by Kimberly Solis
Get paid to sit on your couch. Earn money online.
Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission to fund my book-buying habit if you use these links to make a purchase. You will not be charged extra, and you’ll keep me supplied with books. It’s a win for everyone, really.
Are you looking for a side hustle that lets you sit on the couch all day (in your pajamas)? Just imagine! You can earn some extra money online without even leaving your house. Here’s a list of things you can do to earn a bit of gas money or add some money to your piggy bank.
Inbox Dollars
Watch videos all day and earn money online. Yep. The company called Inbox Dollars will pay you a bit of money just to sit there and watch some video clips. You can also take surveys and read emails for money. If you read the emails, you often have to sign up for some subscription or discount deal. So if that’s something you’re not too crazy about, stick with the surveys and videos.
Just for signing up, you get $5 into your Inbox Dollars account. You can’t cash out until you reach $30. Get paid through ecard, check or Paypal. Despite it’s tiny payments, you can still earn a bit of money while you’re sitting around. And Netflix isn’t going to pay you to watch Stranger Things, so why not give Inbox Dollars a try? Here’s the link to get started.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is another company that will pay you to watch videos, take surveys, shop online, donate to charities, surf the web, play games and more. In other words, it helps you earn money online. You earn points as you participate in all the activities. After you accumulate enough points, you redeem them through gift cards or get paid through Paypal. You get rewarded if you refer your friends too. Like Inbox Dollars, you definitely won’t get rich doing this but you can earn some spare change while sitting on the couch. Click here to sign up.
Take a Bunch of Surveys
Opinion Outpost pays you for taking a bunch of surveys. Companies want your opinions on their products, and they’re willing to compensate you with some cold, hard cash. Take surveys about appliances, medicine, politics, sports and anything else you can imagine. After you take the surveys, collect points and redeem them for cash or gift cards. Check them out by clicking here.
Pinecone Research is another company that pays you for taking surveys. You get $3 for every survey you complete. You get your payment three to five days after completing a survey.
Invest in Real Estate (the Kind Regular People Can Afford)
You’ve always dreamed of being a real estate mogul, but you’ve never had the money to buy investment property. Heck! You’re doing good to make payments on the mortgage you have right now. But fortunately, you can dabble in real estate without worrying about unclogging tenants’ toilets or 3 A.M. phone calls from those same tenants claiming that the heater went out. Again.
How can a regular Joe (or Jane) like you get into real estate and pay no more than $500? It’s not as difficult as you think. Not if you use an online investment platform like Fundrise. Fundrise was established in 2012, and let’s regular people like you and me dip our feet into the real estate world. Think of it as crowdfunding for real estate. Investors put their money together to buy real estate. As little as $500 can buy you a small share in income-producing properties. That $500 gives you access to both commercial and residential real estate.
Another company similar to Fundrise is Roofstock. With Roofstock, you purchase shares in a single family home or full ownership of a single family home and allow Roofstock to manage it for you. If you purchase shares, you’ll need at least $5000 to invest. Like Fundrise, it’s a good way to begin real estate investing without worrying about managing the whole thing. No vetting potential tenants, no fixing leaky faucets and no rent collecting. Roofstock appoints a property manager to do all the work for you.
Write web content for content marketing companies
If you have a way with words, you can make money sitting on your couch writing web content or blog posts. While not as plentiful as in the past, there are web content companies that will pay you money for your writing. But don’t get all excited yet. The truth is that a lot of these companies don’t pay well at all. They might want you write a 500-word article and pay you three to five dollars for it.
Other companies think they’re doing you a favor if they pay $20 for a 500-word article. These companies are called content mills–that’s a fancy way to say article sweat factory. When you think about it, you’re getting slave wages for something that a lot of people can’t do well. Write.
Shop the Kids Discover Print library!You’re better off finding your own private clients and charging way more money. You can do this through an online portfolio and a really good Linkedin page. There are some digital marketing companies that hire freelance writers and pay more. But not much more. I’ll let you decide if these content mill jobs are worth your while. But they still help you earn money as you sit on your couch. Don’t just expect to quit your day job doing this kind of work.
At any rate, if you want to try your hand at writing for a content mill, here are a few you can contact. Most of them require you to submit an unpaid writing sample before they hire you.
Purecontent (Hires writers to write articles in English and other languages too.)
Do Data Entry Online
Are you a super-fast typist? Can you enter data at the speed of light? Do you know your way around a number keypad? Try snagging an online data entry job. The competition is fierce because it’s a pretty sweet job if you can get it. But don’t let the stiff competition deter you. Here are some companies that hire home data entry operators.
Test Websites
Website owners want to make sure their sites are user friendly. They want outsiders’ opinions so that they can make the website as successful as possible. If you know your way around the internet and feel comfortable giving feedback, you can test websites for money. User Testing, TryMyUI and Enroll are just a few of the companies looking for website testers.
Become an Online Transcriptionist
Looking for a typing job but don’t want to do data entry? Consider becoming an online transcriptionist. Listen to audio or video then type what you hear. Companies like Scribie, TranscribeMe and SpeakWrite will pay you for your work.
These money opportunities may not make you rich, but they can still add a bit of extra cash to your pockets. Even better, you don’t have to leave your house. So if you want to hang out in your pajamas and hustle up some Starbucks money, little side gigs just might be the opportunity you’re looking for.