Do you Want an Extra $20,000 or More This Year?

Last year I did the Gary Vee Challenge to make $20,170 by flipping stuff.

I aced that in a matter of months.

This year my goals are much higher and it will be through a variety of methods.

Here are 18 ways to make money in 2018 plus how much you could make!

Also check out 19 ways to make money in 2019 and 20 ways to make money in 2020 plus the most recent, 23 ways to make money on the side in 2023.

*Disclosure – some affiliate links are used in posts. Post originally published in January, 2018.

Ideas to Make Money From Home

I work predominantly from home, so naturally look for ideas that can be done around my kids and our lifestyle.

1. Online Surveys – $1,000 to $5,000

They won’t make you rich, but they can contribute a bit and many people find it useful to save up throughout the year and then cash out at Christmas to pay for it.

You can find a full list here of ones I have tried and some to avoid.

Octopus Group is the highest paying and my favourite.

2. An At Home Business $26,000+

Freelance writing, being a virtual assistant, running classes at home, photography, graphic design and so many other businesses can be done from home.

I have 51 ways to make money from home here.

Short on cash? Check out how to start a business for under $100 plus how to get the $100 to make it happen.

The $26,000 is a conservative amount.

If you make $500 profit a week (which can be done quickly in many of the businesses I’ve suggested), then you make $26,000 a year.

3. Rent Out Your Space $2,600+

Rent a room on Airbnb or rent out your home when you go away.

I rented mine over Christmas at over $1,300 for 5 days.

I have a small 2 bedroom unit and while there were issues with one guest (I had two separate bookings), Airbnb has been quick to sort it.

Find out more about renting on Airbnb here.

Even only renting my place for long weekends and when we are away I could make $5,000.

Alternatively, with a spare room, I made between $150 and $250 a week renting to a boarder or up to $13,000 a year.

Look at renting out your garage to someone wanting to store a car, boat or caravan or if you live near the city you can rent the space to office workers.

Garage spaces where I live go for $50 to $100 a week.

When I lived in Sydney I rented my garage to a single mother running a fashion business. $50 per week is $2,600 a year.

4. Car Share – $2,600+

If you have a car, you can rent it out through Uber Car Share.

I’ve joined and gone through the process so I can recommend it.

They are thorough in vetting people who use the site and it’s an easy way to make money from your car, especially if it sits in your garage or driveway barely used.

5. Investing and Bank Bonuses $400+

Look for account opening bonuses from banks and micro-investing platforms. Both give a little boost to get you started.

Up Bank offers $8 to new customers as soon as you join.

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.

6. Blogging – $20,000+

$20,000 is conservative if you are doing it in a business manner.

Many bloggers I know make more than this but it takes a lot of work and you won’t make money immediately.

My preferred host is Siteground, you can install WordPress with one click then make money through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, your own products etc.

Check out this post for more.

Ideas for Making Money Outside the Home

I tend to prefer from home side hustles, but there are many which don’t require a lot of effort outside the home.

7. Buy Things To Resell – $10,000+

I have made over $10,000 in a month reselling things online.

Rockabilly clothing such as Hell Bunny, corporate clothing such as Cue, photography and camping equipment have all sold well for me.

I buy usually at $2 or less then resell at $50 or more.

Check out the bargain basement, clearance racks and sale days to get more bang for your buck.

8. Gig Economy – $20,000

Uber, UberEats, Airtasker, Shebah, Foodora and so many other businesses are part of the gig economy.

This is where you make money from doing ‘gigs’.

From what I have heard Uber isn’t really worth it anymore, however, Shebah (a female only version) pays more.

Ubereats is better and easier than Uber itself apparently. If you don’t have a car, Foodora, Deliveroo and similar are great for bike riders.

You can find a lot of these plus discount codes here.

Aside from that, Airtasker is an option for cleaning, admin work and all sorts of odd jobs people require.

You can browse through what people are looking for and need done in your area or look for online options.

Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr and similar platforms can also be used in a similar manner, though on some of them you are competing heavily with an international market.

Most people I know doing random things in the gig economy make $20,000 or more a year.

9. Do What Others Don’t Want To – $26,000

Domestic chores such as cleaning, ironing, yard work, basic maintenance and similar are all popular things for people to outsource.

Depending on where you live and what you do, you could easily make $30 to $80 per hour.

Personal concierge services are another option, where you run errands, buy gifts and do all the little things.

Promote your services in a wealthier area as well as on Facebook.

Be presentable, consistent and reliable then word will quickly spread and you’ll have ample amounts of work.

At 10 hours a week for $50hr you’d have $26,000 this year.

10. Teach A Class – $26,000+

10 students a week at $50 each would be $26,000 in a year.

Have a look at your skills then work out how to do a class around them such as photography, dance, cooking or any unique skills you have.

I’ve previously run classes from a studio at home and easily made $500 a session.

11. Babysitting/Nannying – $15,000+

Babysitters and nannies get around $20 to $30 an hour (more for nights and overtime) in my area.

Even au pairs doing babysitting on the side typically get $25.

I’ve paid another mum from school to pick my kids up a few days a week and have them until dinner time.

It worked for both of us. I’ve also had a housekeeper at other times who picked the kids up and either played at the park or came home.

She also did some basic cleaning.

Many mums need an option like this.

Childcare can be hard to get into, not all schools offer after school care and some families would prefer the kids at their own home.

If you are doing it in your own home there are council regulations, laws and other things to consider.

Doing it in their home makes it different.

Doing 3 hours a day, 5 days a week would see you bring home at least $15,000 and you might be able to have your own kids with you!

12. Medical Testing – $700 to $10,000 a session

I did it and the one I was involved in paid $4,000, others I spoke to go between $700 and $10,000 for other studies.

It depends on how long you are in the hospital and what is required.

At the end of 2017, I tested this out in Melbourne.

Having heard of it for ages, but never experienced it myself, I was cautious.

Neutropenia is a blood condition I had which they were testing a medication for so I decided to take part.

The medication is one that has been tested before and similar to one already on the market so I knew what to expect going in.

If it worked for me, it would directly benefit my daughters and me as well as anyone who goes through chemo, has neutropenia or viruses which cause issues with white blood cells.

To do medical testing it is best to not be in the first group of any testing.

You need to read everything thoroughly and understand what you are doing.

The pay works out to be about $10 an hour and often you need to stay for 2 or more nights plus have outpatient visits.

I live not far from the facility and easily caught the tram, however, others lived up to 2 hours away.

You need to pay to get yourself there and back plus parking.

It’s not designed to replace your regular income or anything.

13. Tutoring

If you have a skill or decent education you can tutor.

Promote yourself at local schools, on Gumtree or Facebook.

Music such as piano, guitar and singing are popular, as is math and English.

You need to be proficient and able to teach properly to do this.

14. Direct Selling

Years ago I did Tupperware and did ok with it.

I earned and won over $2,500 worth of extra Tupperware in my first month.

Direct selling is not for everyone and some of the tactics used are not advisable.

Direct selling (MLM or party plan as it’s commonly known as) is a great income for those who truly believe in their product, don’t buy into the hype, are working with ethical companies and who love to sell.

If you aren’t a sales person and feel uncomfortable selling or promoting your products, it won’t be a good fit.

Do not spam Facebook groups, Linkedin or anywhere else and don’t direct message people.

It’s these dodgy tactics people hate. Be transparent, be fun and engaging.

The top sellers of Tupperware many years have been drag queens making the party fun!

If you are going to do party plan, give people a reason to come to your parties and book one with you.

Make it entertaining!

15. Remote Work

Numerous companies have remote work opportunities.

There are groups on Facebook which list opportunities, you can discuss it with recruiters and regular job search websites.

Do thorough research to ensure the remote opportunities are legit, the company is real and will pay plus the work is legal. It can be a real grey area so be careful.

Telemarketing, writing, admin, marketing and many other occupations are being outsourced.

16. Etsy, Markets and MadeIt – Varies

Make things to sell. On Etsy graphics, jewellery, cushion covers, anything you can make can be sold on Etsy, at markets or MadeIt.

If you have a commercial kitchen or get your kitchen council approved you can make foods to sell at markets.

One year a family member of mine sold out within 2 hours at markets by making pies, Austrian biscuits and other treats.

She was in high demand and some of the pies were made from foraged berries, so low overheads!

Other food options include making platters for events, cake decorating (raw looking cakes are popular at the moment or try your hand at jams and sauces.

If you have a favourite family recipe, they can go well at markets too.

17. Referrals

Many of the things you do or use have referral and affiliate codes where you can make money, get a discount or get credit with the company when you share the code.

Check everything you buy or use to see if there are any codes then share them with friends and family or on your own blog.

These codes usually give whoever you share them with a discount too.

18. Freebies, Comps, Discounts and Cash Back

While these aren’t technically making you money, if you got a percentage back of each purchase made online, won some comps and got discounts in all you do, you’ll feel like you’re making money.

Enter every competition that has something of interest or which you will use.

You can either keep all of them or sell them for cash.

Check out how to get discounts on everything and this list of Aussie cashback and discount sites.