9 Ways to Make Extra Money During Covid

Could you do with some extra cash right now? Here are 9 ways to make extra money during Covid.

A lot of people right now are experiencing financial trouble. Maybe it’s because you lost your job or you had your hours reduced or just simply there isn’t any work available in your field right now. 

If you are reading this article then you are probably in one of those situations above. It’s no secret that a pandemic has taken over the world. It hasn’t not only taken lives but our freedom and our way of living as well. 

So what can you do?

First things first – Pause or Cancel Payments You Don’t Need

Before you say, oh I don’t have any unnecessary payments, just double-check. This is the age of subscriptions. If you don’t have any cable tv subscriptions then what about your phone? Any apps that have monthly payments? Do you have any classes that you can pause till your financial situation gets better? 

Remember, it’s just until your situation gets better. If you are coming short of money to pay for necessary things like rent, food, electricity, etc, then it’s time to cut out the things you don’t need temporarily.

1. Sell Items You Own

When I say sell things you own, I don’t mean selling the stuff you use every day like your phone. But, most people have their old phones or unused laptops lying around in a drawer somewhere. You can put these up on a site like eBay, Craigslist, or Gumtree to get some cash. Do you have any furniture that you don’t use or just taking up space in your garage? What about a bicycle you don’t ride anymore? Fishing gear that you haven’t used in years? Any expensive shoes that you don’t need right now…

If you can find some things to sell then you can have the cash for that bill coming up. You gotta do what you gotta do…

2. RideSharing 

With a plethora of ride-sharing services like Uber, Lyft, Ola, Didi, and quite a few newer options, you are sure to find a popular service in the area you live in. 

Of course, it’s helpful if you have your own car, but it’s certainly not a requirement. I know of a lot of drivers who rented their cars to do ridesharing. With the current Covid restrictions and less movement of people,  it’s a good idea to do some research about how much you can realistically earn right now. And if you can afford a rented hire car as well if that was the option you are looking at.

If you are in need of some quick cash and you are out of work then some money is better than no money.

3. Look for Delivery Jobs

So, just today I went to an online job search site and saw a considerable lack of jobs in some fields compared to before the pandemic. You might be in one of those fields. Even if you’re not until you find a job with a stable income you can look around for delivery jobs in your area. 

The good thing is with people working remotely and less movement in public, online purchasing has gone through the roof. And some local businesses that didn’t have much of an online presence and no delivery service have made sure to boost these aspects.

So if you are willing to do some deliveries around your area then this is the perfect opportunity for you to have a look at a delivery job.

Hey, it could be fun too. And you don’t have to do it forever.

4. Look for Mystery Shopping Sites

OK, so, if you haven’t heard what mystery shopping is, basically it’s going into a shop and reviewing how the staff interacts with you as the customer and you just complete a survey at the end of it reviewing their performance. You do this without telling them that you are a mystery shopper or secret shopper.

Companies really want feedback and information on how to improve their products, services, and in store customer service. So they give out these jobs to mystery shopping companies. So there are a bunch of these mystery shopping companies and I recommend signing up to a few because not all of them have jobs listed all the time. All the good ones get snatched pretty quickly too.

Not all mystery shopping gigs require you to visit the store. Some mystery shopping gigs can be done in the comfort of your own home if it’s an over the phone gig. And you can even get free food if it’s a restaurant gig. How that works is, you pay with your own money but you get reimbursed that amount – always read the job properly before you accept it so you know exactly what they require you to do and how much you will get paid.

You can usually earn between $10 – $100 or more per job depending on its length and complexity of the gig.

5. Do Surveys

I’ll be direct here, doing online surveys isn’t going to make you a ton of money. You are getting paid cents per survey. But, something is better than nothing. You can sign up to multiple survey sites and complete as much as you can to maximize your earnings.

Some popular survey sites you can try:

SurveyJunkie

Pinecone Research

6. Good at Crafts? Think Etsy or Amazon Handmade

I’ve written a dedicated post on how to sell homemade jewelry online. Which you can check out by clicking the link above.

I know a lot of you have the talent and creativity to make little jewelry pieces. So why not make use of that and start your own online store?

Etsy and Amazon Handmade are two good platforms to start your store in and also a good place to get ideas too.

7. Use Your Skill

Can you play the guitar? Are you good at photoshop? Are you good with graphics?  Can you write articles? What about video editing?

If you have a skill you can use it to make money. Don’t think that there are enough people teaching how to play the guitar. Sometimes your way of teaching something will be unique and helpful than others.

Check out these sites to get work:

Fiverr

Upwork

8. Buy and Sell Things

Buying things and reselling them at a profit takes some learning and some experience to do it well over a long-time.

But, if you know the market for let’s say clothes, you can go into thrift shops and look for things that you can buy for cheap to resell. In fact, I’ve seen a few people do it very well and built a good online business.

I must say it’s something you’ll need some cash upfront and there is always a chance of not being able to sell the stuff you bought. 

But if you are someone with the right knowledge or can learn quickly then it might be something to consider.

9. Invest in Yourself

Learning something new is intimidating to most of us. We just don’t do things that are difficult and take time, even when we know that it’s worth it.

But, maybe you’re someone who had enough of doing nothing and working every day for someone else. That’s why you should consider learning something new – investing in yourself.

Before you think, you need a lot of money to do this. No, I created this website and learned to write these blog posts, which you are reading now – all from scratch.

I taught myself how to make passive income from the internet and learned to build my own brand.

If I can do it with no special prior knowledge then you can too.

So those who are action takers, this is your chance. Learn to build something worthwhile during this pandemic. And best of all it’s free to join and try. Read my full review of this resource that I’m still part of today.

Conclusion

Even more than a year later since this pandemic began, the world is still in shambles. Many have lost jobs or had their hours reduced and it hasn’t been easy to find a stable job that pays all the bills.

If you are severely affected financially by the current situation, call your financial and utility bill companies and request extensions if at all possible – if you haven’t done this already, you might find that most companies are understanding of the current situation.

If you have things that you can sell then consider doing that. And look for a ridesharing job if you have a car or cleaning or delivery jobs in your area. These are times that you have to take whatever opportunity that comes your way.

Lastly, invest in yourself and learn something new. It is the best thing you can do right now. Some successful companies were born during times of strife.

And most of all stay strong. We will get through this.

Let me know how Covid affected you in the comments, even if it wasn’t financially for you, maybe you had some travel plans disrupted? I would love to hear your thoughts.