing projects, which are sometimes run
as contests. For example, at the moment a personal injury law firm is
offering $150 for the best “unique and memorable tagline/slogan.”
31. Join an Online Focus Group
Ever wonder how the products you see on grocery-store shelves wound up
there? Or who thought those TV commercials were a good idea? Somewhere
between the concept and the final edits, it’s likely that a focus group
was involved.
Focus groups vary in size and type, but most of them
provide some sort of compensation — a check in the mail, a PayPal
deposit or even a gift card.
“The more formal the focus group, the
more I expect to be paid,” says Sarah K., who’s participated in focus
groups about bridal registries and sports nutrition products in the Los
Angeles area.
For a longer session, she expects to make $100 to
$200. “I’ll happily participate in a longer focus group if it pays well,
is nearby and doesn’t conflict with any of my appointments,” she says.
One of my favorites is
ProOpinion which is a focus group for professionals.
Click here to visit their site and fill out the short sign-up form to get started.
Here’s another great
list of legitimate focus group companies.
32. Test Websites
Tempura / Getty Images
Like
most of us, you’ve probably commented on how some websites are
confusing and others excellent. Rather than complaining to your spouse
or friend, how would you like to make those comments to the owners of
the sites and get paid for playing critic?
I do just that, and you can, too. In fact, you can
make $30 per hour as a website tester.
The company is called
User Testing. Here’s
what the process looks like: you’ll download some software and then
when tasks are available, look over a website while your mouse
movements, clicks, keystrokes, and spoken comments are all recorded as a
video. Afterward there might be a few questions to answer, but the
whole process often takes 15 minutes or less. Cool, right?
Your Turn: Would you try any of these methods to make extra money at home?
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