14 fun ways to make money

Laugh & Get Rich Day on February 8 is a day that celebrates the physical and mental healing benefits derived from laughter.

Laughter boosts endorphins, aka the happy hormone. Endorphins boost creativity and motivation, and a surge in creativity and motivation is likely to help your earning capacity, whether that be at your 9-5, or by pursuing a new side hustle.

That’s why we’ve decided to write a list of fun ways to make you rich[er], while also hopefully making you laugh.

These ideas are for everyone; most of the time all you’ll need is internet access, your unique skills and equipment you already own (or which is affordable to buy).

1. Use the dark arts … and crafts

Do you enjoy making jewellery, drawing or digital art? Turn your hobby into a moneymaker by selling your items online through stores like Etsy.

You can hone your creative skills and have fun, while also having the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with your art brightening up somebody else’s day. So why not knit, sketch or crochet your way to some extra cash?

2. If it doesn’t “spark joy”, sell it

Why not adopt author Marie Kondo’s approach to minimalism? She says that if an item doesn’t “spark joy” when you touch it, or isn’t absolutely necessary, then it should be thanked and sent on its way – or, in this case, sold.

Spend an afternoon purging yourself of the items that don’t make you feel joyful. Immerse yourself in old memories; reunite with bad wardrobe decisions, thank those old socks under your bed for their service (maybe bin those) and make some cash selling that brand new tent you once bought for a camping trip that you never went on.

You can sell things on Ebay, Amazon, Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace or Etsy, or you could have your own garage sale.  

3. Grow a pear

Grow your own produce. You’ll save on your grocery bill – and, if you have a surplus, you can sell it to your friends, local farmers’ market or independent grocer.  

Do you have a garden, balcony or space for a window box? There’s a multitude of different fruit veg or herbs and spices that you can start growing today.

There are even plenty of edible plants you can grow indoors: mushrooms, tomatoes, chillies, lemons, mint, basil … the list goes on. Try using hanging baskets if you’re pushed for space.

Often you don’t even need to invest in any seeds: simply harvest them from your store-bought fruit and veggies. There are YouTube videos that show you exactly how-to. This way you get your usual haul, without spending an extra penny.

4. Dill with it

In the vein of edible DIY, why not get pickling and preserve some cash? Make your own delicious pickles, chutneys or jams and give them away as Christmas gifts to your nearest and dearest, and save yourself a bundle on gifts.

You could also sell them at a festive fair, or at your local farmer’s market, and make a tidy profit.

If you consider yourself more of a baker, you can do the same with cakes, cookies or savoury treats. Be aware that they don’t have the same shelf life; so make sure you check the rules of wherever you want to sell them before you don your apron and whip out your rolling pin.

5. Tweet yourself

If you have a substantial Twitter following, you could be paid for tweeting sponsored tweets.

You can find potential clients on sites such as PaidPerTweet and SponsoredTweets.

6. Flog your blog

There are a few ways to make money from blogging. For example, you can include ads in your blog or you can use your blog to promote other ventures.

Why not start one today? Starting up a blog is easy; Squarespace and WordPress are but to name just two potential website builders.

If there’s something you’re passionate about, write it down. Make it innovative, informative, evocative or just downright hilarious. Spread the laughter: spread the wealth.

Or make people cry. People read sad blogs. You could write a blog about politics.

7. Fire up your finances with some Kindling

It’s free to publish a Kindle eBook online; start from scratch, or just compile your blog posts.

If you’re something of a wordsmith, you’ve nothing to lose in putting it out there.

8. Monetise your quirk with Fiverr

Do you do a perfect Donald Trump impression, give great relationship advice or fancy yourself as a bit of an amateur witch? Then you could sell your services on Fiverr.

Fiverr is the place where you can sell almost any service, starting at $5. Seriously, nearly anything goes: from spell casting to legal writing, prank pulling to web design, people with a skill can market it on Fiverr.

9. Get snap-happy

Are you a budding photographer? Why not sell some of your photography to stock websites? It’s not exactly the most lucrative industry, but it’s easy and free to do, and you’ll have some fun in the process.

10. Don’t stop retrieving, hold on to that feline

Love animals? Why not become a part-time pet-sitter? You could make a small fur-tune.

Dog walks are good exercise (remember those endorphins) and you get to spend time with some fluffy friends and help out people who may be less able to exercise their animals themselves. Can you feel the love?

And you can work this around your standard work schedule by doing early mornings, evenings or weekends.

You can also be an overnight or holiday sitter. Looking after fur/feather/scale babies in peoples’ homes can actually pay pretty well. There are sites like Aussie House Sitters, MadPaws and Happy House Sitters that you can sign up to for this kind of work.

11. Go Nanny McFee

a) Do you like children? Babysitting and nannying can be pretty lucrative. Parents have all sorts of commitments and often they need a helping hand that they’re willing to pay for.

b) Do you have children already? Would the addition of one or two more for a few hours at a time potentially not scatter your marbles much further?

Think carefully about this one. This is meant to be a fun list.

12. Play for pay

Did you know you can stream yourself playing video games? You don’t even need to be good at it; all you need is a personality.

Sites like Twitch are free to sign up to, and if you create a persona for yourself that people want to watch, you can make money through clicks to advertising on your videos, or add links yourself and monetise those clicks.

13. Get paid to be appy

Companies like Ping Pong Digital Testing are free to sign up to, and you can be paid for testing out apps for startups.

All you have to do is sign up and wait for an email invitation to participate in a web-chat while you test out the site. It’s that easy!

14. Face it till you make it

Sites like Upwork and Freelancer can be useful, but depending on your skillset, they can often be difficult to find work with. Plus, when you do find work, you see a hefty chunk of payment vanish into their commission fee, and then more into withdrawal fees.

Join Facebook groups that reflect your skillset and interests, use self-promotion and message people directly to attain work (just be careful to write up an agreement with your client before starting on a job).

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