Top 10 Free Side Hustles

Here's a question we get quite often:

"I want to start a side hustle but they all seem to require some upfront investment. I'm already in debt and don't want to get caught in a scam or end up losing money buying the starter materials. Any ideas for free and easy-to-start side hustles?"

This is an awesome question! Everyone online is claiming to be earning $10k+ from their side hustle, but after what expenses? Everyone seems to talk about revenue but not the investment they put in to get there. Starting a side hustle isn't as simple as these folks make it seem - it takes time, and often some cash investment as well.

We've gathered the top free and relatively low skill side hustles you can do with little to zero upfront cash investment or training. They may not have as much upside, but they are easy to get started!

1. Completing surveys on survey-for-cash sites:

• Swagbucks
• Crowdtap
• SurveyJunkey
• Toluna
• Branded Surveys

According to Nerdwallet, the average earnings from any of these sites seems to be around $1-$2/hour, far below minimum wage. This is a good option if you want something SUPER easy, but there may be higher paying opportunities out there.

Pros:

• Ridiculously easy, can do from bed

Cons:

• You make next to nothing

2. Doing proofreading/transcription on Upwork or Fiverr

Upwork and Fiverr allows you to create a profile with all of your skills and work remotely from anywhere. People can either request your services, or you can look on the job board to see what is available. Proofreading/transcription projects, depending on the length of the content, can pay anywhere from $20-$1000+. You can easily list yourself at a minimum of $10/hour and work on your own time.

Pros:

• Very good income relative to other free hustles
• Don't need any formal training

Cons:

• May spend some time looking for your first gig if you have no experience. Try to create a portfolio or craft an enticing pitch.

3. Offering social media management/assistant services on Upwork/Fiverr

Similar to proofreading and transcribing, listing yourself as an assistant or social media manager is another low-skill/easy opportunity. These folks help brands engage with their social media communities (liking, commenting, posting directly from the client's site), as well as help with day to day operations like scheduling meetings and managing contact lists.

Pros:

• Same as #2

Cons:

• Same as #2

4. Become an app beta tester

Usertesting is a great option for folks looking to test out new technology and get paid. Rewards range from $4-$120 per test, depending on the length of the test. Check out BetaTesting as well.

Pros:

• Can pay pretty well
• Opportunity to try out new, cool products

Cons:

• May not get accepted if you don't put time into their onboarding assessment. It should take 20-ish minutes, but try your best.

5. Petsit / babysit

Check out your local Facebook listings (they have a new feature called "Neighborhood" where you can find opportunities in your area. Alternatively, a few good sites to check out include:

• Wag
• Rover
• Urbansitter
• Sittercity

Pros:

• Get to play with children or dogs! I love both

Cons:

• May require some experience/credentials to get better gigs

6. Teach English  or Tutor

There are several remote tutoring sites we would recommend, such as:

• VIPKid - English teaching
• WyzAnt - Tutoring marketplace
• Preply - Language teaching
• Skooli - Vetted tutoring marketplace

Pros:

• Some platforms allow you to set your rates, and they can be HIGH

Cons:

• Some of these marketplaces require some credentials/vetting

7. Grocery or food delivery

This is something you can pick up and go, no training required. The most popular sites include:

• Doordash
• Instacart
• Uber Eats

Pros:

• Easy to start, requires little to no skill or training
• Flexible hours

Cons:

• Pays ok relative to other no-skill hustles, but still is around min wage
• Can be physically tiring

8. Sell your sh**

I do this once every season - I go through my closet, pick out what I don't wear anymore, and hop over to my local consignment shop. Typically, they will give you 30% of the retail value they plan to sell the clothing at in cash, or 50% if you get store credit. Credit is great if you never want to pay for clothing again and like to shop sustainable/used, though cash is equally as good. If you feel the cut is too high, take your wares over to Facebook marketplace, Ebay, Poshmark, or any of the other many resale sites.

Pros:

• Spring cleaning, decluttering
• Can resell for higher than what you paid sometimes

Cons:

• Lugging bags to the store
• Feeling like you wasted money buying those clothes

9. Cash-back on Purchases

There are plenty of easy Chrome plug-ins that will give you 1-8% cash back on your purchases, so at the very least you can make money back whenever you buy things. Check out:

• Honey
• Rakuten
• Ibotta

Pros:

• Easy to download, no added effort

Cons:

• Sometimes you may end up buying something you wouldn't have otherwise bought because of the discount

10. Become a Debbie User!

We are offering our first beta users anywhere from $50-$300 over the course of several months to pay off their debt and participate in our launch program.

Pros:

• Helps you pay off debt
• Helps you start saving
• Pays a pretty penny
• Built by borrowers

Cons:

• Literally nothing

To ask your own question and see it here, email us at ask@joindebbie.com or join our FB community.

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