How to Make Money From Nothing (15 Surprisingly Easy Online & Offline Ideas!)

After tirelessly searching “how to make money from nothing” on the internet, you feel overwhelmed and unsure if you can actually make money without a job. Maybe your job hunt is taking longer than normal, or you’re stuck in a job you hate, and you want a way to break free to start earning passive income.

Whatever your situation, we’ve got 15 different ways how to make money from nothing for you to check out!

In our roundup, you’ll find a list of flexible money-making ideas. Some are side hustles; others are small business ideas. Some of these ideas are for part-time income, and others can make you a full-time income!

Let’s dive in!

How to Make Money from Nothing in 15 Ways

This list includes a ton of versatile online jobs and side hustles that promise flexible income, with some passive income opportunities included, too!

1. Paid Online Surveys

Get paid to take surveys from your phone, tablet, or computer. Make money in your spare time with companies like Survey Junkie or Swagbucks.

To start making money with paid online surveys, follow these steps:

1. Register with the survey site
2. Get matched with paid online survey offers
3. Take surveys and get paid

Some survey sites pay you cash via direct deposit, PayPal, or Venmo. Others will pay you in rewards, like through gift cards and other means.

Our list of 10 of the best survey sites to make money anywhere is a great place to start!

2. Become a Content Creator

Content creators are people who create content on the internet:

• Videos
• Text-based posts
• Image-based posts

This could be an Amazon influencer, YouTuber, TikToker, or another influencer on social media. It could also be someone without a social media following who creates UGC (user-generated content) for brands.

Content creators earn money in a number of ways:

• Brand deals
• Ads
• Affiliate marketing
• Selling products and services

If you’re new to content creation, I recommend you check out Affiliate Lab.

The video training program takes you through their step-by-step blueprint for starting, growing, and monetizing an online business.

It’ll help you cut the learning curve of creating content big time. 

Some of the topics covered include blogging, SEO, CRO, email marketing, and website flipping just to name a few.

3. Online Panels

Online panels are like paid online surveys, but they’re longer and pay you more.

For example, a survey may take you 15 minutes to complete and pay $8, whereas an online panel may take you 40 minutes and pay $50.

User Interviews and Respondent are two companies to check out for paid online panel opportunities.

Read our Respondent review to learn more about how it works.

4. Get Approved for a New Credit Card

Apply and get approved for a new credit card to get some easy cash in your pocket. This is about finding a new credit card you can get that offers a signup bonus.

Some examples of credit card signup bonuses are:

• Travel miles
• Hotel rewards
• Cash bonuses

This is one of the easiest ways how to make money from nothing.

5. Share Your Data

Did you know you can earn money by sharing your data?

Sign up for a passive income app or site like MobileXpression, which pays users to share their data with them. Consumer data is incredibly valuable. It helps companies learn about consumer habits and buying decisions.

These passive income apps are a great way to make money when you sleep! 

All you do is sign up to the company, follow the instructions for setup (like installing an app on your phone), and start!

6. Use Cashback Apps

For a way to get a little extra cashback in your pocket, use cashback apps. This is just what it sounds like: you get cash back on your purchases.

For example, Ibotta offers discounts and cashback offers for specific goods you purchase and identify on their app.

Where can you find cashback apps/websites?

Here are some places to start with:

• Rebaid (read our Rebaid review to get the inside scoop)
• Fetch

Cashback apps are a good way to make easy money.

7. Become a Course Creator

Build and sell an online course. If you’re an expert in a field or industry, this would be a great way to monetize your knowledge. 

First, identify a need. You can do this with market research, like polling your audience to see what pain points they have. 

Next, outline and build your course. Using a course platform like Teachable or Thinkific is an easy way to set up your course layout and sell it online.

Then, do marketing to promote the course, followed by your launch!

8. Make Referrals

Getting paid to make referrals is essentially affiliate marketing. Refer people to products you’re an affiliate for and earn a commission when they buy.

1. Join an affiliate program
2. Get your affiliate links, then
3. Refer the product online using your affiliate link

When people buy using your link, you earn money!

Read our complete guide on affiliate marketing for beginners to learn more.

9. Write an Ebook

Author an ebook! Take a topic you’re knowledgeable about and write an ebook, selling it online. This is a lot like course selling, and you can use platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or Gumroad to sell the ebook online. 

Our guide on how to write an ebook and make money is a good starting point and a must-read!

Ebook publishing can be very good money.

In our podcast with Steve Scott, he shares how he makes $40K/month publishing Kindle ebooks about habits!

10. Sell Print-on-Demand Products

Print-on-demand (POD) products are printed products that you design, and they’re manufactured and shipped by a printing company like Printful or Printify.

Examples of POD products are:

• T-shirts
• Coffee mugs
• Hats

This has a very low barrier to entry. It’s easy for anybody to start making money selling POD products. You don’t need a startup budget, and signing up for the POD company is easy and free.

Start with an idea or a design you want to sell. Next, sign up with a print-on-demand company, upload your designs, and start selling online.

Here are 36 of the best print-on-demand companies to help you sell more.

Offline Ways How to Make Money from Nothing

For quick cash and in-person ways how to make money from nothing, check out these ideas.

11. Sell Your Stuff

One of the fastest ways how to make money from nothing is by selling off your stuff. This can also be an opportunity to help you declutter your home and/or lead a more minimalist lifestyle. It could be unopened gifts that you never got a chance to regift or outgrown kid's clothes.

Gather your stuff in your house and then sell it in person:

• Host a garage sale
• Put it for sale in a consignment shop
• Sell it at a flea market or thrift shop

You can sell it online, too, finding sellers on places like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, or Craigslist. Then, meet in person to complete the sale.

While you may not do this on a recurring basis for continuous cash flow, it’s certainly an easy way to raise quick cash now.

12. Donate Plasma

Visit a plasma donation center and give plasma for money. Some plasma centers offer up to $400/month for new donors. 

This is another fast way to make money. You just visit a plasma donation center, sign in as a donor, get registered, give your plasma donation, and get paid.

The amount you earn can vary based on:

• Location
• Weight

This is a good way for people to make extra money every month.

13. Rent Out Your Home

Have you considered renting out your home? It’s a solid option for making money. Whether you rent out a room or rent out your entire place, many hosts start with no out-of-pocket expenses with this venture.

It can be a passive income stream and help you wealth-build, too!

Garrett Ham makes five figures per month from renting vacation homes!

14. Rent Out Your Car

Those 8 hours when you’re at work all day or on weekends when you like to huddle up in your home are prime opportunities to rent out your car for cash. Get with a service like Turo or GetAround and sign up as a host, renting out your vehicle to short-term renters.

This works like Airbnb, but it’s for car rentals (also called car sharing).

15. Rent Out Your Stuff

There are plenty of ways how to make money from nothing, and renting out your stuff is one of them! This works for valuable goods you might own, like camera equipment, luxury goods like handbags, or other high-value items.

First, visit the shop that offers short-term rentals. List your goods, and when they’re rented out, make money!

Other ideas for renting:

• Renting your parking space with Curbflip
• Rent your luxury clothes with Rent The Runway
• Offer your space for rent with Neighbor

How to Make Money from Nothing Without a Job?

There are tons of ideas how to make money from nothing without a job on our list. Some options for replacing your full-time job income are:

• Course creation
• Content creator on social media
• Ebook author or,
• Rent your home

It starts with evaluating your skills and the assets available. From there, you can choose the path you’d like to take for making money from nothing without a job.

How Can I Make a Living Without a Job?

Making a living without a job can be done by starting a business or taking advantage of a passive income opportunity.

Businesses like content creation, writing ebooks, or courses are examples of how to make a living job-free. These can be passive income makers, as well.

Taking up multiple side hustles can also produce job-free income, though you'd probably need at least 2-3 of them to make it work, if not more.

The good news is there are plenty of ways how to make a living without a job. And, you have full control over how you want that to pan out for you, whether you combine side hustles, do passive income opportunities, or start a business.

What To Do When You Have No Money and No Job?

If you find yourself in a position where you have no money and no job, this is what you do:

• Assess your financial situation: Look at your debts, savings, and immediate financial needs. This will be your starting point so you know where you stand now and what you need to sustain your lifestyle.
• Apply for unemployment: Before your journey of finding replacement income, apply for unemployment benefits.
• Make a budget: List your finances, including expenses and any income you might have. Create a budget to help identify essential and non-essential expenses.
• Update your resume and job search: Review and revamp your professional resume and start the job search process.
• Start a side hustle: While you're job searching or in addition to finding a job, consider starting a side hustle as a good way to earn extra income.

Being without a job or income can be stressful and feel like a huge burden on your shoulders. These steps will help you work your way back toward securing a stable income again and regaining financial independence.

Bottom Line

We just covered how to make money from nothing. This roundup is good for anybody who needs money, whether you're looking for a job alternative, you want to make extra money through a side hustle, or you want to earn passive income.

With this info, you can set out and start your path of making money through these nontraditional means.

Which one will you be doing?

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