8 Best Ways to Earn Money When You’re Unemployed

If you’re wondering about how to make money without a real job. a “real” job in this context refers to your classic 9-to-5, Monday-through-Friday desk job.

Except you win the lottery or strike inheritance gold, you really cannot live without an income. But you might be able to replace your conventional 9-5 with more flexible side gigs and forms of passive income.

Ways to Make Money Without a Job

Irrespective of if your unemployed, disabled, a stay-at-home parent, retired or simply want some extra income, here are ways real people have legally made money without a classic job.

Invest in Real Estate (Even If You’re Not Rich)

Irrespective of your financial status you could invest in real estate as there are renowned companies that help with investments in real estate for as small as $500.

Some of these companies even gives you the option of not playing landlord.
This isn’t an obscure type of investment, as you can clearly see what properties are included in your portfolios like a set of townhomes in Washington or an apartment building in Charlotte.

SEE ALSO: How many jobs are available in real estate investment trusts?

Usually, most companies of this nature help you earn money through quarterly dividend payments and potential appreciation in the value of your shares, just like a stock. Cash flow typically comes from interest payments and property income. It is paramount to note that there are certain risks, just like every other investment and there’s an annual pay of a certain percentage depending on the company which serves as the asset management fee and another set percentage for the annual investment advisory fee.

Share Your Opinions (Please Not on Twitter)

These days, it’s very common for people to resort to social media to share their opinion, wanted or not. But a lot of companies out there really want to hear what you have to say and would pay you for your opinions.

I’m sure either passively or directly you must’ve heard about surveys, survey websites are a great place to snag some extra money and gift cards.
There is a lot of great survey website out there, a little googling and you’d be amazed at the different options available to you, there’s the option to earn either gift cards or money for taking polls and filling out surveys. Other sites give you a certain bonus in cash after completing your first 5 or more survey. Some people have been recorded to make about $600 in a month just by using their spare time for online surveys.

Become a Small Business Owner

Ever thought about starting your own business? Although this could be considered as a real job, the flip side is you’d be your own boss and set your own schedule.
It might be a rigorous process, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds. There are tons of online courses that would help equip you with the tools of the trade and give you a step-by-step guide on how to get started.
Depending on the state you’re in and the laws, you’d be required to pay a certain sum for registration of your business and some other requirements like licensing and office space if necessary.

Take Calligraphy Gigs

If you possess excellent handwriting skills and a basic set of calligraphy tools, you can address envelopes. You can make $2 to $5 a pop just for being a talented calligraphy writer.

It doesn’t feel like much until you book a wedding with 100 guests and notice you could rake in $200 or more for handwritten invites.
You can launch your own website to sell your services, or offer calligraphy through Etsy.

Start Freelancing

If you’ve got skills of shooting photos, editing videos, designing websites, writing blog posts, coding or drawing,
You’ve a unique opportunity on freelance websites where you can list your skills and get gigs, one of such websites is Fiverr, which is an online marketplace for creative freelance services.
Gigs on Fiverr range from standard data entry and research tasks to the most complex of services. On any given day, sellers in the “Fun & Lifestyle” section are offering thousands of unique services from polishing a dating profile to creating a family tree.

Invest 15 Cents Into the Stock Market

Yeah, i know what you’re thinking: 15 cents? How can that be possible? Of what benefit would it be?
Well, someone once made over $1000 from his leftover change from morning coffees and evening grocery hauls for a period of 20 months.
That’s what happened when Penny Hoarder opened an account with Acorns. The app’s round-up feature bumps every of your purchases up to the nearest dollar and puts the spare change into the stock market, which helped him mindlessly save $1,076 in about 20 months.
The app is $1 a month for balances under $1 million, and you’ll get a $5 bonus when you sign up, just like many other similar apps out there.

Spend $1 to Own a Piece of Amazon, Google or Other Companies

If you take a look at the Forbes Richest People list, and with little or no research you’d notice almost all the individuals on the list have a thing in common, they own another company.

But you most likely work for a living and don’t happen to have millions of dollars lying around and that’s why a lot of people use the apps like Stash. Which lets them be a part of something that’s normally exclusive to the richest of the rich, buying pieces of other companies for as little as $1.

That’s absolutely right, you can invest in pieces of well-known companies, such as Amazon, Google or Apple, for as little as $1. The best part is when these companies profit, you do also. Some companies even send you a cheque quarterly for your share of the profits, called dividends.

Design and Sell T-Shirts

If you’ve got a creative spark or know some catchy pun, consider putting your designs on T-shirts and selling them through Merch by Amazon.
Upload your T-shirt designs to Merch and when customers buy your designed shirt, you get paid, you don’t have to worry about production, shipping or customer service. Amazon handles it all for you.

Rent out That Unused Baby Gear

This is for parents whose baby’s have outgrown their cribs, car seats and other gears used.
Why not just turn that outgrown baby gear into some cash? Online marketplaces like BabyQuip allow parents to list strollers, car seats, cribs, and other baby gears for rent.
Why? It’s no news that families with young children who are traveling can’t necessarily carry a crib onto a flight. So you meet a need for a few days and get paid for it.

Sell Your Smartphone Photography

Those breathtaking photos you take can get you more than just Instagram likes.
Consider uploading your iPhone photos to stock photography sites. You most likely won’t become a millionaire, but a website like Foap will split the profits with the photographer evenly, which can rake in a decent amount depending on the sale.

It’s very important to note that this article contains just 10 of the multiple ways to make money legally, without a conventional 9-5 job, and hereby state that you’re advised to go so your own research before delving into any sort of money-making scheme mention in the article and don’t forget to see a professional before kickstarting as this is not a financial advise.