Looking to make an extra $1,000? In today's world it's not an impossible task to do in a relatively short amount of time. By setting up a simple side hustle, freelance gigs, part time business or just some basic handyman services locally, you can expect to make an extra $1,000 within less than a week in most cases.
To aid you in discovering opportunities that actually work, here's a list of 20 ways on how to make $1,000 fast.
- Make Extra Money Freelancing
Using popular freelancing platforms like Fiverr or Upwork create a great opportunity for those looking to make some extra money on the side.
With Fiverr, you can create a “gig” related to your unique skills such as freelance writing, graphic design, web development or anything that can be done virtually, and post it on their site to have people hire you for extra work. Upwork lets you go and search jobs that need freelancers and submit proposals to those jobs.
If you bid on enough projects on Upwork and post compelling “gigs” on Fiverr, you could make an extra thousand bucks within a few weeks' time no problem.
- Become A TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit is a modern app that connects local individuals to help with common household projects. It could be anything from delivering groceries for a neighbor, helping someone move, installing a TV mount or any other related handyman type projects.
Once you set up your free account with TaskRabbit, you can begin applying to local handyman jobs. The more positive reviews you get, the more likely you will be hired for future projects.
With TaskRabbit, you can easily make an extra thousand bucks within about a months time or sooner.
- Create & Sell an Online Course
What is the number one thing that all your friends and family always come to you for seeking advice? Your answer to that question is a great starting point to creating an online course on that topic and selling it.
Using platforms like Teachable let you create an online course with quizzes, scheduled curriculum, and videos. Once you've created the content, simply post it to all your social media accounts, email marketing list (if you have one) and blog (if you have one) so the sales start coming in.
Teachable also lets you create an affiliate program for your course so that your customers who purchase it can be compensated if they refer your course to others.
Creating online courses and selling it for a profit can have unlimited income potential. Chances are that it will take you at least a month or more to cross the thousand-dollar mark, but it certainly can be done in less time than that.
- Host An Old-Fashioned Garage Sale
We're all “hoarders” to some extent, and as a result I'd bet you have a lot of unused or unwanted items in your house that you haven't used in ages. By simply collecting all your unused and forgotten about items in your home, you can host an old-fashioned garage sale for the neighborhood.
If promoted properly, letting all your neighborhood know about your upcoming garage sale, its relatively easy to make your full $1,000 in just one day!
- Sell Items on Etsy
Etsy is an online marketplace where sellers can list unique and handmade items for sale. It's much like selling on Amazon or eBay, but the main difference of Etsy is that the items must be unique or handmade items. What's more is you can even sell digital products on Etsy such as planners, worksheets, spreadsheets, and any other type of digital item personally made by you.
If you like making unique jewelry, woodwork, clothing, paintings, or anything else that you enjoy making, you can list those items on Etsy for sale and make an extra chunk of change.
If you already have items ready to sell on Etsy, or you have digital items that can be sold multiple times, you can make an extra thousand dollars on Etsy within a few weeks' time.
- Build An E-commerce Store
Using drag and drop website builders like Shopify or Wix, you can open up an e-commerce store of your own and begin selling items of your choice. Your best chance of making this a success is choosing a detailed niche store focused on just a handful of related products.
You can find products to purchase at wholesale costs with tools like Salehoo, which is a directory of wholesale suppliers and the types of items that they sell. Simply purchase some items and sell them for a profit on your store. Furthermore, you'll need to promote your website to social media and make it known that you have a new online business to start generating sales.
Creating an e-commerce store has unlimited income potential, and if you have a big audience already, you can make an extra thousand bucks easily within a couple weeks. If you don't have much of an audience yet, then it may take some time to market your store.
- Start A Dropshipping Business
Similar to creating an e-commerce store, you can sell already popular products online via social media, major marketplaces, or your own website without ever having to purchase any inventory up front.
When an order comes in, you pass that order along to your wholesaler who then packages it up and ships it to the customer for you. You may have sold an item to your customer for $50, but your wholesaler only charges you $30 so you just made $20. Be sure to check if your wholesaler offers dropshipping services first.
Again, if you have a large audience on social media, your blog, email marketing or just a large network in general, this can make you an extra $1,000 pretty quick. However, if you're just starting out online without much of a following, chances are it will take some time to build up a strong following via a blog, social media pages, email marketing and even paid ads.
- Deliver Groceries
Popular apps like Instacart let you sign up to become a shopper for local grocery orders. Instacart shoppers order groceries online and have them delivered to their house. As a shopper, you fulfill those orders and deliver them to the designated address. You get paid a fee from Instacart as well as tips from the customers.
Becoming a paid grocery shopper with apps like Instacart allow you to make anywhere from $13 – $20 per hour, depending on how many orders you can fill each hour. Thus, it can take anywhere from two weeks to over a month to reach your goal of $1,000.
- Start A Blog
Starting a blog is perhaps a slower way to make an extra $1,000 fast, but it can sure pay off in the long run if you stay consistent at it. Choose a topic, write engaging content, and get paid from Google Ads and affiliate marketing links on your website.
People who are very tech savvy and know how to do proper Search Engine Optimization can turn their blog into a money-making machine within a few months' time. On average, however, you should expect at least 6-12 months or more before your blog starts making a few hundred bucks per month.
This is a great idea for the long term that will serve as a tool for you the next time you wish to come up with an extra $1,000 asap.
- Take Advantage of Free Bank Offers
Local banks have free cash bonus offers every year just for setting up an account and putting money in it. This often requires that you keep the account open for three to six months, after which you can close it should you decide to keep your main bank account as is.
Companies like Key Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Chase, and many local banks will offer sometimes up to $500 cash bonus just for setting up an account! How do you find out where these offers are? Simply do a quick Google search for “bank account cash bonuses” and you'll find a bunch of places offering sign on bonuses.
If you take advantage of all the offers, you could have your $1,000 within a couple days' time.
- Rent Out Your Own Car
Believe it or not, you can be your own car rental company by renting out your vehicles when you aren't using them. Companies like HyreCar allow you to sign up for renting out your car.
As stated on HyreCar's website, you can earn $1,000 per month pretty easy just by letting them use your car to rent out to drivers for Uber or Lyft.
- Find A Temporary Job
Sounds pretty old fashioned, right? Well, the truth is that finding a part time job temporarily is a time-tested way of saving up extra money. Easy places to consider are taking night shifts at grocery stores to stock shelves, take a job as a waiter or waitress at a local restaurant in the evenings, or work at a local retail store during times you aren't working your other jobs.
You can find par time jobs on websites like Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com. If hired for a part time job at a pay of $13 – $15 per hour, you can expect to make an extra thousand bucks within a few weeks' time.
- Take Advantage of Free Cashback Websites
While this may not get you that extra $1,000 as fast as you'd like, it can certainly supplement your goal of reaching your goal. Cashback websites allow you to get free money from shopping at stores you already shop at for regular living expenses.
Companies like ibotta, TopCashback, DollarDig.com, Mr. Rebates, and Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) all offer free cashback when signing up for their free programs.
Sure, you can make an extra $1,000 with these sites, but it may take a while. This is more of a supplemental option to aid you in your journey. You can expect to make an extra $50 – $100 within a few weeks' time if you use them consistently.
- Take Advantage of Free Money Offers
Many programs like cashback websites or finance apps will pay you just for setting up an account, kind of similar to free money when opening up a bank account as discussed above.
Some examples of companies that offer you free money just for signing up are:
Acorns – $5 sign on bonus
M1Finance – $10 sign on bonus
ibotta – $20+ in bonuses for new users who complete requirements
Swagbucks – $5 for signing up
Robinhood – Free share of stock when signing up
Drop – $5 sign up bonus
This is another supplemental method that will help accelerate your progress towards reaching $1,000. The total amount of free money through those apps above are $45+ which can be completed within one day easily.
- Deliver Fast Food
You may have heard of the popular food delivery app, DoorDash. It's an easy way for drivers to make extra money delivering food to DoorDash's customers.
When you sign up to become a driver (called a Dasher), you can accept the orders you wish and work on your own time schedule. Working for DoorDash as a “Dasher” can pay you $15+ per hour or more. Depending on how much time you have available to deliver fast food, you can make an extra $1,000 in a couple weeks' time.
- Become A Virtual Assistant
Company executives become overwhelmed with their schedules and workloads; thus, they hire a virtual assistant to take care of the tasks they don't have time for.
Platforms like Zirtual or Boldly allow you to find extra work being a virtual assistant, managing tasks like emails, social media, bookkeeping, customer service, etc. All can be done virtually so you get the benefit of working from home too!
Virtual assistant jobs can pay between $15 – $25 per hour, depending on the type of work. This allows you to make an extra $1,000 within a few weeks pretty easily.
- Sell Stuff on eBay
One of the easiest and potentially fastest ways to make extra money is simply by selling stuff on eBay. This could be extra items in your household that you no longer use, or items you purchase from a wholesaler and sell for a profit.
Doing some basic research on items that sell good on eBay and determining the prices you can sell them for will give you a good idea of how much money you can make per item you sell, so it depends a lot on what you sell.
Selling on eBay can get you to your $1,000 goal in as little as a week if you offer competitive prices and hot selling items.
- Rent Out Spare Rooms with Airbnb
Airbnb stands for Air Bed And Breakfast, which was originally a venture that allowed people to rent out rooms on an air mattress with breakfast. Now, it's become a huge platform that lets people with extra real estate, extra rooms and living quarters to rent out the space to those who need a place to stay temporarily.
If you have a basement not being used, and you list your basement on Airbnb, you can easily make an extra few thousand per month. As you build up more reviews and a strong reputation, you will get more sales over time.
- Babysit Pets (aka Pet Sitting)
If you have a pet dog or cat, you know it can be a hassle planning on what to do with them if you go on vacation. Popular pet sitting apps like Rover let you list your services as a pet sitter for families who are in need of a place for their pet to stay temporarily. You can charge your own rates as well.
Like other freelance type services, you get more sales when you get good reviews from past purchases. If you're a pet lover, then pet sitting could get you an extra $1,000 in just a couple weeks' time, depending on how many orders for pet sitting you get.
- Drive for Uber or Lyft
We're all familiar with Uber and Lyft, the ride sharing services. They are always looking for more drivers to fulfill the ride sharing services locally. If you have a car in good condition with a clean background and good driving record, then you can make $15 per hour or more driving for both of the services in your spare time.
At that rate, it may take you a few weeks to reach your goal of $1,000.
The Best Approach to Making $1,000 ASAP
Most all of these options to make $1,000 fast will get you to the goal in a relatively short amount of time. Perhaps the best approach is using a combination of these items listed here.
Some are just plain free money that you should take advantage of, and others you may be more available to do during different times. Take a look at your schedule and fill your spare time with the appropriate methods that best fit you and you'll reach your goal of $1,000 in no time!