20 Easy and Legitimate Ways to Make an Extra $500 a Month From Home

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How to make an extra $500 a month

Are you looking for the best ways to make extra money from home today?

Whether you’re looking to make $500 a month fast, a heavenly amount of $500 a day, or even a stellar number like $1,000 in a single day, I’ve got you covered with a list of ideas on how to make a few extra hundred a month.

Like you, I remember searching for the best ways to make money online and stumbled upon the idea of making money by using Pinterest.

And today, I am earning a full-time annual income of over $120,000 with my small blog by using these Pinterest monetization tips for total beginners.

 

UPDATE: I can’t believe I actually earned more than $200,000 a year with my blog since the last time I came back to update this article! This small blog of mine started off by making its first $100, $500 a month, $10,000 a month, and eventually hitting as high as over $25,000 a month!

 

I agree that times are tough and we all need extra money to get by each month.

While researching online, I found that more than 59% and 61% of U.S. Gen Z and millennials are more likely than Gen X and Boomers to be running side hustles, picking up extra cash outside of their regular day jobs.

According to that same article, 68% of millennials with side gigs describe their additional income as extra spending outside of their normal living expenses. The remaining 32% say they rely on the extra money to cover basic needs such as housing and food.

This is why it’s so important to find ways to make extra money on the side and improve our living standards.

Imagine what you could do with the cash if you can earn an extra $500 a month online. You could pay off your debt, save for a nice vacation or even get a new car!

 

Before you read on, click here to save this to your favorite Pinterest board so you can come back for more updated side hustles and money-making ideas.

 

Side Hustles to Make $500 a Month

Well, in any case, you’re here because you were searching “how to make an extra $500 a month” or “how to make an extra $200 a week”.

With that said, I’m here to show you the best ways that will help you earn some extra cash on the side.

In fact, you can potentially make anywhere from $500 a month to $100 a day (AKA $3,000 per month) in extra money with these creative ideas depending on how much time and effort you put into them

Because I enjoy researching the best side hustles and business ideas, I put together these other posts that will help you level up from $500 per month to as high as $15,000 per month:

• How To Make $200 Per Day Online
• Legitimate Ways To Make $300 Per Day
• Best Ways To Make $500 Per Day From Home

For starters, I recommend giving some of these best online survey sites for money a try – it’s exactly what I did for quick and easy wins at the beginning when I was just getting started in my side hustle journey. You won’t get rich from them, but they are a fun and easy way to earn PayPal cash and rewards during your spare time.

These top survey companies will pay you just for giving your opinion about a product or service.

One of my favorite online survey sites is Survey Junkie because I’m able to make extra cash each month. They pay you as high as $50 per survey and you can join Survey Junkie here for FREE and start earning extra money online!

Overall, how much extra money you make with the side hustle ideas I list below will depend on how much effort you’re willing to put in and how passionate you are about each idea.

I hope this post helps you find something that you’ll enjoy doing while making extra money on the side! 😊

 

1. Start a blog and make an extra $500 online

I never thought I’d ever say this, but…

Blogging is one of my favorite ways to make extra money today!

If you’re wondering how to an extra make 500 dollars a month online, then one of my top recommendations is to start a profitable blog and use Pinterest to your advantage with my easy step-by-step tutorial.

I always mention this but I’ll mention it again: If you asked me over a year ago, I had no idea that blogs could make money! I didn’t really know what a blog was!

When I first started blogging, I was making $0 and had no clue what I was doing. It was really sad! 😢

But within a year of blogging, my blog grew from earning an extra $500 to my first $1,000! Now, it’s making over $20,000 per month! Seriously, how cool is that? 😲

 

FYI: When I started this blog while working a full-time job, I shared in details how I made my first $500+ per month in my blog income report here and how I grew it to over six-figures per year within my second year of blogging!

You too can start a blog for cheap and learn how to make money with my easy step-by-step tutorial for beginners here.

You can start a blog at a discounted price for as low as $2.95 a month (that’s over 60% off). Plus, get a FREE domain name when you sign up through my tutorial.

This low price is exclusive to Finsavvy Panda readers!

 

So, if you’re looking into how to make a few extra hundred a month, then starting a blog just might be your calling today!

This may not be a free way to make an extra $500 online, but it is extremely cheap to get started!

Looking back, I’m very glad that I took the leap of faith and started a blog as a side hustle. Otherwise, I would still be commuting to my 9-5 job… thanks, but no thanks!

I told myself that if I can afford a cup of latte a month, then it won’t hurt to try starting a blog to make extra money from home. If it doesn’t work out, oh well, at least I’ve tried it and won’t regret thinking about the “what-ifs.”

This definitely beats other traditional business ideas — I don’t know where else you can start a business with such a low investment. I can confidentially say starting this blog was one of the best investments I’ve made this year!

 

Enroll in my free blog course!

Do you want to make extra money online from home each month?

Are you a beginner and don’t know where to start? Join my FREE 7-day course where I will teach you how to start your blog and earn your first income! 😊

You DON’T need to be the best writer nor an expert in what you blog about!

 

2. Earn up to $500 a month in extra cash with online surveys

Want to learn how to make 500 a month for free and without paying anything?

Here are some quick wins where you can make extra money or FREE gift cards (your choice) just by sharing your opinion.

I personally use these resources to earn extra money because they are easy to do in my spare time.

 

Why take surveys? How you can make extra cash today?

All top companies want to understand their consumers so that they can create the perfect products and services for you. For them to do that, they need to understand YOU and what YOU want. That’s why they are willing to pay you in cash or free gift cards in exchange for your input.

It’s one of the easiest and quickest ways to make extra money online with no experience required.

I’ll be honest though. Taking paid online surveys won’t make you rich, but it feels nice to have an extra $50 to $500 to help with spending each month! 😊

I’m personally a member of a lot of survey sites, but I have two favorites that I always recommend to my readers, so you can rest assured that these two sites are 100% legitimate and non-spammy.

And yes, they are absolutely free to join and you can start making extra money immediately today!

 

Make Extra Money with Survey Junkie:

I mentioned earlier that this is one of my favorite paid online survey sites.

Survey Junkie is rated 4.5/5, one of the highest on TrustPilot reviews. Their platform is user-friendly and it’s extremely easy to navigate. Easily earning a spot in my top 5 survey sites that I recommend to my friends.

Over 5,000,000 users (including myself) have good things to say about them.

I personally use Survey Junkie and I was able to make an extra $58 in a month during my downtime.

Again, you won’t become the next Warren Buffett or Bill Gates by doing paid surveys, but earning some extra money here and there adds up quickly.

It can help make your spending more affordable. That includes filling up your gas for your car, buying Birthday and Holiday gifts, or even splurging on your favorite drinks from Starbucks without having to cut back so often.

You can sign up for Survey Junkie for FREE here.

 

Earn extra cash and points with Swagbucks:

Swagbucks is another one of my favorite free resources to use. It’s literally one of the most popular online survey sites in the world today!

I’ve been using them for 10 years and that’s how I make extra cash and earn FREE Starbucks gift cards online. This helps me earn free money so that I can splurge on my favorite lattes from Starbucks.

Starbucks may not be your thing and that’s okay!

You can still make money online and earn PayPal cash or other FREE gift cards to your favorite shops like Amazon and Walmart.

Aside from taking surveys, you can also make extra money by searching the web and playing video games, watching videos, shopping online, and more!

Swagbucks is 100% legitimate! My husband and I have earned $9,000 since we started using Swagbucks!

👉💵 You can grab your FREE $5 bonus here from Swagbucks before the promotion is over!

⭐️ Important: To claim your FREE $5 bonus, don’t forget to verify the email from Swagbucks in your inbox!

Make an extra $500 online with these other survey sites:

Other paid survey companies I recommend as a way to make extra money from home include:

• American Consumer Opinion (another survey site I use to earn extra cash)
• MyPoints (Get $5 bonus when you sign up and verify your e-mail from MyPoints)
• InboxDollars (Get $5 bonus when you sign up and verify your e-mail from InboxDollars)

Again, membership is 100% free. By signing up for many survey sites, you’ll get to take more surveys for extra money during your spare time.

 

More related articles about taking online surveys for extra money:

• Legitimate Ways To Earn Money Online with PayPal
• Best Paid Survey Sites in The U.S. (these sites are available in Canada too)
• Best Paid Survey Sites for Canadians

 

3. Make Money Online With Pinterest

This sounds silly, doesn’t it?

Nope, I’m not kidding!

You can really make an extra $500 to $5,000 per month with Pinterest (or even more)!

I started with absolutely no experience and wanted to learn how to make an extra $500 a month online. I didn’t even have a Pinterest account just over a year ago. But after putting in the time and effort to learn about Pinterest, I’m now making over $10,000 per month online with Pinterest!

It wasn’t easy and it didn’t happen overnight because I had to learn from scratch, but this proves that it’s still possible to make extra money online!

If you’re excited to learn more, check out my full detailed post for beginners who want to monetize and learn how to make money from Pinterest.

 

4. Make extra money with your smartphone

Everyone uses their smartphones today!

We use it to message our friends, shop online, scroll through our social media feeds, keep up with the latest trends, and put in quick orders for our delivery.

For crying out loud, we even use it to check our work e-mails (yuck)!

But did you know that you can use your smartphone to make extra money?

Yes, there are many free and awesome money making apps that pay you cash or free gift cards just for using them.

It’s another free way to make money during your spare time.

You’re already using your phone for so many things, so why not take advantage of free money when you need cash? 😉

 

5. Sell your clothes online using an app

Minimalism is trending these days, which means people are more interested in buying quality over quantity.

If you have any unique clothes or pieces that you don’t wear often, go ahead and sell those old and unworn clothes online using an app like these ones here. You can make a good profit and clean out your closet at the same time!

I did this many years ago when I was trying to get rid of a pile of junk in my bedroom and let me tell you it works like a charm! I made thousands of dollars just by selling my own clothes, and at the same time, flipping a few from the purchases I made using those apps and online websites!

 

6. Make money and get paid for handwriting

Yes, you can get paid to write by hand! How cool and creative is that? Many big and small companies are always looking for new ways to promote their products, and one way they do this is by hiring people to handwrite letters and advertisements. You can make up to $500 a month (honestly it’s even more) using your creative skills for companies. There are many ways to earn extra cash with this funky idea and you can learn how to get paid for handwriting here.

 

7. Make extra money with Uber Eats

If you have a bike, scooter, or car, you can take a stroll for a few hours in the morning, night, or just on weekends — it’s up to you.

Be your own boss and earn quick cash during your spare time by delivering food with Uber Eats. This makes the perfect side hustle for any season if you’re looking to make 500 dollars a month!

As long as you’re consistent with this side hustle, you can earn extra cash to help with your living expenses.

You can learn more about UberEats here and start making money this weekend!

 

8. Get paid to post ads

Posting ads is another fantastic and exciting way to pocket some extra cash during your free time! All you have to do is post ads online on classified websites or social media platforms, and you’ll be on your way to banking in $500 and over a month!

An alternative way to make money by posting ads is to start a blog and include paid advertisements as part of your blog content. This is a great way to make some extra cash if you’re enthusiastic about sharing your experience and knowledge online.

For example, I share my financial journey along with the things I’ve done to make and save extra money on this small blog to help my readers. While sharing my personal experience, I am able to earn a great income by inserting display ads on my site! Aside from money topics, you can blog about whatever you want and make money with ads! This is one of my favorite ways to make money online, and you can learn how I personally make money blogging here.

9. Make extra money with affiliate marketing

What is affiliate marketing?

First of all, think of a product that you love and would recommend to your friends.

For example, one of my favorite personal finance books is I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit because it has changed my life. It’s a book that I ALWAYS recommend to everyone who needs help with their personal finances. If you click on that link to make a purchase, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

There, what I just did is an example of affiliate marketing.

In a short and simple sentence, you earn an income by recommending or promoting a product or service.

BUT, of course, you should only recommend products or services that you believe will add value to your friends, family, and audience regardless of whether or not you earn a commission.

 

Start a blog and make an extra $500 per month

Though not required, I always recommend starting a blog for cheap if you want to start making money online with affiliate marketing.

By starting this blog, I learned how to make an extra $500 a month as a beginner.

You can learn more about how to make money with affiliate marketing for beginners here.

UPDATE: With hard work and effort, I’m now able to make over $10,000 per month alone from affiliate marketing. You can check out my past blog income reports for proof. I literally started from scratch with no experience and you could too.

 

10. Become a virtual assistant (VA)

Become a virtual assistant (VA) by helping a company or blogger remotely from home (or any location)!

You can definitely make an extra $500 a month by becoming a VA! In fact, I hired a VA for my online business and pay them anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per month!

Earning extra money as a VA allows you to work at home and set your own working schedule to fit your crazy-busy life.

 

11. Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant

Aside from becoming a general virtual assistant, you can earn extra money by becoming a part-time or full-time Pinterest virtual assistant – this is more specific!

Now, how does that sound? Make money pinning on Pinterest! 🙂

A lot of professional bloggers and online influencers are busy and may not have the time to set up and manage their Pinterest accounts. This is where you come in to add value to their business!

Pinterest is an extremely powerful tool that can drive traffic and generate revenue for bloggers and companies. If you’re willing to put in the effort to learn the ins and outs of the platform (or perhaps you’re already a Pinterest expert), then becoming a VA is a great option to make extra money and work from home.

Pinterest VAs can make up to $50 per hour depending on their experience. Even with NO EXPERIENCE, it’s never too late to learn how to master those skills!

As you become more familiar with Pinterest and its features, you can simply charge higher hourly rates to make an extra 500 dollars a month!

 

12. Rent out your extra space with Airbnb

Renting out extra space is one of my favorite ways to make extra money fast and passively. For example, my fiance and I are renting out our separate unit to a single-family and it’s a great way to make money and build wealth while living in an expensive city.

If you live in the city’s core or a touristy area, you can become an Airbnb host and make $100 per day. That can really add up to an extra $500 a month to $3,000 every month! We know so many people who do this and are making over $100 a day from this side hustle.

YES, the idea sounds amazing…

But, set realistic expectations because you still need to put in some work. For example, my friends and coworkers who do this still need to attend to their guests while working their full-time jobs. It’s not 100% passive if you don’t hire a manager. But my friends are loving the extra money they’re earning from this side hustle because it’s helping them fund their next vacation!

As I said, if you’re willing to put in the effort, there are many opportunities for you to make money on Airbnb.

You can get started by learning more about becoming an Airbnb host here.

 

13. Rent out a room in your house

You don’t necessarily have to be an Airbnb host to earn additional income on the side. If you already have an extra room in your house that you don’t use, then use it to your advantage for extra cash!

This is exactly what I do too!

You can easily make $500 or more a month by renting out a room or two in your house. If your home is built with a separate unit, then you can live in one of them and rent out the second. This is a great way to earn some extra money without having to do a lot of work other than managing your own property and collecting those checks.

 

14. Become a personal shopper

Do you have an eye for finding good deals?

Well, shopaholics, this one’s for you! You can actually get paid to do what you love, and that’s shopping!

Many people are too busy to go shopping or don’t have the time to find good deals. That’s where you can add value and come in!

How fun does that sound? Being a personal shopper and getting paid to do other people’s shopping for them. I know I’d love to try that myself, too! 🙂

Personal shoppers can shop for everything from clothes to groceries, and according to Indeed, the average salary for a Personal Shopper is $42,872 per year in the United States.

 

15. Do odd jobs for people in your neighborhood

Who doesn’t like to be helpful? We feel great about ourselves when we know we can be of help and service to others.

And if you like to do odd jobs around the house, then this side hustle is definitely for you! You can easily make $500 to $3,000 per month by doing random jobs for people in your neighborhood. All you need to do is list your services on a site like TaskRabbit and start taking in job requests! You can register as a Tasker on TaskRabbit here.

 

16. Participate in online focus groups

If you enjoy giving your opinion on various topics, then you’ll be happy to know that you can get paid for it! Companies are always looking for people to participate in online focus groups so they can gather data and feedback about their products or services.

You can easily make $50-$100 per focus group, and sometimes, even more, depending on the topic and length of the focus group. To find high-quality focus groups that pay well, you can go to websites like FocusGroup.com or FindFocusGroups.com.

 

17. Walk dogs in your neighborhood

Do you love animals?

Do you live in a pet-friendly neighborhood?

If you answered yes to both those questions, then you’ll fall in love with this idea!

How much does it pay?

Well, it depends on how much time you’re willing to spend with those cute dogs and puppies, but you could make $500 a month and up just by walking them in your neighborhood. According to Indeed, the average salary for a Dog Walker is $21.74 per hour in the United States.

Not only are you earning an extra income on the side, but it’s also a great way to get some exercise and fresh air in the park. And let’s not forget, you get to spend time with some adorable furry friends! If you’re interested in learning more about this fun and unique way to make money, you can learn more here.

 

18. Make an extra $500 by getting FREE cash!

Yes, you can get FREE cash just by doing the things you normally do such as shopping, surfing the web, playing games, and more!

These are some of my favorite resources to get free money online. They don’t cost you anything to use, so if you’re not taking advantage of them, then you’re essentially leaving FREE money on the table! Don’t do that!

Use them to your advantage to save or earn extra money every month.

MyPoints: You can earn FREE gift cards to your favorite stores or CASH (your choice) just by watching videos, taking surveys, reading e-mails and more. MyPoints has paid out their members $236,000,000!

👉 Sign up for MyPoints here for FREEand get a $5 bonus immediately after completing your first 5 surveys! 💵

 

Rakuten: You get FREE cash just for shopping at over 2,000 of your favorite stores. This includes Walmart, Macy’s, Apple, Kohl’s, Target, eBay, and so many more! I use Rakuten to save over a few hundred dollars just for shopping for the things I normally buy.

👉 You can learn more about this free money resource by reading my honest Rakuten review here. You won’t be disappointed with them!

 

19. Use Drop to passively earn money with no effort!

My fiancé and I use the FREE Drop app to rack up cash rewards on our everyday purchases. I love how this app allows us to combine their offers with other cash back rewards and store promos. That’s how we get the most cash back! 😉

🌟 For a limited time, get your FREE $5 bonus immediately after linking your first card and using my special referral code, FINSAVVY! No purchase necessary! 😊

This code is applicable to both the U.S. and Canada!

👉 To learn more, read about my honest review on the Drop app. If you like the idea of passive money, then I’m sure you’re going to enjoy this app as much as I do!

 

20. Rent out your stuff to earn extra money

What if I told you that you could earn $500 a month and even up to $1,000 every month by renting out your stuff? Fully-insured as well!

Yes, such a thing exists and Fat Lama can help you with that (available in both the US and UK)!

This is what they call the “Airbnb for stuff”.

There are many people looking for things to use without having to pay full price for the item. That makes sense because, why would anyone want to pay for things that they use occasionally?

This is where you can add value by turning the stuff you own into an income-producing asset!

For example, you can rent out the following items and make $500 a month from home:

• DIY equipment
• Household tools
• Luxury outfits and handbags
• Drones
• Camera
• Video games

 

FAQs

Over the years of building this blog, I’ve gotten a lot of emails from readers asking me questions about how to earn extra money each month to help pay their bills, reduce their debt, and save for their dream homes.

Based on most FinSavvy Panda readers, they were actually very interested in starting a blog as a hobby to earn $500 per month! Some are even ambitious and motivated to turn that into a full-time income!

Without further ado, here are the additional questions regarding how to make $500 a month online, from home, or even anywhere on the globe!

 

How to make $400 a month?

Whether you want to make $100 or $400 a month, making a little extra money is an achievable goal if you’re open to finding ways to save money.

First, make it a habit to do a monthly budget that details all of your expenses, including rent, utilities, food, and other necessary items.

Then, look for ways to save money and cut back on unnecessary things you can live without – you can actually take a peak at the 10 dumb things I stopped buying to save over $10,000! 

Next, start a side hustle such as:

• Blogging for money (This has been and will always be my top recommendation because it has changed my life).
• Freelancing writing
• Selling items online

Finally, look for additional sources of income such as a part-time job or taking online surveys.

These are many of the things I’ve personally done to get started on my financial journey, so yes, I am telling you that it is possible to make $400 a month and improve your financial situation no matter how hard things seem to be. 

 

How to make a few extra hundred a month?

You can make a couple to a few extra hundred dollars a month by exploring different avenues.

One way to do this is by taking on extra work in your current job, such as picking up extra assignments or taking on extra responsibilities.

Before earning a full-time income with this blog, I was working at the bank. During that time, I used to ask my manager if I could take on extra projects and even work additional hours for extra pay. I didn’t mind it at all (and it didn’t feel like work to me) because I actually enjoyed the projects and initiatives that the company was taking on during that time.

To have that discussion with your boss, I highly recommend booking a meeting with him or her and making the conversation about your interest in wanting to help the company and your team grow instead of saying that you need the money.

If you say the latter, you most likely won’t be given additional projects, tasks, or extra hours of work.

Just remember, it’s always about what’s in it for your boss or the company; not what’s in it for you.

If you can offer to help them, your boss will be more than happy to give you additional hours of work. Depending on your company and policy, they may offer you time-and-a-half pay or even double the amount.

Another way is to look for side hustles that you can do during your spare time. For more details, I have a post about the best side hustles to make money from home in addition to the best side hustles for men particularly.

Finally, you can invest some of your money in stocks, mutual funds, or other investments that have the potential to generate income over time. Although I don’t cover this topic much on my blog, investing is also another passion of mine! At the age of 24, I started investing my money in stocks, funds, and other asset classes to save for retirement and to create a stream of passive income.

As you can see, with a bit of effort and some creativity, you can make a few extra hundred dollars a month in no time!

 

How do you earn an extra $500 without getting a second job?

Earning an extra $500 without getting a second job is possible, though it may take some effort.

One way to do this is to create a side hustle.

As mentioned, starting a money-making blog, freelancing, selling items online, or providing services such as pet-sitting or tutoring are great options to start off with.

You can also look for companies that offer cash rewards for taking surveys or participating in focus groups.

This is what I did in the past and it’s what helped me redeem PayPal cash and free gift cards to places like Amazon and Starbucks, which helped reduce my spending.

Although taking surveys isn’t life-changing, they could add a couple to several hundred dollars into your bank account (if you are willing to spend a bit of time to complete those surveys and questionnaires).

My all-time favorite is Swagbucks Surveys since I’ve been using them for over a decade now – yes, they’re a legitimate and established company!

Additionally, you may be able to monetize a hobby, such as creating jewelry or art and selling it online.

Finally, you can look for ways to cut back on spending and use the extra money to add to your income. With some creativity and dedication, it is possible to earn an extra $500 without getting a second job.

I write a lot about the best ways to make money, whether it’s online or from here, so you can browse through my blog and check out all the possibilities on how you can earn extra money here.

Again, I log my personal life and how I earn extra money with my blog here to help you make money online.

 

More posts on how to make an extra $500 from home:

• How I Make Money Using Pinterest
• How To Make Money Without a Job
• How To Make Extra Money: 11 Things We Did To Earn More Cash

 

Over to you — did this article help you? What’s your favorite side hustle to make extra money?

Enjoyed this post? Share it here and follow me on Pinterest! 🙂