20 Ways to Make an Extra $1,000

How to Make an Extra $1,000 or More. Do all 20 and Make an Extra $20,000!

What would you do with an extra $1,000?

How about an extra $20,000?

Some ways to make money generate more than others and many can be done at the same time as each other, increasing your earning potential.

The amounts below are based on what we made from each one in a year or how long it takes to make $1,000.

Note: If you like free money, check out how to get a $100 cash bonus from ING, $15 from Up Bank or have a look at the full list of freebies, offers and discounts for every state.

Disclosure – this post may contain affiliate links for products or services I use. This was written 2021, updated in 2023.

1. Online Surveys – $2,500 in a year

In the last 12 months, we each made $2,500 with online surveys.

Generally, we do them when waiting for something else e.g the doctor or school pick-up.

All the best online survey sites are listed here.

Our top earners are Octopus Group, PrizeRebel and Swagbucks.

Others find Pureprofile to be good although we find they take longer.

2. Reselling – $10,000 in a month

We made $10,000 in a month when we did it actively in Melbourne and regularly make $50+ in profit per item we sell.

Finding great items at super low prices takes practice but there are a few ways to do it.

Look for free items on the street and Facebook.

Check op shop sales and shop accordingly. Many have a $2 rack too.

Shop clearance sections, warehouse sales and look at garage sales.

When looking for items to resell, we look for things we know about and can check easily.

We’ve had great success with rockabilly clothing, Lego, jewellery, travel gear and similar.

Listing only takes us 3 minutes, including photos then packing and posting 5 minutes.

All up, one item might take us 10 minutes to sell and send.

Items that will have a profit over $50 are preferred because you sometimes have to answer questions and spend more time on an item.

It isn’t worth the time to us to sell items that are only $5, especially once you take out fees.

How much you make will depend on what you resell, where you resell it, the market for those items etc.

Some items do better on eBay but the fees are high, others are great on Facebook Marketplace.

3. Bank Bonuses – $1,134 in a year

We made $1,134 with bank bonuses in the past year.

This includes mainly signing up for new accounts and a few friend referrals.

We didn’t do it with credit cards but the bonuses with them if you are disciplined can be worth heaps.

Up offers $15 (read the review on Up Bank for more information) and ING offers $100 at times.

4. Blogging – $1,000+ in a year

How much you can make with blogging varies a lot.

It’s been a main income here for years (six figures) but many others have not made anything.

It does take a fair amount of work but once you are set up it is easier.

Plus as you grow, you can hire others to help.

As an absolute base level, we do believe people can make at least $1,000 from their blogs.

When we purchased The Thrifty Issue, we made back the purchase price in a week then another $1,000 soon after.

Since then, it has supported numerous families.

We’ve also bought and sold other sites. Usually buying them for around $500 and reselling for $5,000 to $20,000.

To get started with blogging check out this post.

Personally, it’s a full-time income in part time hours.

5. Cashback – $1,260 in a year

Last year, as we had to purchase a few items for the home and we did it on special days, we got $1,260 cash back!

We use 3 sites and with them, we compare the cash back offer. By signing up to a few, we can find the best deal with the highest offer.

Cashback Programs We Love

Below are our favourite ones. Your first step needs to be getting the apps and Chrome extensions installed.

They can notify you when you are on a site eligible for cash back and how much you will get.

Shopback: Join Shopback for free and get a bonus after your first purchase. Get even more cash by doing online surveys, joining challenges, uploading receipts and utilising upsized cash back offers.

Honey: Slightly different, Honey offers cash back but also scans for discounts and coupon codes. Join Honey for free here.

6. Freelance Writing – $1,000 per contract

The average contract/gig of ours is $1,000.

Freelance writing requires skill and some expertise but you can do a course and there are a lot of beginner options.

This is for articles we write for their website, magazine, newsletter or other content.

Not for writing articles on this site or them being featured on here.

Read how to become a freelance writer for all our tips and sites to get paid work.

7. Virtual Assistant – $1,000 a week

Most virtual assistants we know make at least this a week, or more.

Virtual assistants are in demand from business owners, bloggers and even people with busy lives are turning to having someone behind the scenes to do things for them.

It can include anything from administrative tasks such as email and booking appointments through to social media.

The services you offer will depend on your skills.

Read about how to become a virtual assistant for more ideas.

8. Deliver Flyers – $1,000 a month

It can be tough work in all kinds of weather but if you are walking or riding a bike and listening to a podcast, it’s not too bad.

The pay isn’t huge, but we negotiated and got higher rates doing it directly with companies instead of through a delivery service.

Check out Airtasker or Google flyer delivery in your area to find gigs.

9. Airtasker – $1,000 a month

We experimented with Airtasker and were pleasantly surprised.

The fees are huge but come down the more work you do on there.

Most people we know start with a day on there but get more work if it is labour jobs and the days not on Airtasker are paid in cash.

Read how to make money with Airtasker to learn more.

You can get paid to do anything but be careful about how long things will take to make sure it is worth your time.

10. Cleaning – $1,000 a week

Cleaners can charge $50+ per hour and more for specific tasks such as cleaning the oven.

Check the prices in your area, quote per job but be specific.

When it comes to cleaning, be clear about what is included, if you provide everything or they need to and how long it will take.

You can find jobs on Airtasker, Gumtree or Facebook.

11. Babysitting – $1,000+ in 10 weeks

When I was a teen, I was lucky to make $20 or $50 when I babysat, sometimes for 6 or more hours!

Now, it costs $35 or more per hour and you need first aid, Working With Children Check and other qualifications.

Most people don’t want a teenager looking after their kids anymore so there are more opportunities for adults to babysit.

$35 hour means you only need to do 3 hours a week to make $1,050 in 10 weeks or do 6 hours a week to make it in 5 weeks.

12. Rent Out A Room – $1,000 a month

Whenever we’ve had a border or rented out placex\s on Airbnb I have easily made $1,000 a month.

With Airbnb, you can likely get a few thousand a month depending on where you are located and what is included.

I have a full guide on how to make money with Airbnb here.

Thoroughly vet whoever you rent to, have rules and plans in place in case anything goes wrong.

13. Rent Out Your Garage – $2,000+ a year

This can be so easy, especially if you use a platform such as Spacer.

Spacer was an easy way to do it because they handled the payments and there is a contract in place.

Most people store extra items, stuff for a period of time, spare cars or boats.

14. Gardening – $1,000+ in a week

$50hr was the average when we did it but if you have all the supplies and are a fast worker, you can quote per job and make a lot more.

Some aspects might require qualifications such as trees near powerlines. Know your limits and only quote for what you are capable of doing.

Doing this as a side gig for wealthy areas can work quite well.

15. Voiceover Work – $1,000 in a week

A few of our friends have done this over the years, many turning it into a full time job.

We interviewed Brett here about his experience and some tips.

While it’s not a conventional gig, it can work out quite well if you speak clearly.

There are also companies paying for people to speak certain sentences to use for AI research.

How much you make will vary depending on how much work you take on and your rates.

16. Transcribing – $1,000 in 6 to 8 hours

If you are a fast and accurate typist, transcribing can work out well.

Doctors, lawyers, podcasters and numerous other occupations require transcribing of their work.

You can typically find work on Upwork, through Facebook groups or LinkedIn and other job sites.

Payment is often based on how long the audio is instead of how long it takes you to type which is why a fast typing speed is important.

17. Market Research – $1,000 in 10 hours

All the market research work we have done has paid $100hr with some going for 2 to 3 hours.

This means, with 10 hours work, you’d have $1,000. Check out this article for more on market research.

In a nutshell, you are paid for your opinion on something.

Sessions are recorded and feedback given to the company based on your responses.

19. Medical Trials – $4,050 for 1 trial

$4,050 was the payment for 1 medical trial for a team member here. Their experience and tips for how to get paid to do clinical trials can be found here.

It is not something everyone can do and we recommend caution with doing it.

Never be in the first group testing something and always read the fineprint.

20. Teaching/Tutoring

There are so many platforms you can teach on now.

If you want to do regular tutoring, you can through an agency or simply offer your services on Gumtree and similar.

Alternatively, you can create a course on a platform such as Udemy or Coursera where you will get ongoing income from whatever course you create.

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