Best Ways to Make Extra Money

Need extra cash? Don’t we all. I’m sure we all have our days when we wish we had extra money to pay for certain expenses or just to save. The truth is, most of us have an opportunity to earn extra money sitting under our noses.

If you’re looking to pay off debt, save more, or simply cover regular monthly expenses, here are 5 of the best ways to make extra money:

Become a Mystery Shopper

Getting paid to shop, eat and have fun is basically the life of the mystery shopper. Mystery shoppers get paid to visit certain retailers and companies and pose as a regular customer in order to provide a detailed review of their experience. Mystery shoppers get paid per job and reimbursed for their purchases. While some assignments are pretty standard like getting an oil change or visiting a new retail shop in town, others involve dining at a restaurant, going bowling or out for coffee and more. You can sign up to become a mystery shopper with trusted companies like Red Brick Scheduling, Secret Shopper and Best Mark.

Sell your Services on Fiverr

Fiverr is a popular website that allows people to advertises their services at a minimum rate of $5. Fiverr sellers do everything from graphic design, article writing and editing, and SEO optimization to editing images, doing voice overs, making videos and more. Whatever your interests are, you’re sure to find a group of customers who may be interested in paying you for your work. Plus, you can always upcharge by adding additional features to your services so you can earn more than $5 per gig. To be successful on Fiverr, you need to write a clear description of your service offerings, use good graphics and imagery, and obtain reviews from past customers to build credibility.

Pet Sit For Others

If you enjoy animals, you may like pet sitting during your spare time for people who travel or run errands. If your time is limited, you can also try dog walking and still earn a decent amount of money from this service. Start by asking around in your neighborhood to see if anyone needs a dog walker or pet sitter. Most of your potential clients may be busy professionals who spend a lot of time away from home or an elderly pet owner who can’t get out of the house as much. To assist you with finding clients, you can sign up for Rover.com which helps match dog walkers and pet sitters with pet owners. With Rover you can set rates and describe your work preferences. Sign-up to Rover now!

Sell Your Belongings

One of the best ways to earn money quickly is to sell the things that you no longer want or need. It’s a great way to declutter while making some quick cash. You can have a huge garage sale or sell your items online on sites like Amazon or Ebay. You can also sell locally to people in your neighborhood or take your items to buyback stores like Plato’s Closet, Clothes Mentor, Once Upon a Child, Disc Replay etc. All of these stores will pay you for your items if they are in good condition.

Review Websites

If you’d like to earn money from the comfort of your own home simply by giving your opinion, you may be interested in reviewing websites with User Testing. This company pays $10 per each 20-minute review you provide that includes helpful feedback about a particular website. With User Testing, you choose assignments and record your voice and screen while you navigate through each website you review and share your honest opinion and suggestions. You can earn up to $30 per hour reviewing websites and payments are sent out weekly.

What have you done to earn extra money lately? Which one of these options appeal most to you?

Photo: Flickr: 401(K) 2012