A job is great for regular income, of course.

But when you need or want a little more, there isn’t much wiggle room.

That’s when it pays (literally) to have some extra ideas on hand to use when you need a little extra cash.

Or, when you just really need to make more money but definitely aren’t feeling the whole two-job thing.

This guide will point you in the right direction for finding stuff to do both online and offline that doesn’t require a job!

How to Earn Money with No Job

Online Surveys

Online surveys are first on the list because they’re ridiculously easy to use; you really can’t afford to pass them up if you’re looking for convenient money-making tasks.

Here are some of our top picks:

• American Consumer Opinion
• Branded Surveys
• E-Poll
• InboxDollars
• Ipsos i-Say
• PanelPayDay
• Pinecone Research
• Survey Junkie
• Swagbucks
• YouGov

Reward Sites

And next, of course, are reward sites.

These tend to offer even more money-making opportunities because of the variety of tasks available on the sites in addition to surveys.

There are a lot of these on the web, but we really love:

• Get-Paid
• GrabPoints
• InboxDollars
• InstaGC
• MyPoints
• QuickRewards
• Swagbucks

Start a Blog

Third, I want to mention starting a blog.

Yes, a blog can be a job in itself when you’re first building it.

But if you don’t mind putting in the work to start with, then it can turn into a somewhat passive income stream.

You’ll still need to spend some time writing content to update your blog, sharing your content on social media, and marketing your blog in the right places.

But once it becomes popular and gets a lot of traffic, it does most of the money making and hard work for you.

Start it now, and you might start seeing a return within a few months.

Or, Become a Freelance Blogger

Starting a blog can be a lot of work.

I get it.

If it’s not really your thing but you think writing could be a fun hobby, then maybe becoming a freelance blogger writing for other websites could be your thing.

These sites all pay you to write for clients:

• Clearvoice
• Freelancer
• Guru
• ProBlogger
• Upwork
• Verblio

Be a Dropshipper

Dropshipping is also an alternative to starting and growing a blog if you like the idea of having your own money-making website but writing isn’t really your idea of fun.

With dropshipping, you’ll advertise products for “sale” on your website, but you don’t need to hold any inventory.

Instead, when a customer places an order, you’ll order the items from your supplier and have them shipped to your customer.

You get the difference in pricing as a profit and can make money simply by placing orders.

It’s probably easiest to start with Shopify, which has tons of tools and integrations to get your business up and running.

Write eBooks

Write and publish your own eBooks on Amazon!

Amazon Kindle Publishing is good for any beginning author who wants to get their eBooks published as quickly as possible.

It could be the springboard for a future career as an author, and just what you need to get your name out there.

Sell Stuff Online

Got extra stuff you can get rid of?

Check your basement, attic, and piles of junk you have laying around.

You can sell anything from electronics you don’t need anymore to old college textbooks to handmade clothing or crafts.

Really, the sky is the limit – you just need to know what sites are best for your products.

Here are a bunch to get you started:

(Almost) Anything

• Amazon
• Craigslist
• eBay

Books

• Amazon
• Bookscouter
• Cash4Books
• Decluttr
• Powells

Clothing

• Poshmark
• Swap
• ThredUp

Crafts

• Artfire
• Bluprint
• Etsy
• Handmade Artists’ Shop
• Shop Handmade
• Zibbit

Electronics

• Best Buy Trade-In
• BuyBackWorld
• Decluttr
• EcoATM
• Gazelle
• NextWorth

Jewelry

• US Gold Buyers
• Worthy
• WP Diamonds

Be a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assisting can be work…if you don’t set your services to be only stuff you enjoy doing!

The good thing about this gig is that you can be in control of the services you provide, so pick what you love to do.

That way, when you’re working, it won’t really feel like work at all.

Fancy Hands, Time, Etc. and VANetworking can all help you jump start your biz.

Be on a Mock Jury

Mock jury trials aren’t always readily available, but you can keep the sites bookmarked to check in on once in a while.

Usually, once you’re signed up, you can also get emails notifying you when new trials are available that you might be able to join.

Try eJury and Online Verdict.

Design and Sell T-Shirts and Other Products

Do you have some artistic abilities?

Put your skills to use on the computer and design away.

These sites let you add your designs to t-shirts and other products to sell to customers.

And you don’t even need to hold any inventory in your home!

They take care of all the printing and shipping for you while you make money.

• Bonfire
• Cafepress
• Custom Cat
• Spreadshirt
• TeeFury
• Teespring
• Threadless
• Zazzle

Deliver Stuff

Use a service like Instacart, DoorDash, GrubHub, or Postmates to get paid to deliver stuff to homes or offices.

Instacart even lets you shop for your customers and deliver their groceries right to their homes.

In some cases, you can make $20 or more doing this, and it really doesn’t count as a job because you can deliver whenever you want, virtually however you want.

Find Freelance Gigs

Find freelance gigs on Upwork, Guru, or create your own on Fiverr.

You can hardly call it a job when you’re in total control over the gigs you choose to work on!

Microtask

You can also take care of microtasks on sites like Amazon Mechanical Turk or OneSpace.

The benefit of these tasks is that they’re usually very quick to complete, so you can pick when you want to do them and get them done on your own time.

Search the Web

Use Microsoft Rewards or InboxDollars to search the web and make money.

No kidding!

They both have web search features that pay you to use them, so make sure you remember to do that instead of using Google when you need to look up something online.

Enter Blog Giveaways

There’s no easier way to make money than by winning it.

And that’s exactly what you can do with blog giveaways.

Many of them have money as prizes, usually in the form of PayPal cash, and all you need to do are a few easy tasks to enter them in most cases.

Giveaway Monkey is one of the best places to find blog giveaways.

You can also browse sites that often host giveaways for more giveaways; sometimes, they’ll have “linkies” that link to other blogs that host them.

Ask the Government

If you are considered low-income for your state, then you may qualify for free money from the government.

You can browse your state benefits website (a quick Google search should do the trick) or visit or call your county welfare services office to see if you’re eligible.

Many states allow you to apply online, too.

Also, check out Grants.gov to see if there are any grants you might be eligible for depending on your current situation.

Watch People, Pets, or Homes

If you love pets or children, it’s definitely not a chore or job to watch them.

Becoming a babysitter or petsitter can be a lucrative way to get paid without actually working.

Or, you can take care of houses while people are away.

Check Care.com, Petsitter.com, and Housesitter.com for opportunities in your area, or browse Craigslist.

Share Your Opinions on Websites

Userlytics and Userfeel let you visit their clients’ websites, speak your thoughts into your microphone as you browse, and get paid.

Most tests take about 20 minutes and pay around $10.

Become a YouTube Star

Ok, so this one is easier said than done, I know.

But plenty of people are turning their YouTube channels into well-paying gigs.

And how fun would it be to make money doing something you love to do?

It’s worth a shot.

If you already have a channel or have a good idea for one to start, do it!

Share Your Expertise

Places like JustAnswer and Studypool let you get paid to help others who ask questions on the site.

You just need to prove you’re an expert in a subject, which shouldn’t be hard if you have licensure, a degree, or some other form of credentials.

You can also show off your research skills as a researcher for Wonder and get paid to answer questions and learn new stuff.

Play Games Online

Gamers, this one is for you!

There’s no work involved in playing your favorite games, but you definitely can get paid for doing it.

The following websites pay you to play all day:

• Corporation Master
• Exodus 3000
• InboxDollars
• iRazoo
• Swagbucks
• Wealth Words

Get Unclaimed Money

Check Unclaimed.org.

This site lets you check to see if there’s any money in your name that you haven’t yet claimed.

It could be anything from stocks to a payroll check you never received after quitting a job.

There’s no better way to get cash you didn’t know you had!

Join Class Action Lawsuits

You might also be able to jump in on a class action lawsuit that applies to you.

Check Consumer Action to see if there are any relevant ones for you based on faulty products you’ve used, medications you’ve taken that have been recalled, etc.

Get Paid for Your Photos

Got a bunch of awesome pictures floating around on your phone or computer that could probably sell for good money, but you’re not really sure what to do with them?

Well, there’s Foap, which is an app you can use to sell them to other people or businesses on the app.

You can stand to make more with stock photo sites, though, like Shutterstock, which pays royalties for any photos you sell.

Be a Mystery Shopper

Mystery shopping is something you can do both offline and online (if you decide to do phone-only mystery shopping).

It doesn’t take much time to complete a shop, and you can sometimes even get free meals or products through mystery shopping!

Here are some of the best companies to try:

• A Closer Look
• BestMark
• Call Center QA
• IntelliShop
• MarketForce

Tutor Online

Helping kids is such a rewarding thing that it won’t feel like a job for those who love what they do.

These sites hire tutors to work flexible schedules teaching their online students:

• Aim-For-A
• Chegg
• Smartthinking
• Tutor.com
• VIPKID

Get Cash for Shopping Online or In-Store

Make money by doing something you do anyway: Shop!

These apps and sites will give you cashback on eligible purchases you make using them:

• Honey
• Ibotta
• InboxDollars
• Qmee
• Rakuten
• Swagbucks

Walk Dogs

Use Rover, an app that matches dog walkers and sitters with dog owners, to find neighborhood dogs to take care of.

If you become top-rated in your area, you should have no shortage of clients to work with for extra cash.

Pick Up Neighborhood Side Jobs

Search the paper, Facebook, or Craigslist to find people in your area who are offering quick jobs for people with your skills.

Or, take control of your own side jobs by placing an ad to let everyone know what you’re available to do.

Sell Your Body

Your body is an awesome money maker if you know what to do with it.

You can sell your hair online at HairSellon.

Or, check your local area for blood plasma donation centers (make sure it’s for plasma, as most blood donation centers only take free donations; blood plasma pays, though).

You can also make money with your sperm or eggs, although the latter requires a lengthy process that isn’t for everyone (but makes excellent money).

Get Bonuses

Sign up for sites with bonuses!

Several reward and survey sites we mentioned above have bonuses when you register that help kick off your earnings balance, but there are plenty of others, too, like:

• BeFrugal – $10
• Cash4Offers – $5
• Opinion Inn – $10
• Rakuten – $10
• Univox Community – $2

You can also head to NerdWallet to see what checking and savings accounts you can sign up for to get a bonus just for opening a new account!

Use Paying Mobile Apps

Hop on your phone and use these apps that pay:

• Acorns
• AppTrailers
• BerryCart
• Dosh
• Easy Shift
• Fronto
• Google Opinion Rewards
• Healthy Wage
• Ibotta
• Receipt Hog
• Slidejoy

Conclusion: How to Make Money Without a Job

Getting paid without getting a job?

It’s totally possible, and lucky for you, you now know how to do it.

If you know of anyone else who might benefit from this article and income ideas, then we’d love for you to share it with them so they, too, can share the wealth.