Handy Work
94). TaskRabbit – People can request anything on the app. If you’re ok with assembling IKEA furniture, moving, standing in line, being an assistant, etc. you can earn up a nice sum. There’s also “surge” pricing if someone is looking for something the day of. It’s also really easy to hire someone else to do a task you need.
95). Rover – If you’re ok with having dogs stay with you for a nightly salary, you should take this on!
If you already have a dog, this is an awesome option, as taking care of two dogs is not that much harder than one.
In NYC, nightly stays like this run anywhere from $30-$50. Not bad for taking in a dog for a few nights! Simply apply with this link and you’ll be on your way to getting paid to hang with some nice furry friends!
96). Wag – Love dogs? You can get paid to walk them. Half hour sessions are $12 and full hour sessions are $18. You get tips too :D. Not bad for exercise and just walking a dog!
97). Sittercity – You can sign up as a babysitter on this site. They do background checks and aggregate your free time to babysit, location, and then match you with people looking for babysitters. If you’re a parent, you sign up for a monthly or yearly membership to get access to sitters and can filter them by reviews.
98). Care – It does a similar thing to Sittercity. Looking online you should consider signing up for both because people seem to be mixed on whether Sittercity or Care is better.
99). Recycling – In NYC, there are a ton of people emptying out trash cans and collecting cans and bottles everyday. Can, bottles, etc pay 5 cents here. While I’m not advocating sifting through garbage, if you live in a neighborhood with lots of houses or apartments, look to see if you can walk by apartments a few nights a month to pick up some extra containers for some money. Check with your local city/state to see if they do a similar program.
The smartest thing to do would be to set up recycle bins OUTSIDE of your apartment or house where people can drop off cans and other items. You can take them to the recycling center for some extra cash for minimal effort.
100). Selling Scrap Metal – You can sell lots of different metals to scrap yards. People give away things on Craigslist and in general. If you know the cost of scrap metal, look at the historical cost of the metal and buy accordingly. Even better if you can just get it for free on Craigslist, as people give it away because they don’t want to spend time trying to move it.mystery
101). Fixing Up Old Houses – Look into foreclosure, short sale, or dilapidated property and fix up the house with your DIY skills and gain some sweat equity. As an added bonus, if you live in the house for 2 of the last 5 years, you’ll get some very sweet tax benefits. If you’re really enterprising, you can move into fixer-upper houses every two years and snowball your assets without paying taxes on it ($250k/$500k exclusion in profits for single/married couples). Please remember to take into account closing costs, real estate commissions, and other associated costs with selling the house.
102). Collecting Balls – If you live near a golf course, you can dredge up balls from the lake or find lost ones in other places. You can then sell them to other golfers or the clubhouse.
103). Golf Caddy – If you play golf, consider caddying for players. The better the club you’re caddying for, the bigger the tips. Make sure your charm is turned on and do a great job so that you can get referrals. Know your clubs, putters, and the lay of the course so that you can be an effective caddy. The customer is always right, in this case the person you’re caddying for.
104). Shoeshine – At my work, there used to be a shoeshine guy who walked across the office floor once a week. People would pay him $5 to shine their shoes. His shoeshiner costs were extremely low. A rag, black or brown shoeshine, and something to sit on are all you need. It doesn’t take very long to shine shoes and he probably made more than $35/hr. I used to bring my boots and other flats so he could resole him. He took them somewhere and would charge $10-$15 to shine boots + resole. Not bad for how much it actually costs to do the job. The downside is you need to be able to do this during business hours — it might work best if you full-time job is in the nighttime, or you’re a student.
105). Live-in Super – Consider becoming a superintendant for your apartment building. In exchange for free or reduced rent, you’ll be on call in case there is an issue with a tenant’s apartment.
106). Valet – Moonlight as a valet when you’re done with your day job. Driving cars back and forth doesn’t seem half bad. Plus you get tipped. Try and get a side job at a fancy place so that you can get bigger tips.
107). Pool Cleaning – Richer and spendier people are more likely to own pools. These people are busier and don’t like DIY as much so you can offer to come over and clean leaves and debris from the pool.
108). Raking Leaves – People don’t like to rake leaves. All you need to buy for this side hustle is a giant rake.
109). Snow Removal – This requires you to get up early because people want their driveway cleared by the time they get up. People hate getting up early, especially in the cold, and all you need is a giant snow shovel. If you live somewhere especially snowy, this can be pretty lucrative.
110). Moving the Lawn – Walk over to your neighbors houses and ask if you can mow their lawn. You’ll need a lawn mower and gas. Agree on a recurring deal.
111). Powerwashing – You’ll need a powerwashing machine for this one. Walk around your neighborhood and look for the dirtiest concrete or wooden floors. Tell the neighbors how good it will look if they let you clean it up. Demonstrate by powerwashing a tiny patch. If you’re ever bored r/powerwashingporn is a subreddit with clean ground. Not much work, but someone will likely pay you to do it.
112). Cleaning the Gutters – I hope you’re not afraid of heights! Many people are and wouldn’t do this job so here’s your opportunity.
113). Detailing/Washing Cars – You’ll need some soap, detailing cloth, etc. to start this but same as all the above, as your neighbors if they’d like the service. You’ll probably be cheaper than a detailing place with overhead (rent, more employees, etc).
114). Carpet Cleaning – Have you ever seen those videos with high-powered carpet steamers that make carpet so clean? It’s amazing the kind of dirt that seeps into carpet. Bring over your vacuum and show the homeowner how dirty their carpet is by cleaning a small patch. They’ll want to clean the entire house once they realize how disgusting it is.
You can start a little agency that offers all of these services for your neighborhood. People like neighbors and trust them more than companies. Be friendly, courteous, and nice to your neighbors. Go with some cookies or baked goods when asking for an extra touch. Make them a homemade Christmas card every year and consider coming over with cookies or some baked goods once every quarter if you perform services for them. Most people are not looking for the cheapest option on every single thing, they want someone they can trust.
115). Newspaper Delivery – In college, every morning the WSJ would land in front of each door who ordered it. When I moved to the city, it was always amazing to see the same thing for other papers. If you’re willing to get up early and deliver papers, this job is for you. Contact your local paper companies and see if they have any openings. Repeat for national papers that you know someone is delivering in your area.
116). Modding Cars – If you know how to install fancy rims and other mods, consider hiring yourself out to other car enthusiasts.