Is your primary stream of income enough to cover your costs and pay for your monthly expenses? For most people, their primary source of income from their job is simply not enough, and they are looking for extra ways to make money

For this reason, many people all over the world, and especially in North America, have to take on debt. The thing is, most people don’t know how and when they are going to pay it off. These people need to go into debt to fund their basic living expenses or their kid’s college education. 

Already in May 2020, consumer debt reached a high of $14.3 trillion. These forms of debt include mortgages, student loans, or credit card debt. The situation is worse than during the financial crisis 2008. So you want to look for ways to generate additional income as fast as possible. 

If you are currently struggling to make ends meet with the income from your job, it’s not your fault. The current economical situation is beyond your control. What you can control, however, is which measures you take to change your situation.

So read this article all the way to the end because we are going to share 7 legit ways to make money today. These are easy income streams anyone can start. 

Are These 7 Ways for You? 

Before we start talking about additional income streams, we want to highlight one thing. These additional sources of money are not meant to replace your existing income. Instead, they are designed to add on and supplement what you’re earning right now. These additional jobs will only work to pay off your debt if you’re serious about your budget. 

These are things you can do part-time or after work. None of them should take away your focus from whatever you’re doing right now to earn your main income. 

Let’s say you are having a job that’s making you $3000 a month. What this side hustle is designed to do is to make you another $500 or $1000 a month. It helps to pay for your mortgage, car, or groceries. 

So think of these as the side gigs that can bring you more security and stability. 

1. Sell on eBay or Craigslist

Income stream number one is selling on eBay or Craigslist. This is one of the very early internet businesses that Dan Lok himself started. He was buying things from Hong Kong, imported them to Canada, and flipped them on eBay. 

Doing this is quite common now. People go to the flea market or look online for things they can flip. Essentially, you’re taking something from other countries or other places and selling it on global market platforms.

So in a sense, you become the middleman in order to earn a little bit of money. Another way to do this is to sell things you already own. Maybe you have some things in your house that have been sitting there for a while? 

The question you want to ask yourself is: how can you turn trash into cash? Remember – what might be trash for you, can be very valuable to someone else. 

Maybe it’s something that your granddad has that you think it’s not worth anything. It might be worth a lot to someone else if you put it on Craigslist or eBay. 

It’s an easy way to turn junk into some kind of income stream. You might not want to do this long term, but it’s an easy way to get started. 

2. Drive for Uber or Lyft

Although fewer people are traveling because of COVID-19, being a driver for these services is hot right now. Especially if you deliver food. 

So as long as you have a car, you can start a side hustle. It doesn’t take a lot of money to get started either.

If you watch the news, you’ll notice that jobs are disappearing and that the unemployment rates are high. In Hong Kong, for example, many people who lost their jobs are now transitioning to delivering food.

What we can learn from the situation in Hong Kong is that anyone can start delivering food. You don’t need lots of experience. One thing you need, however, is to be willing to do this no matter the circumstances – because you will be delivering food no matter if it’s sunny or rainy. 

Interestingly enough, some people in Hong Kong make more money as a food delivery driver than they did in their previous job. So no matter if you are looking to replace your current income or want an additional stream of income, food delivery is a viable option.

3. Become A Freelancer

The third way to earn extra money is becoming a freelancer. We are talking about being a video editor, graphic designer, or writer. Anyone can get started at those because there is so much demand in the marketplace. 

Just check places like Upwork or Guru.com – there is so much demand for professional freelancers out there. 

The great thing about skills is that you can learn them. You don’t necessarily need a talent for graphic design, video editing, or writing. What you need is a will to learn. 

You can start out by teaching yourself or learning from free videos. Once you are ready, you can take online classes to deepen your skills and potentially make more money with your skill. 

Another advantage of freelancing is that in most cases, all you need is a laptop and you are set to work from anywhere. 

You can be a freelancer part-time or full time, do this on weekends – it’s truly an easy income stream anyone can do. 

4. Teach a Language

Since many people are stuck at home and have more time, language learning is booming. But many people don’t realize this is also a great chance to earn some extra income. 

You might be thinking, I speak English, what’s the big deal? Well, you could easily become an online English teacher. 

You can tutor other kids or adult to make extra money. When you are wondering how to find clients, think about your current network first. Who do you already know who could benefit from language lessons?

Instead of meeting face to face, you’d then offer your sessions online. The great advantage of this is that you get to set your own price. Ideally, you’d sell a bundle of hours and charge for a block of hours. For example, bundles of 5 or 10 hours.

If you don’t know anyone or don’t want to find your own clients, you can join online communities like italki.com and become a language teacher there. The downside of services like this is that the website sets the price for you. 

But no matter which way you choose, teaching a language can be a pleasant additional income stream. All you have to do is chat with people. Essentially, you can make extra money by having a conversation. So if you already enjoy talking and connecting with people, this is an easy way to make extra money. 

5. Give Lessons

The next income stream you can easily start is giving lessons for any unique skill you might have. Think about it. Are there skills, unique expertise, or special experience that you have? You might not even be thinking of charging for it because you are assuming no one would pay for it.

Well, don’t underestimate yourself. Maybe you know how to play the piano and could teach other people over Zoom. Or maybe you could teach yoga? The sky’s the limit.

People want to learn since they are stuck at home with a lot of free time. 

What’s more, you could do one on one sessions or group classes – which gives you more leverage. For example, check out this story of a yoga teacher who made $3,000 in 3 days by taking his business online. 

So think about what you can do well or what people come to you for advice. It might be something you don’t even think about because it comes to you naturally. 

There are people in the world who are willing to take lessons from you and learn from you. 

6. Become a Virtual Assistant 

Being a virtual assistant makes a lot of sense if you live in an area with a low cost of living.

You could provide your virtual assistant services to business owners in more developed countries. 

For them, hiring an executive assistant would cost so much more. So your rate is more favorable for them. For example, you could live in the Philippines and sell your services to business owners in North America and make extra money that way. 

There are so many websites where business owners actively search for virtual assistants. Websites like Get Magic or Virtual Staff Finder. All you need to do is set up an account. 

If you’re organized and have simple assistant skills (or want to learn them) you could do this. Even more so if you are at home or have a lot of free time. 

7. Give Professional Answers

Could you believe that you can actually make money by answering people’s questions? There’s a website out there called Justanswer.com. 

If you have expertise in medicine, law, information technology – anything that requires a bit of higher knowledge – people are willing to pay for your answers. So this is a great way to earn extra money if you have a background in any of these fields. 

Summary

So these are the 7 simple and legit ways to earn extra money. Some of them require a bit more skill, or resources, but anyone can start at least one of these income streams.

Pick something you are naturally good at or would enjoy doing as a part-time activity. 

Combined with the income from your main profession, these income streams will help you to cover additional costs.