188 Weird But Legit Ways to Make Significant Money [Many You’ve Never Heard Of]

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188 Weird Ways to Make Money

I posted this question in Reddit, and it got over 850,000 impressions and over 1,500 comments in less than 24 hours before getting deleted…

“Most “side hustle” content is BS. What are the weird & legit ways you make extra money?”

Below are the 188 legit answers I captured, unedited, from the deleted post.

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Background acting. Casting companies are always looking for reliable people to just show up and chill in the background. Easy as shit, usually pays good, free food and you get to meet some cool folks and celebrities.
Selling scrap metal I find metal detecting.
Teaching life drawing classes to Hen parties. I’ve got a Master’s degree in illustration and they’re often quite surprised I can actually teach them to draw. I mostly get booked by groups who are too shy to just get a stripper, they’re never raucous really, just drunk on fizzy wine and giggly.
I’ve been valet parking on the side for almost 10 years. I do almost exclusively private events and some months I can bring in an extra 2k or more, plus cash tips on top of it.
I used to play in a wedding/party band. Nice work…but it is work. It’s also soul destroying playing Mr Brightside over and over
Pet sitting is a great way to earn extra money. Sometimes you just show up to walk dogs, sometimes you get paid to stay over, watch cats and water plants while they’re on vacation. While I don’t do it myself, my cat sitters make great money doing it. Our last one pulled in 50€ per day for almost no work – she’d go to her actual job and just come back to sleep at our house. She was booked more than half the month, so that’s about 1K extra a month, just to sleep in our guest room. Crazy cat ladies like me also pay premium, often providing food, wine and tips, too.
I sell hotdogs, kettle corn, fresh squeezed lemonade, and roasted corn on the cob. Not all the time and seldom all at once.

I have insurance, licenses and other expenses. But make 2 to 3 times what I make at my real job on some weekends.

I am a military contractor and disabled retired vet.
I help out elderies in my village with “The Internet Thingy”, and sometimes doing their groceries.

I do not ask for money, but I do not refuse tips, since they’d be offended if I refused
I’m a race (trail, road, ultra) announcer. I love it.

If there’s no pay I’ll at least get my accommodations paid for and my little family gets a fun vacation while dad works. 🤷‍♂️

Edit: Running races.
I’m fully fluent in two languages. When I was a bit younger and earned less, I used to do translations on the side. Don’t know what the translation market is these days but back then I could make an extra thousand over the course of 2-3 days by translating some 20ish page documents.
Vending machines. Ask the owner of a popular store in your town if you can plop a vending machine down next to his store. 9 times out of 10 he’ll say yes and they rarely charge. After that just supply it ever 2 weeks and you’re golden
Buy busted AC units from HVAC guys. Pull them apart for scrap metal. I spend about 2k a week buying them and pull them apart for around 10k a week in scrap metal
I’ve been making Cat Costumes and photographing cats in them professionally for 8 years now. We’ve done work with major studios and even comic book covers.
I do a lot of surveys – medical ones pay the best. I get $50 for telling some dude about my arthritis. Lucky him.
I’m a secret shopper. Essentially the agency I work for will tell me to go shop somewhere, look for some specific requirements, and pay me to buy something (usually only $2-$3). I get paid 15$ per store, and get reimbursed fully for what I buy (within the allowance) and gas. I’ve made $250 a week once just from buying snacks.
The old fashioned way… Selling acid
Selling blood plasma is awesome if you’re medically eligible and can commit two days a week to it, $100 to sit in a dentist chair and watch a movie each day.
A lot of people advertise their work on nextdoor.com
Cleaning houses, mowing grass, pet grooming, and just listing any other skills they have.
Function singing. You don’t even have to be that good, just confident enough to sing in front of people. £100 an hour roughly for doing something I’d do for free. You can also use your gear to do discos etc, which is easy money too
I used to make side money selling 3D scans of seashells and forest debris & tree stumps, online. They weren’t just something I did with a phone though, it was videogame and VFX ready stuff. Made a few extra quid a month.
I am a practice patient for nurses learning how to do rape kits. $100 per case and you can get up to 4 a day depending on the size of the class.
Scamming scammers. I’ve made 76 dollars doing this.

Basically, they offer you a job. All you gotta do is subscribe to YouTube channels or leave 5 star reviews on Google Maps (or something similar). But they only pay you for the first task you do in order to build rapport. After that, they tell you you can cash out after X number of tasks. For example, after 6 tasks. But the 6th task won’t be like the first 5. For the last task, they will ask you to send them money, and they promise they will return it with interest in 30 minutes.

What I do is: I do the first task, get paid, and bail.
Moderating chat rooms online. Boring but has really funny moments.
I make beef jerky. 5.99 a lb meat now 50 dollars a 1/2 lb. Lose almost 50% weight drying but still killing it. Can’t keep up.
Wouldn’t say it’s too weird, but I’m selling coloring books on amazon KDP, and I opened an Etsy shop where I sell online prints (the kind of prints you would frame in your living room).

Basically I work my day job 12:30 p.m. – 9:15 p.m., I vacuum my whole house, eat something & work my side hustles 10:30 p.m. – 4 a.m. Wake up at 12 noon & repeat.

I only barely started with both as my first book (out of four) was published in March, and my Etsy business is less than a month old. I’ve made around $100 profit total so far. Not much but I’m just getting started of course.

I’m really curious to see where I’ll be in a year from now. I have a feeling my Etsy growth in particular will be exponential.
If someone is running a YouTube account about a side hustle YOU are the side hustle.
the fetch app where you scan your receipts. I have gotten around $75 in amazon gift cards so far. yeah It takes a while but it works.
File ~55 tax returns for others each year. Make about $7,200 a year. Easy work. Edit: Canada so simpler than US
Consumer Product testing.

Typically you go into a facility, they put a bunch of bandaids on your back with cosmetic shmeers underneath, you wear them for a day then take them off, and they pay you. You may get a tiny rash but that’s it
As a coin collector, I’ve developed a pretty good “eye” for coins and I’ve monetized it by buying and reselling coins on eBay. Basically, a fair number of people who buy rare coins are either (1) not that confident at grading and/or (2) doing it as an investment. These people tend to buy certified coins, because the certification takes the guesswork out of determining authenticity and grade (and therefore value). The upshot is that a certified coin is easier to sell and worth more than a “raw” (uncertified) coin.

That’s where I step in. I bid on raw coins that look like they have potential, send them off to get certified, and relist them at their new value. It’s not the most profitable venture in the world, but it doesn’t feel like work since I enjoy it as a hobby already. And sometimes I keep a particularly nice coin for my personal collection, so there’s that as well.
I’m an art conservator by education, but usually work at somewhat less hands-on roles in institutions. So, every now and then I take on manageable projects with my micro-company of myself and handle them over weekends, evenings and vacations. I also make miniatures and smallish sculptures as a hobby for some years, for a while fabricating larger models for LARPs, tabletop, tv, theatre and sculpture-like things people needed for decoration was a somewhat niche stream of side income. So – if you have some skills people are willing to pay for, but not enough that you could live off of it- that’s a good “side hustle”.
Amateur luthiery can be fun. Most people probably haven’t heard the term; it originally meant ‘lute maker’ but these days applies to guitars and basses. Electric guitars are very simple beasts, mechanically and electronically, but it’s amazing how many musicians have no idea how to set up or maintain their instrument. A proper setup can mean the difference between something that sits on the rack for years and an instrument you can’t put down, and takes maybe ten minutes once you’ve got your mind wrapped around the process. I charge twenty dollars for those few minutes’ work, others might ask more.
Refereeing soccer. I would be exercising anyway, and I get paid instead – doing youth games especially as an assistant referee is very easy to learn and do.
I Tell Stories. Mostly european fairy tales, at schools, medieval fairs, weddings, etc.
Donating plasma. As long as you meet the criteria and maintain decent protein levels and hydration, you can donate twice a week. I make $120 per week, and there are often bonuses or promotions that let you earn more. The money’s tax free. And your plasma helps make life-saving medications.
I joined a few higher end Furry artist Discord servers, and they really liked my voice, so they paid me to do voice acting in some animations and videos.
I host Trivia once a week at a local bar. $150 a week. Great spending money
Make fur suits for the furry community. My sister makes an absolute killing cuz she’s made a bit of a name for herself in the community and there’s a surprising amount of money there.
I work in health and safety for a construction company.

I earn a bit on the side consulting with smaller contractors. It doesn’t take long, a few hours every now and then, but it really adds up.
Dog walking. Set up your available hours through Facebook marketplace or related apps. It’s good exercise and a great way to make an extra $300-$400 a week. Set a rate based on dog size (obviously larger dogs cost more per session) per every 30 minutes of walk time. I started during COVID when I was fully remote at my job and I learned best practices/types of dogs and owners to avoid. I have less time to do it now that my company has me on a hybrid schedule but I am a lot more efficient at it and can walk 5-6 dogs at a time.
I work as a freelancer on UpWork.

My tasks are either making voice recordings for AI training, translations of documents and webshop pages, or writing generic articles for SEO purposes.

The site has recently been filled with spammers and fake jobs, but in the glory days I made a good 400$ a month.
I sell one specific replacement table saw part on EBay. I have it CNC’d at a local shop for $2.50/piece and sell it for $20.
I am in the process of designing and replacing my mailbox. Figured I go with something unique. I was looking at others around town for ideas and started to notice just how bad and falling apart everyones are.

Been thinking about offering to rebuild others mailboxes.
I bought a CNC machine cause I think it’s cool to make things, and people sell the made stuff for a pretty penny. I saw a cheese board with my cities road map CNC’d into it go for $95 this past weekend.
Designing logos and other forms of marketing for businesses/free lance individuals.

You’d be surprised on how many people are willing to drop $50 for something as simple as a digitalized caricature of their face or their business in a silly font.

& yes while most people can just “do it themselves” there is a fairly decent market on people wanting to “feel professional” and illustrating your own logo usually never feels so. I used to make music and when I would pay an engineer to mix a song, I’d always feel 100x more confident in the song compared to if I mixed it myself. There’s some sort of placebo in our brains that goes “Made FOR us” = Elegancy / Importance, inevitably “boosting” their idea of their business.
Painting miniatures
Depending on where you live, officiating/reffing high school and college level sports. My father makes good money officiating swim meets at both the high school and college level in NY (fall and winter seasons). But here in FL those are volunteer hours.

This is why I’m won’t officiate down here now that my child is out of swim. Because even in swim, the parents are insane and I wasn’t paid enough (lol) for that shit.
Here’s a fun one – my wife and I make and sell greeting cards and posters on 100+ year old letterpress printing equipment.
I don’t usually use these food delivery services, but I thank those low paid men and women who do that job and bring me food when I’m too sick to go the store. So far there have been no horror stories and the food has been still hot.

But that being said. I sell stuff online. There are plenty of people who don’t want to deal with that stuff. It’s not for everyone though because the buyers are also people and people are people if you know what I mean. So if you want to do that, document everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Also probably smart to not use your home address as the return address if that happens, but my policy is no refunds, but every question will be answered before purchase. And you don’t want to be lying about anything, customers should fully know what they’re getting. Still there are people who buy stuff like “This is a REPLICA phone that doesn’t work” and they still complain that they were lied because they can’t use the phone to call someone.
Play taps on a real trumpet during the graveside service for US veterans. Sadly at veterans’ funerals, taps is played by a military representative using a thing that looks like a trumpet but plays a recording. If you played trumpet in school, and haven’t played since, get a used trumpet and learn taps.

Not a way to get rich, but it’s daylight hours which is nice. Anyone can play taps to honor someone who served – if a family doesn’t want the full military honors for whatever reason, they can still have taps played.
I inflate my working hours to get more overtime. Other than that, stocks.
I have a buddy who buys and sells football and baseball cards
my mom does gel nails. she earned ~500 usd last month.
I came up with a mashup logo like, 15 years ago. Had some stickers made for funsies. Last year, I found a way to get it made into PVC patches. Posted it online, people wanted one of their own… now I make a few PVC morale patches, with more designs on the way. Profits fund more designs mostly but, it’s fun.
When I needed to hustle more, I used to thrift clothes and sell them online. Even if you’re mildly brand aware, you can pick up clothes at “sales” at thrifts for under a dollar and sell them for 10-20x that. That made up most of my fun money for several years.
I made an rpg and had it for sale online.

I pulled it somewhat recently tho because I’m gearing up to release the 2nd edition.
Mine is super niche, but I sell crystalized skulls.
I teach lap dance and pole dance classes to bachelorette parties.
Rating youtube videos at $14/hr usd with a moderator position.
I write show notes (basically title and descriptions) for podcasts
Renaissance faire work on the weekends!
I am a decent home cook. Through some connections in the local Asian community I cook and meal prepa for lots of old and retired elderly.
Don’t know how “weird” it is, but it’s definitely legit since I had to be approved by the Chief Firearms Officer…

I teach the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course.

In Canada, to get a firearms license, you need to take and pass these courses. It’s going to get my mortgage paid in 1/2 the time.
Bicycle repairs at home garage. Quiet woork, simple and satisfying. Not much of income but requires not much effort. Highly in demand lately.
Surveys are the easiest for me cause I just sit down and do a few and I get money out of it. I also get something desirable in games and sell them. I also 3D print things for people (most people ask for things that are already modeled and free to use) and then I charge like 5-40 dollars to print it.
If you have a little money to begin with, buy a used camper van and rent it out.
I do the delivery apps (DoorDash, UberEats) for 3-5 hours a day, four or five days a week. I average $60-$100 a day and I love it. I love the flexibility of it; I can do it whenever I want, for however long (or short), and run my errands in between if I like.

I drive a little later model Hyundai that gets ~30 miles per gallon, and I generally don’t accept orders that are more than 7 miles (most orders I get are 5 and under) so less wear and tear on my vehicle.
My wife finds stuff at goodwill that we sell on eBay. The goodwill she goes to is an Outlet location where they push out these massive unsorted bins and then sell everything by weight. Most of it isn’t worth a ton of money, but we have had some solid scores like a pair of vintage sunglasses we sold for $600, a vintage camera for $300, and a few other things.
When I was in my early 20’s I would go into bars on holidays (with the bar owners permission) and face paint people for tips. The drunk people would have a riot sporting their St. Patrick or firework art on their faces. I would get about $100-$200 in tips.

A friend of mine was a halfway decent artist and would make photocopies of her work, go to a bar and just lay her pieces down on the table, sure enough she would sell them!

Another friend set up an ‘instant poetry’ table on the sidewalk and would charge $5 for an improvised poem for the person.
I decorate Christmas trees in people’s homes and some businesses. Also have a couple businesses that have me come in to do other holiday decor too like Halloween, easter, etc.
Farm animal ‘sitter’. People with hobby farms that have animals need help when they vacation. They will pay a very good fees for you to come by, after and feed the animals, let them out for the day, bring them in at night. It’s a great gig if you love animals and the outdoors.
I started a copywriting business!
I am a drone operator on the side. I got my 107 and started with a couple of consumer model drones but now I have a DIY fixed wing for bigger jobs.

I started with residential real estate and the money was okay but the competition was horrendous. Until a realtor who also did commercial and rural properties asked me to do surveys of large plots of land. You have to be ready to hike to retrieve downed drones but I have a pretty steady stream of customers now. Not enough to fully rely on my cash but it brings enough for me to afford the nicer things.
Used to have a small printing business I ran from home. Sold badges (pins), fridge magnets, poster, canvas art, edible cake toppers etc. Made about £1500 a month after fees. So decent side hustle. Then eBay changed their site structure, allowing foreign sellers to sell in other countries. The market was flooded with cheap Chinese junk selling for less in total than I had to charge for postage. Went out of business basically overnight. Screw eBay! Was good while it lasted. Never come close to finding another side hustle that gave as much return as my printing hustle did.
Being a professional cuddler.
I upscale/steampunk cigar boxes and sell them. Samples
I photograph dying people with theor families like last portraits and also funerals. No advertising, just word of mouth.
I know a woman who charges men to wrestle/do judo with her. Nothing sexual, she just gets to beat up dudes for money lol
Propagate house plants. Most of them are stupidly easy to propagate. There is a negligible cost to get started, and maybe $0.50 worth of material needed to package it to sell. Common plants can go for $3-$20 depending on the look and size of the new plant. Rarer plants can easily go for $50 or even +$100.

There are a couple of varieties that are currently protected under copyright, but the majority of houseplants and garden flowers can be sold by anyone. There a pretty thriving market for them on FB marketplace and online communities.
Hustling pool games/playing tournaments. Probably make about 2-4 grand a year. Which is probably about enough to actually pay for how much I spend in a year on pool.
Collect soda cans, etc. Buy a roll of those big bags at big box store. If you live near a stadium, some of those allow you to collect after games, in the parking lot.
My uncles dig graves in our town. Old cemeteries so it’s mostly by hand so only a shovel and tarp are needed.
I teach a night class at my local college. After taxes its about $1000/mo. Two nights/week, 3 hours/night, and usually some amount of prep time on nights I don’t teach. Semesters are 15 weeks, and I’m still getting paid over the summer because they break the pay for the 4 month term into 6 months.

I also am trying to get back into detailing cars on the side. Used to do it regularly, but I don’t have a space for it anymore, which I’m trying to figure out, and I’m trying to be more legit about it (i.e. business license, insured, etc). One car could be anywhere from $100-$600, depending on size and what/how much work it needs. I used to do a lot of $100 water spot removals, though I’d charge $150ish these days to do it.
I live in a big old house and have 2 extra bedrooms. I host international students for about a $1000 a month per student. I pay for their food and I’m sort of encouraged to converse with them in English but if you’re set up right, its more lucrative than having roommates.
Learn to DIY everything and don’t pay for services.
I rent two travel trailers out on RVShare. It’s mostly seasonal but can pull in some decent weekend money during the rentals. I also rent them as green rooms for a local pride festival that happens every year in my town.
Special events bartending. A good friend has the business and I work for and/or with her some weekends. Mostly weddings, but also private parties or corporate events. I can usually make $300 to $500 for one night’s work. It’s (usually) relatively easy and fun, and I only do it when it suits my schedule.
I do in-your-home catsitting via Meowtel. It’s great and super flexible so I can easily work it around my full time job, and I’m also building it up as a small business for when I retire. My business profile page is Supurrb Catsitting of Daytona. If you’d like to become a catsitter, mention my business name during the onboarding process and I’ll get a referral bonus.
I take honey bees out of people’s homes and businesses. $600 minimum charge. Some jobs up to $1500. Work weekends only. Booked from March -July solid.
I have a book coming out in 2 days, so we’ll see if that nets much. I’d rather not calculate what it amounts to per hour of writing, editing, etc., though. Good thing it’s more of a hobby.
I used to bar tend weddings back in college. Not sure how “side hustle” that is for a lot of people, but it was definitely not a full time gig for me and I made a lot of money doing that on random Friday or Saturday nights. It was not uncommon to walk away with $500-700 for 6 hours of work and all I did was pour glasses of wine and mix up some Jack and Cokes. Sure made paying bills as a poor college kid a lot easier.
Language consultant. Proofreader. Editor. Copywriter.
Breeding freshwater dwarf shrimp. Just as ornamental not for eating. They breed like rabbits and some species go for 5€ each.
Buying in bulk on Alibaba and selling individually on Amazon
This has got to be saturated by this point no?
Buy 4 week treasury bills. Anyone can create an account, the minimum purchase is $100, so thats realistic and attainable. Its the US treasury, so its safe, no risk. Right now its 5.1% return in a month. Start small and create a snowball.
Lectures about niche games I like online during the kids’ nap time.
Busker, downtown i can make 200 on a good night.
Buy non-working video game consoles from the 90’s-2000’s and learn how to fix and mod them.
The least time consuming one I’ve been doing is selling old toys/video games and comics/magazines on Mercari.

They’ve made it about as easy for a seller as possible. I’ve made a very decent amount in the two years I’ve been plugging away.
There has been two things I purchased for myself that ended up making me money: a 3d printer, and an oxyacetylene torch. I learned to solder, braze, and weld with the torch, and it could also be used to cut metal. The 3d printer has made repairs for appliances, interior parts for cars, prototype parts for people’s projects, and occasionally little decorative knickknacks.
I’m a fine art oil painter; after a ridiculous life resume semiretirement now affords me the time necessary to be serious about it. I can work as much or as little as I like. Do a few shows as opposed to regular labor intensive ones. Keeps me engaged. Have a gallery, less travel.
Handy man jobs.
I make bespoke jewelry out of titanium implants. (when they come out)
drawing sexual stuff esp furry .

good drawn furry content is rare so you can make good money on that.

depending howm utch time i have for drawing.
Buy used musical instruments (guitars, etc.) and pro audio gear dirt cheap, and sell it for what it’s worth.
sell worn socks
Reselling products is a good side hustle. You can sell things based on your interest or just buy cheap and sell high.

Some side hustle content can be actually true but people don’t ever tell you how they went about getting started or the journey they went through to get to where they’re at.
In the past, selling my plasma 2x/week. It was a huge help when I was unemployed.
Buying old couches, cleaning them and making them look nice to then resell them at a higher price
I buy stuff from thrift stores and garage sales for cheap and resell them to collectors mostly in Facebook niche groups. My main thing is knives and militaria, but I’ve got a good eye for a lot of different categories. How much I make depends on the luck with my finds. Sometimes it’s really good for wery little effort but it’s always something.
I ran a DJ company and simply marketed myself as the “no cheese, not annoying DJ who will play the music you actually ask for and not talk on the mic and be an embarrassment” as most people naturally find DJs annoying – it rained money. Great side gig that helped me earn money to buy a house until I had kids and didnt wanna give up my weekends anymore. Its mainly a Fri-Sat-Sun gig.
I usher at a local theater (touring Broadway shows). It’s easy work. I get paid for 4-5 hours, but actually only work about 1.5 hours. The other time I either watch the show or sit outside the doors reading.
I have been involved in Brazilian jiu jitsu since 2005. I’ve taught various amounts over the years. Sometimes it’s been in exchange for training for free, sometimes it’s been for hundreds of dollars a months depending on how much I teach. I’ve also refereed at various things, and ran tournaments over the years. I don’t know how much it’s made me over the years, but its’ thousands and thousands of dollars.
I bought a laser cutter/engraver for a couple of grand, bought a stack of designs from various sites, advertise on the community pages for laser cutting/engraving work, I get about 1.5-2k a month extra, all cash.
Started a blog. Monetized it on a whim after 6 years of writing for it and started making… a lot of money.. pretty much overnight.
I sell CRT tv’s or things that have sort of a retro aesthetic. My dad works in renovations and every year there are a few projects he does to upgrade a home an old person lived in before it is put up for sale. Usually the kids that inherited the place see the stuff as garbage but I know that people into retro gaming like CRTs so my dad brings them home and I sell them and we split the cost. One time I sold some 70s style glass bricks to a production company and they ended up being used on the set of season 2 of Ginny & Georgia.
Just cashed in $642 in gold and silver today that i found metal Detecting over the years.
Pest Control. I live in rural UK and I make money shooting foxes for farmers, anywhere between £25 and £75 a fox, depending on the job.
I currently make about 400 dollars a week walking two dogs for thirty minutes at a time once to twice a day. I did not set the wage, and have offered to do it much cheaper, but their owner insists that my time with them is worth more than she pays me. Not really weird other than the amount I get paid. It is also honestly better than any therapy I’ve ever had.
My friend sells dog treats she makes with a freeze dryer, she makes and sells raw dog food for $5 a pound, and she does dog sitting and training. Her day job is working from home for an insurance company.
I did a bit of busking last summer. The money wasn’t great, but it would pay my bar tabs. One night Tom Green was playing back to back sold out shows, and I played out front for the people in line. In about 4 hours I made $160, so that was a good night. Otherwise it would be between $25-60 for a couple hours of playing.
Get a part time job at your local movie theater.
Salmon tendering contracts (30 days-90+ days). Basically middle man between the catching fisherman and the processing company. Processing companies hire vessels to “buy” fish on their behalf and pay daily wages $200-$500 + per day based on skills and experience.
I walk dogs! I mostly do it cuz I enjoy it and I get to hang out with puppers while making money. It’s not a lot but it’s something.
I bought a welder because I wanted to do some projects with my truck. As I made things I slowly became a side gig. It’s fun but I’m not sure I’d want to do it full time but at the same time it’s enough that if I lost my day job I’d have something to fall back on.
During the weekend do some excel/data entry stuff on fiverr with a bit of programming. It’s not a lot, it’s work on the weekend but somehow I recived almost 800 extra euros some time ago. Now I stopped, since my main work is becoming more important.
We have CO2 lasers and we signed up with the company that sells them to do demo rooms out of our house. Since my day job is field service, learning these machines was pretty easy. I have helped numerous people in my area setup and install their machines.
Donate plasma. $130 per week when I’m on my schedule and I get a couple hours each week to read
Advancing in your career. I used my free time to learn new stuff and get certs and now I make more than I hoped for.
I diy everything
My side hustle was hunting, fishing and a big garden. No taxes, little food cost and fun.
I own a mining claim and a side business to sell the mineral specimens the mine produces.
Fetish films. I work with a company that gets scripts from customer for very niche things. Like boots stuck in slime, nose licking and sucking, bikini fights, belly button torture. Anything you can think of I have probably gotten a script for it.
I had a craigslist ad advertising that I would rewire old lamps, usually $25-$100/each. That made good money.
In the housing crash, I had another ad offering structured wiring services. This was when most places were first installing actual WiFi infrastructure instead of just one unit in someone’s office somewhere. That paid well, too.
Old friend gave her eggs for egg donation for those struggling to conceive. She made about 20k for 2 viable eggs once. She does it once a year or every other year. It ranges in pay from 20k-50k depending on what the potential parents want. She’s not planning on having kids herself, but she’s healthy and so are her eggs so she gives them away.
I buy and sell things related to my other hobbies. I come across good deals and sell them for a profit. If you know the market you can tell what’s trendy and what’s not in a given hobby. I make a few hundred extra when I have the chance. It’s not a reliable income but it helps offset the cost of said hobby. I also do my main job as side work (carpenter) on rare occasions
Survey Junkie. You take surveys and earn money. My wife and I together bring in around 140-175 a month.
Buying non-running motorcycles and selling them as running. Most bikes just need a carb clean and a battery. I’ve made about 4000$ this spring.
I sign up for new bank accounts and new credit cards for the signing bonuses. Usually clear $2k-$5k a year in straight cash and a boatloat of airline miles and hotel points to fund travel.

Have been doing it for a good decade and going strong
I play in a cover band on the weekends. As a very mediocre bass player it gets me a good $150 a lot of nights for a few hours of fun.
Selling linoprints & taking commissions. You don’t even need to be a good artist. Just convert a photo to black and white, transfer the image to the linoblock (many methods online) then carve away the white space, leaving the black. Once done, roll on some ink then print onto paper. There’s a little set-up costs but your first print sold should cover that. Be prepared to do lots of dogs as that’s what people tend to commission. I charge £80 for the first framed print then £10 for any subsequent unframed prints from the same block. I don’t make a fortune but it’s a fun creative hobby that gives me a little extra money
I used to live in a retirement area where the average age of 75 years old. I spent a lot of time at estate sales buying old vinyl records and books that I would then flip on eBay. It was a very lucrative business!
Sniffspot! Renting my fields and trails for people to chill with their dogs. No work on my part at all! Pays about $ 1000 per month.
My neighbor used to do the storage unit thing until the TV show popularized it. He would get calls from the owners to clean out the units. 75% of them were numerous trips to the dump while the other 25% made it worthwhile.
I invest my money in mutual funds, mostly index fund. It makes me money.
I do paint correction on vehicles.
I played in a D&D group when 4 first came out. Started bringing in breakfast burritos and little sliders, cause we’d end up playing like 6 hours. The owner of the comic shop asked if I could just keep bringing them.

Creating an LLC and getting insurance was a lot cheaper than I thought. Made sure I followed all food handling guidelines. Word spread around and I feed nerds at a few different shops around town. For every dollar I spend on groceries I get about $4 back, it’s not huge or an overnight millionaire gig but especially if they’re having a MTG or Pokemon tournament I can spend an hour cooking and sell them 50 burritos and 50 sliders.
Back in school, I used to sell candy.

Buy in bulk from Costco or a distributor for cheap, sell for 4x what I paid.

Didn’t take long for word to spread, sometimes made $100 in a day.
Crafting projects. With some basic power tools and cheap materials you can turn around a good profit if you’re creative. I’ve made the most profit from coffee and end tables. I’ve also sold some artwork but the useful stuff goes quicker. I’m also currently working on some short stories to get into the ebook market and cater to the masses.
Chimney sweep. Tools will cost you less that 1k. I do it 4 months out of the year. First year I made 30k the next I made 60k this year I’m planning on 120k. Learn social media advertising!! It takes about 45 mins to clean one chimney I charge $150-200. Dirty job that’s very unsexy but it pays.
My BIL is a welder and has a side hustle making steel bumpers for UTVs. Polaris Rangers, Teryxs, etc. We live rural so they are extremely popular vehicles. Amazingly these offroad focused vehicles do not have steel bumpers from the factory to protect their plastic shells. He makes a couple hundred bucks each off custom fitting and welding together 50 bucks worth of steel and paying a local paint shop $10 to powder coat them. He’ll do about 1-2 a week during the summer.
It’s not weird, but I just picked up a side gig as a bartender. At a new brewery so it’s not as intense per say in terms of orders. “I want that one” as opposed to “shaken, not stirred”. I’m pulling in an extra $500 a week on top of my full time job right now and talking to lots of interesting folks.
I used to work in a hotel that had conference rooms. And we had a few people that had sort of “grinded” their way through shitty shifts to become exclusive wedding bartenders.

At a wedding everyone is in a good mood, tips are generous. We’d make 18% gratuity on every keg. Typically the beer would be free mixed drinks extra, when the beer ran out some father of the bride type would always buy another. I’ve made $200 just off keg gratuities before.

You’re also only working 7pm – 12am mostly, so it’s not even a long shift.

I used to give underage bellhops a couple free shots to do all my heavy lifting and breakdowns.

Bonus you can get girls’ numbers this way.

I think the lowest I earned was $50 in tips + hourly. Most I ever earned was $600 + hourly.
I convert VHS tapes to digital and store them on a USB as a side gig.
I combined skills of wood working and electronics to make smash bros controllers and other stuff. It sells on Etsy. I would post a link to my page but it’s always sold out and whenever I need cash I make something and it sells in like 24 hours. Lol. I will milk this while I can
I play organ for church services. It’s a bit of a dying art, so I bet you live somewhere where they need an organist. It’s not a ton, but I make a bunch more around Christmas and Easter when there are 2-3 services a week. I get paid $75 a service, which is 2-3 hours of my time between practicing and playing. Tbh $75 is on the low end.
Face painting, circus workshops, stage hand / stage manager and the odd performance!
I’m a middle man for Facebook market place. Most people don’t have vans or other means to transport large goods like sofas or large appliances so they are often going for free or at a reduced rate. I pick them up and resell them to people who don’t have vehicles to collect them. I’m basically charging for pick up and delivery. I can make £20-30 on a washing machine or fridge but sodas etc can be £100+. It’s also great as I do it whenever I want I’m not bound to certain times.
Children’s party entertainment. I learned balloon twisting as a hobby after my daughter took a class at summer camp. I’m decent at making small stuff, which is good enough to do kid’s birthday parties and school events. Can easily charge $60-100 an hour for it.
I’m a Twitch partner 💜
VJing at my local club/random other bookings through word of mouth. Started out as a literal pandemic hobby and now it brings in anywhere from $300 to $1000 extra a month for a couple Friday nights/weekends where I work 3 or 4 hours a piece depending on the bookings I get. Also a hefty amount of free drinks and food depending on the venue.
Not sure if it really counts as weird, and I don’t live in the US but rather a place where the arts are very appreciated – but anyway — every weekend a pair of young women around their early to mid twenties goes from one outdoor market to the other doing Shakespearean and other dramatic readings and they make fucking BANK on people duking them out spare change and some decent larger tips from fans of the arts or people that appreciate a good hustle. Maybe just before covid I had asked one of the girls if it was worth it from a $$ perspective, and she said they split about $400-500 over a 20hr weekend, and sometimes up to double around major holidays. I’ve seen their collection box numerous times and I don’t doubt it.
I have 4 types of income.
1. I work as a marketer
2. my own chain of hookah houses
3. selling legal services (remotely)
4. Once a week, I spend consultations on family psychology (I am a psychologist by education)
Tattoos and flip guitars.
Laser engraving.
The best side hustle is enjoying your life with what little free time we get.
I do homeworks and online tests for lazy high school students. Depending on how much time I have, I earn around 60-100 eur a month. It can go up to 200 as well.
Honestly, becoming a landlord.
Festivals, farmers market, movies in the Park. I have setup outside a bar.
I make Adirondack chairs and sell them at local farmer’s markets on the weekends in the spring and summer. it brings in 10 to 15k a year.
I paint large scale oil paintings of tropical sunsets/ scenery and sell them in a few galleries down in Florida. I live in the Rockies, and have always lived in the Rockies. My 9-5 is as a Microbiologist in the big pharma industry ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I rent out myself. Tourist looking to be shown a good time? People needing someone special for a third? I’m your guy.
I cater Mexican food in Portugal. Make like €500 a month
I do bookkeeping work for small businesses on weekends
I buy old computers from college surpluses and resell on Facebook marketplace and eBay.
If you’re a good Photographer offer Car Dealers your service.
Cut hay out of new-to-the-rural life folks’ 40 acre hobby farms. In my area it’s worth 400 an acre 3x a year. I split it with the homeowner
Rocks. You’d be surprised how much people will pay for mined crystals, even quartz. Once you know how to ID rocks, and what’s available in your area/where to mine, it’s a fun adventure day to go out and hunt for rocks. Etsy shops get you the best premiums.
Concrete work , hot tub pads shed pads quick easy 1000 in your pocket
Early on in World of Warcraft I realized that Eagle gear was crucial for certain classes, so for about 2 years I controlled the entire Eagle gear market on my server. I spent hours every day buying low and selling high and I made an absolute fortune.
I have Solana and helium miners.
Buying and selling storage units peoples belongings that go up for auction when not paid my entire house is furnished and i make more money some months compared to my real job
I flip lego. About 4-6 hours of sorting and pricing on the weekends. I make bewteen $700-$1,000 a month after all the fees, have settled.
Convert spreadsheet data into table data.

It’s like turning trash into income.

You take shitty/old spreadsheets, and re-arrange/re-organize them into table format. This makes it so they can be imported to databases and/or pulled into Power Query editor.

Every company on earth has a need for this, in some capacity.

I’m a Microsoft platform manager, so the scope of my role is larger than this, but it’s a service I offer that people love.
Snow plowing. People are always willing to pay to get out manual labor tasks of shoveling/snow blowing especially if the weather is bad too.