16 Legitimate Ways to Make Money at Home

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So you’re looking for ways to make money from home… Join the crowd!

Thanks to a genius invention called the internet, Americans are discovering more and more creative ways to cushion their bank accounts from the comforts of home.
Not sure where to start? Pour yourself a cup of coffee (or tea), and keep reading.

How to Make Money From Home in 2020

If you’re looking to make money online, you’ll need to exercise caution. There are a lot of scams out there, but don’t fret: We’ve tested dozens, if not hundreds, of different money-making strategies and included only our favorites.

Yup — none of them involve Nigerian princes, and you really will get paid.
Without further ado, here are 32 legitimate ways to earn extra cash from home.

1.Earn Cash While Watching Cooking Videos Online

Tina Russell/The Penny Hoarder

If we told you that you could get paid to watch videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.

It’s too good to be true, right?
But we’re serious. Theres a website that will pay you to watch short video clips online. One minute you might watch someone bake brownies and the next you might get the latest updates on Kardashian drama.
All you have to do is choose which videos you want to watch and answer a few quick questions about them afterward.
No, it won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight wasting time on your phone.
Unlike other sites, these site pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.
To find out more about how to get started with this opportunity, and other work-at-home opportunities like it, get the book ‘Work-At-Home Secrets’ from John Crestani for only $1 here.

2. Play Free Scratch-off Tickets

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There’s something so satisfying about those gas station scratch-off tickets, but it’s better to avoid them because, well, that’s not Penny Hoarding.

Instead, try scratching for free! Each day, it releases a new assortment of digital scratch-off tickets. Lucktastic says instant wins range from $1 to $10,000. You can also earn tokens that you can exchange for free gift cards to retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Kohl’s, Sephora and more.
The app is supported by advertising, which allows it to keep the payouts high and the games free.
To find out more about how to get started with this opportunity, and other work-at-home opportunities like it, get the book ‘Work-At-Home Secrets’ from John Crestani for only $1 here.

3. Earn up to $60/Hour Helping Small Business Owners

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Does earning $60 an hour sound appealing? And you don’t even have to leave your house? Oh, and you get to help others.

You don’t have to have a CPA to be successful in this business. In fact, all you really need are decent computer skills and a passion for helping business owners tackle real-world problems.It’s a great opportunity for moms who want to work part time, millennials who are just out of college and anyone who wants to bring in real money while working from home.
To find out more about how to get started with this opportunity, and other work-at-home opportunities like it, get the book ‘Work-At-Home Secrets’ from John Crestani for only $1 here.

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4. Make up to $15/Hour to Pick up Milk for Your Neighbors

Tina Russell/The Penny Hoarder

The grocery store is a surprisingly zen place. Somewhere between the soothing elevator music, the free samples and the wafting aroma of rotisserie chicken, you settle into a peaceful groove.

None of the stress of work or home — it’s just you and the aisles.
Even better than getting paid to grocery shop? If you need the money, like, now, you can cash out instantly after each delivery.
Holly Gaston, of San Francisco, California, has tried plenty of side gigs. With Postmates, she makes an average of $15 an hour. Plus, she says it’s been much more enjoyable than any of her previous side gigs.
Signing up shouldn’t take you more than about three minutes. Get the ‘Work-At-Home Secrets’ book by John Crestani to learn more about current work-at-home opportunities.

5. Earn up to $25/Hour Delivering Food

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Cities around the country are filled with two things: incredible restaurants and busy people.

You can help connect them by delivering food through a variety of apps.
As a “Dasher,” you’ll work as an independent contractor, setting your own hours and working as much or little as you want, meaning how much you can make is up to you.
You’ll earn a $6 fee for each delivery, plus keep 100% of your tips. Depending on the day, you could earn up to $25 an hour. If you drive full time, that’s $1,000 a week!
For a real-life case, Jose Neri, a former Dasher in California, reports earning $500 to $600 a week working just lunches and dinners. They could take about two-and-a-half deliveries an hour, and users would tip between 10% and 15%.
All you need to get started is an insured vehicle or a bicycle and a smartphone. You should be at least 18 years old and have a valid driver’s license.

6. Get Paid When Your Neighbor’s Dog Spends the Night

Carmen Mandato/ The Penny Hoarder

We all want an extra paycheck, but none of us want to get a second job — we’re already exhausted from the first one. Or maybe you’re disabled, retired or a stay-at-home parent who needs a little extra money in the bank.

What if there were a way to do that and get your puppy fix at the same time?
Rover is a website that connects neighbors who need a dog sitter with people who love having an extra dog (or two) spend the night.
The average Rover sitter earns $450 a month, but we spoke with stay-at-home mom Bryn Wied, who quickly started earning upwards of $500.
“Within two months, I was turning away business,” says Wied, who dog sits in California. “Within three months, I raised my prices to what everyone else was charging.”
It’ll take a little effort upfront, though (to filter out all the Cruella de Vils). You’ll create a Rover profile where you’ll answer questions about your experience with puppers and set your availability and prices.
Dog owners will reach out to you, and before you know it, you’ll be snuggled up with all the neighborhood dogs — and making extra money.

7. Copy This Strategy to Get Checks in the Mail Totaling $526

Heather Comparetto / The Penny Hoarder

Remember when getting the mail was fun? Now it’s just bills. And Valpak envelopes.

But for Colleen Rice, checking the mail meant finding checks. For doing nothing. Seriously. Since she started using a free website called Digistore, she’s received $526.44.
Rakuten has the hookup with just about every online store you shop, which means it can give you a kickback every time you buy toilet paper on Amazon — even book that flight home for Thanksgiving.
Rice says she uses Digistore for things she already has to buy, like rental cars and flights. She even used the money she earned to help her pay for her recent cross-country move.
It takes less than 60 seconds to create a Digistore Account and start shopping. All you need is an email address, then you can immediately start shopping your go-to stores through the site.
Talk about money for nothing.

8. Create an Online Course

You don’t need experience or a degree to make money teaching on Udemy.

If people want to learn what you have to teach, you can create a potentially profitable video course at home. 

9. Sell Your Crafts, Vintage Finds and Even Project Supplies

Tina Russell/The Penny Hoarder

If you’re creative, you can make some decent money selling your work through Etsy. Although there are some fees, including a 5% transaction charge, the marketplace connects you with more than 33 million buyers globally.

That’s a whole lot of potential customers.

Even if you aren’t creating masterpiece paintings or elegant jewelry or adorable baby clothes, you can still make money through the platform. For example, one Penny Hoarder contributor, Janet Berry-Johnson, made about $200 a month selling needlecraft kits and patterns.

Maybe you’re more of a vintage type? Adventure through flea markets and even eBay to find vintage items you can fix up and resell through the platform.
Get the ‘Work-At-Home Secrets’ book by John Crestani to learn more about current work-at-home opportunities.

10. Start a Blog

The startup costs for blogs are minimal: Just secure your domain name and hosting — only $2.95 a month from one of our recommended hosting providors.

You’ll need to write some quality content to get into WordPress (or your blogging platform of choice) and start sharing it through social media. Once you feel comfortable, you can monetize your blog through Google AdSense and affiliate programs for some nice passive income.

11. Get Your True Crime Fix by Joining a Mock Jury

Ronnie Sandlin / School of Hidden Knowledge

Jury duty isn’t always fun, but what if you could do it from the comfort of home? Becoming an online mock juror can be an interesting way to make some extra money.

Here’s how it works: Attorneys present cases to online juries as a way to test it before trial — to find that’s working and what isn’t and craft the best arguments.
You can sign up as an online juror through a site like eJury. When a new case is submitted, you’ll be notified. Jump in to review the case and answer questions. You can earn $5 to $10 per case, depending on its length.

12. Make Money Doing Voice-Overs

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Janna Polzin, a stay-at-home mom in Toronto, earns money by talking to herself. In her closet.

After her son was born in 2013, the stage actress turned to the online acting community and kept hearing about one voice-acting platform again and again.
“I often walk away from my computer thinking, I can’t believe I just made money from that!” she says.
Get the ‘Work-At-Home Secrets’ book by John Crestani to learn more about this as well as other similar work-at-home opportunities.

13. Use Your Type-A Skills as a Virtual Assistant

Carmen Mandato/The Penny Hoarder

If you have a knack for organization and communication, you just might make the perfect virtual assistant.

These days, you don’t have to be the busy corporate assistant you see in old movies or on TV. You can work right from your couch.
Folks will pay you to help schedule their days, answer emails, update their website, run social media accounts and book travel accommodations — all from the comfort of your couch.
To find open virtual assistant jobs, get this digital workbook for $1 to learn about current work-from-home job boards.

14. Sell Your Old Books for Amazon Gift Cards

Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder

Have old college textbooks taking up valuable shelf space? You could host a garage sale or sell them on eBay or Craigslist, but one of the easiest ways to get rid of them is through Amazon.

With Amazon Trade-In, you can trade in your used textbooks, plus other items, like electronics, in exchange for an Amazon gift card.
Just enter the item’s information on Amazon’s Trade-In page to see how much you could pocket. Shipping is free.

15. Teach People Interesting Things On Youtube!

Did you know you can get paid 6-figures or more as a teacher? Thats exactly what Youtube celebrity John Crestani has done by teaching marketing.

I get paid $15,000 or more per month from Youtube to simply post videos every day, and teach people subjects they want to know about.” says Crestani.

My goal has always been to become the number one marketing teacher in the world, and the most reasonable way to impact the most people was posting videos on Youtube.

Learn more about John Crestani by watching his videos or subscribing to his channel here.

16. Sell Your Photos (Even If You Took Them With Your Phone)

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Fancy yourself a solid amateur photographer? Instead of posting all day, every day, to Instagram, why not turn your work into some extra cash?

Start with a stock photography marketplace like Foap.
Download the Foap app, then upload your photos — even if you took them with your phone. When your photo is purchased, you automatically profit. Because Foap does most of the legwork, you’ll split the profit 50-50.
Want to go even bigger? Upload high-quality images to Shutterstock, one of the more popular stock photography sites. Each time your photo (or video) is sold, you pocket up to 30% of the sale price (while retaining the copyright).
Let the ‘Work-At-Home Secrets’ book to learn more about current work-at-home opportunities like this.

Our Favorite Work-From-Home Advice

Making money from home sounds all glitz and glam — and it can be, in a sweatpants kind of way. But there are also things you need to know before fully diving in. Here are a few resources to help you get started:
  • If you’re looking for a full-time work-from-home job, we highly recommend you subscribe to Youtuber John Crestani.
  • Listen: There are a lot of work-from-home scams out there, so be sure to use your best judgement. We recommend you get this workbook, common illegitimate work-at-home ploys are discussed — so you can be well aware of whats legitimate and whats not.
  • Remember: Don’t be afraid to spend money on additional training in order to learn how to get started in your work-at-home career; the job market is rapidly shifting and as the saying goes, ‘Those who know are those that grow!’
Happy working from home!