Did you know that lack of an emergency kitty will often force you to view credit as your sole safety net? It’s advisable to have an emergency kitty of at least $1500 if you truly want peace of mind as you go about repaying debts. This fund will be your water-tight buffer between you and debts.

To be able to build up an emergency kitty as fast as possible, pay up your debts in the shortest time possible, and have surplus money at your disposal, you need to find creative ways of making extra money without turning to credit.

Well, today, there are endless things you can do to make extra money. Take a look at these 28 things you can do to make more money.

Twenty-eight things you can do to make more money

1. Take and sell photos online: Websites such as iStock, Fotolia, Shutterstock, and Photoshelter offers opportunities for anyone with a great photo to sell it online. If you have a smartphone with good photo features, or any camera capable of taking great photos, then you can put them into profitable use.

2. Hire out your car, boat, motorbike or bicycle:  If you have any of these, you can hire them out to close friends, family, or neighbors at a fee. You can also link up with Taxi services providers such as Uber and use their platform to access clients or even to offer your driver-services.

3. Do you have a skill you can trade for $5? If your answer is yes then create a profile and offer it. Fiverr.com offers a virtual marketplace where people sell and buy services from as low as $5. Are you a graphic designer? Can you edit documents? Can you produce short videos or audios? Can you write or review articles? Can you review books, songs or products? You have all these options and much more available at Fiverr.com. The beauty of using this platform is that you can complete a number offers in a couple of minutes and move on to others. And it’s what you can do and the time you are willing to put into it which determines how much you take home at the end of the day.

4. Run errands for other people: If you have means of transport, you can run errands for other people. Your friends, colleagues, or neighbors may be looking for someone to help them move or to assist them to pick up some items. Be on the lookout for such opportunities and grab them. You can also advertise your services on social platforms such as local Facebook groups and through

5. Create and monetize a blog or website: Are you an expert in a certain field or subject? Do you have a unique story or experience you would love to share with others? Create a blog or website and monetize it (put Google Ads or Google affiliate ads such as Infolinks or Chitika on that blog/website to earn you some extra income). Some people who have ended up quitting their well-paying jobs to concentrate on building their blogs or websites due to the massive income they generate from the ads on those sites. Don’t you think it’s a cool way to boost your income?

6. Charge some fee to take professional photos or play music at weddings or events: If you can take those professional photos, you can consider charging a fee to do so. If you can also play music instruments such as a violin, or have DJ skills, then you can consider advertising your skills for events on social platforms or through sites such as Craigslist, gigmasters.com, weddingwire.com, and gigsalad.com.

7. Take up mystery shopping assignments: If you can spare some time, then you can consider picking up a mystery shopping gig and provide feedback to the provider. To access some scam-free mystery shopping tasks, visit the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.

8. Sell items you don’t use: You can assemble items you no longer use at home, or those that you don’t find good use of, and sell them on Sell and Buy platforms such as Olx, local Facebook Sell and Buy Groups, Craigslist, eBay Those old electronics, used text books, oversize or undersize clothes and many more.

The maximum amount of money you can raise from doing this depends on the value and quantity of the items you are selling, and the effort you put towards realizing success.

9. Find avenues of earning more income from your current job: If you are in a commission based job, then this is the time to work extra hard, or extra smart and earn more commissions through provided earning channels. And if there is an opportunity for overtime payment then you should utilize that towards earning more.
10. Sell the annuity or structured settlement that you’ve had kicking around for years. You can get more details here on how to do it but the bottom line is, it is your money, get it and make a real difference in your life.

10. Find a better paying job: If the nature of your job is kind of fixed on a certain salary scale, then you can consider looking for a secondary job or a part time job elsewhere (as long as it doesn’t conflict with your current job) to boost your income. This might sound unconventional, but the truth is, you are not going to work all your life. If you believe you are not being paid according to the kind of work you do and the value you bring to that organization, then you should consider looking for a better paying job elsewhere. However, you should do this professionally. This would not only boost your current income, but also your lifetime earnings. And in case your employer might be unwilling to let you go, then you can consider negotiating for a pay rise.

11. Reduce your expenses:  Reducing your expenses doesn’t mean that you are now resorting to living a cheap life. It means cutting back on those excesses in your spending. It means lowering your wastage. If you eat out often, then this is the time to make adjustments and start eating at home or carrying packed food to work place. That TV subscription you rarely use, or that monthly membership subscription to a yoga class you rarely attend can take a back seat for a while.Find what to cut back on to save some money.

12. Can you spare time to take surveys and read mails? So many websites offer platforms where you are paid to take certain short surveys, listen to certain songs for a short duration of time, or read some short-worded emails.  A good example is Inbox Dollars. You’ll join for free, and you get $5 just for signing up. And once your earnings reach stipulated amount, then you can withdraw your earnings via requesting for a check or get it through your PayPal account. And once you sign up with them, you’ll continue getting other unending offers from other websites linked to them. You can also check SwagBuck

13. Become a translator. If you are gifted with a spare language (bilingual or multilingual), you can consider earning some money doing part time translation work. Check Translatorstown, Peopleperhour, iWriter, Freelancer, Gengo, UpWork or Guru if you can find some translation assignment. You can also advertise your services to access more clients.

14. Find some freelancing work: If you have problem-solving skills or you are a people person, you can pursue a customer service or a virtual assistant freelancing work on sites such as Craigslist, com, Fiverr, Freelancer, UpWork, Guru and even on Zirtual. If you can write academic or business articles, you can pick up assignments on iWriter, Peopleperhour, Freelancer, UpWork or Guru. Depending on your skill and effort, Freelancing offers opportunities for unlimited rewards. If you are skilled in design work, you can bid for jobs at sites such as 99Designs.com.

15. Don’t ignore those sweepstakes and opportunities to enter raffle draws: This might sound unconventional, but as proverbially connoted, you never know what you can achieve until you try. But do this responsibly. Don’t insist on stopping only if you win the jackpot. Know when to pause, and when to stop.

16. Can you spare your home or some room for rental: Many people make a good amount of money by renting out their homes or a room within their homes to tourists or travelers. To find clients, you can rely on  sites such as com, Expedia.com, airbnb.com, Jumuia travel, booking.com, roomorama.com, and Trip Advisor

17. Take up a tutoring job: Are you skilled in a particular subject or topic. You can charge a fee to tutor school students or even adults within your locality. You can also find tutor related assignments on websites such as Chegg Tutors, and com. Equally, you can also consider teaching online courses via sites such as Chegg Tutors teach.udemy.com, studypool.com, or Skillshare.

18. Raise money through crowd funding: There are several crowdfunding platforms you can utilize to raise money towards funding your dream ideas or for any other cause. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Crowdfunder, Crowdsupply and YouCaring are just a few examples of such sites. The trick in raising money through Crowd funding is to write a compelling message that would lure people to donate towards your cause.

19. Join a focus group: Focus group platforms such as com, mysurvey.com, harrispollonline.com, focuspointeglobal.com, ipoll.com, inspiredopinions.com and swagbucks.com lists available opportunities in select areas, and equally pays you to complete certain surveys. Typically, focus groups rely on select participants to solicit feedback on products and services offered by brands, organizations, and businesses. This is vital in market research for the involved entities.

20. Sit or walk pets: You can do this on a part-time or full-time engagement. You can as well take daytime or night time offers. You can find offers on platforms such as Craigslist, com, and dogvacay.com.

21. Coach others at a fee: Do you have experience or skill in Yoga? Can you mentor others in areas such as public speaking? Are you experienced in advanced computer packages such as Excel, Spurs or Stata? Can you train others on how to skate, or how to play any game? Then find interested parties and coach them at a fee. You can create a website or advertise your services to be accessible by the public.

22. Make money from your craft: Can you make those unique handmade items? Can you make jewelry or knit unique items? Can you draw or curve portraits?  What unique craft do you have that you can sell to others? Use websites such as com or craftcoxes.com to access clients and sell such crafts.

23. Be an independent tour guide: Can you devote some time to give tourists or travelers and in-depth tour guide around your locality, town, city or country? You can market your services on social media platforms and websites such as com.

24. Buy select items at wholesale prices (discounted prices) and sell them for profit: You can buy toys at wholesale prices and sell them at kids’ events. Equally, you can buy bottled water at wholesale prices and sell them at events such as a friend’s wedding or local parties. Just find any item which has proven selling potential, get it at wholesale price (discounted price) and then sell it at a profitable retail price.

25. Earn from Media ads: Is your home close to the main road or a highway? You can rent space on the wall of your house for an erection of a media billboard at a cost. Equally, you can allow ads to be placed on your car at a cost. Check examples at com. If you feel you look gorgeous, you can try modeling on a part-time or even full-time basis to enable you to earn from unlimited offers from businesses and brands.

26. Can you risk being a guinea pig?  Can you risk being used in a clinical trial in exchange for being paid good amount of money? Then you can check for available offers from gov

N/B: Some of the suggested ways might not offer you the get-it-quick or so much money, but at least they offer you avenues of making extra money in a more relaxed and fun way.

Key Points

• You’ll always need some ready cash somewhere to help you meet those sudden financial needs, without resorting to borrowing.

• To be able to build an emergency fund in the fastest way possible, you must find creative ways of raising extra cash.

• You can do unlimited things to raise the extra cash such as selling items you no longer have the use for, cutting back on expenses, selling your craft, picking up freelancing assignments, and much more.