We are living in a time where money is tight for many families. Money is certainly NOT flowing into my household and I definitely don’t have coming in what I need to meet my level of “comfort.” I am a mom of three AND a full time student, so I don’t have the time to even try to work a part-time job. This is what prompted me to look for alternative options for bringing in a little extra money here and there.
Below I’m sharing some ideas and my experiences with them:
Cash Back Rewards Apps
I signed up for a couple of these types of apps years ago, used them a couple of times, and forgot about them. It wasn’t until my friend posted on Facebook before last Thanksgiving that Ibotta had a promotion where you could basically get Thanksgiving dinner for free that I tried the app. My friend said it worked for her and was legit, so I tried it! To date, I have earned over $100 with Ibotta. I know that there is potential to earn even more, but I strategically shop with Ibotta in conjunction with which BOGOs Publix is offering for the week.
Another similar app that I use is called Fetch. This app can be used to earn points and cash them in for gift cards to retailers such as Amazon or Walmart. To date on this app I have earned enough for a $10 gift card, though I am waiting to cash it in until I have earned a larger amount. There are many more apps like this as well; which ones are your favorites?
Travel Rewards
I am absolutely motivated to take a beach vacation with just me and my husband in December. To make this more affordable and even partially free, I signed up for Wyndham Rewards after staying the night at one of their hotels while visiting my friend in Nashville. I even signed up for their credit card (use responsibly!) to expedite my rewards and to earn enough by December. Most mainstream hotel chains offer similar programs, so I am also signed up for the Hilton Honors Program, though I seem to usually book their hotels through affiliate sites.
Surveys
An additional way in which you can earn points with the Wyndham Rewards Program is by doing surveys. I signed up here. I do various surveys and earn points. This made me look into surveys for cash. Just today, after doing some research, I signed up for SurveyJunkey. The downside: You won’t qualify for MOST surveys you start and will only earn a couple cents for doing. After spending a couple of hours this morning on this, I am now $3.80 richer (woohoo!). This may not be for everyone, but if you have random time and patience you can earn a little extra money.
Ambassador Programs
Earn money while sharing products you love! Many companies offer these types of programs. Some will accept virtually anyone (I randomly signed up for a couple of different ones), others have more strict requirements and only accept those with a high number of followers on platforms such as Instagram. So far, I haven’t really tried much with this. The current two companies for which I am an ambassador aren’t products that I use, but I do have some pending for products that I love. The downside: You have to share often about the products (which might some across like Laura Linney’s character in The Truman Show), and you probably would need to have a decent size of followers to have enough sales to make a substantial amount of money.
Online Marketplace: Clothes
I recently signed up for Poshmark and tried to sell a couple of things. No one bought them, but I have bought something, so someone made some money from it. Also, if you use a referral code you can get $10 off your first purchase (mine is amyoldsoul). I intend on posting more of the many clothes I don’t wear anymore as soon as I can find the time to photograph them all. Another interesting site that I looked into for clothes resale was ThredUp. With them, you basically send in a big bag of your stuff and they sort through and pick out what they want to sell. The downside: Whatever they decide isn’t quality enough to sell, you either have to pay for them to return ship to you or just donate. If you have a bunch of higher end clothes, this could be a good option.
Online Marketplace: Crafts
Not only are there websites like Etsy where you can sell your crafty products, but there are several handmade boutique-style Facebook groups where you can buy and sell such products as well. There is everything on there from digital files to shirts and paintings. I have often been a consumer of these pages, but not yet a seller. I hope to try this in the future once I can find time between the kids and school!
MLMs (Multilevel Marketing Companies)
This is a viable option if you have the right personality for it. You may remember my post An Open Letter To The Random MLM Lady. I still hold true to this, though I have occasionally sold in the past and do have a couple people that I occasionally buy from. I was never really successful because I always had my own set of guidelines that included not messaging people (messaging is statistically a huge part of being successful with these types of companies). If you are comfortable with messaging people, you can make a decent amount of money. And there are so many different kinds of MLM companies that you are bound to find a product that you are passionate about.
I hope you enjoyed some of my experiences and ideas. What are some other unconventional money making options you know of?
