Summer break is meant to be a time when you have, well, a break. What it usually turns into, though, is a time when you are even more stressed out from working a 9 to 5 job all summer. Before you know it, your summer “break” is over, and it was not much of a break at all.
So what is the solution? We all want to have time to do what we love this summer, but we also want to make some money. Luckily for us, there are many ways to make money without a full-time job, or even in addition to one. In this article, you'll find seven ways to make extra cash this summer without working a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job, but rather working an 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. job. I’m just kidding. Instead, let’s bring out the entrepreneur inside of all of us and explore ways to make extra money this summer without selling our souls to a full-time job.
1. Cash in on Your Skills.
Do you know how to design logos? Create websites? Build apps? Translate? Do you simply know how to read scripts? The gig economy is taking off, which means that there are plenty of opportunities all over the internet for you to make money doing skilled work. E-Lance,
2. Drive People Around.
Do you have a car? Do you like meeting new people? Do you need more people to sing along to songs with you while driving? If you are nodding your head yes, then it sounds like you’ll make a perfect Uber or Lyft driver. Uber and Lyft both allow you to sign up and get paid for driving people around. The only requirements are that you are 21 years of age and that your car is in good shape. The best part about these gigs is that the time commitment is totally up to you; you can either make $20 a week or $500.
3. Tutor.
From English to Engineering majors, you have the opportunity to make extra money with tutoring. Whatever subject it may be, chances are there is someone out there trying to learn the material that you learned in a class last semester. Languages, Sciences, and Mathematics tend to have more opportunities for tutoring sessions; nevertheless, if you know something about anything, there is an opportunity to teach others about that something. StudyRoom, Tutor.com and Tutor Hub are all great places for honing in on what you may have thought to be useless knowledge gained from classes.
4. Turn Your Couch into a Money-Maker.
Do you rent an apartment or a house? If you have an extra couch or room, or if you plan on being away from your house for a trip this summer, why not make money for the extra space you aren’t using? Airbnb allows travelers to rent out a room, couch, or bed in local houses as an alternative to staying at a hotel. Plus, when you refer other people to rent someone's place or host their own space, you can earn up to $100!
5. Take Surveys.
Have an opinion? Get paid for it. No joke, SwagBucks, InboxDollars and many other sites will pay you for simply giving your opinion. By providing your demographics and opinions on movies, stores, and products, you can get paid for providing valuable marketing information to companies and organizations. Most surveys will only pay a dollar or less, but, hey, if you take 100 surveys, that’s $100!
6. Sell Stuff Online.
Whether it is a pair of old shoes or a hand-made bracelet, why not sell it online? If you are crafty, Etsy is a great place to sell your crafts and creations. If you are selling clothes that no longer fit you, Ebay and Bonanza will be your best friends. Don't have the time to put your stuff up on Ebay? No worries, you can walk into a Plato's Closet near you and sell your items in-person, and then receive cash for the items sold, all within the same day! You can even sell notes from classes that you’ve taken. Yes, you read that right, Study Soup is a great place to post your notes from classes and get paid for them.
7. Start a Blog or Online Business
You can really bring out the entrepreneur within you by starting your own blog or online business. By simply buying a domain, setting up a site, creating content, and finding people who need or want your content, you can create a source of passive income. How do you make money blogging? Many bloggers make money by producing content for a niche audience, and then hosting advertisements on their site or recommending products via affiliate marketing and taking a percentage of the sales. Of course, in order to make money with this, you’ll need a customer base, but if you love writing and are consistent with it, this should be a fun way to make some extra cash!
If you are not a fan of writing, there are many other ways to make money with an online site. Whether it be selling T-shirts, drop-shipping products, or offering a service such as consulting, online businesses are a great alternative to a 9 to 5 job if you are looking for flexibility and freedom. Building your first site is easy when you use Shopify or Squarespace. Both offer discounts to students, so why not take advantage of this while you can!
