A side gig can help you increase your income next year.Flickr/Garry KnightWhether you need to boost your cash flow to pay bills, save more or simply improve your lifestyle, there are plenty of ways to make more money.
Some methods of saving are easy, while others require more effort.
But all have the potential of paying off if you want to boost your bottom line.
Try any of these 45 ideas to start making more money in 2017.
1. Ask Your Boss for a Raise
If you want to make more in 2017, start by asking for it. According to compensation data company PayScale, 75 percent of workers who negotiate their salaries get pay raises. However, less than half of workers have asked for raises, according to PayScale’s salary survey. So, if you’re not asking for more, you could be leaving money on the table.
To get a general idea of what you’re worth, check the going rate for your position at sites such as PayScale.com, Salary.com and Glassdoor.com. Then build your case for why you deserve higher pay based on your accomplishments and the value you’ve added to the company, according to PayScale’s salary negotiation guide.
2. Give Yourself a Raise
You can boost your paycheck on your own by keeping more of what you earn. Do this by adjusting your tax withholding if you typically get a large refund every year. A big refund indicates that you’re letting Uncle Sam hang on to too much of your money during the year.
Rather than wait until the spring to get your money, file a new Form W-4 with your employer to claim additional allowances and have less tax money withheld. IRS.gov has a withholding calculator that you can use to figure out how many allowances to claim. Considering that the average refund was $2,777 in 2016, you could be adding more than $230 back to your paycheck each month.
Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/flickr 3. Refer Other Employees to Your Company
You might be able to score a bonus at work by referring potential employees for job openings at your company. About two-thirds of large employers have documented referral processes in place, according to iCIMS, which provides software for screening new hires.
“Check to see if your company has a bonus policy for referrals,” said Lisa Rowan, a writer at personal finance site The Penny Hoarder. “For example, at The Penny Hoarder, employees receive a $500 bonus upon referring job seekers who get hired.”
4. Switch to an Online Bank Account
In today’s low-interest-rate environment, you won’t get rich by stashing your cash in a savings account. But it still pays to shop around for the highest rate so your money can grow a little faster.
“Consider switching to an online bank account that offers a high-interest savings and checking account,” Rowan said. For example, she said Synchrony Bank offers a 1.05% APR on its savings accounts, and Ally Bank offers a 1.00% APR on checking accounts. The national average for savings accounts is just 0.06% APR and 0.04% for checking accounts, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
5. Earn Cash Back
You can turn everyday purchases into money-making opportunities if you pay with a cash-back rewards credit card. If you’re responsible with credit and pay off your balance each month, consider taking advantage of a card that offers back a percentage of the amount you spend. The standard amount you can earn is 1 percent to 2 percent, but some cards offer 3 percent or more, according to consumer education site MagnifyMoney.com.
You also can earn cash back on online purchases by shopping at sites such as BeFrugal.com, Ebates.com and MrRebates.com. These sites partner with retailers to offer consumers a percentage of their purchases back in cash. The average amount you can earn is 4 percent to 10 percent, said Brent Shelton, a spokesperson for Ebates.com. Most Ebates.com members earn more than $100 each year, and many earn thousands of dollars in cash back, he said.
Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/Flickr 6. Help Your Investments Make More
If you’re working hard to contribute to a retirement account, it's important to limit the impact investment fees are having on your account balance. For example, if you’re paying 1 percent in annual fees, a $100,000 portfolio can be reduced by about $30,000 over 20 years compared with a 0.25 percent fee, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
So, check your retirement plan statement to see how much fees are eating into your returns. If the investments offered in your 401k have varying fees, consider switching to lower-fee investments to have more money when you retire.
7. Participate in Focus Groups
You can pick up extra cash in your spare time by participating in focus groups run by companies that do market research.
“[It's] a great way to earn cash for sitting in a room with strangers and sharing your opinion on something,” said Jim Wang, creator of the personal finance blog, Wallet Hacks. He signed up with a local marketing company he found through GreenBook.org and was paid $100 for 90 minutes of his time.
You can also sign up through FocusGroup.com to participate in groups. Be aware that you might only be invited to participate in a couple of focus groups per year with any company, so consider signing up with several if you want to earn more.
8. Take Online Surveys
If focus groups aren’t available where you live, you can still make money offering your opinion online.
“I once earned $500 for taking surveys at night while sitting on the couch,” said LaurenGreutman, frugal-living expert and author of “The Recovering Spender.”
Greutman said she got paid to take surveys on sites such as Swagbucks.com, InboxDollars.com, PineconeResearch.com and OpinionOutpost.com. Be aware that some sites offer gift cards rather than cash, but you can still use the cards to make everyday purchases.
mimagephotography/Shutterstock 9. Do Market Research
You likely can make more money gathering market research than participating in it, if you have time to take on a part-time job as a market research interviewer.
“This typically freelance role is an entry-level position helping to gather market research and data for a variety of clients and companies,” said Brie Reynolds, a senior career specialist at FlexJobs. “Great phone skills are a must, and these jobs offer part-time schedules and the ability to work remotely.”
Reynolds said that the hourly pay for market research interviewers starts at $10 an hour, with incentives for overtime pay.
10. Test Websites
An easy way to make some quick money is by testing websites, Wang said. He recommends signing up at UserTesting.com, which pays participants to visit sites or apps and give opinions about their experiences.
“You get $10 for every 20-minute test, and you'll need a computer, webcam and a microphone,” Wang said. “You'll be asked to perform some tasks, say your thoughts aloud and do so for 10 minutes. It's pretty simple."
11. Be a Human Guinea Pig
You can make money — and a contribution to medical science — by participating in clinical trials. The amount paid varies depending on the type and length of the study. However, some can be as simple as giving a blood sample, said Donna Freedman, author of “Your Playbook for Tough Times.”
Freedman said that she found clinical trials to participate in through ads in student and independent newspapers, on bulletin boards at a university and even through Craigslist. A good site to check for studies in your area is ClinicalTrials.gov, which is a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The site also offers tips on what to expect during clinical trials.
Flickr / Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose 12. Sell Your Clutter
“One of the fastest ways to score extra cash is to declutter something from your house and hawk it online,” said J. Money, creator of BudgetsAreSexy.com and RockstarFinance.com.
His favorite site to sell items he no longer wants is Craigslist because it’s easy to use, and you don’t have to worry about shipping because you’re selling to local buyers.
“I try to list one new item a week — typically on Fridays right before the weekend hits — and the trick is pricing it right and taking lots of pictures, as well as writing a detailed description, which helps with search and keywords,” he said.
Be sure to let potential buyers know that they can contact you by text message, which is how most of J. Money’s transactions occur.
13. Resell Thrift Store Finds Online
“Another way you can make extra cash is to buy items at thrift stores and resell them online through eBay or Poshmark,” Greutman said. “This is a great way to increase your income.”
She said that her sister-in-law does this and makes $1,000 per month, which provides additional income for her family. Greutman said that she does it for fun. She once bought an Anthropologie dress for $3 at a thrift store and sold it for $75 on eBay. She has also earned extra cash by finding antiques at garage and estate sales and selling them for more on eBay.
14. Turn Used Books Into Cash
Don’t let the books you’ve already read collect dust on your shelves. You can turn them into cash by selling them online, Greutman said. Or you could make money selling cheap books found at yard sales for more online.
You can get money for used books with Amazon Trade-In. Additionally, BookScouter.com lets you compare offers from various book buyback vendors.
15. Sell Used Electronics
If you have a gaming console your kids no longer use, an old cellphone or tablet stashed in a drawer or a computer you don’t need, you can turn these items into cash. Sell unwanted electronics on sites such as Gazelle.com and uSell.com, both of which offer free shipping. You can also take old phones, tablets and MP3 players to one of the more than 2,200 ecoATM kiosks across the U.S. and get cash on the spot.
16. Cash In on Unwanted Gift Cards
If you received gift cards you know you’ll never use, you can make money off them. Net up to 92 percent of the face value of gift cards by selling them to card resale sites such as Cardpool.com.
You can sell your cards electronically or mail them for free. Cardpool.com also lists popular gift cards on its homepage, so you’ll know which ones are in demand and will fetch a higher price.
17. Fix Stuff and Sell It
If you’re good at fixing things, Freedman recommends keeping an eye out for discarded items left on the curb that can be repaired and resold.
“Sometimes people toss out perfectly good items because they’re trading up, or because they’re moving and don’t want to haul everything. Sometimes these 'curb mart' deals can mean big bucks," Freedman said.
She added that someone she knows picked up a four-piece wicker porch set that had been set out with the trash, cleaned it, styled it with cushions and posted a picture on her city’s Facebook yard sale page.
“It sold for $150 almost immediately,” she said. “The entire process took about half an hour. Not a bad way to earn some extra cash.”
18. Create Online Content
If you love to write and have expertise in a certain subject, creating online content as a freelancer could be a lucrative side hustle — or a full-time job, said Holly Johnson, a freelance writer and creator of the Club Thrifty blog.
“Nearly every business has a website, and most hire freelancers to create content for their blogs,” she said. “By learning how to create engaging blog posts, you can earn anywhere from $50 to $500 per post.”
Johnson said that she started creating online content for pay in 2011 and was able to become a full-time freelancer by 2013.
“Even though I work flexible hours and days, I earn considerably more than I ever did at my day job,” she said. To get started, Johnson recommends creating an online portfolio to showcase your work. And list freelance writing as one of your skills on LinkedIn.
19. Start a Blog
“Starting a blog can be a great way to make money,” Wang said.
You can use free software from a site such as WordPress.org to create your blog and use Google’s free AdSense program to put ads on your site. Additionally, you can join Amazon Associates to earn up to 10 percent in advertising fees by advertising products on your blog.
However, if you can’t devote hours to building a blog, Wang recommends using it as a way to showcase your work.
“The quickest way to earn money off a blog is to use it as a portfolio,” he said. Show the work that you're doing in your field of expertise to get freelance work or land a new, higher-paying position.
20. Manage Social Media for Others
If you’re looking for part-time work that you can do from home, you might be able to make extra money as a social media manager. For this professional-level position, you need a bachelor’s degree, experience in marketing or communications and at least one year of social media experience, Reynolds said.
The pay ranges from about $10 to $29 per hour, and openings are listed on FlexJobs.com.
21. Profit From Your Photoshop Skills
If you have experience using photo-editing software and a background in design, you can work part-time as a freelance Photoshop expert, Reynolds said. For example, one listing for a Photoshop expert on FlexJobs.com involves working with an interior design firm to create concept boards. Reynolds said that the hourly pay for freelance Photoshop experts ranges from about $10 to $26.
22. Make Money From Your Love of Gaming
If you love playing video or computer games, you could profit from your passion as a gaming support representative. The pay ranges from about $10 to $20 per hour.
“In a gaming support representative job, people with a passion for gaming and technology are hired to provide customer service support for gamers related to questions about products and services,” Reynolds said. “These roles are typically part time and remote, with seasonal and short-term options available.”
23. Get Paid to Research
“People with a knack for research and a passion for learning new things might enjoy a part-time, remote job as a business researcher,” Reynolds said. “Researchers receive requests for information on different topics and are paid by completing these short research projects.”
You can find business researcher gigs that pay about $10 to $25 per project on FlexJobs.com.
Flickr / US Department of Education 24. Be a Tutor
“Tutoring jobs are an excellent option for people with a passion for education and a need for flexible scheduling,” Reynolds said.
You can find jobs that pay about $10 to $40 for tutoring students of all ages online at FlexJobs.com. Previous teaching or tutoring experience is preferred, Reynolds said. You also can find online tutoring gigs at Tutor.com and Wyzant.com or offer in-person tutoring in your community by advertising your services on community, school or university bulletin boards.
25. Be a Courier
You can earn extra money as a courier with Postmates. This on-demand delivery service operates in 44 metropolitan areas and connects couriers with consumers who want food from a restaurant or merchandise from a local store delivered to them.
The service's nearly 40,000 couriers make deliveries by car, bike, scooter or on foot and earn up to $25 per hour — plus tips — during the peak lunch and dinner times, said April Conyers, director of communications at Postmates. Payment is based on factors such as time and distance. To become a courier, you can sign up at Postmates.com and start delivering pretty much immediately, Conyers said
26. Be a Peer-to-Peer Delivery Driver
You can turn a daily commute or cross-country road trip into a money-making opportunity as a driver for Roadie, a peer-to-peer delivery service.
“The service connects people with stuff to send with drivers heading in the right direction,” said Marc Gorlin, founder and CEO of Roadie. Basically, you get paid for delivering packages on trips you are taking anyway. And the service is available in all 50 states.
Most local deliveries pay between $8 and $50, and long-distance deliveries with oversized items can pay up to $650, Gorlin said. You can earn even more for delivering pets. Additionally, you can pick up more than one gig at a time — as long as everything fits in your car.
Drivers must be 18 and have a valid driver’s license and a current auto insurance policy. To get started, fill out an online application using the Roadie app, have your background validated and take an online tutorial.
Mike Coppola / Getty Images 27. Drive for Lyft or Uber
You can make money in your spare time driving people for Lyft or Uber. For example, some Lyft drivers make more than $800 driving on Friday nights and weekends.
Both of these ride-sharing companies are hiring drivers who meet certain requirements. You must be at least 21, have a valid driver’s license, a four-door vehicle, be covered by auto insurance and go through a screening process. Your vehicle must also meet certain requirements that vary by locality.
28. Assist Others Virtually
“A niche that’s growing by leaps and bounds is the virtual assistant,” Freedman said. This job lets you make money while working at home by helping others do things they can’t or don’t want to do themselves and requires an eye for detail and strong organizational skills, she said.
You can find virtual assistant positions at Fancy Hands and Zirtual. While the pay rate varies, virtual assistants with Fancy Hands are paid by the task. Assignments start at $2.50 to $7 and go up.
29. Care for Pets
If you love animals, you could make extra money caring for people’s pets while they are at work or on vacation. You can sign up with a site such as Rover.com or DogVacay.com to be a pet sitter or dog walker.
Both sites let sitters set their own schedules and rates. According to Rover.com, sitters can earn $1,000 or more per month.
30. Be a Babysitter
Being a babysitter can be a fun and easy way to make extra cash — if you like children.
“As a midlife college student in Seattle, I earned $10 or more per hour to watch kids who sometimes went to bed an hour after I arrived,” Freedman said. “It was like being paid to study.”
The average babysitting rate is currently about $15 per hour, according to Care.com. However, the rate varies depending on the city, the sitter’s experience and the number of kids being watched. You can apply to be a babysitter with a site such as Care.com, which matches caregivers with those in need, or post on Facebook to let friends know you’re available to sit.
31. Be a House Sitter
An easy way to make extra cash is to be a house sitter while the homeowners are away.
“That could mean staying in the place or coming by to water plants, pick up mail and make the place look lived-in,” Freedman said.
You can get house sitting jobs by applying through a site such as Care.com. Or advertise your services on Craigslist, Facebook or community bulletin boards.
32. Rent Out Your House … or a Room
Renting a room in your house — or your entire abode — is a quick way to make hundreds or even thousands of dollars, Freedman said. For example, if you travel frequently for work or fun, you could list your home on HomeAway.com or VRBO.com to rent it out to other travelers while you’re away. If you have a spare room and want to host guests while you’re at home, you can do so through Airbnb.com.
As long as you don’t rent some or all of your primary residence for more than 14 days a year, you won’t have to pay taxes on your earnings, Freedman said. Just make sure to keep valuables and sensitive paperwork in a safe or locked file cabinet while guests are in residence.
33. Lease a Parking Space
If you live in a big city where parking is expensive or hard to come by, you might be able to make extra cash by renting out your parking space if one comes with your apartment or condo. Freedman said that, as a writer for MSN Money, she interviewed a women in Chicago who rented her condo parking spot and parked her car on the street. The woman told Freedman that the extra monthly income was worth the hassle.
She also knows someone in Chicago who inherited property with a garage boasting room for five cars. The woman rents out four of the spaces to those seeking secure parking.
34. Rent Out Your Car
If your car frequently sits in the garage because you take public transportation or travel a lot, turn it into a money-maker. You can list your car with a peer-to-peer rental service, such as Getaround or Turo. Getaround claims that its drivers can earn more than $800 a month. Turo users earn an average of $720 per month. For example, you could earn more than $6,500 a year by renting a car with a market value of $20,000 for 15 days each month.
Each service provides up to $1 million of insurance coverage. Getaround takes a 40 percent commission on rental earnings and is available in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Chicago, Portland and Washington, D.C. Turo is available in more than 4,500 cities and takes a 15 percent to 35 percent commission.
35. Rent Your Belongings
You might have items that others will pay to use on a short-term basis.
“Sites like Loanables and Zilok will help you find folks willing to pay to borrow your barbecue grill, power tools, vehicle, formal wear, blender, extension ladder or whatever,” Freedman said.
At Loanables.com, you can post items for rent and decide the terms of the rental, including the price. It even has a pricing comparison list, so you can see how much rental places typically charge. Zilok also lets renters set their own prices.
36. Sell Crafts
If you’re crafty, you could profit from your ability to create handmade items. For example, Freedman knows people who make money by selling their wares on the online marketplace Etsy.
The site charges a 20-cent listing fee, 3.5 percent commission and a payment processing fee of 3 percent, plus 25 cents. Freedman recommends having a plan to keep up with demand should your Etsy store be a hit.
37. Provide Lawn Care
You can make money mowing lawns, trimming hedges, weeding garden beds and cleaning leaves, Freedman said. Start by calling local lawn care companies to see what they charge and then set your rates accordingly. You can also make flyers advertising your services and rates and distribute them in nearby neighborhoods.
38. Be a Mystery Shopper
Although mystery shopping scams abound, this job is a legitimate way to make money. Scams typically ask for some sort of payment, but real opportunities — which you can find through Volition.com and MSPA-na.org — offer a fun way to make money by scrutinizing how a retailer or restaurant does business, Freedman said.
According to MSPA North America (formerly the Mystery Shopping Providers Association), mystery shoppers go to specific stores, pose as customers and then complete questionnaires. Shoppers can expect to earn $8 to $20 for a typical assignment.
Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/Flickr 39. Make an Extra $5 — or More — on Fiverr
If you have a service to offer — from graphic design to resume writing — you can sell it on Fiverr.com. The site was launched on the premise of offering to do tasks for $5, but sellers can now charge much more. It’s free to sign up, and sellers keep 80 percent of the purchase amount for services they sell.
The amount you can make might seem small, but Freedman knows people who make their entire living this way.
40. Share a Skill Online
If you have a skill to share — from cooking to crafting — you can make money by teaching others how to do it online. At a site such as Skillshare.com, you can teach online classes with short videos.
Teachers get paid monthly for every student who takes a class. On average, they earn $3,000 a year, but top teachers make up to $40,000 a year, according to Skillshare.com.
41. Teach Lessons
You can teach lessons the old-fashioned way — face to face — if you can play an instrument, are fluent in a foreign language, are a certified fitness or yoga instructor or have some expertise you can share with others.
You can find the going rate for the lesson you want to teach by checking Craigslist listings for your city. Then you can list the lessons you’re willing to teach on this free site.
42. Do Chores
You can make money doing chores for others — such as cleaning, assembling furniture, making minor repairs or running errands — by signing up at a site such as TaskRabbit.com. Download the app to be notified of jobs available near you and then pick the ones you want and negotiate a rate with the client.
43. Be a Brand Ambassador or Event Marketer
You can make extra cash as a brand ambassador if you’re willing to hand out flyers on the street, dress as a mascot or help promote a company in other ways. Or you could do similar work as part of an event marketing team.
You can register with a promotional talent or event staffing agency, such as Street Team Promotion or Across the Nation, to be notified of jobs in your area. Several recent job listings for events on Across the Nation’s Facebook page were paying $15 to $20 per hour.
44. Serve as an Online Juror
Most of us hope we’re not called for jury duty. However, you can make extra money as an online juror. Attorneys use mock juries and focus groups to prepare for trials. They submit facts related to a case, and online jurors answer questions. You can sign up at sites such as OnlineVerdict.com and eJury.com if you’re at least 18 and a U.S. citizen.
OnlineVerdict.com pays between $20 and $60 per case, and eJury.com pays $5 to $10. Note that jurors can only review cases in the county or federal district where they live.
45. Be a Tour Guide
If you have special knowledge about the city where you live, its architecture or art scene, you might be able to make money as a tour guide. One way to do this is as an “insider” for Vayable.com.
You can set your own schedule and offer experiences to tourists — such as scouting for street art or going on a pub tour — and get paid within 24 hours of completing them.
Read the original article on GOBankingRates. Copyright 2016. Follow GOBankingRates on Twitter.
