You’re still a baby at 40 but that doesn’t mean your finances have improved much since then. I’m totally kidding but who doesn’t want an easy way to earn money on the side, working from home?
Earning extra money with side jobs you can do online and from home can help you
- Pay monthly bills (cell phone bill, Netflix subscription, etc.)
- Save for vacations and trips
- Pay for dinners and weekend entertainment.
- Bulk up your savings account.
- Pay off outstanding debts and help improve your credit rating.
- Add to your kids college fund.
- Gain flexibility in your life by working where you want, when you want.
Keep reading for the best ways you can earn money online on your free time. I’ve included only legitimate ways to earn extra income and made sure to not include any scams. I’ve wasted my time weeding out the duds so you don’t have to!
Get Paid for Online Surveys
I’ve written a lot about the many ways remote side gigs can be beneficial and the financial freedom they can provide when stuck with long term. For example, for the past ten years I’ve been making sure to earn a bit of extra cash by completing one or two paid surveys a day using Swagbucks. Sure, it’s tedious at times, but the extra money really begins to add up after just a couple weeks of doing consistent paid surveys or paid web searches every day.
Sign up for Swagbucks and start getting paid immediately for completing surveys and other easy tasks.
Related: The Best Online Paid Survey Mega Guide
Use Cashback Apps for Online Shopping
This is easily one of my favorite money hacks to use. It’s like getting paid to have fun and shop til you drop. Rakuten is by far my favorite cash back app to use and if you use this exclusive link you’ll get back $30 when you spend $30, that’s just free stuff!
If you’re someone who primarily buys things online you should be using some kind of cash back app. The savings can really add up and at the end of the year you’ll have a tidy little pile of money from all the cash back from purchases.
Get Paid to Deliver Groceries
This gig job is miles better than being a driver for Uber in my opinion. You make more money per job and the tips are a lot better. Instacart is one of the more well known grocery delivery apps and if you’re in a populated area you’ll never be starved for work. You can make upwards of 50 bucks an hour getting paid to deliver groceries but a more realistic expectation would be somewhere between $15-$25 an hour long term. The hours are flexible and you can start or stop working whenever you want. Simply logon the app when you’re ready to start accepting orders and log off when you want to finish working.
Applying to Instacart is incredibly easy, get approved fast and start earning some quick cash on the side.
Find Freelance Work From Home Gigs
Getting paid for freelance projects is nothing new but how you go about finding the best freelance jobs has been made much easier with services like ZipRecruiter. Spending hours sifting through bogus freelance jobs is a drag and no one has the time to waste doing that. ZipRecruiter only lists verified job postings so you can rest easy knowing every remote job you apply for is legitimate and more importantly the pay is real! Use ZipRecruiter to start applying for work from home jobs immediately.
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Build a Blogging Empire!
Blogs are still big money. Established blogs make six figures every month through ad monetization and affiliate marketing. A six figure blog is probably not a realistic goal out of the gate but aiming to earn a few hundred dollars every month with a blog is not an unrealistic goal at all. TheCouchCommute is just one blog of mine that earns me consistent passive income every month and allows me more financial freedom to enjoy the things I love doing.
Building a blog may seem intimidating but it’s actually incredibly easy and can be done in a single afternoon. Once you’re finished building your blog all that is left to do is start sharing your ideas and insights with the world. Bluehost is one of the easiest ways to build your website and get it online for just a few bucks every month.
Related: Helpful tools for new websites
Get Paid to Type From Home
Typing isn’t the most fun thing to do in the world but if you’re decent at it, and I’m sure you are, you can get paid for it. There are many different ways to find jobs that only require you to type and TranscribeAnywhere is one of the best courses out there that will teach you everything you need to know about being a transcriptionist. For many, this can become a full time job and even a career. My wife worked as a transcriptionist for almost 10 years and according to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a transcriptionist is $42,900 per year, that is pretty good money for a work from home job that doesn’t require a degree or any experience.
Check out this TranscribeAnywhere Course if you’re serious about learning how to become a full time remote transcriptionist.
Get Crafty with Etsy
Etsy is a marketplace similar to eBay where you can sell your hand made goods for a tidy profit. If my Grandma had only known about Etsy, she could have built the worlds biggest knitted mitten empire. It’s too late for her but not for you, creating an Etsy account is free and easy and the only limit is your creativity. Here is a great article on some tips you can use to create a profitable Etsy storefront.
Final Thoughts
Making money from home when you’re over 40 is easy. There are so many different ways to earn money online that you’re bound to find one that is perfect for you. My favorite ways are taking 30 minutes each day to do a few surveys and making sure that I’m always using a cashback app when making online purchases, oh and blogging of course.