The internet is full of side hustles that can earn you extra money, which is something which could be very useful at the moment. The problem is that to do most of them, you need start-up cash, some degree of talent, or a qualification. If you are lacking in most or all of these, you might be feeling like you are never going to get started. 

It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, however, as there are some things that you can do that take little or no money to start and won’t need much more in the way of resources than what you already have – possibly even sitting idle.

Start Filling Out Online Surveys

These can be a sweet deal, provided you know what to look for. Most agencies that host surveys are retail based and will do their best to sell your details or get you to sign up for subscriptions. These are the ones to avoid and are the subject of many of the bad experiences you will read about online. 

What you could target instead are companies that recruit for academic surveys, which are anonymous, and your views and opinions are helping out with online research for university projects. These also tend to pay better, although it should be noted that, while this is something you can do while sitting at home, it isn’t the biggest payer.

Part-Time Delivery Driver 

You can use your existing vehicle for this, although you might need to clear the back out. This mainly entails delivering medium-sized items that people have bought online, and need to be shipped to their address. This could be from somewhere like eBay or a social media site and will be one-off jobs that bigger courier companies just aren’t made to do.

You can look for shipping work online at places like Shiply, where you will come across a board for finding loads and what people will pay for the job. You can do this completely ad-hoc and fit it around whatever other commitments you have. This can be ideal for weekends or evenings when your car is sitting idle and most people are in to receive deliveries anyway (something that many courier companies usually overlook and try to deliver during the day when you are out).

Become a Background Actor

If you have always had dreams of being on TV or in the cinema but, as already stated, have zero talent, this could be perfect for you. It might be a very occasional job, but you will be paid the going day rate, and you don’t need to be part of any union. A background actor or extra won’t have to do much, except stand there or walk across the screen, and you could get to meet a famous name or too, as well as make some extra cash.

To Wrap Everything Up

Making extra cash is not always easy, especially if your list of resources consists of you, your car, and a little bit of free time. However, surveys can earn some extra pennies without leaving the house, and if you do want to go outside, you can make some ad-hoc deliveries. If this is not high profile enough, you could always find occasional work as a background actor instead, which like the other two, requires no start-up cash, qualifications, or talent.

By Manali