How to make extra money in 2027: 12 realistic ways, and what each one takes
What each way needs to start, when the money actually comes, and the plain math behind "an extra $1,000 a month".
By Polina Beletskaya, Marketing Director at Sellvia · 7 min read
Quick answer
The realistic ways to make extra money fall into four groups: sell your time (delivery, tutoring, pet care, freelance work), sell what you own, sell what you make, or run a small online store. They trade off differently on startup cost, hours and how fast you get paid.
- Fastest money: gig apps and selling things you already own.
- Best fit around a full-time job: work you can do at night or on breaks, like freelance projects or a store you check from your phone.
- Every way takes time or money. An offer of big money for little work is the FTC’s clearest scam sign.
12 ways to make extra money at a glance
Here’s what each one needs before the first dollar, and when that dollar shows up.
| Way | To start you need | When the money comes | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food and grocery delivery | A car, bike or scooter and the app | Through the app, usually weekly | You pick them |
| Rideshare driving | A qualifying car, a license, a background check | Through the app | You pick them |
| Pet sitting and dog walking | Time and references; apps take a cut | After each booking | Mornings, evenings, weekends |
| Tutoring | A subject you know well | Per session | Evenings and weekends |
| Freelance writing, design or bookkeeping | A skill and a few samples | Per project, when the client pays | Flexible, with deadlines |
| Odd jobs and handyman tasks | Tools and local word of mouth | When the job is done | Weekends |
| Babysitting | Experience and references | Per evening | Evenings |
| Selling things you own | Stuff you don’t use and good photos | When it sells | A few hours per batch |
| Renting out a room, parking or gear | The space or the gear | Per booking | Little, after setup |
| Selling crafts | Materials and a shop, for example on Etsy | When it sells | Making time per item |
| Selling digital products you make | A skill and design time | When it sells | Up front, then less |
| A ready-made online store | A plan and an ad budget | From a $100 balance (on Sellvia) | Short check-ins, from your phone |
We left out online surveys and "watch videos for cash" apps. They’re real, and the amounts are usually small next to the time.
Selling your time
Delivery, driving, tutoring, pet care and freelance work all pay for hours you put in. That’s the upside and the limit: money starts quickly, and it stops when you stop.
- App gigs (delivery, rides, tasks) need almost no setup. The app sets the price, takes a cut, and your car costs (gas, wear, insurance) come out of what you make.
- Skilled work (tutoring, bookkeeping, design, writing) usually pays more per hour, and you have to find the clients.
- Local care work (dog walking, babysitting) runs on trust. Reviews and references matter more than anything you post.
Selling things you own
The quickest one-off cash. Clothes, furniture, electronics and kids’ gear you no longer use can go on resale apps, local marketplaces or a yard sale. Good light, a plain background and an honest note about wear do most of the work.
It runs out, though. Once the closet is empty, there’s nothing left to sell.
Selling things you make
Crafts, art prints, baked goods (check your state’s cottage food rules first) and digital downloads such as planners and templates. You set the price. Each item takes making time, and the selling platform takes fees (we compare them in Shopify alternatives).
Digital products have one big plus: you make a file once, and each sale costs you no extra stock or shipping. Here’s how the money works on a digital sale.
Running a small online store
A store sells while you’re at work or asleep, and buyers still have to find it. Most new stores pay for ads, so the real question is what’s left from each sale after the ad cost. Building a store yourself also takes setup time (theme, apps, products, pages). See every cost of starting a store.
We make Sellvia, a store that comes built and loaded with 1,000+ digital products. Here’s every cost of ours:
| Cost | How much |
|---|---|
| Trial | 14 days, $0. A card is required; cancel before day 15 and you pay nothing |
| Plan | $39/month after the trial, about $1.30 a day. Cancel yourself, anytime |
| Products | 1,000+ ready-made digital products already in your store |
| Each sale | You get 80% of the price. If the sale came from your Sellvia Ads, that sale’s ad cost is taken from it; no sale, no ad charge |
| Order processing | One tap per order, within 24 hours. Automatic processing is a paid add-on |
| Ads | You choose the budget. $500 in ad credits at sign-up (see below) |
| Payouts | As soon as your balance reaches $100, with your ID verified and your plan active |
| Add-ons | Optional extra tools, only if you choose them |
About the $500 in ad credits: $40 is standard credit that pays for your first days of ads directly. The other $460 is a bonus that adds 10% to your daily budget, taken from the bonus balance until it runs out. It stretches your reach. It has no cash value, and your own budget still pays for the ads.
I stay pretty busy, and I need something that can kind of take care of itself when I can’t look in on it.
Chris · Sellvia client · onboarding call, Oct 2026
What does an extra $1,000 a month take?
$1,000 a month is about $230 a week (1,000 × 12 ÷ 52). How you get there depends on what you sell:
- Selling time: divide by what you keep per hour after costs. At $20 an hour after gas or fees, $230 a week is about 12 hours.
- Selling products: divide by what’s left per sale after fees and ads, never by the price. If $5 is left per sale, $230 a week is 46 sales.
The same math answers "an extra $100 a day": that’s about $3,000 a month, so $700 a week. At $20 an hour it’s 35 hours a week, which is a second full-time job.
That’s plain arithmetic, and it can’t tell you what you’ll actually earn. Run it with your own numbers before you spend anything.
Do you pay taxes on extra money?
Yes. The IRS says income from side, part-time or gig work is taxable even when no form like a 1099 reports it, and even if you’re paid in cash. If your net earnings from self-employment reach $400 in a year, you also owe self-employment tax (15.3% for Social Security and Medicare), filed on Schedule SE.
Keep a simple log of what you earn and what you spend to earn it. Expenses can lower what you owe. This is general information; a tax professional can tell you what applies to you.
How to spot a fake extra-money offer
Scammers advertise the same way honest employers do. The FTC’s list of warning signs comes down to a few patterns:
- You pay to get the job. A "starter kit", training or certification you must buy before any work starts.
- Big money, little work. The FTC says an offer of a lot of money, fast, for little effort is almost certainly a scam.
- Packages to reship. Receiving goods at home, repackaging them and sending them on is a known scam, never a real job.
- A check with "overpayment". You deposit it, send back the difference, and the check bounces later.
- Income numbers with no fine print. Real offers tell you every cost and say results vary.
Before you pay for any money-making program, read our 7 red flags to check any online business. They apply to us too.
Start with the store part done
A store that comes built, with checkout and 1,000+ digital products, so your evenings go to promoting it instead of building it.
Build my free store14 days free · Then $39/month · Cancel anytime · Card required.
Questions
What is the easiest way to make extra money?
Selling things you already own and app-based gigs like delivery need the least setup. They pay fairly quickly, and they stop paying when you stop.
How can I make an extra $1,000 a month?
$1,000 a month is about $230 a week. Divide that by what you keep per hour (for gigs) or per sale after fees and ads (for products) to see the hours or sales it takes. Some ways get there faster; none is guaranteed.
How can I make an extra $100 a day?
$100 a day is about $3,000 a month, close to a second full-time job if you sell your time. Do the math with what you keep per hour or per sale before you commit.
Can I make extra money from my phone?
Yes: gig apps, resale apps and running a small store all work from a phone. On Sellvia you follow and approve orders in the app.
Do I have to pay taxes on side money?
Yes. The IRS treats side and gig income as taxable even without a 1099, and self-employment tax applies once your net self-employment earnings reach $400 in a year.
Which side jobs pay the most?
Skilled work such as bookkeeping, design or tutoring usually pays more per hour than app gigs, and it takes a skill and your own clients. For products, look at what is left per sale after costs.
Sources
- IRS: Gig economy tax center, checked Nov 9, 2026
- IRS: Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes), checked Nov 9, 2026
- FTC: Job scams, checked Nov 9, 2026
- Sellvia plan and trial terms, checked Nov 9, 2026
About the author
Polina Beletskaya
Polina is Marketing Director at Sellvia and writes about ecommerce for Entrepreneur as a contributor. She has also worked as a strategy consultant, helping small business owners market their products online.
Sellvia makes one of the options in this guide. So we list every Sellvia cost, check other providers’ prices on their own pages, and say where Sellvia doesn’t fit.