Everyone wants to know how to make money – especially extra money on the side.
I’ve tried 15 different ways over the past two years. Some made me $500+/month. Some made me $12 total and weren’t worth the effort. Here’s the honest breakdown of what actually worked, how much I made, and how much time it took.
15 Side Hustles Ranked
Tier 1: $300-600/month
1. Freelance Writing ($420/month avg)
What I did: Wrote articles for small businesses and blogs.
Platforms used: Upwork, Fiverr, direct outreach
Time investment: 10-15 hours/week
Money made: $280-620/month (averaged $420)
Reality check:
- First month: $80 (low rates, building portfolio)
- Month 3: $340 (better clients, higher rates)
- Month 6+: $400-600 (repeat clients, $0.10-0.15/word)
Pros: Flexible schedule, work from home, scales with experience
Cons: Takes time to build up, inconsistent some months, clients ghost
Worth it? YES, if you can write decently
2. Online Tutoring ($380/month average)
What I did: I tutored students in math over Zoom.
Pros: Good hourly pay, fulfilling satisfaction, continuing income
Cons: Must be an expert in a topic, can be difficult to schedule
Is it worth it? YES, if you have knowledge to provide
3. Food Delivery (DoorDash/Uber Eats) ($340/month avg)
What I did: Food Delivery on Weekends.
Time: 10-12 hours/week (Friday-Sunday evenings)
Money: $280-420/month
The math:
- $18-25/hour (with tips)
- Gas: $40-60/month
- Net: $280-360 after gas
Pros: Flexible, can start right away, and quick cash flow
Cons: Car wear, gas costs, and sacrificed weekend evenings
Is it worth it? YES, if you need quick cash
Tier 2: Made $100-300/Month (Decent Side Income)
4. Selling on Facebook Marketplace ($180/month avg)
What I did: Sold things I didn’t need and flipped thrift store finds
Time: 5-8 hours/month
Money: $120-280/month
My plan:
- Months 1-2, sold my own items ($280 total)
- Months 3 plus, bought items priced too low and sold them for a higher price.
- Best flip: $15 vintage jacket → sold $65
Pros: Low ditch your items and make cash, low time outlay
Cons: Your inventory is limited (your stuff), so you have to manage flaky customers
Is it worth it? YES, for sure, especially in the first months
5. Dog Walking (Rover) ($160/month avg)
What I did: walked dogs through the neighborhood using the Rover app.
Time: 6-8 hours/week
Money: $120-220/month
Breakdown:
- $15-20 for a 30-minute walk
- 8-12 walks per week
- Rover takes 20% cut
Pros: Exercise, flexible, love dogs
Cons: Weather-dependent, building a client base takes time
Worth it? YES, if you like dogs and need exercise anyway
6. Online Surveys ($120/month avg)
What I did: Surveys on Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, and Prolific.
Time investment: 10-15 hours/month (mindless TV time) Money made: $80-180/month
Reality:
- Most surveys: $0.50-2.00 for 10-20 minutes
- Hourly rate: $6-10/hour (terrible)
- But: Could do while watching TV.
Pros: Zero skill needed, do while watching Netflix
Cons: Mind-numbing, terrible hourly rate, disqualifications
Worth it? MAYBE, only as background passive income
Tier 3: Made $10-100/Month (Barely Worth It)
7. Cashback Apps (Ibotta, Fetch) ($45/month avg)
What I did: Scanned grocery receipts for cashback.
Time investment: 2-3 hours/month
Money made: $30-65/month
Worth it? MAYBE – set it and forget it, but don’t expect much
8. User Testing (UserTesting.com) ($40/month avg)
What I did: Tested websites and apps, recorded feedback.
Time investment: 3-4 hours/month
Money made: $20-60/month ($10 per 20-minute test)
Worth it? MAYBE – inconsistent test availability
9. Renting Parking Space (SpotHero) ($35/month)
What I did: Rented my unused driveway spot.
Time investment: 0 hours (100% passive)
Money made: $35/month
Worth it? YES – if you have empty parking spaces, easy money
Tier 4: Failed / Not Worth It (Made less than $20 Total)
10. Dropshipping ($12 total, FAILED)
What I did: Tried selling products from AliExpress
Time spent: 40+ hours.
Money earned: $12, spent more than $200 on ads.
Net result: Lost $188
Worth it? NO – too many sellers, high ad costs
11. Amazon Mechanical Turk ($18 total)
What I did: Microtasks that pay you less than a dime
Time spent: 8 hours
Money earned: $18 ($2.25/hour)
Worth it? NO – you could earn more money begging on the street.
12. Stock Photography (Shutterstock) ($8 total)
What I did: Uploaded half a hundred photos
Time spent: 12 hours
Money earned: $8 in 6 months.
Worth it? NO – unless you’re a professional photographer
13. Print-on-Demand (Redbubble) ($5 total)
What I did: Designed t-shirts and mugs
Time spent: 20 hours
Money earned: $5 from 2 sales.
Worth it? NO – already covered, still not worth it
14. Blogging for Income ($0 so far)
What I did: Created a blog and tried affiliate marketing
Time spent: 100+ hours over the course of 8 months.
Money earned: $0
Worth it? TBD – it takes 12 to 24 months to see income
15. YouTube Channel ($0)
What I did: Posted 10 videos about budgeting
Time taken: Over 60 hours.
Income: $0 (need 1,000 subscribers to enable monetization).
Would I do it again? Not yet – that’s a huge time investment.
Total income (2 years):
Best revenue month: $1,200 (freelancing + tutoring + delivery)
Average revenue per month: $640
Total revenue in 2 years: $15,000 (approx.)
What would I do in your shoes?
If you have any marketable skill (writing, design, coding, teaching):
- Do freelancing or tutoring first
- Potential income: 400 – 1,000 or more a month
If you have a vehicle, and you have free weekends:
- Do food delivery or rideshare first
- Potential income: 300 – 600 a month
If you have 0 skills and you need quick cash:
- Do selling things and dog walking first
- Potential income: 150 – 300 a month
If you want more to be fully passive:
- Do cashback apps and rent out your parking space
- Potential income: 50 – 100 a month (but it actually is fully passive)
The main issue
Anything is possible, despite this, “Money for Nothing” isn’t a thing. Most passive income activities made pretty much nothing, while anything that could earn anything was pretty active in time or skills required.
The best combination: 10 hours a week freelancing writing + 10 hours a week food delivery = $700 – $800 a month extra. $9,600 a year isn’t a huge amount, but it is a significant amount. The advice would be to choose a couple of different techniques for making money and try a couple of different activities to see if anything sticks.
Pick 2 or 3 methods. Commit to this for 3 months. Understanding common financial mistakes in your 20s helps you avoid wasting the extra money you work hard to earn.
Feni. Personal Finance Writer & Budgeting Researcher
Feni focuses on practical budgeting systems, debt reduction strategies, and long-term financial stability. Her work combines real-life experience with research-based financial principles to create sustainable money habits rather than quick-fix solutions.
At ThriftVine, she shares structured, accessible guidance to help individuals build stronger financial foundations and make informed financial decisions.
The information shared on this website is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Visit the About the Author page for more information.