Do you want to learn how to increase your income?
There are so many ways to start making more money – from sources of extra income, passive income ideas, ways to make more money at your current job, and more.
One of the things I am passionate about is helping people learn how to increase their income, and that’s because I know how much it can improve your life.
I learned how to make more money so that I could pay off my nearly $40,000 in student loans, which I did in 7 months.
I used a number of the ideas that you’re going to read about today, including taking online surveys and starting this blog.
What I love about learning how to increase your income is that it can make a bigger impact on your overall finances than budgeting alone.
For example, when I was trying to pay off my student loans, I did cut my spending, but there was only so much money in my budget to begin with. I had to start making more money if I was going to pay them off as quickly as I wanted to.
Learning how to increase your income can help you:
- Save for large purchases, such as a vacation
- Stop living paycheck to paycheck
- Pay off debt, like credit card debt or student loans
- Help you reach retirement sooner
- Become more diversified with your income streams
One of the most common ways to increase your income is with a side hustle. But today’s article will contain more than just side hustles. Perhaps you’re not looking to work more hours (or you simply just don’t have the time), but you still want to make extra money.
Whether you have just one free hour each day or if you are willing to work 40 to 50 hours a week on top of your full-time job, there are many options when it comes to learning how to increase your income.
Here’s how to increase your income
Find a side hustle.
Of course, I have to include finding a side hustle as the top way to increase your income. After all, this is how I paid off my $40,000 student loan debt in just 7 months.
What’s great about finding a side hustle is that there are lots options for side hustles right now, and many people have extra time to start one.
Whether you’re looking for something that is just a few hours each week or something with nearly full-time hours, there are so many different options.
Here’s how to increase your income with a side hustle:
- Start a blog – This is the first thing I recommend to anyone interested in learning how to increase your income, and this is because it helped me make more money, pay off my student loans, and completely change my life. Join my Free How To Start A Blog Course if you’re interested in learning more.
- Get paid to answer surveys online – Answering surveys online won’t make you rich, but if you want to know how to increase your income from home, this is one of the easiest ideas. Survey companies I recommend include American Consumer Opinion, Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Branded Surveys, and Pinecone Research. These survey companies are free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. To receive the most survey opportunities, it’s best to sign up for as many survey sites as you can.
- Join a focus group – You can get paid $50 to $100 per hour by joining a focus group with User Interviews.
- Sell printables online – Creating printables on Etsy can be a great side hustle. Because you are creating PDF files, you can create and sell them an unlimited number of times without much additional work. You can learn more at How I Make Money Selling Printables On Etsy.
- Rent out your RV – Many RVs sit unused in storage lots, driveways, and backyards, making this a great way to make extra money. You can learn more at How To Make Extra Money By Renting Out Your RV.
- Walk dogs or pet sit – Walking dogs and pet sitting can be a great way to grow your income for anyone who loves animals. You may be going over to your client’s home to check in a few times a day, you may be staying at their house, or the animals may be staying with you. Rover is a great company to sign up for if you’re interested in becoming a dog walker and pet sitter.
Please head to 80+ Best Side Job Ideas To Make Extra Money to learn more.
Make more money at the job you already have.
If you’re already employed and not interested in learning how to increase your income with a side hustle, one idea is trying to earn more at your current job.
Perhaps you have limited time, or you’re looking to simply make more efficient use of your time.
- Find overtime hours to work – One way to make more money at work is to see if your company will allow you to work overtime. Some companies welcome overtime, and you can earn a decent amount of money by doing so.
- Go for a raise – One way to grow your income, without possibly adding any additional work hours to your life, is by asking for a raise. Many employees do not ask for raises, so you might be leaving money on the table. Over numerous years, this can add up to a significant amount of income! If you’ve just successfully completed a big project or taken on new responsibilities, then it might be time to ask for a raise and state your case.
- Seek out a promotion at work – If a raise is not possible without a different position, then you may want to try for a promotion that comes with a pay bump. Sometimes companies can only pay you so much for the job you currently have, but you may be able to increase your pay through a promotion with different and/or additional job duties, a possible move, etc.
If you want to learn how to increase your household income, you and your partner could both look into the tips I just gave. Can you imagine how much extra money you may be able to bring in if the both of you got raises, for example?
Sell items to increase your income.
Here’s a question I get often: How can I increase my income quickly?
Selling is one of the fastest ways because most people have things sitting around their house that they can quickly sell to make extra money.
Here’s how to increase your income selling stuff – more than just selling things around your house:
- Have a yard sale – A yard/garage sale can be an easy way to make extra money because people come straight to your home. The only downside is that you usually don’t make as much for your items as you would if you were to sell them on sites such as eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace.
- Flip items for resell – One reader’s family was able to make $42,875 in one year buying and flipping items for profit, and they were only working about 10-20 hours per week. You can read more in How Melissa Made $40,000 In One Year Flipping Items.
- Sell items on eBay – eBay is a great place to start, as nearly anything and everything can be sold on eBay.
- Sell items on Craigslist – Craigslist is another website where you can sell pretty much anything and everything, from clothing to cars. Sales are posted online, but the money and goods are usually exchanged in person at an agreed upon meeting place.
- Sell things on Facebook Marketplace – Facebook Marketplace is probably one of the most popular places to sell online right now. Here, you can find buyers in your area, but for larger items, like cars and furniture, buyers are often willing to travel or pay for shipping. Plus, because you are probably already on Facebook, this is one of the easiest ways to sell your stuff, and it’s free.
- Sell on Poshmark – Poshmark is one of the most popular places online for people to buy and sell new or gently used clothing, shoes, and more.
- Sell to second hand stores – There are many second hand stores out there that will take your clothing and shoes. Stores such as Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange will pay you upfront for clothing, and they take all of the legwork out of selling items, which is really helpful. There are also second hand stores for designer items, women’s clothing, children’s items, and more. Some pay upfront, whereas others may not pay you until after the item has sold. It simply depends on the store’s policy.
- Sell your new or gently used sports gear – Play It Again Sports is one of several second hand stores that buys and resells sports equipment and workout gear. These kinds of items also sell well on eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace.
- Sell on Etsy – Etsy is a great place to sell handmade items, vintage finds, and craft supplies.
- Sell your gift cards – If you have gift cards that you aren’t going to use, why not sell them to earn extra money?
Credit card rewards to get cheap travel and cash back.
I have been using credit card rewards for years now, and they can be quite easy to use.
While you’re not exactly “earning income,” it is a way to earn more for travel.
There are lots of great rewards cards out there, but what is best for you depends on what you’re looking for.
- Maybe you want travel points?
- Cash back?
- Or maybe you want a card that pays you for grocery shopping and eating out?
Fortunately, there is something for everyone.
Note: Please head to Best Rewards Credit Cards to see the best rewards credit cards.
Put your money into a high yield savings account.
If you want to learn how to increase your income without working more, you need passive income ideas. Some are easier than others, and putting money into a high yield savings account is one of the easiest.
While they won’t make you rich, high yield accounts are a great way to grow your savings, but most people have their money in accounts with low rates. Unfortunately, that means many of you are losing out on some easy cash!
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t even know what interest rate you’re getting on your checking and savings accounts. You were probably told the percentage when you opened your account, but that could have been years ago.
If you’re looking for a free checking account, as well as a higher than average interest rate on your savings account, look no further!
With Betterment Everyday, you can start earning 0.30% with a balance as low as $0.01.
To get started and open a Betterment Everyday account, simply click here and sign up. Signing up is super easy.
Read more at How To Earn Over 20x The National Savings Rate.
Become a landlord with rental real estate.
Earning rental income each month can significantly increase your cash flow.
Whether you want to rent your home, apartment, be active on Airbnb, commercial real estate, or something else, there are several options that you may be interested in.
If you want to learn how to increase your income with real estate, you will want to read these two interviews:
In these interviews about being a landlord, you will learn:
- How each person was able to afford several rental property
- What they look for in a rental property
- The types of real estate property they invest in
- How much time and money it takes to invest in a rental property
- How they manage rentals that aren’t local to the area
- Their worst renter stories
- The sacrifices they had to make to make this becoming a successful landlord possible
Rent out a room in your home.
Not everyone is in the position to buy rental property, but renting a room in your house can give you an idea of what it’s like to be a landlord.
We had several roommates when we owned a house, so I know a lot about how to increase your income with roommates.
Renting a room in your home can help you grow your income by several hundred dollars or even thousands of dollars a month. I know of a few people who rent out many rooms in their home and have been able to pay off their home completely due to this.
I recommend reading A Complete Guide To Renting A Room For Extra Money.
Earn dividends from your investment portfolio.
This does take some money to start, but there are ways to start investing and earning dividends without much money.
Here’s how Investopedia defines dividends:
“A dividend is the distribution of reward from a portion of the company’s earnings and is paid to a class of its shareholders. Dividends can be issued as cash payments, as shares of stock, or other property, though cash dividends are the most common.”
By investing in dividend paying stocks, you may be able to earn a sizable passive income with very little work needed to be done. This is one of the riskier passive income ideas, because there is no way of knowing exactly which stocks will earn money and what the stock market will do over time.
But, investing is one of the best ways you can learn how to make the most of your income because you’re making money from your money.
To understand the risks and how to start, read How I Became A Successful Dividend Growth Investor and How To Start Investing For Beginners With Little Money.
How can I increase my income at home?
If you want to work from home, there are many things you can do.
I love being able to work from home. There’s no commute, I can make my own schedule, and more.
There are many different options for working from home, depending on what you are looking for, including:
- Find a proofreading job – Do you enjoy finding errors? You can learn more about how to become a proofreader at Make Money Proofreading By Becoming A Freelance Proofreader.
- Sell templates online – You can start creating Canva templates to sell and make money all from your home and never have to ship a thing. You can learn more at How I Make $2,000+ Monthly Selling Canva Templates.
- Start writing for others online – A freelance writer is someone who writes for a number of different clients, such as websites, blogs, magazines, and more. These writers don’t work for one specific company, rather they work for themselves and contract out their writing. Learn more at How I Earn $200,000+ Writing Online Content.
- Become a virtual assistant – Becoming a virtual assistant is one of the most popular work from home jobs, and it is growing like crazy. More and more companies need virtual assistants. Virtual assistant tasks may include social media management, formatting and editing articles, scheduling appointments or travel, email management, and more. Basically, you get paid to do any task that needs to be done for someone’s business but doesn’t need to be done by them. You can read more about how to make $10,000 per month as a virtual assistant.
- Search for a bookkeeper position – You don’t have to be an accountant or have any previous experience if you want to learn how to increase your income as a bookkeeper. Learn more at How To Become A Bookkeeper.
- Build an online store – Did you know that you can create your own online store to earn extra money? Jenn, a reader of mine, started her online business a little over four years ago, and since then she has developed and grown three successful online ecommerce stores earning an average of $19,000 per month. Learn more at How Jenn Makes Over $10,000 A Month With Her Online Store In Less Than 10 Hours Per Week.
- Sell on Amazon – You can sell items on Amazon and make a great income doing so. Learn more at How To Work From Home Selling On Amazon FBA.
You can learn more at 12 Work From Home Jobs That Can Earn You $1,000+ Each Month.
Find a part-time job.
The classic answer to how to increase your income is finding a part-time job, and it’s still a great option for many people today.
Some examples of part-time jobs may include:
- Finding a part-time job during the holidays – Examples include working at a retail store (they tend to ramp up hiring before the holidays), working at a tree lot, finding a job at a costume store or haunted house, and more.
- Deliver RVs to dealerships – This is more of an untraditional part-time job, but it sounds like a fun one. The majority of the time RVs can’t be transported by semi-trucks because of their size. This means someone has to drive them from the manufacturer to the RV dealership. To make extra income doing this, you can contact RV manufacturers and RV dealerships to see what opportunities they have.
- Search for a seasonal job – If you have a job that gives you the summers off (or whatever season), then finding a part-time seasonal job could be a good way to earn extra money during your time off. Employers like Starbucks, REI, and Costco even offer benefits for part-time work, which adds even more value to the job.
- Work at a restaurant – You could be a host, wait tables, bus tables, bartend, and so on.
- Substitute teach – Sometimes the schedule can be tricky as you may be called at the last moment, but other times you may secure a long-term position.
- Work at a retail store – I worked in retail for over five years and made lifelong friends in the process. The income is okay, but you usually receive a good discount when working in retail.
- Deliver food – There are so many different options for delivering food nowadays. Between working directly as a delivery driver for a restaurant, or for a food delivery company like Grubhub.
- Deliver newspapers – Delivering newspapers can be a good way to make some side money. You may have to wake up early, but maybe those are the hours you are looking for.
- Run errands for others – Being someone’s assistant can be an interesting way to earn extra money. You may get paid to do someone else’s laundry, clean their home, pick up their food, answer phone calls, and more.
Recommended reading: How To Make Money Without A Job
How can I make $100 a day?
Some of the ideas above may allow you to earn $100 a day, whether that means you want to earn $100 every single day for the month or just occasionally earn $100 a day.
You can learn more at How To Make $100 A Day.
How do I make an extra $1000 a month?
Figuring out how to make $1,000 a month can be life changing for many people, and maybe this is exactly why you want to learn how to increase your income.
There are several different things you can do to make an extra $1,000 a month.
Some may be easier than others (such as asking for a raise versus finding a part-time job or starting a side business), but there are many different options depending on what you are looking for.
Please head to Ways To Make An Extra $1,000 A Month to learn more.
How can I increase my income quickly?
Some of the items above will be quicker than others.
If you’re due for a raise, that may be one of the quickest ways to make more money without too much additional work.
If you have a lot of items to sell around your home, that can be a way to make money the very same day.
There are many ways to increase your income, simply find the best one that suits you and your lifestyle.
What are you currently doing to learn how to increase your income?
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