How to Make More Money on the Side

Who doesn’t love making more money?

I have done so many things over the years to make money and have tested all the ones I share here.

I have also done a recent update for 2023 with ways to make money on the side.

One year, I did a monthly update about ways I have made money on the side. Check them out with details on what I did and how much I made here.

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

How to Make Money on the Side

Firstly, you need to work out what you want to do, how much time you have for it and work out payment.

A separate bank account is a good idea.

By directing your side hustle money to a separate account you can keep track easier plus it won’t get absorbed in your daily life.

You can choose what to use it on.

Get a $100 Bonus from ING

Here’s what you need to do:

Open an everyday account and put the promo code CNW116 in the promo box (you must use the code to get the $100 bonus) and complete all the steps below in the first month.
Deposit $1,000 into the account such as your income or Centrelink payments
Make 5 settled transactions
Open a Savings Maximiser (current interest rate is 5.5%)
Make a deposit into the Savings Maximiser

Then you get your $100 the following month when the promotion is running. Promotion periods vary. The current promotion runs until October 31, 2023.

Having people in your space or using your things is not for everyone.

You can make good money from it though for very little effort.

Here are my favourites.

1. Airbnb

I’ve made $1,300 in 5 days during Christmas 2018 or $600 for 5 days another time and $70 to $220 a night at other times.

Airbnb was great for me but you need to check the laws where you live as more locations are making changes to short term or holiday rentals.

For tips on how to do it, read how to make money with Airbnb.

2. Uber Carshare

Previously Car Next Door, Uber Carshare enables you to rent out your car for cash.

Check the insurance they offer as well as your regular insurance.

Be aware people will not care about your car as much as you do and they will not take as good care of it.

3. Rent Out Your Space

Sensing a theme here? Renting out things gets you easy money!

List your garage, driveway or storage areas on Spacer or similar sites.

If you have enough yard or driveway space you can rent it to someone to store their caravan.

You can even rent out your swimming pool on Swimply!

Check out this post on how to make money from your stuff and space.

4. Airtasker

Everyone has a list of stuff they need done and plenty of people list those tasks on Airtasker to get others to do them.

Most of it is basic such as cleaning, putting together items and moving stuff.

It’s free to join, you can get some weird requests though.

Read how to make money on Airtasker for tips on how to make it work for you.

5. Driving or Deliveries

Most of the drivers I speak with love the flexibility but the pay is pretty low.

I’d be inclined to suggest you do something else with that time such as blogging, freelance writing, VA work etc.

But some people find driving or doing deliveries works best for them.

You can either drive people for Uber, Taxify, Ola, Shebah etc or deliver food through UberEats.

Packages can be delivered with Amazon but from what I have heard, they have high volumes and low pay for the level of work.

All of these options are extremely flexible around your regular work though and my delivery guys love it.

Ways to Make Money From Home

I shared a variety of ways I have made money from home and remotely in another article.

Having worked predominantly from home and around my kids, I have a lot of ideas and things I have tried.

Working from home or making money from home requires discipline because it’s easy to get distracted by everything.

You need a good internet connection and set clear boundaries for work time vs family time otherwise you can end up working all the time.

6. Online surveys

Not all of them are scams and I test them regularly to ensure the ones I mention are paying out properly, customer service is good and there are lots of surveys.

You can look at the full list of the best Australian online survey sites I’ve tested for you to find out more..

Swagbucks is great, it has multiple ways to earn money plus they pay in USD.

Octopus Group is the highest-paying paying in Australia and my favourite.

Prize Rebel has done well for me and pays in USD as well.

7. Sell Or Resell Items

I’ve made over $10,000 in a month and loads of other people I know have easily made a few thousand each month buying things to resell or simply selling things around their home they no longer use.

You can look at selling for others and getting paid for it as well.

In 2017, I did a challenge based on reselling. In month 1 I made nearly $3,000 and by month 3 I was on almost $9,000 then from month 4 it was $10,000.

I don’t currently do it we spend a lot of time travelling now, but when I get a chance I do it and almost always sell within minutes of listing.

I have all my top tips and information here.

8. Blogging

This is not for everyone and not as easy as everyone thinks but is my favourite.

Personally, I have done well with it as have many of my friends.

You need a topic you are interested in and happy to write about consistently, quality content, social media skills (or the capacity to outsource) and a few other things.

Check out this post for my tips on how to set up a blog and make money from it.

With blogging, it is not the same as it used to be and I view it more as owning a website now.

Generally, you need an active social media presence as well.

That said, you don’t need to be the face of it or even have anyone know you own it.

So it can be a good anonymous way to make money for some and is easy to outsource too.

9. Freelance Writing

Another favourite of mine, freelance writing started for me after blogging.

It was unexpected as I had been blogging for a year, landed a book contract and got offered freelance writing gigs.

There are so many opportunities to get paid gigs.

I’d highly recommend doing a course, honing your skills, learning how to pitch and getting ready before launching into it.

Check out my tips plus some paid writing options here.

10. Be a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants help in all areas of business from basic admin and emails to graphics, marketing and anything else they want to specialise in.

If you have a background with admin skills you can make $20 to $100 an hour (depending on your skills.

Only high-level executive virtual assistants or those who manage others earn the top end per hour). Find out more here.

Random Ways to Make Money

Today we have more ways to make money than ever before and so many ways to do it online.

Here are some random ways to make money which you can’t do all the time but pay well when you can.

11. Medical Testing

$4,050 is how much I was paid to test a medication I needed anyway which had already been extensively tested.

You can read about medical testing here.

I’ve seen offers for $500 through to $10,000 this year for medical testing and not all of it required you to take medication or have needles.

12. Mystery Shopping

I haven’t done this in ages but people who read The Thrifty Issue do and have said it’s still good.

How much you make will vary, it tends to be mostly fast food and the rate isn’t huge.

I don’t personally have any companies I can recommend as I don’t do it now. You can find out more here.

13. Bonuses

Bank accounts, investing apps, sign-up bonuses there is cash to be had everywhere!

Check out this list of freebies which includes quite a few signup bonuses. Look for bonuses and freebies!

14. Market Research

When I have done it, I’ve been paid $100 to $150 an hour.

Some of them can be done in your own home, others are in a central location.

It’s usually fairly simple, you give your opinion on stuff.

Sometimes they have great food too!

Check out this post for more info.

15. Voiceover Work

A few years ago, I interviewed Brett who does this professionally.

Some of my friends in the States make good money with it too and there is a demand as more and more people are involved with social media and businesses are creating different content.

Read Brett’s tips on voiceover work.

16. Pet and House Sitting

Another option some of my friends do is house and pet sitting.

Once you have a good reputation the pay can be pretty good.

Often you start doing it for free though. Read this post with tips from my friend.

Domestic Options

Any domestic chore can be an easy way to make money on the side.

Cleaning, ironing, gardening, babysitting and similar tasks are often the first thing people outsource when they need more time.

The pay can vary from $20 to $50 an hour depending on what you do and where you live.

Have your own business (you can start one for under $100 here) or advertise on Gumtree, Facebook, school newsletters etc.

Other Ideas

Each month I share updates on how I have made money on the side as well as how much.

This post has 43 ways for single mums to make money (which anyone can do).

Tips For Making More Money On The Side

When it comes to making money on the side there are a couple of things which can make a real difference.

99 Side Hustles for Aussies includes not only the ideas but also how to get started, how to market them and make more.

1. Do multiple options at the same time

Many of the options I have shared can be done at the same time without much effort.

For example, you can rent a room on Airbnb, list your garage on Spacer, your car on Uber Carshare while doing one of the other side hustles.

Having low effort ones you can do at the same time as others increases your income easily.

Online surveys can be done anytime (such as when you are waiting at the doctors or at school pick up).

Ironing can be done in an evening watching TV, and buying things to resell can be done anytime because once the items are listed your time is free.

Plus there are loads of apps you can make money at any time.

Do you get the idea?

Find the ones which work for you and you can do at the same time to diversify and increase your income streams.

2. Go for the Highest Income Stream

This doesn’t always mean highest per hour, it means the most regular income as well as the highest.

Which options are going to get you the most money for the least amount of time/effort?

To me, this is important because you are using your spare time to do it and still want to be able to spend time at your job, studying, socialising etc.

If you spend 3 hours driving for Uber to make $30 when you could spend those 3 hours babysitting to make $60, it makes sense to babysit, right?

Unless you prefer driving to babysitting. It depends on how you want to spend your time but thinking about how to get the most money with the least time/effort matters.

Look at the options you have available to you and work out which ones pay the highest as well as provide regular income.