How I Made $2,704 in a Month With the 2020 Money Challenge

How can you make more money in the last few months of 2020?

Last month I posted about the goal to make an extra $2,020 by the end of the year and how you and I can do it.

This month truly surprised me as so many things happened out of the blue – both money-making opportunities and savings.

Disclosure, this post may contain affiliate links.

Bank Bonuses – $30

Numerous banks offer sign up bonuses when you open an account with them. This month I did two small online ones.

Investing – $20

Small referrals from friends to investing platforms I use earned me this $20.

Online Surveys – $245

Surprisingly, this month, online surveys picked up. I hadn’t looked at them for a while but Octopus Group (the highest paying online survey site) had quite a few.

They pay over $16 per hour with the amount based on how long the survey takes. Some surveys are 2 minutes, others 30 minutes and you get paid accordingly. This is where I made the most.

Be aware, customer service is terrible with them (quite rude) and there have been payment issues. Check out my review and feedback from other readers here.

Swagbucks, PrizeRebel, MarketAgent and a few others are good too. Check out this post on the best online survey sites for Aussies where most readers earn $2,000 to $5,000 per year. I also outlined which sites to avoid in that article.

Image of woman holding phone to text while standing in front of the computer at a desk. Text reads How I made $2,704 extra on the side last month.

Airtasker – $665 in 8 days + $325pw Ongoing

Having not used Airtasker for years, I jumped on and within a few days had already completed some tasks while locking in others. I was surprised how easy it was, how quick some of the gigs were but be aware, there are a lot of low offers.

Check out this guide for how to make money with Airtasker. In the 8 days I used it, we made $665 plus secured 3 ongoing marketing gigs invoiced from me directly instead of Airtasker.

My gigs included some cleaning, gardening, fixing a business listing, buying and delivering Panadol, cooking a BBQ for an AFL event and marketing.

Cash Back – $50

If you haven’t signed up to cashback programs yet, you are leaving money on the table. They are all free to join and every time you shop you can get cashback. I made a few purchases this month due to setting up our house so cashed out more.

Use cashback apps such as CashRewards, Kickback, Shopback and Honey. You can also earn points for gift cards through ReceiptJar. Join free with the code KYLIT3QH2 and get a bonus 200 points when you upload your first receipt.

Freelance Marketing and Writing – $1,699

I get asked a lot about this as people look for more remote gigs. To be clear, I used to own a marketing agency. I sold it a few years ago so this comes easily to me.

My first freelance writing gig was back in 2011 and they approached me. The income I have listed here is on top of any regular work I have and was unexpected.

Freelancing any services can be great. Check out how to become a freelance writer here, how to become a virtual assistant and these remote gigs I have done.

The last 18 months I did more travel-focused writing for magazines etc but took time off the rest of the marketing and services until this month.

I had time off to spend with my daughters after a long custody battle but now I am based on the Sunshine Coast again, I have started to get numerous enquiries and picked up extra gigs for marketing, freelance writing and similar.

Image of red-headed woman holding bag. Text reads How I made $2,704 extra on the side last month.

What Else can you do to Make Money in 2020?

I’m currently 6 months pregnant so what I can do is a little limited but there are still so many things you can do to make money. I am looking at buying things to resell again. Previously I made over $10,000 in a month with that.

Rent Space e.g a Room or Garage

Having moved around, I’ve done this in a few locations – Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and I am looking at it for here in Noosa. I made $1,300 in 5 days on Airbnb in Melbourne, rented my garage out for $50 a week in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne plus rented places sporadically when I have travelled.

I’ve also had flatmates throughout my life renting a room off me in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.

Our home in Noosa doesn’t have a spare room so it’s not practical here. However, we might rent our home out when we travel again.

Check out this guide on how to make money with Airbnb and read this on renting a room to boarders.

As for renting out the garage, I did it privately a couple of times and through Spacer. I have more on how to rent out space in this article.

Rent Out Your Car

This is something I have considered now I have a car and because there aren’t many vehicles available to rent where I live.

I wouldn’t recommend doing this with a new car but plenty of people make ok money from older cars, utes or moving vans through Car Next Door.

Reviews and Market Research

Places such as Tell Me Baby pay you for reviews.

Check out our experience with them here.

Other places offer $100per hour on average for market research.

Usually, you do it via the phone or go to a specific location for an hour and answer questions.

Find out more about making $100 per hour with market research in this article.

Sign Up Bonuses

Aside from the banks and investing apps I already mentioned, numerous businesses offer a signup bonus either in the form of cash or savings.

With the savings or discounts, put what you would normally spend into your saving account so it is a real saving, not just cash you blow on other things.

A few I have used include:

Get your first box free with HelloFresh!

Get up to $180 off EveryPlate, split across your first 5 boxes with the code THRIFTYEPLATE. YouFoodz is more health-focused and offer up to $140 off with the code THRIFTY140.

Get up to $144 off Dinnerly (49% off your first order, then 30% off the next two.) Marley Spoon offers up to $190 off 4 orders! That’s 53% off your first order, and 20% off your next three.

You can find more bonuses in this list of freebies.

Other Options

I made $33,277.57 on the side in 12 months in one year, I’ve shared 43 ways for single mums to make money plus how I work remotely. Have a look through, find what works for you. Or check out my eBook 99 Side Hustles for Aussies which includes 99 ideas, how to set them up and how to maximise them to make more.

Also, join The Thrifty Issue Facebook Group for more ideas or to ask me anything directly. I’m in there daily so it is the easiest way to chat with me directly.