Unique Ways to Get Some Extra Side Cash

admin | October 23, 2018

Whether you’re saving up for a new car, a new house, or just want some extra spending money, getting your hands on some extra cash can help you achieve your goals. Here at Mom’s Network, we offer dozens of resources for helping moms work from home. Our how-to guides include how to set up a cleaning business, how to start a party planning company, and how to launch a photography business—among many others.

But sometimes you just want to make some side cash to supplement your primary cash flow. And fortunately, there are many unique ways to do this without taking up too much of your time and effort. Here are a few ways to get it done:

Become a Secret Shopper

Getting paid to shop is a dream situation for anyone. One shopper even made $14,000 for the year, just by secret shopping. Here’s how mystery shopping works: companies hire everyday consumers like you to visit their stories as an underground customer and report back about the shopping experience and service.

Each company pays, on average, between $5 to $20 to describe the experience, and will also reimburse you for a portion of the money you spent on products while shopping (not everyone requires you to actually check out with a product).

As a part of the agreement between the company and the shopper, the company will often provide you with a certain scenario to play out. Then, you’ll complete an online survey about your experience—usually within 24 hours.

On the same token, if you want to take advantage of “mystery shopping” without having to go into a store, many companies are switching to “secret online surveys” for cash. It’s worth looking into if you want to make a few extra bucks each month.

Sign Up For TaskRabbit

If side jobs had a logo, that logo would likely be TaskRabbit. Once you sign up for the app, there are numerous ways you can make money: run simple errands whenever you’re free, deliver items, help decorate parties, clean houses, and even wait in line for people.

The key to succeeding with TaskRabbit lies in creating a great profile that sells. With just 250 characters for each category on TaskRabbit, it’s important that you put your best foot forward. You can check out some of the top-rated profiles for inspiration on what to write.

Furthermore, the more jobs you do, the more reviews you get, and the better the reviews, the more likely you are to get hired for other gigs, too. After a while, it’s no wonder TaskRabbit can be quite lucrative, doing all different types of tasks on your own schedule and availability.

Sell Your Car Parts

If you’ve got an old car sitting in the garage, it’s time to take action. Maybe you always imagined you’d fix it up eventually, but “eventually” turned into years. Realistically, you’re probably not going to get around to fixing it up, so why not make the most of it?

If you’re interested in how to sell a car for parts, you’re in good luck: car parts can be very profitable, although it does take a while to get rid of the less in-demand parts of a car (like electric wiring and suspension parts).

If you’re okay with getting rid of the more lucrative and popular parts (the engine, transmission, seats, and airbags) you can sell the remaining body and parts to a junkyard. If you have the patience, you can slowly get rid of other parts of the car.

Start Dog Walking

If you love dogs, what better way to make some extra side cash than by taking them for a walk. Not only will you bring in extra income, but you’ll stay fit while doing it, too. Start by creating a plan: how much would you like to make annually by dog walking? Then, check out what other people are charging as dog walkers, and create realistic methods for achieving for financial side hustle goal.

Next, if you want to walk dogs, you should brush up on your training. It helps to go into a job knowing what to expect. And lastly, you should know your limits: if you’re not comfortable around certain types of dogs, like pit bulls or small dogs, don’t pressure yourself into doing the job to get some money.

Dog walkers charge for each dog per hour. If you want two carve out a two-hour window for dog walking, you can walk multiple dogs and once and stack up. For example, if you charge $15 per hour, walking four dogs could yield $60 per hour. These numbers can quickly add up. One dog walker made $34,000 for the year dog-walking part-time. You can meet potential dog owners for walks with popular apps like Wag, Care, and Rover.