If you’re out in public avoid typing in your passcode. You never know who might be looking over your shoulder.
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:
- 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!
- 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.
- Transcribe audio: Put your ears to work by typing down the words from audio recordings at waywithwords.net.
- Be a mystery shopper: Check out BestMark and SecretShopper to start.
- Rent your car: If you aren’t using your car right now, rent it out through Turo.
- 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.
- Watch TV: If you love sitting in front of the silver screen, good news: there are sites that pay you for watching.
- 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.
- Test products: Do you love free stuff? Sites like Toluna, Nielson and Johnson & Johnson will pay you to test products.
- Listen to music: Audiophiles can head to Slicethepie to make a few cents for every song they listen to and rate.
- Test medicines: If you want to be a part of medicinal progress, join clinical trials.
- Rent your swimming pool: Swimply lets you sell access to your pool by the hour.
- 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.
- 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 HairSellOn, OnlineHairAffair and WorldofWigs will be happy to take it off of your hands.
- 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.
Master Excel with these 5 genius tricks
You can’t keep track of everything on paper. Excel can play a significant role in your daily workload. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro user, there’s much to learn — like these five useful Excel tricks.
Want to become an Excel expert? It’s a good strategy for small business owners who want to grow this year. After all, you’ll generate tons of data. Speaking of which, here’s how to stop third parties from selling your data.
⚠️ This one’s not for Windows newbies: Disk Cleanup may not clean as much as you’d like. Remove hidden files using Advanced Disk Cleanup. First, make a backup. Then, press Windows key + R, type cleanmgr /sageset:1 and hit OK. Select the file categories you want to zap and click OK again. Start the deep clean by going to either Run or cmd (Command Prompt) and typing cleanmgr /sagerun:1. Optimize this prompt by creating multiple lists; just change the number at the end, like /sageset:2.
Handwriting still matters: Studies show we remember things better by writing them down rather than typing them in on a computer or other device. Why? It activates multiple parts of the brain, like visual and motor pathways, so we process information more deeply. Bonus: Writing down things also boosts your focus and concentration (paywall link).
Turn yourself into a Google Workspace and Microsoft Office pro
Google Workspace and Microsoft Office are built for productivity, and they work even better when you really know what you’re doing. Below are a handful of the best tricks I’ve picked up from years of using this software. Maybe they can unlock some extra time in your day.
🚨 Bogus captcha tests: Instead of picking images or typing words, these shady tests ask you to press Windows key + R and Ctrl + V. Doing so then pastes in a Windows PowerShell script that unleashes Lumma Stealer malware. Stay alert: These fake captchas are popping up on random websites and in phishing emails.
⌨️ Where in the world? Remember Mavis Beacon? She was the woman on the cover of a popular typing game. Turns out “Mavis” was a Haitian model named Renee L’Esperance who returned to the Caribbean and vanished. Now there’s a documentary about trying to track her down.
🫡 Greetings, colleague: Dreading writing an email for work? Open ChatGPT or your favorite AI chatbot. Give it a headstart by typing who you are, your recipient and what the email needs to communicate. If the first draft is awful, give feedback (e.g., “Make it sound more conversational” or “Be more confident”) until it’s ready for your edits.
“My children and I have lived in hell for months”: After her cable company, Xfinity, ignored her, a woman shared a now-viral TikTok video with evidence of hackers infiltrating her smart TV. The footage shows a search box on screen and someone typing in her passcode. I’ll bet either her Wi-Fi password is weak, her smart TV allows remote access, or her gear and TV both need firmware updates.
Type with your voice: In Word, sign into Microsoft 365. Open a new or existing doc and go to Home > Dictate. Wait for the Dictate button to turn on and start listening. In Google Docs, click Tools > Voice typing. Click the microphone that appears.
Finders keepers: Looking for a file? Hit the Windows key and start typing its name. That’s it. On a Mac, hit Cmd + spacebar and start typin’. So simple and saves so much time.
Stuck on hold: There’s a hidden redial button on your smartphone. Hit the call button without typing a number or choosing a contact to call the last person you talked to.
Made a mistake while typing a text or email? Just give your iPhone a quick shake. A prompt will ask if you want to “Undo Typing.” Tap Undo, and like magic, your last action is reversed. Cool beans!
⏫ No cap: Use a Mac? Now, when you click into a form field (like a search bar or login area), you’ll see a blue arrow icon pop up to alert you if you’re typing in all caps. ‘Bout time we got a warning before entering a long, complicated password with Caps Lock enabled!
Human voice notes are the rage: Ah, the sweet spot between texting and calling (paywall link). Voice notes mean less screen time, and they’re easier than typing and keep your communication personal without the phone call commitment. Just hit the mic icon in your messaging app and start talking. And if your friend likes to ramble, listen at double speed.
On Windows, get a detailed report that includes usage, capacity and battery life estimates. Open the command prompt by hitting the Start menu, then typing in cmd or cmd.exe in the Run command box. Press Enter. Now, smarty-pants, type or paste in the following: powercfg /batteryreport
Hidden Windows features live in the Accessibility menu. We’re talking about the magnifier tool, text size settings, color contrast levels, voice-typing and narration features, caption settings, voice recognition and more. In Windows 10, go to Settings > Ease of Access. In Windows 11, go to Settings > Accessibility. So handy!
Looking for a file? Hit the Windows key and start typing its name. That’s it. On a Mac, hit Cmd + spacebar and start typin’. So simple and saves so much time.