28 Smart Ways to Make Extra Money

Donating old clothes to Goodwill or some other agency is always an option, but there are also stores like the Buffalo Exchange and Uptown Cheapskate chains that will buy garb in good condition and/or exchange it for store credit. For pricier or rarer items, eBay and Etsy are good options, too.

Focus groups, doing consumer research for a wide range of products and services, can pay up to $200 (and sometimes more) to participants. FocusGroups.org and other sites list available options.

Museums, arts organizations, and civic groups sometimes engage knowledgeable and personable individuals to lead neighborhood walking tours. Though these are generally unpaid positions, those who join the tours understand that they are expected to tip their guide, and that can add up to a few hundred dollars if the group is large and generous enough.

This isn’t just a gig for your teenager. If you have the right personality and credentials (CPR and first aid certifications are helpful) and like kids, this can be a good way to bring in some extra bucks. Rates vary widely, but are at least $10 an hour and sometimes considerably more. These days, you’ll probably want to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before taking a job.

If you live in an area served by the electric scooter companies Bird and Lime, you might qualify to be one of their “chargers.” They supply the equipment. You pick up scooters and plug them in at home, typically for four to six hours (or overnight). Depending on your electricity rates, each charge will cost you somewhere between 10 and 25 cents, and the companies pay out $3 to $5 per scooter.