Thanks to the internet, there is an endless number of ways to make Money online. Here are just 1-21 ways you can make some extra money on the side.

Making more money could likely solve a lot of your problems. In the past, we’ve talked about how teens can make money, but for those of us who are a little older, we need something a little more sophisticated than the $10 that comes from mowing lawns.

Luckily, in the age of the internet, making extra money (or your whole paycheck) online is incredibly easy if you know where to look.

What’s Ahead:

1. Take surveys online

Take surveys online

While taking online surveys won’t make you rich by any means, a few minutes of your time can earn you a few extra dollars.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks allows you to earn points and then redeem them for gift cards or Cash back. And the cash back option is available for over 1500 retailers including Amazon, Starbucks, Target etc. Lots of options!

Here’s how it works: you earn points by shopping through their portal, filling out surveys, watching videos, etc. The best part is it’s free to sign up! Plus they are currently giving a $10 sign up bonus.

2. Become a freelancer

Become a freelancer

If you have a talent, chances are, you can sell your skill. Whether you’re a writer, artist, graphic designer, photographer, etc., there’s a freelance gig for you. Let’s cover a few possible freelance angles for you to take.

Freelance writing

It’s easier than ever to become a freelance writer (all of our writers at Money Under 30 are freelancers). With that being said, if you’re just starting out it can be difficult to find a writing job that will pay you more than pennies.

We have advice here, on how to actually get hired for a freelance job. Also, a good place to start looking is Fiverr. It’s called Fiverr, because most people would charge just $5 for their services—some people still do that, others charge a lot more.

Teach online

If you like to teach and have some free time, consider teaching English as a second language. EF, an online teaching company where you could earn up to $2,000 a month, making it a pretty great side-hustle.

VIPkid is another excellent service that connects North American teachers and tutors with students in China for one-on-one English lessons.

The application process is rigorous, but you could make between $14 and $22 an hour—not necessarily the most competitive, but still decent.

Do small tasks

If you’re not prone to creativity, you can still make money online by offering your handyman (or woman) services on TaskRabbit.

Many of the tasks advertised on TaskRabbit involve tasks such as:

Putting furniture together

Moving

Running errands

Picking up groceries

Search the gigs section of Craigslist

Along with TaskRabbit, you can search the “gigs” section on Craigslist. Many of the gigs are hoaxes, but there are some that are legit. There are gigs that involve computer skills, writing skills, general labor, cleaning, etc.

3. Invest with a robo-advisor

Invest with a robo-advisor

Robo-advisors put your investments on auto-pilot. With many robo-advisors, all you have to do is choose your risk, your goals, and fund your account. The robo-advisor will take care of the rest. For those who are looking to invest, but may not understand the ins and outs of investing, robo-advisors can help. 

Here are a couple of our favorite robo-advisors!

Betterment

Betterment is a simple investing platform. You can easily open sub-accounts that use different portfolios for reaching multiple goals. It’s also surprisingly inexpensive! Betterment’s Digital plan charges 0.25% annually. You’ll have access to a full suite of services as well as mobile messaging to an advisor

Check out our full Betterment review

M1 Finance

How To Make Money Online - 21 Ideas To Help You Start Earning More Money - M1 Finance

M1 Finance is a hybrid robo-advisor and traditional brokerage, meaning you have a little more control in picking your portfolio than you would with just a robo-advisor. M1 allows you to pick and choose “pie slices” (different investments), which make up your portfolio. 

 M1 Finance is completely free, so any beginner investor should check them out. 

Check out our full M1 Finance review

Wealthfront

How To Make Money Online - 21 Ideas To Help You Start Earning More Money - Wealthfront

Like Betterment, Wealthfront has a lot to offer investors. With Wealthfront, you can choose from a selection of existing portfolios and edit it by adding or deleting an ETF to make it fit your needs. Or, you can create a custom portfolio and invest in the things that matter most to you, whether that’s socially responsible investing or investing in categories like healthcare or clean energy. 

Check out our full Wealthfront review

4. Invest in real estate

Invest in real estate

Investing in real estate online is a great form of passive income if you’re open to a little risk.

Real estate crowdfunding involves many investors investing small amounts of money into real estate ventures.

There are a couple of companies that are the frontrunners in the real estate crowdfunding industry.

Roofstock is one. They focus on single-family homes that you can buy and use as rental properties. It’s a platform for investors and created by investors, which is why there are no fees to join and search their properties. For more information, see our Roofstock review.

Another well-known name in the real estate crowdfunding world is Fundrise. They have a super low minimum investment of just $500 (which is almost unheard of in the real estate industry), and Fundrise states that their annual returns generally range from 8.7%-12.4%. Read our Fundrise review.

5. Invest with a broker

How To Make Money Online - 21 Ideas To Help You Start Earning More Money - Invest with a Broker

The stock market scares a lot of folks, but it’s getting easier and easier to invest your money in stocks, even if you don’t have a whole lot of know-how.

But no longer – that’s right, no need to be scared of the investing world with so many excellent options out there. Here are 4 good places to start digging in.

If you invest through a company like E*TRADE, they offer tons of investing tools so you can invest on your own, and you can trade stocks, options, and ETFs for $0.

For slightly more seasoned investors, Zacks Trade makes day-trading easy and cost-effective. You can buy stocks and bonds, ETFs, options, and more. Their pricing is simple and straightforward – stock and ETF trades can be made for $0.01 per share (with a $3 minimum).

TD Ameritrade is attractive for young investors because it has no minimum investment and they offer tons of tools for every level of investing. You can also trade through their mobile app which makes it super convenient. 

Ally Invest is one that truly stands out on its own from the group because they have no commission fees AND no account minimum! For the self-directed trader, this is a dream come true. You can invest in stocks, ETFs, options, bonds, and mutual funds – so there’s a little something for everyone. 

6. Become a virtual assistant

Become a virtual assistant

Virtual assistants can make up to $16 an hour. You can work part-time or full time, and your schedule can be relatively flexible, as long as it lines up with whomever you’re working for.

What you need to be a virtual assistant:

Laptop

Headset or cell phone

Good communication skills

Flexible schedule

7. Sell or rent your belongings

Sell or rent your belongings

This could mean selling a few things here and there on Ebay, running a full-fledged online store, or renting out your home (okay, so that’s not entirely online, but it starts out there).

Ebay

Ebay may seem old school, what with Amazon and Etsy, but selling stuff you don’t need is a great way to make extra cash.

You can make a free account, but you’ll be limited to how much you can sell. If you want to sell more than 50 items a month online, you’ll need to sign-up for one of Ebay’s subscriptions.

Starter: $4.95/ mo with an annual subscription

Basic: $21.95/ mo with an annual subscription

Premium: $59.95/ mo with an annual subscription

Anchor: $299.95/ mo with an annual subscription

Enterprise: $2,999.95/ mo with an annual subscription

Each comes with different selling caps, and the higher the subscription, the lower the fees.

Etsy

Etsy’s setup is a lot more satisfying than Ebay and even Amazon. But, just like Ebay and Amazon, Etsy does have some fees to consider if you’re planning on just casually selling. The fee schedule goes as follows:

$0.20 USD for each item that you list for sale

When you make a sale you’ll be charged a transaction fee of 3.5% of the price you display for each listing

Craigslist

If you want to go real old-school, you can sell your items on Craigslist. While there’s a lot that can go wrong on Craigslist, it’s still one of the most used sites—mostly because it’s free.

Sell your text books

Textbooks are expensive—too expensive for most. So, if you have old textbooks you’re never going to look at again—or never looked at in the first place—selling them can make you back some of the money you had to spend.

If you buy your books from Barnes and Noble, they make it easy to sell them back at the end of the year!

Rent your home on Airbnb

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Airbnb. If you have an extra room or even a whole house you’re willing to rent out, you could earn a hefty side income.

There’s a cost when it comes to listing on Airbnb, You’ll be charged 3% of the booking total. Since you can set prices, however, you’ll still have quite a bit of control over how much you can make as an Airbnb host.

8. Get a cash back credit card

Get a cash back credit card

Applying online for a cash back credit card is a great way to earn money on purchases you already plan on making.

There are many credit cards to choose from—here are just a few we recommend. Let’s dig a little deeper into our favorites.

Discover it® Cash Back

With the Discover it® Cash Back, you can earn 5% cashback on different categories each quarter when you activate, up to the quarterly limit. Previous categories have included gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, Amazon.com, and wholesale clubs.

You’ll receive 1% on all other purchases.

Discover will also match your cashback at the end of your first year as a card holder!

Learn more: See card details or apply here

Citi Custom Cash℠ Card

Citi Custom Cash℠ Card

Apply Now 

On the Citi Secure Website

In A Nutshell

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card earns a strong $200 in cash back after you spend $750 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.  This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back and this card also includes an excellent 0% intro APR opportunity. Read review

Credit Score Requirements:

Poor

500-599

Fair

600-699

Good

700-749

Excellent

750-850

What We Like:

0% into APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (regular APR is 13.99% – 23.99% variable)

Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $750 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.  This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back

No annual fee

Apply Now >>

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card offers a little bit of everything you could possibly ask for from a cash back rewards card. 

There’s no annual fee, get 0% for 15 months on purchases & 0% for 15 months on balance transfers, a $200 welcome bonus after spending $750 within three months of account opening, and most uniquely, 5% cash back on whichever spending category you made the biggest purchases in (travel, groceries, etc.) during the previous billing cycle.

And to top it all off, you’ll get 1% back on everything else. 

Learn more: See card details or apply here.

Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card

Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card

Apply Now 

On the Secure Bank of America Website

In A Nutshell

This is one of the best all-around credit cards on the market, and it’s especially attractive if you bank with Bank of America. A nice up front bonus, strong cash rewards program and no annual fee make for a terrific combination. Read review

Credit Score Requirements:

Good/

Excellent

Poor

500-599

Fair

600-699

Good

700-749

Excellent

750-850

What We Like:

3% cash back in your choice category. Choose from gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings

$200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days

25% – 75% rewards bonus on every purchase if you’re a Preferred Rewards member

Apply Now >>

The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card gives 1% cash back on every purchase, 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and 3% on a choice category for the first $2,500 in combined grocery/wholesale club/choice category purchases each quarter.

It also has a $0 annual fee!

Learn more: See card details or apply here

9. Download money-making apps

Download money-making apps

If you already shop online, downloading money-making apps can earn you cash every time you shop. Let’s take a look at some of the best apps.

MyPoints is one of my favorites. You can earn up to 40% back on all your purchases at 2,000 top retailers like Walmart, Home Depot, Best Buy, and Amazon. They also offer promo codes at tons of online stores. One of my favorite things about MyPoints is that you can redeem your points whenever you want. All you have to do is can cash out and get gift cards, or you can transfer the cash to your PayPal account. It’s actually very easy.

For your grocery purchases, Fetch Rewards can help. In addition to scanning receipts for your brick-and-mortar purchases, you can also take advantage of Fetch’s eReceipts feature. Just tap on the icon and connect the app to your email. You can then search your email account for digital receipts. You’ll get points for any purchase you made from participating brands.

Another great option is Acorns and my experience is that Acorns can make anyone an investor. It helps you start saving by rounding up your purchases on the debit or credit card of your choice. Then, every time you hit $5 in savings, Acorns invests your money in ETFs. Mighty convenient. Acorns cost $1, $3, or $5 per month depending on the plan you choose – making it a cheap option for young investors. Here’s our review of Acorns.

Finally, Swagbucks, another cool option lets you earn gift cards and cash for shopping online, watching certain videos, and answering surveys. You can redeem points for cash through PayPal, or get gift cards from retailers like Amazon and Walmart. 

10. Create a blog

Create a blog

If you can create a niche audience for your blog, you can make an entire paycheck—just ask our founder.

To start earning money by blogging, you’ll need to use certain advertising tactics, the best for start-up blogs is:

Advertising and affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing makes it possible for small blogs to stay in business. Rather than  getting paid per 1,000 page views or per click—which is the traditional middle—affiliate advertising involves an advertiser paying an affiliate publisher (your blog) when it refers a paying customer.

11. Open an online savings account

Open an online savings/checking account

Opening an online savings and checking account can earn you a much higher interest rate than at traditional banks. Our favorite banks are below:

OnJuno

How To Make Money Online - 21 Ideas To Help You Start Earning More Money - OnJunoOnJuno offers a very attractive 1.20% Bonus Rate on their online checking account (subject to change at any time). There’s no deposit required, and you’ll pay no monthly service fees. 

The 1.20% Bonus only applies to your first $5,000 in deposits, but once you reach $5,000, you’ll earn 0.25% APY on amounts above it up to $100,000.

Discover Online SavingsDiscover Bank Online Savings Account

The Discover Bank Online Savings Account earns you a 0.40% APY—they also offer CD’s and money market accounts for your deposit needs. No minimum deposit required and no minimum balance to earn the APY.

Read our review.

12. Unsubscribe from some online services that you don’t use

Unsubscribe from some online services

Making money online is easy, but spending money online is even easier. It’s incredibly easy to sign-up for a service, put it on auto-pay, and forget about it.

Luckily, there’s a service that will go through all your old subscriptions and ask you which ones you want to cancel. This service is Trim.

Trim can even negotiate some of your bills for you! That makes it perfect for millennials who have an aversion to phone calls.

13. Start a podcast

Start a podcast

Blogs and podcasts are two of the top side-hustles these days. You can make money doing a podcast similarly to how you make money running a blog. Find a niche topic. This makes it easier to narrow down your audience and affiliate market.

Once you have a dedicated audience (which could take a while), you can start reaching out to advertisers who’s products would make sense to mention. Here are a few other ways to monetize your podcast.

14. Become YouTube famous

Become YouTube famous

If you’re good at talking in front of a camera and have an idea/product you want to discuss, YouTube could be the perfect platform for you. You can earn money on YouTube in a variety of ways:

Become a YouTube partner

The big money on YouTube is if you meet the requirements to become a partner. This year, YouTube changed the requirements to become a partner. You need to have a channel that has reached 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months and 1,000 subscribers.

When you’re a partner, you start earning by how many views you receive. Here’s how it works: “YouTube takes around a 45% slice of advertising revenue, although the CPM (cost per thousand) that advertisers are charged varies. Most partners earn anywhere between $0.30 to $2.50 CPM.”

Connect to Google AdSense

Once you become a Youtube partner, you can connect to Google AdSense, their advertising system. You’ll be paid based on the number of “impressions” your videos get. That’s when someone clicks on or watches an ad.

Product placement

If you can get companies to sponsor your videos, or place their products in their videos, you can generate even more income. But you’ll need to inform YouTube of these product placements, or they may pull your partnership.

15. Create online courses

Create online courses

If you have a specific area you’re especially knowledgeable in, creating an online course can make you some decent money. This could be a course in just about anything: Cooking skills, massage therapy, how to play the guitar, etc.

You’ll want to start by creating a course outline—show it to a couple people, have them tell you if they think they’ll actually learn whatever it is you’re trying to teach. Next, it’s time to make your course. Most of them are done through video, with worksheets included.

When it’s time to sell your course, you can sell to places like Zippy Courses.

16. Write an e-book

Write an e-book

Writing an e-book and selling it is a lot like making courses online. Again, if you have a topic you want to write about—it could be as simple as the hobbies you like—writing about it should be easy, and if you can find a site willing to buy your book you can rake in a little extra cash.

You can go through Amazon Kindle Publishing—they’ll charge you a commission each time you get a sale, but their reach is huge, so you’re more likely to sell more copies.

17. Sell pictures that you’ve taken

Sell pictures that you’ve taken

If your hobby is photography, or you’re looking to become a professional photographer, there are a couple ways you can get started and make some money online.

First, you can sell your photos to stock photo companies. Some of those companies include:

123rf

500px

Alamy

Crestock

And more

Or, if the only camera you have access to is your smartphone, you can sell your pictures you take with your phone. Apps and companies you can sell to include:

Clashot

EyeEm

Foap

Scoopshot

18. Shop online

Shop online

Most people shop online these days—and for good reason. It can actually save you money.

If you use coupon sites, you can save money on things you’ll already spend on. Some of these sites include:

Groupon

Slickdeals

Hip2Save

ShopAtHome

And more

19. Subscribe to a food delivery service

Subscribe to a food delivery service

Using a food delivery service can’t necessarily earn you money, but it can help you save you money if you constantly find yourself throwing out half the food you buy. Food delivery services send a box of food every week with new, sometimes unique vegetables, meat, fruit, and so on. If you don’t have time to shop and want simple meal-prep that leads to a good meal, a food subscription service may be perfect for you.

Most of the services offer similar enough foods – it just depends on the price range you want. Our recommended food services are HelloFresh, Home Chef, SunBasket, Purple Carrot, and Freshly.

Try Freshly -- Get $60 off your first 4 Boxes!

And another great option I want to throw in is Blue Apron – especially if you don’t have a lot of experience with cooking or you want to take advantage that they have meal options for Weight Watchers as well as vegetarians.

20. File your taxes online

File your taxes online

While filing your taxes online isn’t a constant source of income, it can help you get your tax return sooner. Here’s three of the best tax softwares that make filing easy!

TurboTax

TurboTax is likely the tax software you’ve heard the most about, and for good reason! If you file a 1040-EZ, 1040, or 1040A you could file your federal return for free, plus, the guided format explains the tax filing process clearly, so you can be done filing in a matter of minutes.

Plus, if you’re self-employed, TurboTax has a Self-Employed product that can save you from having to hire a costly tax expert. It costs $114.99 for the software.

H&R Block

H&R Block has evolved past its brick and mortar beginnings and offers online products that compete with the best of them. If you’ve used past tax software products, you can upload a PDF of last year’s return from any other tax prep service.

H&R Block works like many of the other softwares—H&R Block Online guides you through your tax return to make sure you haven’t missed anything. All along, the Refund Reveal feature shows your estimated refund or balance due in the upper left corner.

TaxAct

TaxAct is one of the cheapest tax software programs, but it still offers a lot. Like TurboTax, it offers a free filing for forms 1040EZ and 1040A. Their Premium services are also cheaper, starting at just $37 for more complicated tax situations.

While TaxAct might not look as fancy as the other tax softwares, it offers many of the same products for a lower cost.

21. Become a graphic designer

Become a graphic designer

A graphic designer creates digital art for their clients. And it’s actually a lot easier to make money as a graphic designer than some might think—it just takes a little persistence.

First, you’ll need to create a portfolio. After that, you can find direct clients to work with by using sites like Fiverr, where you can sell your talents. You can also post videos of you teaching graphic design—with product placement—and get clients that way.

Summary

Making money online is becoming easier and easier. As long as you have some technological know-how, you can make a little extra cash on the side. We have just 21 ideas above, but there are an endless amount of things you can do to make money if you get creative.