12 Ways to Earn Money Without Being Employed

Unemployed individuals don’t need to despair anymore—there are tons of online opportunities for gaining money. What’s more, the joy of earning money without being employed is much more pleasurable than you could imagine. You have plenty of options to choose from without even focusing on a particular niche and with very little hard work.

Being unemployed also gives you much freedom for personal development and investing in your personal growth. You can improve your personal skills daily and become better and better with each masterpiece created. You can reap all these benefits from unemployed status by following one of the proposed strategies and gain a fair monthly income.

1. Sell or rent your personal belongings.

If you don’t have a job, and need money—who doesn’t?—the first thing you can do is inspect your house. Which objects don’t you need anymore?

We all have old clothes that we haven’t worn for years, books we never opened or already read, pieces of furniture that have been unused for decades, and so on. Not to mention, everybody owns new pairs of shoes, kept for special occasions (this may be the right time to put them to a good use), accessories, car items and more.

Fortunately, second-hand sales are trendy now. These kinds of objects are not called “used items,” but rather, “unique items.” So gather all the things you can give up and organize a sale. There are many possibilities: yard or garage sales; online sales using special dedicated websites (eBay, Amazon, Gumtree) or sales through putting up ads on social networking websites (Facebook, Pinterest). If you are lucky enough to own a holiday house, a caravan, or even a boat, start renting them out.

There are always people willing to pay for some days of relaxation or adventure. If you plan on going on holiday, take advantage of this and rent out your own room or house. People can do this on Airbnb. If you want to go even further, try this: rent out your parking space while you are away. This method can bring in lots of cash if you live in a central or busy area of the city.

2. Take care of pets.

Do you just love animals? Don’t have money to buy one or to raise it? You can actually spend time with your favorite kind of animal while receiving cash through pet sitting and dog walking. Many people have multiple pets but are too busy to give them the care and attention that they need. During the holidays, many owners travel to visit their families, and will need someone to look after their furbabies while away.

Find these kinds of jobs by handing out flyers and by adding posters to the local community board. You can also find pet-sitting websites, like Pawshake, Sittercity, Care.com. These sites serve as a platform that connects pet sitters with needy owners.

3. Use your creative skills.

Almost everyone has a weird hobby or a skill they acquired for fun. Maybe you like to knit, make homemade cosmetics, and or create jewelry. Whatever your talent may be, you can make money from it on websites like Etsy. Pinterest is also a good place to display and sell self-made things.

If photography is your hobby, try licensing the images on Getty through Flickr. There are tons of websites and businesses that are willing to pay you for your stock photos.

4. Work online for busy persons.

There are dozens of busy individuals who need assistance in researching for materials. Machines cannot always do this, so they must hire someone. If you want to be that person, then create an account on Amazon or Shorttask and start looking for jobs.

5. Complete online surveys.

Earn some pocket money by filling out surveys. Of course, you will not get rich just by answering questions; however, you can get paid small sums of cash for this task. Compensation varies by website, so check the terms and conditions thoroughly. Also, be on the lookout for scam platforms that pay nothing in the end.

A good place to start is Mysurvey.net. Here, participants earn points that can be transformed in gift cards for websites like JB Hi-Fi, Myer and Woolworths. Other platforms just pay users in cash.

6. Be a universal repairing man.

Every city has citizens who need help with keeping their houses clean and functioning. Some of them don’t have time, while others are not good at fixing things.

If physical labor is something you don’t mind, go out there and get paid for it. Be it cleaning, painting, mowing, and so on—these kinds of activities can bring in honestly-earned money. AirTasker is a great place to find such tasks.

7. Become a freelance writer.

Now, if you are a bit of a brainiac and have solid writing skills, you can join platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, iWriter and so on. These place are visited by thousands of writers worldwide.

And here is the reason why—writers can choose the projects they love the most, work on appealing texts, and get a fair amount of money, all while working at your own pace. However, you must keep in mind that every task has a deadline that must be respected, so you’ll need to practice self-discipline to make sure you get everything turned in on time.

8. Become a ghost shopper.

Do you like inspecting, evaluating and criticizing? Usually, people hate this kind of attitude, but others pay for it. Mystery shoppers are in high demand these days.

They go to restaurants, shops, hotels and other places, and pretend they are just a regular customer. Then, based on their personal shopping experienced, they fill in some reports, which are then used to grade employees. You can apply at MysteryShopping.com if this sounds appealing to you.

9. Cook for others.

Cooking is not for everybody. Not to mention, there are millions of people out there who don’t have the necessary time and energy for this activity. So if you have impressive cooking skills, take advantage of this gift. Here are some ideas of earning money from cooking: organize a dinner at your house and ask people to buy tickets to attend to it.

This is in high fashion in Australia, and websites like Eatwith have become famous. You could also hold cooking lessons at your house. Try posting ads saying that you are willing to cook for busy individuals in exchange of a fair payment.

10. Try tutoring.

Tutoring is the number one activity for making instant money. Students are looking for all sorts of lessons—foreign languages, math, science, chemistry, etc. Foreign languages are in great demand, but other complex subjects are paid better.

11. Participate in medical research and clinical trials.

This is definitely not a good idea for everybody. However, there are enough individuals willing to offer themselves to science for some bucks.

Before deciding to take part in a trial, carefully read the risks the participants are exposed too. Take them seriously—health is not something to treat lightly.

12. Participate in focus groups organized by big companies.

Opinionated people are welcomed in focus groups. Focus groups are led by marketing companies that want to find out more about people’s ways of thinking when it comes to buying something. The experience is actually often enjoyable and you can even get paid up to $100 or so.

Featured photo credit: Poor Frog & Macrography by Hamed Saber via Flickr via flickr.com

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