15 out-of-the-box ways to make extra cash from anywhere

By now, you probably know that you don’t have to leave home to make money. After all, many companies sent employees home to work during the pandemic. But even if you aren’t a salaried employee, you can still make a living from the comfort of your own home.

All you need is a computer, a phone and a solid foundation of internet know-how. Some jobs are straightforward, like working for a call center from your home. But not all jobs have to be dreary and bereft of fun.

For instance, you can work as a professional dog groomer or even an artist who creates items from home. Apps like Etsy, Rover, Dolly and more have sprung up to empower you to become your own boss and work flexible hours. Here are 15 money-making opportunities that put you in the driver’s seat of your work life — sometimes literally!

Bolster your bank account

A few names get the most headlines when it comes to the gig economy. There’s Uber, Lyft, Instacart and DoorDash.

Good news if you don’t want to drive around the city, carting strangers and their food. There are many ways to make extra cash without surrendering to the 9-to-5 corporate world.

We collected some exciting ways to put extra bucks in your bank account. Save yourself some research time and check out our favorite resources:

  1. Sell your skills: Whether you like writing, drawing, dancing, voice acting or doing celebrity impressions, you can do anything on Fiverr. Some people will even throw a message in a bottle or speak with other people’s pets telepathically … or so they say!
  2. Pet sit dogs from your own home: Want to pet sit but don’t want to leave the house? Rover pays you to take care of strangers’ pets while they’re away.
  3. Transcribe audio: Put your ears to work by typing down the words from audio recordings at waywithwords.net.
  4. Be a mystery shopper: Check out BestMark and SecretShopper to start.
  5. Rent your car: If you aren’t using your car right now, rent it out through Turo.
  6. Decorate your car: Companies like Stickr.co and Wrapify give you decals with advertisements. Drive around with them to make sure people see the ads.
  7. Watch TV: If you love sitting in front of the silver screen, good news: there are sites that pay you for watching.
  8. Sell your friendship: Tons of people are lonely since the pandemic drove us home for a year and a half. Rent-A-Friend lets you connect with others for cash.
  9. Test products: Do you love free stuff? Sites like Toluna, Nielson and Johnson & Johnson will pay you to test products.
  10. Listen to music: Audiophiles can head to Slicethepie to make a few cents for every song they listen to and rate.
  11. Test medicines: If you want to be a part of medicinal progress, join clinical trials.
  12. Rent your swimming pool: Swimply lets you sell access to your pool by the hour.
  13. Rent out extra rooms in your house: We aren’t talking about roommates. Some folks just want cheap storage space. If you have rooms, rent them out through storeatmyhouse.com or neighbor.com.
  14. Sell your hair: If you have luscious locks, let it grow out to at least eight inches in length and chop it off. Sites like HairSellOnOnlineHairAffair and  WorldofWigs will be happy to take it off of your hands.
  15. Cook for your neighbors: Here’s a way to turn your love of cooking into cash…without working in the hectic environment of a restaurant kitchen. EatWith is a meal-sharing app that lets you host, cook dishes for people and even sell baked goods.

While many of these jobs are fun, you’ll probably have to put in a lot of hours and hard work to make a significant chunk of cash.

If you want to widen your net to find as many job opportunities as possible, we recommend heading to our sponsor, LinkedIn. It’s the No. 1 social media site for job seekers, employers and more.

You can find a ton of great gigs on LinkedIn

On the flip side, if you’re hiring, there’s no better place to put a job listing than on LinkedIn.

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You deserve a nice ride

🏁 Look inside your car. It needs a little TLC, right? Yeah, I thought so.

  • This tiny cordless car vacuum charges by USB.
  • A nice dust brush (29% off) tackles the fuzz on your dashboard and vents.
  • Hang your bags instead of tossing them on the floor with these $5 headrest hooks.
  • These cupholder coasters (21% off) can catch Diet Coke or anything else that drips.
  • Washable cloth garbage bags for $8 keep trash contained and out of sight.

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

✈️ Flying away? Uber has three new features to make your airport trips easier. The first, UberXXL, gets you a bigger car with extra trunk space for groups. The second, UberX Share, allows you to pay 25% by sharing a ride with someone heading your way. It’s available now at select airports. And finally, with Uber Reserve, you can have a car waiting for you when you land.

Bosses are firing Gen Z workers fast

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Gen Z grads are getting the axe — 6 in 10 employers have already let them go. Plus, a massive security breach exposed the private info of millions. Find out how one guy spent $1K on Facebook Ads to find love and about a new law that could change your car radio.

 r/f**kyourheadlights: It’s the subreddit behind a national movement to make car headlights less bright. Headlight brightness has doubled since 2015 after manufacturers made the switch to super-bright LEDs. This is wild: The standards for acceptable headlight brightness haven’t been updated since 1986. Speaking of headlights, need a smile? Look at this.

$10 for remote start

That’s what Mazda is charging for its connected features. They used to be free, and there was even an open-source (free) workaround. Yep, Mazda had that taken down. They’re not the only car company charging for previously free stuff.

🛒 Add to cart

Sorry, pal, but you’re going to want all these.

  • I love Amazon, but the box pile-up is real. Break them down faster with an injury-proof box cutter.
  • Make all your shoes slip-ons with no-tie elastic laces.
  • Cleaning goop (22% off) to get the crud out of your car’s nooks and crannies.
  • A slim, portable phone power bank is perfect for when you forget to charge at home.
  • A cord tamer sticks right to your appliances. Click the box for 20% off!

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

Tesla has the highest rate of accidents where at least one occupant is killed: The numbers don’t lie. The Model S has a fatal accident rate 4.8 times higher than the average SUV. The fatal accident rate of Tesla’s Model Y is also double that of the average car. It’s sad when you think about how many folks put their full trust in the autopilot features. You’re a fool if you do.

Built-in backseat driver: New Nissan cars with the ProPilot Assist 2.1 system will “yell” at drivers for going too slow. If the car in front is moving slowly, it’ll alert you to move into the passing lane. It’ll also tell you to get out of the fast lane if you’ve been in it for too long — you know, since it’s strictly for passing, right? Yes, you can turn off this function if it gets annoying. 

One of the hardest parts of owning a $100,000 Cybertruck? Keeping it clean. Its stainless-steel exterior attracts fingerprints and smudges like flies to 💩. Tesla says the car wash is a no-no, and the official $130 detailing kit is sold out. Owners are resorting to window cleaner, baby wipes and good old-fashioned car shampoo (paywall link).

📻 AM comeback: A new bill could require all car manufacturers to install AM radios. This is one of the best, most reliable ways to reach people during emergencies when other systems like mobile networks can fail. I also appreciate all you “hams” in the crowd. It’s such a contact sport.

🚕 You can go your own Waymo: The self-driving car company owned by Google parent company Alphabet is expanding to Atlanta and Austin next year. Unlike in Phoenix, where Waymo riders can use either the Uber or Waymo apps, Atlanta and Austin riders will need the Uber app to hail a Waymo car, and getting a Waymo still isn’t guaranteed. I don’t trust them enough to get in one.

Lifesaving tech: The 2025 Toyota Sienna minivan will call your phone if it thinks you left kids in the car. A 60 GHz radar scanner monitors the second and third rows. If the doors lock and it detects someone inside, the hazard lights will start flashing and the horn will sound. If you ignore it, you’ll get a text and a phone call.

Car companies are tracking your driving

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Are you a speed racer? You’re being watched. Major car companies are watching how you drive and selling your data to third-party brokers. Plus, discover secret codes to protect your family from scams and why the FCC is cracking down on illegal jammers.

Read to me: Robert from Mooresville, North Carolina, called my show to ask how to make his time in the car more productive by listening to documents he’d otherwise need to read during his drive. Easy-peasy — your phone can read a PDF aloud if you set up text-to-speech.

  • On an iPhone: Head to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content. Turn on Speak Screen and Speak Selection. Now open the doc you want to listen to, and swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to activate Speak Screen.
  • On an Android phone: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Select to Speak. Turn it on. To use it, tap the Accessibility icon, then select the text you want to hear.

No need to buy a thing. Seriously, where else can you get this great intel?

Don't rent a car without doing this first

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Hit with surprise charges after returning a rental? One simple trick can save you cash and headaches.

Keychains that double as ...

I love it when things are functional. For this list, I put together a few keychain goodies I’ve bought that fall into this category!

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A penny for your trucks: In Memphis, a tracker led police to the second chop shop in less than a week. The owners of a stolen pickup followed the GPS device to an industrial area. Days later, police came back with a warrant and found five cars. The suspect is in jail. I use an AirTag or get one of these car trackers for $15.

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🚨 Driving away with your data: Car rental company Avis says 299,006 people had their personal info stolen in an August data breach. We’re talking names, addresses, credit card numbers and driver’s license numbers. No word yet on how hackers got in. FYI, Texas was hit hardest, with 34,592 folks there exposed. Stay alert for phishing scams!

Spotted at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car counter in Santa Barbara!