Yesterday we talked about ways to spend less.  Today let’s talk about some ways to bring in a little bit of extra.

1. As mentioned yesterday, use ShopAtHome (or Honey) when shopping online.  In a manner of speaking, you’re spending less.  But if you were expecting to spend that money anyway, the cashback check you get is extra.
2. Earn points to exchange for gift cards.  I like SwagBucks because it’s easy — I earn points through internet searches I would be doing anyway — and MyPoints.  MyPoints has a number of ways to earn points, but you can get some just by opening emails and clicking the links inside, which doesn’t take too long if you have a fast connection.  (I filter mine into their own folder. That way if I don’t get to them for a while, it’s easy to mass-delete them.)
3. Sell your no-longer-needed belongings.  You can hold a yard sale; use eBay, Craigslist, or the like, sell via local consignment shops, or sell them back to sites like Swap.com, ThredUP, and Twice.  (I have personally not had great success with selling via ThredUP & Twice, although I like them for buying.)
4. Sell a product.  What you can sell will vary from person to person, but most people can probably sell (at least a little bit of) something.  Whether you sell an ebook, printable, or other digital product; a handmade product (via Etsy or the like); or choose a direct sales company to work with, you can bring in a little extra.
5. Sell a skill.  Most of us are good at something.  What can you do well that not everyone can?  Chances are, people would pay you to do it for them. Advertise in the local classifieds, through Craigslist, or find a relevant online marketplace.
6. Write.  If you’re ambitious, you could write for magazines.  If you’re not so ambitious, you can contribute articles for sites like ListVerse, or find freelance jobs through sites like Constant Content.
7. Take surveys.  Personally, I’ve never found this to be particularly lucrative.  They talk big, but by the time I take screeners for five dozen surveys I don’t qualify for (since I seem not to qualify for most of them), it’s just not worth the time and trouble.  I have, however, occasionally found a good offer this way.  (I just completed a three-day online panel for $150.  It was fun, and it was worth my time.)  You just have to be a bit selective.
8. Become a mystery shopper.  Depending on the stores you shop for, this could potentially save you some money and bring in a little extra.  You have to be selective here, too, though, and those in more metropolitan areas probably have more options.  Many shops require a lot of details and don’t pay a lot, so know what you’re willing to do and at what price.
9. Complete micro jobs.  Micro job sites like Amazon’s “Mechanical Turk” use “real people” for completing small tasks.  These have very small pay (think pennies to a dollar), but many of them are pretty quick and easy, so they don’t take long and they add up.  As with the previous options, be selective!  I’m seeing some 60-minute jobs for 8 cents.  That’s not a good return on investment.  Eight cents for a 5-minute job, on the other hand, might be doable.
10. Complete small — but not micro — jobs.  Sites like Fiverr or Fiverup allow you to post “gigs” for small tasks, and get paid.  This is a variation on the “sell a skill” option, but these don’t necessarily have to be high-skill jobs.  It could just be the kind of mundane, repetitive tasks that other workers don’t want to do themselves (like posting their content to social media).
11. Review music.  I just found Slice the Pie this week.  It’s pretty unique, and I’m finding it a lot of fun.  You listen to music and write a brief review for each song.  It’s only a few cents per song payout, but if you like listening to music anyway, it’s pretty fun — and I’ve already found a new group I really like.  (Everything I’ve heard so far has been pretty clean, but a friend says the first song she got was full of cursing.  Yikes.  So your mileage may vary.)
12. Share your junk mail.  The Small Business Knowledge Center collects certain types of junk mail.  They use it to study marketing (and then destroy it when they’re finished).  It’s completely free — they even pay the postage for you to ship them envelopes full of your old mail.  The pieces you send in earn you points and when you’ve reached a certain threshold they send a prepaid card.  (I earn $20 about every….3-5 months.)

Did I miss an amazing option?  Leave a comment and let us all know!