If you are in a bind right now, one of the best ways to combat debt is by seeking alternative sources of income. There are heaps of ways to earn extra money if you are willing to try. All you need to do is devote your time and maybe a little capital to get your side hustle going. Some can be done at home, some outside; some can earn small, some big, some a bit difficult and some pretty easy. But all of them can help get you through those difficult times.

How Fast Can I Earn?

There’s no fixed rule as to how fast you’ll be able to generate extra income. It depends on your skills, how much time you are willing to spend on it and how quickly you can get customers or clients. But one thing is for sure - you will be able to earn if you keep hard at it, pivot when necessary and roll with the punches!

What do I need to earn?

Besides the time and skills mentioned above, you will need a computer and internet connection for many options below. Most of you might already have them at home. Mindset is also critical. When we perceive the lack of something, we feel scarcity and that it seems there’s not enough to go around. When you catch yourself thinking like that, do your best to move into the abundance mindset. This list will help you earn more, but if you don’t fix your attitude first, you will quickly lose interest when it becomes tedious or complicated. Then you will end up with nothing! It is also essential to learn new things even if they are not aligned with your career or training. With the internet in our hands, it’s much easier to discover new things! Remember: You are your most valuable asset. Invest in your capacity to earn an income and get extra qualifications. The more you learn, the more you earn.

Here are 16 Ways to Earn Extra Money

If you have a lot of used items around the house:

1. Online Sales or Garage Sales

If you have the time, clean up your house and take an inventory of your unused items. You can sell those old items online, and not only will you enjoy a clean home, but you will also feel lighter as well! Consider selling your items online on Gumtree, via Facebook groups, the Trading Post, QuickSales, eBay and Fishpond. If you prefer traditional selling, you can sell these items on markets, garage sale or local classifieds.

2. Rent Your Items

These are for items that you don’t need right now but you might need in the future. For example, do you have musical instruments, gadgets, baby equipment, computers, or cameras lying around? Rent them out and make that cash!  

3. Visit a Pawnshop

If you have valuable items that you no longer use, such as jewellery or gadgets, you can sell them to a pawn shop. Pawn Shops are individuals or businesses that offer loans against personal items as collateral. You can get cash on the spot in exchange for using an item as security, and then you can get your item back after you have repaid the loan. Note that you will get less money than you originally paid for the item, and the fees can also be relatively high, so you will pay more for your item if you want it back. This can also be a risky way to raise money – so try not to sell items that you might want in the future.  

If you are savvy online:

1. Try Freelancing

If you have skills in programming, customer support experience, design, writing, accounting, marketing, and admin, consider offering these services as a freelancer. Nowadays, there are lots of businesses who are looking for remote workers, if you have the skills and working from home appeals to you, why not give this a try? To start you can register on freelance sites like Freelancer.com, Upwork, People per Hour, Freelance.org.au, Seek.com.au, and Airtasker.com. You can also get clients from LinkedIn, Facebook or direct hire from companies. 

2. Answer Paid Surveys

Consider doing paid surveys in your spare time! They don’t pay much, but it can be a good addition to your income if you have lots of extra time. Companies use the answers on these paid surveys when they want to conduct market research for a particular product they want to sell. Thus by answering these surveys, you also have the power to influence how these companies should tailor their products to your liking. 

Here are some samples: 

• PureProfile - it is easy to build a profile here as they ask just basic questions. After that, they will send you emails, and you can choose which surveys you want to complete. You earn rewards, and you can exchange them for cash, gift cards or movie tickets. 
• Toluna.com - Toluna is a survey company with branches all over the world, and it has over 10 million members. You are rewarded points every time you answer surveys, and you can choose whether to be paid thru Paypal or gift cards. There are times that you won’t be qualified for a survey, but you still get points for the effort. They also give you a chance to join sweepstakes, which can help you win thousands of cash dollars.
• Octopus Group - Signing up here is pretty easy, and as many bloggers have said, you can earn $4-$8 per day on average. Not bad for just sitting around, right? You won’t receive many surveys to answer, but you will be well paid when you do. 

3. Sell eBooks

If writing is your forte, you can create eBooks and sell them on Amazon or similar sites. The sales you will get from your books would depend on how useful or entertaining the content is and how well you optimise the sale of the items on the platform. So be sure to write about things that your readers will find interesting and valuable. You can then promote your books online via social media and Google to increase sales.

If you have a spare room, house or space…

1. Rent Out A Room

You can rent your room out to students or a local worker, or if you only want shorter-term tenants, you can register for Airbnb. Post your room or house photos online, and you’ll have enquiries in no time. Be sure to clean up and decorate the space before taking pictures, too, for added appeal.

2. Rent Out Your Garage

If your garage is always empty, you can rent it out as well! Some people need to store their stuff, and storing it privately can be much cheaper than using a commercial storage company. Just don’t forget to set rules on what they can store, and be sure to keep an eye on the items, so they don’t get damaged! 

3. Display Banner Advertisements

If your house is near a busy main road, you can set up a space for small advertisements out the front of your property. Simply send proposals to local businesses or friends who have services to offer, and surely someone will take you up on the opportunity!

If you are a creative person:

1. Sell Your Photos

If you are good with photography, you can sell your images at sites like Shutterstock or 500px. These stock image companies will buy your photos, and you can earn a commission for every sale. You can also do this through Fiverr.com. Suppose you don’t like selling images online. In that case, you can sell your services as a photographer for weddings, birthdays and similar celebrations. You can even build your own photo booth and charge $300 an hour! Who knows, this might be the business that will free you from debt!

2. Create and Sell Crafts

Suppose you are good at sewing, craft, painting, or calligraphy. In that case, you can sell your work online, at a local market, on Facebook, Instagram or Etsy. Art-related workshops are in high demand these days as well, so why not set up your own workshop? Networking with more people and gaining more friends could open you up to even more opportunities!

If you like mingling with people and kids or prefer manual skills…

1. Babysitting

If you love kids, you can try babysitting to earn extra cash. Just be sure that you can take care of all kids and attend to their needs like feeding, playing, keeping them clean, and other tasks the parents will assign. You can even start right in your own neighbourhood. There might be someone who would need your services locally, so you can try by offering your services on Facebook. Alternatively, you can register via online nanny portals such as findababysitter.com.au

2. Tutoring

If you are good at academics, especially English and Math, you can provide your services as a tutor. Simply create a flyer and hand this out at your local school! Suppose you are skilled and fluent in another language. In that case, you can also tutor by signing up for online language schools as an instructor or creating your own online school yourself.

3. Doing Odd Jobs

Suppose you are good with carpentry, plumbing, electrical work and trades. If that’s the case, you can offer your services for home maintenance. You can advertise your services online like GumTree,  Facebook and AirTasker. The best thing about these jobs is you get to be paid outright in cash. 

4. Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping means you will be getting paid to shop or study retail establishments for your clients. You will be given specifications on what you need to buy or what you need to observe. Try registering via Retail Mystery Shopping and apply for assignments.

5. Become an Uber Driver

Do you have spare time to drive? Why not apply as an Uber driver? According to members, you can earn from a few hundred dollars a week to thousands, depending on the number of hours you dedicate. Your car should be less than nine years old to be eligible, and of course, you must have a driver’s license and insurance. 

So that’s it! Those are 16 ways to earn extra income. Some of these can even make you enough money to become your primary source of income! We hope you can try these soon to start saving and paying off your debts. If you need urgent help with debt, don’t forget to call us on 1300 003 328 to conduct a free debt assessment with our friendly and knowledgeable team!