10 Quick Ways to Earn Extra Cash

Could you use an extra $1000 or more? Do you have a summer vacation coming up? Is your emergency fund fully funded? Are you going to be spending money on Christmas gifts? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you could probably use some fresh ideas on how to earn a little extra cash!

The laws of budgeting say you need to either spend less or make more money. Here are 10 quick ways to earn extra cash:

Note- They do all require some effort. Most likely, no one is going to hand you a check to cover your budget deficit. If you want to stay debt free, you are going to have to make some changes and put in some work.

1) Donate Plasma

Donating plasma is not as scary as it may sound! I currently donate twice a week and earn about $300 per month! As a new donor, there are always sign-up bonuses sometimes for as much as $500 in your first 5 donations!

Donations take about an hour and they have free (and really awesome) childcare. During your donation, you can read a book, or mess around on your phone. (I use this time to earn money taking online surveys! See #5 below)

Bonus– Get a friend to sign up using your name and you get even more money with their Buddy Bonus system.  Sometimes the bonus is as much as $100 per person!! (p.s- use my name if you sign up!)

If you are local to Harrisonburg Va, our donation center is called Biolife Plasma. If you’re not local, a quick google search of “Plasma Donation Center near me” will help you find where you can donate!

2) Tutor English

Try tutoring kids through VIP Kid. VIP Kid teachers teach English to Chinese children through an online program which combines Skype and powerpoint slides. You work as many or as few hours each week as you’d like and can earn $16-$20 an hour, plus there are amazing bonuses each month. Applicants need to have a Bachelor’s degree and have some type of teaching or coaching experience. If you want to get started here’s a link to sign up and earn more.

3) Sell Your Stuff

Spring and Fall are great times for yard sales! Look around your house and see what you can get rid of!! Don’t have a good location for a yard sale? Ask a friend who lives in a “yard sale friendly” neighborhood or check out local churches to see if they are hosting a yard sale.

You can also use Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist to sell item, but I have personally found those to be much more time consuming than a yard sale!

4) Use Cash Back Apps

I have tried TONS of cash back apps over the years but have settled on using only a few. I typically earn about $10 or more per month through these apps just by purchasing items already on my shopping list. To see a detailed post about the different cash back apps view my post: 4 Websites and Apps That Will Actually Save YOU Money.

5) Take Online Surveys

I’ve been taking surveys off an on for over five years. I’ve tried a variety of survey companies but my current favorite is Swagbucks. You are rewarded SB points for each survey you complete, and 100 points = $1.00 to exchange for gift cards. I’ve been able to earn about $10 in gift cards each month! I take the surveys while I donate plasma while waiting in the carpool line, or anytime I have about 10 minutes to kill some time.

6) Babysit

Yes, this is usually a teenagers job, but are you a stay at home mom who could help another mom when her kid is sick? Could you do a little before or after-school care a few days a week?

7) House/ Pet Sit

Do you have neighbors who could use help with their house and pets while they are on vacation? Often this simply means going by someone’s house about two times a day to let pets in and out, collect mail, take trashcans to the road, and maybe water a few flowers. This is a fun money-making opportunity to get your kids involved in too!

8) Join a Direct Sales Company

Many direct sales companies have very low startup fees, and allow you to work from home when YOU have the time With a little work you could earn a few extra hundred dollars in about a month.

Think about joining a company that sells a product you and your friends love. Look for a company with zero (or very low) sales minimums otherwise, you may end up losing money.

I am currently a direct sales consultant for 2 companies! I work Usborne Books & More as a business and use the extra income for my family. For my second company Norwex, I sell the products as a hobby simply for the personal discount so that I am saving money on products I would be buying anyway.

Another Idea: Host a party for a direct sales company– If you aren’t up for joining a company, try hosting a party. This won’t put cash in your pocket, BUT you probably will snag some rewards you can use as gifts which will end up saving you money.

If you are interested in joining or hosting a party with Usborne Books & More, you can join my group here.

If you are interested in joining or hosting a party with Norwex, you can join my group here.

9) Update Your Cable/Internet/Phone plans

Have you called your cable, internet and phone company lately to see if you can get a lower price?? I make it a habit to call about every 6 months just to check! Read my full post on how to save money on your Cable, Internet and Phone bill here.

10) Update your Auto/Home/Life Insurance Policies

We recently updated all our insurance policies and will be saving about $100 a month!

You want to be sure you are not under or over insured! Dave Ramsey has a great guide to the 8 Types of Insurance You Can’t Go Without. He also includes a guide on how much you should have of each.

For life, disability insurance and identity theft insurance, I can personally recommend contacting Zander insurance.  They are endorsed by Dave Ramsey and were able to get us new policies that gave us MORE coverage for much LESS than we had been paying.

Do you have other ways to earn quick cash?? I’d love to hear about them!