27 Ways to Make Money While in Debt: #8 is Super Easy!

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Debt sucks. It robs you of your hard-earned income and keeps you from building wealth. So do something about it.

Instead of sitting around complaining about all the debt you have and how much you don’t make, let’s try something different: let’s get to work and make some money. It’s time to go make some cash so that you can get out of debt quicker, build up an emergency fund, bulletproof your finances, and have more income for the good things in life.

Right now, you might be broke and in debt. But after you read this post, you’re going to have a decent idea of why you need to make extra money while you’re in debt and 27 awesome ways to make extra money while you’re working toward debt freedom. So don’t wait any longer.

Go make some money and change your whole life.

Why you need to make extra money while you’re in debt

1. It’s super easy to make extra money

Why do you need to make extra money while you’re in debt? Well, first, because it’s really easy these days to make extra money. It just takes a little bit of time and effort to bring in some cash. The majority of the ways to make money on this list are not difficult to do. You just simply need to take the initiative to start doing them.

2. To get out of debt quicker

The biggest reason you need to make extra money while you’re in debt is to start knocking your debt out faster and faster. As I said earlier, debt sucks. So you need to do anything and everything you can to get out of it (as fast as possible). Making extra money will help you do that.

Here’s another post that will help you pay off debt faster: “47 Creative Ways to Pay Off Debt This Year.”

3. to build up your emergency fund

Once you’ve gotten out of debt, it’s important to continue building up your 3-6 month fully funded emergency fund. You need to do this as fast as you got out of debt. Because having a fully funded emergency fund is INSANELY important and crucial for a bulletproof financial plan. Continuing to make extra money can help you build that emergency fund.

For more on how to build your emergency fund up, check out this post: “How to Create an Epic Emergency Fund With Any Income.”

4. to start bulletproofing your financial future

Whatever you’re trying to do to fix your finances or bulletproof them, having extra money will help you move closer to any financial goal you’re currently going after.

5. to simply have more income

Whether you’re trying to hit financial goals, saving up for something, or just wanting to take a decent vacation, having that extra money will help you do that.

But enough of the why. Let’s get to the reason you’re actually here – finding ways to make money while in debt.

27 ways to make money while in debt

1. Work overtime

One of the easiest ways to start making extra money is to work overtime at your job. A lot of places these days offer overtime. With some, you can get as much overtime as you want. Others, like my full-time job, allow 5-10 hours of overtime a month. But it’s up to each employer. You probably already know what your employer allows. So if they offer OT, take it. The work itself may not be easy, but it is a super simple way to start bringing in extra income!

But is overtime worth it? Check out this article here on clevergirlfinance.com to find out.

I also like this article here on financialpanther.com with a concept called “creating your own overtime.” It basically says to carve out time in your week for a side hustle or something that’s going to make you extra money. For more on how to do that, let’s look at the rest of the ways to make money on this list!

2. Sell stuff online

My wife loves making extra money this way. And the great thing is, ANYONE can make money selling stuff online. So here are the three best ways:

The easiest way to sell stuff online is to take a day or two and go through EVERYTHING in your house that you don’t want or need. Stuff that you think is useless junk or that you simply don’t use anymore could be a potential gold mine online. Seriously, even stuff that may only make a few dollars is good. Because that stuff adds up quick. Get it all together and start selling on the following platforms:

Mercari (my wife’s favorite – she’s made over a thousand dollars since starting in 2020)
EBay (my favorite – I’ve made thousands on here over the years)
Facebook Marketplace (online but local and people pick up items in person – can be private and you can have people take items and leave money in a designated location on your porch)

The next way is to continually sell stuff online by becoming an online retailer. Find things that you can keep in inventory and sell them. This does require some money up front but can be lucrative.

The last way? Flipping stuff online. You can get stuff from yard sales and Facebook Marketplace and sell it for more online. This is an awesome way to make money if you have an eye for things and their actual value. For more on yard sale flipping/Facebook Marketplace flipping to make money online, check out the next section ⬇️.

3. Yard sale flipping/Facebook Marketplace flipping

Yard sale flipping can be a VERY lucrative venture if you know what you’re looking for. My wife and I love to go out to local yard sales to try and find stuff to flip. Flipping is simple – you find items for sale at a price that appears to be much lower than what it may actually be worth. You buy that product and sell it for more. Pretty awesome when it works.

The best example I can give you is this one: my wife found a rare Starbucks tumbler on Facebook Marketplace for only $10 dollars. She ended up selling it on Mercari for over $85 dollars and pocketing a decent chunk of change.

If you have the eye for good values, yard sale flipping can net you thousands of dollars a year in extra money.

If you’d like to see a really good mini series on yard sale flipping, I HIGHLY recommend Gary Varnerchuck’s YouTube series called “Trash Talk” that you can check out here. My wife and I love this series. And Gary V is pretty motivational on top of that if you need some inspiration and motivation in your life.

4. Have a yard sale

So before you jump straight into this way of making money, I recommend that you try to sell as much as you can online first. From my experience, we’ve been able to make much more money online than from yard sales.

However, for the things that just won’t sell online (i.e. stuff that hasn’t sold in months or for larger items that you can’t ship), you should have a yard sale to make a little bit of extra money. We often have about 1-2 yard sales a year and that always nets us a couple hundred bucks overall. Not much for a couple days worth of work, but still a good way to purge the stuff that you just can’t get rid of and make a few dollars, too.

For more on how to have a successful yard sale, check out this guide here on moneycrashers.com.

5. Drive for Uber/Lyft

If you’ve got a functional vehicle and some extra time on your hands, driving for Uber or Lyft could be a decent way to make money. Now you won’t make as much these days with gas prices shooting through the roof (here are some ways to save at the gas pump), but you can still make a decent wage of around $15-20 dollars per hour doing this.

Here’s a really good guide on everything you need to know to drive with Uber or Lyft.

6. Food delivery driver

This goes back for me. Because I used to work as a delivery driver for Dominos and I actually really enjoyed that job. And I can tell you from that experience that this can be a super easy way to make extra money. If you’ve never tried working food delivery, I’d highly recommend it. You can either try the Uber Eats kind of delivery or the classic part-time delivery job. After all gas and maintenance with my car, I would usually average about $15 dollars an hour. And that was over 10 years ago. So I’m sure you’d make more these days.

7. Personal shopper

Some people have so much money that they have other people shop for them. It’s kind of like a personal assistant, but they go and buy you clothes or whatever you need. Not for me, but this can be a good way to make some extra cash on the side.

For more info, check out this post here on careeraddict.com.

8. Get an hourly part-time job

If you’re simply looking for an easy way to make extra money without trying to be an entrepreneur, just hit up a site like Indeed.com and find an hourly part-time position that suits you. This whole “making extra money” thing doesn’t have to be rocket science. Just go get a job and start working.

9. Give yourself a “raise”

If you aren’t really interested in getting an extra job, but still want to find a way to make extra money, I suggest that you give yourself a “raise” by tightening up your finances and budgeting your money. This is super easy to do and you can start doing this today.

All you have to do is create a budget and start cutting your expenses down. Most people are spending way more money than they need to be and can easily find hundreds of dollars of extra income ocne they start tracking their expenses.

Here are a couple of quick tips for this:

Use a zero-based budget – check out this post for 7 reasons why you should.
Track every expense – you want to know exactly what you’re spending and wasting money on.
Cut expenses dramatically – if you’re in debt, it’s time to cut expenses to the bone and get your debt paid off. Check out my post, “101 Ways of Creatively Cutting Expenses to Save a Ton of Money,” for how to do that.
Give yourself a set amount for certain expenses – if there are things that you just can’t do without, like Starbucks or Chik Fil A, simply give yourself a little bit to spend in your budget. The trick is to limit that amount and do your best not to go over it.
Try a No-Spend Challenge – you may have to spend money on bills and groceries, but challenge yourself to cut everything else out for a month and see how much money you save. Check out my post here on the no-spend challenge!

If you do just those few things, you will easily find extra money every month and undoubtedly feel like you got a “raise.”

10. Lawn care

I love lawn care. It holds a special place in my heart because of all the memories I have from it. My grandfather and I cutting my great-grandmother’s yard and making a few dollars, my best friend and I making thousands when we were little, and my lawn care adventures to get out of debt in 2020. But regardless of that, there is always serious money to be made from cutting grass. If you have a way to get a lawnmower and a weed eater to people’s houses, you can make money.

If you’d like an easy guide on how to get started mowing lawns, check out this post here on upflip.com.

11. Walk dogs

Now I can promise you that I probably won’t be walking dogs to make money. I’ve got two of my own and walking them is more than enough. I do love those little mutts, though.

On the flip side, if you’re an animal lover, dog walking could be something of interest to you. You won’t make a whole lot, but most dog walkers pull in around $12 dollars an hour. Not bad for just walking some dogs around!

If you’d like to give this a try, check out frugalrules.com’s post here on the 9 best dog walking apps.

12. Dog sitting

You can also dog sit for people for extra cash. My wife and I are always looking for people who can stay for a few nights to watch our pups. And the can be pretty decent, too. Dog sitters can usually make about $50-100 per night depending on the situation. So a couple nights of this per month could net you a few hundred dollars to put toward debt or whatever else you need it for.

For more, check out this post here on how to make money as a pet sitter.

13. Babysitting

You can also try babysitting. This lucrative venture has made people thousands of dollars over the years and isn’t likely to go away any time soon (you know, because there will always be kids and parents that need a break!). So if you’re a friendly person and good with kids, you could easily make $500-1000 bucks per month.

Check out this list here of the 5 best babysitting apps to find babysitter jobs near where you live today!

14. Housesitting

If you’re like myself, and can’t see yourself pet sitting or babysitting, there’s always house sitting. This money making idea is simply you watching someone’s house while the person or family is away for an extended period of time. It might not make you a whole lot, but still extra money for just hanging out and sleeping over for a few days at somebody’s house.

15. House cleaning

This venture can be highly lucrative. It’s kind of similar to lawn care in that you can do it just a little bit to make extra money or you can turn it into a full-scale business on the side. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, house cleaning could be a great way to make extra money. Plus, you don’t really need that much equipment or cleaning supplies to get started.

Check out this post here on workwave.com for more on how to start a cleaning business.

16. Pressure washing

Pressure washing isn’t a necessity, but it really does help restore the look of homes, driveways, and sidewalks. And that’s what people want. They want their stuff to look nice and new, so pressure washing can be a really awesome way to bring in extra cash on the side. You will need a good power/pressure washer to get started, though. But once you have that, most homeowners don’t mind you using their water as long as the job gets done.

If you’d like to start pressure washing for extra dough, check out this post here on how to start your own pressure washing business.

17. Shoveling Snow

This is normally just a winter job unless you live in the north where it snows a lot. But the great thing is, all you need is a good shovel and a can-do attitude. If you have those two things, you can easily make $20 dollars or more per hour. If you’re quick, you can make more.

Check out this guide here from kingged.com on how to make money shoveling snow.

18. Wrapping gifts at Christmas time

This one is pretty seasonal, but can be a really easy way to make $10-12 dollars per hour. Just check with your local mall or department store for opportunities on this.

19. Tutoring

If you’re good with kids and consider yourself a teacher, tutoring could be for you. It’s been around for a LONG time and isn’t likely to ever go away. Kids will always need the extra help. A lot of teachers already take advantage of this to make some serious dollars on the side. You can, too. Find a subject that you’ve got some knowledge in and put it to use. That knowledge could make you $30 dollars an hour or more.

Check out this post here from moneytamer.com that shows you some of the easiest ways to get started with tutoring.

20. Etsy shop

If you’re skilled at making crafts and other custom items, you could be making money on Etsy. This site is propped up by thousands of people who make products like custom wooden signs and tumbler, bags, and almost anything else that you can think of. It’s also a really cool site if you’re looking for custom gifts or gift ideas for people.

If you’re interested in this, check out this awesome Etsy guide here on ptmoney.com.

21. Photography

Photography is another way to make money that can be either a sweet side hustle or a way to make an insane full-time income. I have a couple of friends who either do photography on the side or as a full-time gig. They all make tremendous amounts of money on top of their other full-time incomes. The great thing is that decent cameras only cost a few hundred dollars and can provide you years of great extra income.

Check out this post here on adorama.com showing you 10 ways to make money as a photographer!

22. Blogging

Now before I get into how blogging can make you money, I want you to know up front that this is not easy in any way, shape, or form. You might hear how “easy it is to make money blogging.” That’s a complete lie. It takes a ton of work and patience, but if you can find something you’re passionate about to blog about, and you put in the kind of work that I do, you can make thousands of extra dollars per month.

So how do you make money blogging? Well, while I’m no expert on the matter, I can tell you that I’ve personally made a almost a full-time salary with just one of my blogs for the last year. My other blog, DiscgolfNOW.com, has been making $3,000-4,000 per month for awhile now depending on the time of year. But it took me years of writing and optimizing to get to that level.

Here’s how my other blog makes money:

I’ve written 200+ posts that all make money in the following ways:

Mediavine ads income – most profitable way to make money. For every 1,000 sessions on my site, I make a certain amount of money. Most sites can start earning ad revenue when you get to 10,000 pageviews per month. That site gets 80,000 to 100,000 page views per month.
Affiliate income – I make money by referring people to InfiniteDiscs.com, StarFrameBags.com, and Amazon to buy products. Then those companies pay me a small percentage of the sale price.
Info product – I wrote a disc golf book that consistently makes about $200-300 dollars per month and has made me well over $6,000 dollars since I published it a few years ago.
Product reviews – companies send me products to review for free.

All of that took time but is now making me money month after month with little to no work on it.

If you want to start blogging:

I highly recommend that you find something you’re passionate about and give it a try. It might take you a few months to start getting traffic, and a year or so to start making money, but this is a golden opportunity if you work hard enough. Is it worth it? Absolutely, but only if you work hard enough.

23. Publish a Kindle Ebook

Aside from having my website’s info product on the Kindle ebook marketplace, I have a couple of random ebooks on there as well sporadically making me money. But if you’re a good writer, publishing your ebook on the Kindle marketplace could be a good way to start making some passive income. Some people make quite a bit of money on the Kindle marketplace. So give this a shot. Even if you’ve never written a book before, you can still learn this skill and start publishing your created content. Writing a book is really not as difficult as you might think.

For more on this, check out this post here on writingcooperative.com.

24. Donating plasma

While I can’t donate blood or plasma due to a weird genetic blood condition, I have a good friend who regularly donates plasma. Him and his wife normally make about $500 bucks each per month. So if you don’t mind giving up some of your plasma, this could be an easy way to make some extra cash.

25. Cash back apps

Cash back apps aren’t going to make you a lot of money, but they can really add up over time. Here are the couple of apps that my wife and I use:

Ibotta – this is a decent grocery store app that pays you for buying certain items at the grocery store. My wife has made over $100 bucks on this app in total.

Fetch Rewards – another grocery store app that has rave reviews. I haven’t used this enough to speak to much on it but it seems to be decent for saving money at the grocery store.

Upside (formerly GetUpside) – I love Upside. I’ve been using it for a couple of years now and have earned over $400 dollars in cash back. Not a lot, I know, but still better than losing all of that over the years. All you have to do is check in at the gas station or upload your receipt and boom, free cash back. And you can cash out after every $15 dollars earned.

26. Do paid online survey sites or other

While this way to make money won’t make you much, it’s just about one of the easiest ways to make money right now without having to get a job or start a side hustle. Kind of like the cash back apps above, these will only make you a little bit of money for the time you put in to: do surveys, watch video ads, or play games online. I’ve tried a couple of different apps like this before and they don’t make enough for me to mess around with them but they could be something of interest to you.

Check out this post here on savethestudent.org for more on making money with survey apps.

27. spend every free minute working

Lastly, if you’re struggling with debt or not making any money, I’d highly encourage you to spend every spare minute you have working to get out of debt and bulletproof your finances. Being broke and in debt sucks. So do something about it. Go out, get to work, make some money, pay off your debt, and change your life. Nobody else is going to do it for you.

So that’s it

You’ve just seen 27 of the absolute easiest and best ways to make extra money while in debt. Hopefully, you’ve found something from this list that you can do to make extra cash. If not, I hope that it at least points you in the right direction. Because there are SO MANY ways to make extra money. You just have to find a few that work for you. Then you can go crush your debt and absolutely destroy your financial goals.