17 Proven Ways to Make an Extra $1,000 a Month When You Need It
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Are you looking to make extra money on your own schedule? We all need more money sometimes, and this list of proven ways to make an extra $1,000 a month is going to detail how you can do it without the need to get a full-time job.
These niche side hustles and passive income ideas can be started in your spare time and are ideal for students, stay-at-home moms, or anyone needing extra cash.
Let's dive in!
Contents
How to Make an Extra $1,000 a Month (in Mostly Passive Income)
All you need to get started earning extra cash is a few hours a day to spend getting your new income stream off the ground.
First, we'll take a look at how to make an extra $1,000 a month passive income.
These side hustles require work upfront but will continue to pay you with minimal effort to maintain.
1. Personal Website
A personal website or blog is one of the best ways to make an extra $1000 a month, and you can even start for free with the Weebly website builder.
Learn more in this Weebly review.
You can blog about anything, but a few profitable ideas include:
- Diet and fitness
- Hair and makeup
- Fashion
- Finances and making money
- Movie and TV reviews
- Gaming news
After you start a blog, it can be monetized with advertising, sponsored posts, and affiliate marketing.
However, to be successful, you must take the time to increase traffic to your site, and these blogging tools will help.
If you feel a little stuck, check out the Affiliate Lab by Matt Diggity.
This course gives you a proven blueprint to build, rank, and monetize high-competition affiliate sites.
2. YouTube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel is another top way to make $1,000 a month or more in your spare time.
According to research, the average YouTube pay in the US in 2022 was $1,154 a week or $4,616 monthly, with the highest-earning YouTuber making $54 million over the year!
And the great thing about YouTube is there are so many different ways to earn. You can start a faceless YouTube channel or even make money on YouTube without making videos.
A few popular YouTube channel ideas to start include:
- Tech reviews
- DIY tutorials
- Illustration/animation
- Meditation
- Motivation
- Diet and fitness
- Make money online
Have a think about what skills or interests that you have. These can be turned into YouTube channel content to educate or inspire others.
Once your channel starts to gain traffic, you can make money through ads, affiliate marketing, and influencer partnerships and will be making an extra $1,000 a month in no time.
3. Create Online Courses
Do you have an idea for an online course in mind?
If so, you can make an extra 1000 a month selling it on e-learning platforms such as Skillshare, Udemy, Teachable or Podia.
Take a look at this Teachable review to learn more about the platform.
And the great thing about selling courses is you can teach just about anything, no matter how unusual!
Here are a few weird classes I discovered to give you ideas:
- How to influence people
- Learn the art of clowning (and check out these clown name ideas to start)
- What to text a girl you like
- Communicate with your pet telepathically
- How to dance in a club
So, what unique skills do you have that you could teach others?
Once you have your idea, record your videos, upload them to an e-learning platform, and you can enjoy earning passive income every time someone buys your class.
4. Sell Printables Online
If you enjoy crafts and are pretty organized, you can make extra cash selling printables online.
All you need to get started is a printable idea and graphic design software such as Canva or Microsoft PowerPoint.
Learn how to sell Canva templates on Etsy here.
These printables can be sold as digital downloads on Etsy, so all you need to do is to make your printable once, and it can be downloaded forever with no further work!
Here are a few ideas for printables to make and sell:
- Stickers
- Planners
- Calendars
- Coloring pages
- Wedding planners
- Party games
- Budget tracker
5. Passive Investments
If you have money to spare, a way to make an extra 1000 a month is through passive investments.
You can start small by using investment apps such as Acorns. Here, your spare change is invested for you by experts, so no prior investment knowledge is needed!
Once you have a little more experience, you can explore different types of investment that bring greater returns, such as:
- Real estate
- Bonds
- Stocks
- Cryptocurrencies
- High-yield savings accounts
While investments don't bring instant returns, they can help you reach your financial goals later on in life.
6. Start an Online Store
Creating an e-commerce store is a great way to earn passive income around the clock.
You can start your online store on sites like Shopify or BigCommerce. These platforms give you everything you need to set up your store quickly and professionally.
And you can source products from popular dropshipping suppliers such as AliExpress, who take care of inventory storage, packing, and shipping to customers.
This means that after you've set up your store, you can be pretty hands-off and enjoy earning when your products sell.
Profitable product ideas for dropshipping include:
- Pet supplies
- Baby
- Travel gear
- Survival gear
- Hair and beauty
- Kitchen and dining
- Apparel and footwear
Take a look at these e-commerce niches you can explore for more profits.
7. Taking Online Surveys
While you might not earn $1,000 a month taking surveys, they are easy to complete and can be partnered with tasks from these side hustle apps to get you nearer to your money goal.
Some survey sites even pay cash instantly so you can keep a continual cash flow going into your bank account.
Check out these survey companies worth your time:
Get more ideas in this article detailing the best survey sites for making easy money anywhere.
How to Make an Extra $1,000 a Month Freelancing
Now let's explore different ways you can make an extra $1,000 a month as a freelancer.
8. Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant helps businesses or individuals handle day-to-day tasks that they don't have time to do themselves.
A few jobs a VA may get asked to do include:
- Setting appointments
- Making travel plans
- Data entry
- Competitor research
- Answering emails
- Blog management
- Social media management
You can find clients as a freelance VA and set your own rates or get work through virtual assistant companies such as Fancy Hands or BELAY.
Read about the best virtual assistant jobs for beginners and where to find them.
9. Social Media Manager
If you know your way around all the major social media sites, working as a social media manager is a great way to make an extra $1,000 a month or more!
Social media managers can earn from $47 - $61 an hour in the US, with wages varying according to your education, skills, and former success rate.
While you don't need to be a tech whizz to succeed in this role, you will need:
- Decent copywriting skills to write share-worthy posts
- An understanding of SEO (search engine optimization)
- The ability to build community engagement on different social platforms
- An understanding of analytics and advertising on social media
10. Graphic Design
Graphic designers create visual concepts that convey a message or sell a product.
A few things you may be asked to work on daily include:
- Websites
- Posters
- Advertising materials
- Computer games
- Product packaging
- Books and magazines
To get this work done, you'll need to know your way around major graphic design tools such as Photoshop, InDesign, Sketch, Illustrator, and more.
But, if you know what you're doing, you can make a few hundred dollars a day offering graphic design services and easily make an extra 1000 a month.
11. Running Facebook Ads
Millions of businesses need help with marketing but can't always afford to pay someone full-time.
If you have marketing experience or are willing to learn, you could earn extra cash by running Facebook ads part-time for local businesses.
To be successful, you'll need to:
- Set the objective for your ads
- Filter target audiences according to demographics
- Set the spending limit for your ad campaign
- Monitor analytics and tweak ads where necessary
Learn more in this course: Facebook Ads & Facebook Marketing MASTERY 2023.
Get more ideas in this article detailing how to earn money on Facebook: $500 every day.
12. Freelance Writing
Thanks to the internet, anyone can learn how to make money writing and make an extra $1,000 a month or more!
Brands and businesses need content for their website, blog articles, social media materials, and social media accounts and pay freelance writers to do the work for them.
If you have a decent grasp of grammar and enjoy writing, you could make money writing a book, or by getting remote writing jobs on sites like:
While you may need to take on lower-paid writing jobs to gain experience, as your skill grows, you can earn good money freelance writing.
13. Website Designer
Have you built your own website before or helped someone else create one?
Website designers are in demand, and you could help local businesses or big brands by designing a cool, new website for them.
Depending on the size and complexity of the website, you can charge from hundreds to multiple thousands for website creation.
And the good news is that you can even build websites today with ZERO CODING OR TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE!
How?
Check out these AI website builders that do the work for you!
14. Data Entry
While data entry isn't the most exciting way to earn extra money, it's simple, and anyone can get this type of work.
There are many entry-level data entry earning sites that you can sign up for today and start making money quickly.
The minimum requirements for this work, include:
- Laptop or computer
- High-speed internet
- Decent typing speed
- Experience with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets
However, data entry work isn't always that well paid. So, to get to your $1,000 a month goal, consider these different ways to make money fast.
How to Make an Extra $1,000 a Month In Your Local Area
Take a look at the best ways to make an extra $1,000 a month in your local area.
15. Delivering Food
Do you have a car, scooter, or bike and a spare few hours each day?
If so, becoming a food delivery driver is a top way to make extra income, and you could easily earn $1,000 a month.
This is one of the best ways to make money with your car, and you could even start a full-time delivery business if you enjoy this type of work.
Check out these major food delivery companies worth signing up for:
16. Flip Items from Thrift Stores
If you love visiting thrift stores and markets, you can earn extra income by buying a product at a low price and selling it for profit.
There are many places to sell used items online, including:
A few ideas for the best things to flip are furniture, clothing, baby items, sports equipment, antiques, toys, puzzles, and much more.
While some items can be sold on immediately, some items, like furniture, might need a little TLC and may require a little attention to get them sales worthy.
17. Dog Walking or Pet Sitting
If you love hanging out with cute pups, dog walking and pet sitting will be an enjoyable way to make an extra $1,000 a month.
Many busy workers, small business owners, and families often don't have time to walk their dogs themselves or might be traveling and employ pet sitters and walkers to look after their furry friends.
Put flyers up in your neighborhood and ask around your friends and family to see if they need your services.
Alternately, check out pet care sites such as:
Final Thoughts on How to Make an Extra $1,000 a Month
Now you have plenty of ideas on how to make an extra $1,000 a month!
Whether you want to start your own business as a freelancer, would prefer to generate an additional income passively, or want to help out in your local area, there are ways to earn in your free time to suit everyone.
Go and start exploring the methods mentioned above, and you'll have extra money to treat yourself in no time at all!
Want more ways to make money?
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