10 Legitimate Ways To Make An Extra $500 A Month
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10 Legitimate Ways To Make An Extra $500 A Month

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase.

Nowadays, there are tons of creative ways to make extra money or earn extra income apart from your main job. You can always find something to do, you would just need to select which ones can work best for your lifestyle.

Here are some ways you can make an extra $500 a month:

Teaching English online

If you love teaching, then becoming an online English teacher is another opportunity you can take advantage of.

Social media graphic of cash falling on a laptop with text about how to make an extra $500 a month online

A great company you can try out is VIPKID. They are looking for English teachers from the US who can teach kids from China online. There is a VIPKID portal that you would be using and all lessons are taught on a one-on-one method.

You can also choose your schedule, meaning you can teach at your own pace and time. With VIPKID you are required to have a bachelor’s degree (any major is fine) and it is preferred that you have 

experience working with children but is not required.

With VIPKID, you can earn $14-$22 an hour. Some teachers even make thousands per month!  

Read our full VIPKID review here. 

If you don’t have a degree, but still want to teach English online, check out QKids. They do not hold the same degree requirement and still pay $16 to $20 an hour!

Teaching English from home is one of the best ways to make an extra $500 a month!

Proofreading

If you are great at picking out grammatical errors, have great attention for detail, or just love to read and edit, you can become a proofreader and earn extra money from the comfort of your home.

There are a lot of online businesses and bloggers that are in the need of proofreaders so the demand is out there.

As a proofreader, you will review different content and check for grammatical errors, spelling, syntax, and formatting.

If you want to become a proofreader sign up for this free proofreading webinar about how to build a proofreading business in 30 days!

You can look for proofreading jobs at sites like Flexjobs, EditFast, Scribendi, Upwork, and many more. You can even start your own freelance proofreading online business. This allows you to set your own rates, pick your hours, etc.

You can earn an extra $25-$45 an hour.

Driving for Lyft

Lyft is a company that allows you to earn extra money on the side while driving people around. This is kind of like being an independent taxi driver. This is a great way you can earn extra money in your spare time, and especially if you like driving.

What’s also great is that Lyft allows you to keep tips for yourself. During peak hours, you can earn more because of primetime pricing.

Remember to keep track of your gas expenses as well as car maintenance expenses so that you don’t end up spending more instead of earning.

With Lyft, there are also some bonuses to be had so you can watch out for those every now and then. To drive for Lyft, they would require you to be at least 21 and there is also a background check they would be doing.

You can earn in a range of $15 to $25 per hour, so it will all just depend on how much work you put in for that month.

Click here to sign up as a Lyft driver and get a bonus!

As a Lyft driver, you can easily make an extra $500 a month!

Taking surveys

Companies and brands value their customer’s opinion and pay good money for it. This is why there are lots of businesses out there making the most of this and hiring people to take surveys for these companies.

If you don’t mind providing some information about yourself and answering questions, then taking surveys can be one way you can earn some extra cash in your spare time.

What’s great about taking surveys is that you can literally take them while doing other things like watching television, waiting in line, lounging on the couch, or anytime that you feel like you want to take a survey.

Some of the companies that pay for surveys are Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, Pinecone Research, and Harris Poll Online.

Our two favorite picks and the ones that will make you the most cash are Survey Junkie and Swag Bucks we’ve been taking online surveys for money for almost a decade and these two are our favorites.

One way that you can maximize taking surveys for money is also by signing up with multiple survey companies/websites so that you would have many opportunities and options to earn cash.

Test a few different companies and see which you earn the most with.

Sign up for: Survey Junkie

Sign up for: Swagbucks

Sign up for: Pinecone Research

Sign up for: Vindale Research

Sign up for: Harris Poll Online

Another important thing to remember is that these surveys would usually require you to be of a certain demographic so that you can “qualify” to take those surveys and get paid.

This is why it can benefit you to sign up with many companies so that you can have these different options in case you aren’t the right demographic for some.

You can expect to earn an extra monthly income of around $100-$600.

Starting A Blog

If you enjoy writing and sharing your passion with others blogging can be a great place to make money from home. Many moms are able to make hundreds and even thousands from blogging each month.

Blogging does take dedication and the financial results may not be as immediate as the previously mentioned businesses, but it can be incredibly lucrative and fulfilling.

The two things you need for a self-hosted site are a domain name and a website host.

I buy my domain names from Namecheap for about $10 per year.

And web hosting will run about $4 a month. I use SiteGround to host my sites. They have great customer service and help your site run super fast!

You can view my in-depth tutorial on how to start a blog here.

Making money with a blog can take time, but it is very realistic to make an extra $500 a month online with a blog. I now make a full-time income blogging!

Becoming A Virtual Assistant

Are you organized? A social media whiz? Why not apply your expertise and become a Virtual Assistant?

With the massive growth in online businesses, many companies are actively seeking out help with many of the tasks for their businesses. At a certain point, they hit a growth ceiling and need to hire help in order to expand.

This is where you come in! If you have special skills like graphic design, customer service, or social media capitalize on these skills and create a Virtual Assisting business!

Did you know one in three businesses would rather hire out their social media management than do it themselves? That gives you a huge pool of clients to work with! To begin your business you can start on places like Upwork to get jobs as a freelancer.

Here is a great blog post about how to become a virtual assistant.

As you build relationships and your portfolio you will be able to charge more and take on higher-end clients. Most beginning social media managers/virtual assistants charge at least $15-25 an hour depending on their expertise (with more experience or skills you can charge much more!).

If you charge similar rates you will only need to work 5-8 hours a week in order to make an extra $500 a month.

There are no upfront costs to start as a virtual assistant. However, if you want to take courses to learn skills faster (and increase the rates you charge) you can take online courses. One student in my Pinterest course and now works as a Pinterest Virtual Assistant and makes an extra $2,000 a month!

Become an Airbnb host

If you have a spare room in your house, you can have it rented out through Airbnb and get some extra cash. This is an easy way you can make money and make use of what you already have, and it won’t take a lot of effort.

Airbnb gives you control when it comes to your prices, house rules, availability, and guest interactions. Airbnb also verifies the guests through a valid email address and phone number.

Another great thing about Airbnb is that they provide protection for their host’s insurance worth $1M property damage protection and a $1M insurance against accidents.

In order to get started, you can add your listing on the Airbnb site directly for free. You can then determine your own prices, schedules, and other requirements.

You can also use their Airbnb calculator in order to see how much you could be making in a month. This is a useful option to have, especially if you are new to all of these and want to get an idea of whether or not renting out your space is for you.

Sign up to be an AirBnb host today.

You can potentially make an extra $500 – $2,000 in a month.

Selling on Amazon

You may not have heard of selling on Amazon but here is a brief summary of how to sell on Amazon FBA.

Ultimately, you have an online store that is run by Amazon. You find products at a discounted rate (clearance, stacking sales, thrifting, ect.), ship them to Amazon and mark them up to the prices they are currently selling for.

When a customer purchases one of your items Amazon ships your item from their warehouse. Amazon then takes a cut for storing, shipping and marketing your product. You receive the remaining profit.

This really is a super easy business model, and can be really rewarding to run! It is much easier to start than an independent e-commerce site because you have the traffic and credibility of Amazon. You can easily make an extra $500 a month or much more with an Amazon FBA business.

If you want to learn more check out this free three-part video series from The Selling Family. They make over $100,000 a year selling on Amazon FBA!

To start an Amazon FBA business you don’t need a lot, but I recommend having at least $500 to invest in inventory. You will also need to have some funds set aside for shipping the products to Amazon.

If you do not have money to invest you could sell items in new or gently used condition that are around your home as a way to get some “seed money.

If you have a small amount to invest, hit up the thrift stores in your area.

Some of my favorite items I have sold on Amazon I sold on Amazon I got at my local Savers! (For example, I purchased a CD for $1 and sold for over $50 on Amazon. True story!)

This video series teaches you how to find the best items to sell on Amazon. 

Network Marketing

Sometimes direct sales (network marketing) gets a bad wrap, but with the advancements in social media, you don’t have to host stereotypical in-home sales parties in order to be successful.

Many of these businesses can be marketed mostly or exclusively online. I have been invited to many “Facebook Parties” promoting different direct sales companies. It is a fun way to be exposed to new products while I still am in my jammies!

Related: The Do’s and Don’ts of Direct Sales. 

I became a consultant for a product that I love a few years ago and was able to grow a list of customers that buy from me every month as well as a team that brings in passive income!

If you invest time as a direct sales consultant, however, you can have great success! I know many moms that are a consultant for brands they love and they make an extra couple hundred bucks to even thousands each month!

To get into a direct sales business it usually is pretty inexpensive. Many companies have starting packages as low as $100.

Related: How To Become A Faramasi Beauty Influencer 

Freelancing

What are you good at? I know you have a skill that another person or business needs help with. This is where freelancing comes to play.

Some common freelancing jobs include, content writing, graphic design and accounting/bookkeeping. You can create an account on freelancing websites like Fiverr, Freelancer, Upwork or Guru. You then can bid on projects that fit your skills and experience.

Learn how to become a freelance bookkeeper here

If you are having a hard time coming up with a niche this list of 200 freelance niches is super helpful.

The great thing with freelancing is you can take on as much or as little as you want. You also are likely working in an industry that you are good at, so the time you spend won’t feel as much like work.

You can easily make an extra $500 a month with part-time hours. Based on your skills and how much time you are willing to commit there is great potential to make much more than $500.

There are tons of ways to make an extra $500 a month from home

What’s your favorite way to earn extra money?

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McKinzie Bean
McKinzie is a mom of two, and a personal finance enthusiast. She loves teaching other moms how to save money, make money, and take control of their financial situation. She has started five profitable businesses and in college, she double-majored in Financial Planning and Psychology. You may have seen her in publications like Forbes, The US Chamber of Commerce, Yahoo Finance, Money.com, The Penny Hoarder, & more.

7 thoughts on “10 Legitimate Ways To Make An Extra $500 A Month”

  1. Great list of ways to make extra $500 a month! I think a lot of them are great except for being a virtual assistant, I gave this a go one time and it really consumed me. I think finding the perfect VA contract can really make a difference at whether you will enjoy doing it or not. What are your thoughts on this, have you ever been consumed by a VA role that it becomes a burden?

    1. Hey Marco!

      I actually was a VA for years and it was a great source of income. I did eventually stop doing client work so I could focus on my own businesses, but it was a great way to make money. I made much more than $500 a month and overall the work was pretty fun! I agree with you though that having a good client and a solid agreement can make all the difference though!

  2. You could teach the neighborhood kids a class in your home using Classient.com. In the case of younger children a “class” could be simply watching kids and keeping them entertained for a few hours (group baby-sitting). So no formal teaching experience is required.

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