When I was in college, I felt like having an extra $ 1,000 a month would make me rich.
Sounds silly now, but when you’re in college, $ 1,000 a month can go a long way.
You could use it to:
- Pay off student loans
- Cover your room and table
- Start investing early
Buy lots of video games, pizza or whatever you want.
In my last months of college, I finally reached that $ 1,000 a month income goal. But looking back, I realize that I could have reached this number much earlier if I had known what I know now. Below, I will show you 13 ways to actually earn $ 1,000 a month. No questionable methods, no bs and no quick enrichment schemes. Only ways that, with a little hard work, will pay off quickly.
The right mindset to make extra money
Before you get to the methods, you need to understand the right mindset that you have when looking for ways to make extra money. I included this section because, as a student, I made the mistake of spending too much money on courses that claimed to help me make extra money.
I’m not saying that the courses gave bad advice, but rather that I made the mistake of falling in love with the allure of an extra income without wanting to put in the work necessary to get it. Of course, there are courses that can help you increase your income. But you don’t need any of these to get started.
To make extra money, you only need 3 things:
- Be able to do something that people will pay for.
2. Get people to pay you for it.
3. Keep doing number 2 until you reach your income goal.
The above advice applies whether you want to earn $ 1,000 or $ 10,000 extra. Of course, there are details to be worked out, such as what you will do and how you will find people to pay you for it. That’s what the rest of this guide is for.
Are you ready to stop dreaming and start earning? Below you will find 13 ways you can actually earn an extra $ 1,000 a month. None of this requires expensive equipment, high start-up costs or even a diploma. What they need is hard work, creativity and a desire to try new things or learn new skills.
1. Freelance writing
I will start with a method that is close and dear to my heart. Freelance writing was the first way I started making serious money when I was in college and I still think it’s a great thing to try if you have writing skills. There are a lot of companies that need written content, including blog posts, video scripts, website copy, and more. They are willing to pay too; a novice writer can easily charge $ 50 for an article.
More experienced writers may charge $ 150 / article or more, depending on length and subject matter. Grow your way to this level, and writing only two articles a week can bring you $ 1,200 a month.
To start writing independently, you have several options. The first is to look at freelance job forums such as Upwork, Fiverr, and ProBlogger. Alternatively, you can contact blogs directly that accept guest contributions.
Both methods can work, although I was more successful with direct communication when I started — and in this area, I was most successful when I worked to build relationships instead of cold relationships.
2. Graphic design
Companies are not just hungry for written content; they also constantly need graphics, illustrations, logos, custom slides, and other graphic design elements. If you are artistic or like design, this can be a great way to make money.
The steps to get started with freelance graphic design are quite similar to freelance writing. You can search on Upwork, Fiverr or even 99designs for concerts. Alternatively, you can ask on campus to see if anyone needs design help. Making business cards and logos for people can be a very rewarding place to start.
If you want to learn graphic design, there are a lot of ways out there. I will note that it is important to learn both the basics of design (composition, type, white space, etc.) and technical skills, such as how to use Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.
3. Web development
Having a website is a must nowadays, but so many companies and individuals don’t have one yet. This is a great opportunity for anyone with web development skills to earn some serious money.
What if I don’t know how to make a website? Combine that with a few web development tutorials on Skillshare and you’ll have all the skills you need to create beautiful, functional websites for just about anyone.
Best Web Development Courses About Skillshare — These are all expert courses and will keep you up to date even if you have no prior knowledge. The link will also give you a free 2 week trial, enough time to complete the courses.
Treehouse — Treehouse is a website dedicated to teaching you how to code and have a large library of web development courses.
4. Audio transcript
Voice recognition technology is improving every day, but it’s still not great at transcribing real human speech. For this reason, there is a demand for qualified audio transcribers.
Audio-what-Zionists? When you transcribe sound, all you have to do is listen to a recording and turn it into a Word document. All types of companies and people need this service and are willing to pay. Although you can do this on your own, it is generally best to work for an audio transcription company. That way, you don’t have to find customers.
I recommend reviewing Rev — payment starts at $ 0.36 per minute of audio, which means you need to transcribe about 50 hours of audio per month (12.5 per week) to reach the $ 1,000 threshold. In addition, you can do this work from the comfort of your own home, making it great to fit your busy schedule.
5. Helping people with computers
Using a computer may seem like a second nature, damn millennial-Gen-XYZ whippersnapper. But for many people who are not “digital natives,” it’s not that easy. Instead of making fun of your grandfather because he doesn’t know how to use his iPad, why not see if you can turn your knowledge into extra money?
The possibilities here are limited only by your creativity and what people will pay for. Just a few ideas:
- Make PowerPoint for your less tech-savvy teachers
- Give a class on computer basics at a local nursing home or community center
Start your own home-based IT business (a friend of mine made a college contact, who paid him about $ 200 / month for basic computer help. The guy was pretty rich. , but he didn’t know anything about computers.)
You can choose to upload by hour or by project — any of which makes more sense.
Bonus tip: If you’re willing to spend some time and money to get an A + certification, you may be able to earn even more.
6. Invest your money
I will say this in advance: compared to any other method on this list, the investment will take by far the longest time to bring you an extra $ 1,000 a month. However, you should seriously consider investing as soon as possible.
Here’s why: investing means putting your money to work for you. Any other method here requires, in essence, trading hours for dollars; The investment allows you to stay in place as the money you have invested increases due to compound interest. And the sooner you start, the more interest you will get.
Here’s a simple calculation: if you’re 25 and now invest only $ 200 a month for the next 30 years at a rate of return of 7% (which is reasonably expected in the long run), you’ll be up to 55 You will have just over $ 228,000 — even if you only invested a total of $ 72,000 of your hard-earned money.
That means you earned $ 156,000 while sleeping. And that’s assuming you never increase your monthly investment as you advance in your career; do this (as most smart investors do) — and start earning as much interest as possible each year — and you can retire millions.
Again, assuming you never increase your contribution (which is unlikely), you should still save only $ 316 per month, assuming you start when you are 25 years old.
Getting Started: The top three things you need to know are:
- Retirement accounts with tax benefits are your friends. A Roth IRA is a great place to start.
- Indexed funds are your friends. They passively track the entire stock market, providing a good rate of return without too much risk.
- High taxes are your enemy. Even a 1% tax on a fund can consume a large portion of your earnings. And the funds that charge these taxes almost never exceed the funds with lower costs.
Although you can learn and optimize later, these three rules are really all you need to get started.
As for where to start, M1 Finance is a great option; I don’t charge a management fee, there is no minimum start-up investment (you could now throw in $ 50 and set up a $ 25 monthly automatic investment to get started) and adjust your investment according to your goals.
M1 Finance — Automatic investments
Once you have started earning a steady income and paid off your debts, it is essential that you start investing in the future. In my opinion, M1 Finance is now the best option for novice investors.
The platform is free, allows you to open a Roth IRA (the best startup option for most students and young professionals) and allows automatic investments in index fund ETFs. Almost no other platform offers this combo.
7. Sell old things
Your closet, garage or attic is probably full of perfect things that you just don’t use anymore. Instead of letting them sit there, gathering dust and getting in your way, why not sell them for some extra money?
Depending on how many things you have, you could certainly earn an extra $ 1,000 by doing this. This is especially true if your parents or grandparents let you pick up old things and sell them too.
That being said, this is probably not the best way to consistently make extra money. To do that, you have to branch out beyond selling your stuff and selling it to others.
8. Retail arbitration
Retail it? So, it is an elegant business term, but all it means is to go to stores like Wal-Mart, Target or even a second-hand store and find items that you can resell online for a profit.
People generally use Amazon or eBay to do this, although you may also be looking for a more specialized platform, such as Poshmark or Etsy, if you focus on vintage clothing or products.
Now be warned — if you do this wrong, you could lose a lot of money and waste a lot of time. You need to be smart about what you buy, which generally means using a tool like Amazon Seller (Android | iOS) to calculate your potential profit. But if you do it right, it can be an effective way to make money.
9. Repair and overturning of machines (or other vehicles)
Not a day goes by that I don’t see an old car or bicycle for sale in someone’s yard. Although I don’t have the time or the mechanical skills to do it, I know a lot of people who make good money buying old vehicles, repairing and reselling them.
This is definitely an area where you need to know what you are doing and you will also need the right tools and space. But as long as you have those things, it’s pretty easy to get started. Even if you spend a few months repairing a car and manage to sell it for a profit of $ 5,000, that easily means an extra $ 1,000 a month.
10. Babysitting or Nanny
People have children and they need a responsible adult to look after them. There is good money to be made here, especially if you have time to do more involved work, such as babysitting.
You can either go to a site like Care.com or build your own business by word of mouth. I have a few friends who could easily charge $ 20 an hour for this type of work, which means you only have to work an extra 12.5 hours a week to reach $ 1,000 a month.
11. Work in the garden
This category covers everything people don’t want to do in their backyards. People tend to associate working in the yard with activities in hot weather, such as mowing the lawn, but it can also include things like shoveling snow and raising dog excrement. With these activities, you can stay busy earning money throughout the year.
Pro tip: when I was a teenager, I stood out from the other lawn mowers for teenagers, through the COURSE of collecting dog excrement and mowing the lawn. Making a difference is the key!
How you set the price of this work depends on you — you can charge a flat rate depending on the size of the yard (this works well for mowing or shoveling snow) or an hourly rate (which is best if you don’t know how long to work it will last). As long as you earn enough, you can reach your extra income goals with just a few hours of work per week.
12. House cleaning
Cleaning is something that needs to be done, but many people do not have the time or desire to do it. Here you go — with just a few simple cleaning supplies and a few hours a week, you can make great money.
To maximize your earnings, we recommend that you perform this solo concert. You end up keeping all the money you earn, and you can often charge a more competitive rate than a larger cleaning company. Getting started is as simple as asking around and it’s easy to charge $ 100 for a small house or apartment. Do this 10 times a month and you have an extra $ 1,000.
13. Home repairs
Similar to house cleaning, things around the house tend to break. While some people know how to fix them, many others will run to a handyman (or a woman) whenever they have to patch a small hole or repair a leaking faucet.
If you have a few basic tools and a little practice, you can make good money by helping friends, family, and anyone else with simple household repairs. People will pay more for it than you might think.
Note: Please do not blow yourself up, cut your hand or get electrocuted. Leave any major work to licensed and required professional contractors.