Best Way To Make Money Online 2020

The best ways to make money online depend on what you hope to accomplish. Are you looking to make money online fast? Do you hope to make large amounts of money online? Do you want to make money over the long term? Do you want to make passive income online? See, how to make money online is all about your objectives.

Your goals will determine the best way for you to make money online. In this article, we'll show you what we think are the simplest, fastest, and most reliable ways to make money online. Which ones you choose to follow depend on your particular circumstances and your individual characteristics. Read on below!

40 Ways to Make Money Online

We'll break up our list of the best ways to make money online by the different categories of money-making opportunities the internet offers. Whether you hope to make money fast, make a lot of money, or pick a more unusual route, we've got you covered.

At the outset, we'll caution you that there are no "Get Rich Quick" schemes here. If you're looking for those, you're better off looking elsewhere. On the internet, just like offline, you can make money by working hard, keeping at it, being nimble and creative, and enjoying a little bit of luck. If you can achieve those things, you'll make money online.

Make Money Fast

These options are for those who want to make money now. All of the items on this list allow you to start making or saving money immediately. The amount of money you'll make is generally less than you'd make in the freelancing or online business sections of this article, but you'll make it faster than you would with those options.

Also, keep your eye out for ways to combine the ideas in this section of the article with the others. For example, a cash back app may be great to use in conjunction with freelancing so that you can do more with the money you earn doing the latter.

Cash Back Apps

As we always say here at The Modest Wallet, saving money is making money. If you're able to reduce what you spend on everyday items, whether by earning cash back, using coupons, or finding a lower price at another store, you'll wind up with more money in your pocket.

That's why we love cash back apps. They reduce the overall cost of things you were going to buy anyway, increasing your disposable net income. You can then use the money you've saved to invest in a new venture, or simply sock it away for a rainy day.

While there's a universe of options in the cash back app space, our favorites are Rakuten, Ibotta, and Dosh. There's something for everyone in this collection of apps, regardless of whether you're looking to save on groceries, consumer electronics, or restaurants.

See Also: 35 Passive Income Ideas to Make Money While You Sleep

Coupon Apps

Disclosure– Capital One Shopping compensates us when you get the Capital One Shopping extension using the links provided.

As we said above, saving money is as good as earning money (we can't emphasize that enough). And nothing saves money like a coupon. Of course, modern-day coupons are usually of the digital variety, as opposed to the kind you clip out of newspapers, but they work the same way.

Our favorite couponing apps are Swagbucks, Capital One Shopping, and Honey. They all work in slightly different ways, but the idea is the same. Use promo codes and special deals to reduce the cost of what you're buying online.

Capital One Shopping is owned by Capital One, and Honey was recently acquired by Paypal for $4 billion! These are highly reputable companies that keep your information safe and secure so you can rest easy.

Surfing the Web

At Swagbucks, you can make money by surfing the Web. Assuming you have an account, all you have to do is follow the directions found at the following link to make the Swagbucks search bar your default search engine.

Once you've done that, use the search bar to find whatever it is you're looking for online. While it may take some getting used to using a search that isn't Google, you'll get the hang of it quickly.

Every time you search, you'll earn points on the Swagbucks website that you can redeem for gift cards or money in your PayPal account.

Paid Online Surveys

Paid online surveys are a great way to make a bit of (virtually) instant cash. The premise is straightforward. Companies approach survey companies for market data that's relevant to the consumers they serve. Survey companies provide those surveys to you and share some of the money they make from the companies with you, in exchange for your completion of the survey.

While there are myriad online survey companies, we really like Survey Junkie and Branded Surveys. Both of them focus heavily on the actual taking of surveys, whereas some survey companies choose to provide a bunch of other ways to make money that distract from the survey-taking experience.

You'll want to know going in that one of the major annoyances associated with taking online surveys is that you'll frequently enter a lot of information about yourself, only to find out that you're not demographically qualified to take the survey. So be prepared for that.

Watch Videos Online

It doesn't get much easier. Yes, you can watch videos online for money. It may seem too easy to believe, but there are actually companies out there that will pay you to watch short clips of content.

While there are others out there, InboxDollars is our favorite. It serves up short movies that you can watch in exchange for a small amount of money.

You won't get rich doing this, as the reward for watching the clips is relatively small, but you'll still make more than you would just by watching Netflix or hanging around on the couch in the evening.

Sell Your Stuff

You may have free money right under your nose and not realize it. Many people make a pretty penny selling the things they don't use or need.

Decluttr is a great website that allows you to sell your old DVDs, CDs, phones, tablets, and other consumer electronics that you no longer use. Just download the app or go to the website and either scan your item's barcode or enter the name and model number of your tech on the site. You'll get an instant offer for your stuff. Check out our full Decluttr review to learn more.

For a more specific use case, consider Bookscouter to get rid of old textbooks and other books. This is a great site that collects and displays what all the online book-buying sites will give you for that gently used copy of Physics For Dummies that's been lying unopened on your bookshelf.

See Also: 45 Side Hustle Ideas to Boost Your Income

Test Websites

Designers everywhere need real people to test their newly created websites and apps. That's where Usertesting.com comes in. It connects those designers with people like you who are willing to provide real-time feedback on their designs and creations.

The premise is simple, and you can start making money almost immediately. We'd strongly suggest that you consider this only if you're a good communicator in English. What the creators and designers are looking for is people who can clearly and articulately explain what they like and don't like about a website and, more importantly, why. You'll be rated on your ability to do this and, if your ratings are good, you'll quickly have more testing opportunities than you know what to do with.

Become a Freelancer

Unlike the items in the previous category, these options are for more than just some additional spending money. You can make some serious cash at these enterprises if you put your mind to it. Here are the best ways on how to make money online as a freelancer.

Become a Social Media Manager

Businesses everywhere are trying to take advantage of the limitless possibilities of social media. Many are not succeeding. This isn't surprising, given that social media management requires a specific skill set that most small and medium-sized business owners don't have.

This creates a huge opportunity for you. With the right skills and training, you can step in and manage the social media of these companies, and make a substantial profit in the meantime.

It's important to be knowledgeable in social media management, however, so we recommend that you look into Udemy's excellent Social Media Management Bootcamp. It will give you the background you need to manage and run the social media accounts of businesses everywhere.

Become a Proofreader

Along with writing, proofreading has become an extraordinarily lucrative skill in the online marketplace. Because of the explosion of blogging and content marketing, businesses and individuals everywhere are in desperate need of people who can proofread their content to ensure its accuracy and completeness.

And while you may think that you can simply put up a virtual sign and start proofreading, you would actually be doing yourself a disservice. Proofreading has many idiosyncratic conventions and rules that you'll need to familiarize yourself with before you get started.

We recommend the Proofread Anywhere course to learn the basics of this highly profitable side hustle. Not only will you learn the foundations of proofreading, but you'll also learn the skills and information you need to start up and run your own profitable freelancing business — from attracting clients to organizing your firm.

Become a Writer

Few things online are as lucrative as a steady content writing gig. The explosion of content marketing and blogging has led to millions of opportunities to write content for small, medium, and large business owners who are desperate to fill their sites with quality writing that will attract the attention of search engines and readers.

If content writing isn't your thing, you may prefer writing features and articles for publications, or writing marketing copy for sites or email campaigns. The only limit is your ability to market yourself and solve the problems of your clients.

If you're going to become an online writer, we'd strongly suggest that you not go it alone. Not only do you need to master the rules and conventions of writing in English in a variety of tones and voices, but you'll also need to learn how to operate a small business. That's where the online Earn More Writing course comes in.

The Earn More Writing course will teach you how to effectively start and operate your own freelance writing business. It's taught by a highly successful freelance writer who earns over $200,000 with her writing alone. We recommend that you take the course to learn the fundamentals of running a writing business, and then use your spare time to improve your technical abilities as a writer. You'll be glad you did.

See Also: How to Make Money Building Websites: A Step by Step Guide

Become a Virtual Assistant

People are busier than ever these days, and many rely heavily on assistants to get by in their day-to-day lives. And more than ever, these assistants are not based in the same locations as their principals. They are what are known as virtual assistants, helping their clients by using internet connectivity tools to stay in touch and organize their lives.

A good virtual assistant is worth their weight in gold, and they're compensated accordingly. With the right clients, a virtual assistant position is a lucrative engagement, bringing in thousands of dollars per month.

We don't suggest, though, that you just dive in and start trying this out for yourself without any help. There's an amazing course available online at the Horkey Handbook called 30 Days to Virtual Assistant Success. This course will teach you the software and business skills you'll need to excel when offering your assistant skills to clients. It will also teach you how to land those great clients who pay well and on time.

Become a Web Designer

Sometimes it seems as if everyone and their cousin has a live website on the internet. This is especially true in the business community, where every small- and medium-sized firm apparently wants a web presence.

And for every business who just throws up a poorly designed website, there's another company that gives the process more thought and hires a qualified web designer and creator to make their web property shine.

You could be one of the people these firms turn to when they're looking for someone to stand out from the online crowd. There's a fantastic online course called the Web Developer Bootcamp, available on Udemy, that will teach you all the ins and outs of the foundations of web development.

While you'll still need to learn the business side of running a small web development agency, you'll have a flying start with the technical skills you'll learn in the boot camp.

Become a Transcriptionist

Countless industries rely on recorded conversations to operate. The medical, legal, and law enforcement professions, in particular, record notes and interviews in audio and video formats on a daily basis. Virtually all of this recorded material has to be transcribed for later use.

Transcriptionists are the people in charge of reducing those recordings to writing. It involves a lot of peculiar conventions and guidelines, and the rules change depending on the context you're working in. This is a skill that can quickly become challenging.

There's an online course that will teach you everything you need to know about transcription, though, and we strongly recommend it. Transcribe Anywhere will rapidly teach you the fundamental and advanced topics required to succeed in this field. You'll also learn the basics of how to find and secure clients when you're first starting out.

Start an Online Business

Like the freelancing items above, these options provide substantial money-making potential. While you won't be able to simply turn on the income like a faucet, if you work at these ideas, you can realize a significant profit in less time than you'd think.

Start a Blog

Running a successful blog is like having a license to print money. It can provide passive income for years to come if you properly nurture and grow your audience.

Many people don't understand how a simple blog could lead to income. After all, how does people reading the words on a page translate to earning money?

It all comes down to monetizing your audience. At their core, all profitable blogs successfully exploit their ability to draw the attention of their users and convert that attention into selling something. They may sell banner advertisements on a web page. Or they may sell an online course, or a physical product, or engage in affiliate marketing.

At the end of the day, they're relying on a small portion of their audience to take some form of profitable action.

Trust and authority are the crucial ingredients of running a successful blog. If your readers trust you, and your readers believe you are an authority on a subject, they'll keep coming back and trust your buying recommendations. If they don't trust you, or you're not a credible authority, they won't come back.

So, how do you get from Point A to Point Blog? We suggest that you take a look at the Full-Time Blogger of course from our friend Larry Ludwig. This course will teach you everything you need to know about building a profitable blog from scratch. You'll learn how to find the right niche, pick the right platform, and how to cultivate an audience. Larry sold his website, Investor Junkie, last year for $6 million. He is a pro!

If you don't want to start a blog from scratch, you can always buy an existing one, develop it, and flip it for profit. An excellent online course offered by Her Paper Route called the Blog Flipping Masterclass offers guidance on how to do exactly that.

It can be incredibly difficult to learn how to value blogs and websites. We recommend using the aforementioned course to solidify your skills in learning how to find online bargains and how to turn them into big profits and hefty sales.

See Also: 90 Legit Ways to Make Extra Money on The Side

Start an SEO Agency

One of the most crucial aspects of successful websites today is their ability to climb the Google rankings to that all-important first page. This is an excruciatingly difficult climb for any company, and those who can help firms succeed at it are paid very well.

Professionals who engage in what's called Search Engine Optimization are called SEO specialists. They're the ones who excel at collecting the backlinks that point to a website, optimizing the content on a site, and performing the technical tasks necessary to help a web-property move up the Google rankings.

For this online business, you'll need diverse skills. You'll need to be able to cultivate relationships with other webmasters, analyze the technical structure of a website, and critique and structure the content of a website to help it conform to best practices.

Luckily, while that all sounds like tech quicksand, the skills are relatively accessible by way of online courses and resources. You can learn to excel at SEO without being forced to endure highly technical material or confusing manuals.

Start an eCommerce Store

Starting a successful e-commerce store can be a tricky business. You're required to compete with millions of other virtual storefronts in a highly crowded and competitive marketplace. You'll need to stand out and differentiate yourself.

We recommend that you consider the eComBlueprint 2.0 single-product e-commerce store course. This course will teach you to launch and scale an eCommerce store with only a single product and earn thousands (or even tens of thousands) in profits.

The course relies heavily on proven and successful strategies that exploit the targeting and retargeting of Facebook Ads to interested customers. These ad strategies drive consumers to your website and accelerate sales, while the single-product strategy keeps costs and complexity to a minimum.

Start a Bookkeeping Business

Just as companies everywhere are trying to get their digital marketing game on point, they're also trying to get their books in order. Bookkeeping is something that millions of small businesses struggle with on a regular basis, but the market amongst talented bookkeepers is surprisingly uncompetitive.

That may be because so few people have the skills required to successfully keep a company's books organized and accessible. If you'd like to learn those skills and make a substantial profit, we suggest the Bookkeepers.com online course.

The course will teach you everything you need to know about managing a firm's books while also showing you how to attract and keep profitable clients.

Start a Podcast

Building a successful podcast involves many of the same principles as starting your own blog, which we discussed in an earlier section. Effectively, you're trying to grow an audience by relying on trust and authority. Once you've done that, you need to convert your audience's attention into monetizable transactions.

For the latter, you may want to focus on running ads on your podcast, or including affiliate links in your podcast's webpage, or even offering a physical product for sale. Whatever you do, it's less important than the first step — cultivating your audience's trust and your own perceived authority in your niche.

When you're creating a podcast, don't skimp on the production values. Make sure you get a high-quality mic and sound engineering software that's up to the task. Hire a sound engineer if you have to. Good audio quality is a crucial part of creating a successful podcast.

There's a great service that handles a lot of the administrative and back-end work involved with operating a successful podcast. It's called BuzzSprout, and many of our associates use it to manage their podcasting setups. It's an easy and simple way to host, promote, and track the metrics on your podcast.

Start a Marketing Agency

Digital marketing has shown explosive growth over the last decade for very good reason. Its efficacy and efficiency are unparalleled in the marketing industry and businesses everywhere know it. What they don't know, however, is how to harness the power of digital marketing to drive their own sales and revenue.

That's why running your own digital marketing agency can be such a profitable enterprise. Digital marketing is one of those industries with a massive market, low overhead, and virtually no barriers to entry. Despite the lack of barriers to getting involved in the industry, very few people know how to effectively run a Facebook Ads campaign, and the field remains uncrowded.

If you'd like to get involved in this area of e-commerce, we recommend an online course called the FB Side Hustle. It will teach you the foundational and advanced subjects you need to excel in this market and land your first profitable clients.

See Also: 30 Best Gig Economy Jobs That Pay Well

Create and Sell Online Courses

Online courses are a fantastic way to build partially passive income in your portfolio. Trust and authority, the two concepts we discussed in the podcasting and blogging sections found above, are even more important in the online course world. After all, why would anyone want to hear what you have to say on a subject unless you're a legitimate, verified expert on that subject?

Online courses pair very well with successful blogs and podcasts. They can work really well as a way to monetize your audience, as well as lead magnets or a method to increase interest in your brand.

As with podcasting, you'll want to keep in mind the production values you display with your online course. If you're including video, make sure it's shot in high-def with decent lighting and sound. If it's audio, make sure people can actually hear what you're saying. There's nothing worse than an e-course that's impossible to follow because it was cheaply produced.

When it comes to the nuts and bolts of building out an online course, we like the service offered by Podia. They offer all of the services you'll need to create, host, and promote your online course without any confusing fluff or hidden fees. We love it.

Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube has become one of the most profitable and lucrative ways to engage with an audience since the advent of the Web. A few lucky and skilled influencers have even parlayed a YouTube audience into millions of dollars and worldwide fame.

The principles behind running a successful YouTube channel are very similar to those involved in operating a popular blog or podcast. You're relying on trust and authority in your niche to attract an audience, and then converting that audience into paying customers through a variety of strategies, including affiliate marketing, ads, sponsorships, etc.

Of course, with YouTube, the entertainment value of your videos becomes just as important as the trust and authority you exude. If your videos aren't interesting, no one will stick around to watch them. So, you'll need to make sure your entertainment game is up to snuff.

As with podcasts and e-courses, you need to ensure that your production values are top-notch. Nothing sinks a YouTube channel faster than low-brow production. Invest in a professional videographer if you have to. High video and audio quality are absolute necessities.

Make Your Own App

A successful web, Android, or iPhone app can make your bank account sing. Of course, it can be difficult to come up with the right niche to target and strategy to follow.

As with any business, the key to success is finding a sufficiently annoying problem or pain point to target. Once you've found a pain point that affects enough consumers, you can create an app that solves that problem, quickly and efficiently.

Assuming you're able to effectively market your solution, the simple and user-friendly app distribution systems created by Apple and Google should ensure that you're able to distribute your application to as many people as possible. (Just be aware that Google and Apple will both take 30% off the top.)

Passive Income

Passive income is an extraordinarily effective addition to anyone's budget. Instead of trading your limited time and energy for a salary, you put your money or property to work for you. Here are a few ideas on how to make money online with passive income.

Invest in REITs

Real estate is a hugely popular investment for a multitude of good reasons. It's comprehensible, tangible, and relatively safe. But there are more ways to invest in real estate than buying a particular plot of land or a specific house or building.

A service called Fundrise allows you to buy fractional shares in commercial real estate investments all over the United States. Previously limited only to sophisticated investors and those with large pools of capital, commercial real estate has significant profit potential, and it comes in a variety of forms.

While you'll need to be able to navigate complex prospectuses and investment terms, and the fees that Fundrise takes are relatively high, the investments available on this site can be a great addition to any portfolio. Check out our REITs guide to learn more about this asset class.

Invest in Real Estate

If you're looking for a more straightforward investment, why not consider a rental property? A website called Roofstock allows you to buy residential properties that come complete with tenants who already live in the home. That means you don't need to go out of your way to find and vet new tenants.

While investing in income property can be a great decision, you'll want to pay careful attention to where the property is located, the availability of a good property manager, and your experience in managing residential real estate. Rental properties are good sources of income, but they're not for everyone. Make sure you have the financial and business acumen to make one work for you.

Invest in the Stock Market

If real estate isn't your thing, you might consider the stock market. In fact, even if you like real estate, you should probably invest in the equity and bond markets as well. The Standard & Poor's 500 index in the United States returns, as a historical average, about 8% per year. That's a fantastic return that, hands down, beats most forms of real estate over the long haul.

Webull is a digital broker that simplifies and explains investing in the stock market. It's easy to use, and it's perfect for those seeking a low-cost alternative to brokers who charge significant commissions and have large minimum trading balances.

As with all forms of investing, users should inform themselves of the risks and volatility inherent in the stock market. You should be aware of the potential for lost capital and income. Additionally, those who wish to engage in more complex trades, like short selling, are strongly advised to seek expert advice.

See Also: How to Start a Blog: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Profitable Blog

Peer-to-Peer Lending

If you'd rather become a lender than invest in real estate or equities, Lending Club may be for you. At Lending Club, people with money to spare are matched with those who need to borrow money. Borrowers on the site need capital for a variety of reasons, from debt repayment and refinancing to education.

Lending Club screens its borrowing applications and rejects many that are clearly too risky to offer to the general public. At the same time, the company doesn't block all risky loans, choosing instead to pair them with high-interest rates, and then offer them to the more risk-hungry lenders on the platform.

As with any borrowing, the interest you'll receive is directly related to the amount of risk associated with the loan. Less risky loans (say, for a student entering medical school) are associated with lower interest rates. Riskier loans (say, for credit card debt refinancing) carry higher interest rates.

Lending Club takes a modest fee for each transaction, so you'll want to keep an eye on that as you lend on the platform.

Micro Invest

Investments don't have to be massive in order to have a huge impact on your nest egg. Small investments, made early and over time, can dramatically improve your investment portfolio.

An app called Acorns allows you to "round up" all of your purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the remainder in a savings, investment, or retirement account (depending on the plan you choose).

Acorns can be a great way to painlessly save and invest without any deprivation. The amounts that are put away are so small that you don't feel the difference.

One thing you should keep front of mind are the fees charged by Acorns as a percentage of your savings and investment account. For example, if you sign up for the $1 per month account, and have only $100 invested, you're effectively paying a 1% management fee. (That's quite high.) However, as the amount you invest increases, the flat rate makes less of an impact.

Rent Out Your Car

For most of us, vehicles are some of the most significant expenses we face. Whether you own a car, truck, or SUV, chances are high that you spend a small fortune on gas, insurance, and lease or finance payments (unless you paid cash up front).

Why not try to reduce some of those expenses by renting out your car while you're not using it? An app called GetAround helps you do exactly that. Effectively acting as the Airbnb of automobiles, GetAround is a peer-to-peer car-sharing app that connects the owners of vehicles with people who need (or want) to rent one for a short term.

While there are some setup costs (you'll need to install something called GetAround Connect, which allows people to remotely unlock your vehicle), the initial process is pretty straightforward and simple. Just download the app and follow the steps and you'll be bringing in extra money in no time.

Gig Economy Jobs

These options are, strictly speaking, partly offline ventures. But that doesn't mean that you're not getting paid online. All of the ideas in this category use apps to help you connect with people who need your services, and ensure that you get paid (online) for your hard work. We think that qualifies them for inclusion on this list. Here are the best ways to make money online with the gig economy.

Deliver Food

Food delivery is one of the great success stories of the app explosion. From UberEats to GrubHub, you've got countless options when deciding who you want to deliver food for. Our favorite, though, is DoorDash. You'll keep all of your tips, and maintain a flexible schedule while you deliver food to clients all over your local area.

If you don't have a car, be aware that only densely populated urban neighborhoods (like Manhattan, for example) allow for food delivery via bicycle. Otherwise, you'll need a fuel-efficient and reliable car. Additionally, you'll need a modern and functioning smartphone to create an account and accept deliveries.

As with all of the delivery options on this list, you'll need to pay close attention to depreciation, maintenance, and fuel costs if you're using your vehicle to make deliveries. These expenses can quickly eat into your profit margins and you need to account for them in order to create an accurate profit & loss statement. Read our best food delivery service to work for article to learn more.

See Also: 30 Best Online Jobs That Are Legitimate and Actually Pay Well

Deliver Groceries

Like DoorDash, Postmates requires you to deliver stuff to people in your neighborhood. Unlike DoorDash, your deliveries won't be limited only to food. You can expect to deliver groceries, office supplies, alcohol, and more. Really, anything that can be easily transported is a possibility with Postmates.

Despite delivering a wider array of products, Postmates has many of the same pros and cons as DoorDash. You'll have a flexible schedule, collect tips, and generally work as much or as little as you like.

However, you'll also incur costs related to vehicle depreciation and maintenance and be required to make sure you maintain an excellent user rating on your account to ensure further deliveries. Check out our make money driving article to learn more about these gibs.

Deliver Packages

If you're hoping to make a little bit more money than what DoorDash and Postmates will pay, you can always try to get a job with Amazon Flex. Amazon Flex hires delivery drivers who own sizable sedans, trucks, vans, and SUVs to transport Amazon packages to consumers in major markets.

You'll earn almost twice as much as a typical Postmates or DoorDash delivery driver. However, as we already indicated, you'll need a large vehicle to transport packages to recipients. Those packages can be heavy and large, so you'll need to be able to lift and carry heavy and awkward packages on a regular basis. It's not easy work, but it pays relatively well.

Walk Dogs

If deliveries aren't really your thing, or you don't have a car, why not consider dog walking? While this used to be a business that relied heavily on personal connections, an app called Rover now connects aspiring dog walkers with pet owners. The app will also facilitate connections for people who need to have their animals watched for a short time (say, while they're at work or on a short trip).

Trust is everything when it comes to people and their pets, so you'll need to be careful to cultivate an excellent user rating if you plan to make a living walking dogs on Rover. Treat the animals well and attentively, be friendly to their owners, and pretty soon you'll start to see your income steadily increase.

Unique Ways to Make Money Online

We put the money-saving and money-making ideas that didn't fit neatly into the other categories right here. Whether you want to increase the interest you're earning on your savings or reduce your cable TV bill, you'll find an idea that will work for you down below.

Switch to a High-Yield Savings Account

We've said it before, and we'll say it again — saving money is making money. And one of the best ways to save money is to choose a high-interest savings account.

While equity and real estate investments are usually the go-to options for growing your pool of capital, no portfolio is complete without a full savings account. Savings accounts serve as pools of money you can use during an unexpected layoff or job loss, or for an unanticipated expense. And unlike equities and real estate, the money in a savings account is liquid and unlocked. It can be used at any time.

High-yield savings accounts combine the convenience and accessibility of a savings account, with the high interest rates of more growth-oriented accounts. Why not have the best of both worlds?

Refinance Your Loans

Interest rates frequently rise and fall. When they fall, it's extremely wise to refinance any debt you may have. Refinancing debt after an interest rate decrease is like being gifted free money. Your interest payments will decrease, your repayment period will decrease, and you'll have more money in your pocket after servicing your debt. What's not to like?

Credible is a site that shows you what interest rate you would likely get on your debt based on the profile you complete with the service when you sign up. It's a fantastic way to get a peek at your refinancing potential without making any firm commitments or hampering your credit rating with unnecessary hard inquiries.

To be sure, paying off your debt for good is the best option. But in the meantime, take a look at refinancing after an interest rate decrease to take some of the pain out of being in debt.

Start a Membership Site

Selling a recurring membership in a service is like planting a money tree. It just keeps bearing fruit as long as it survives. Of course, the only thing better than selling one recurring membership is selling a whole bunch of them.

You may think that recurring memberships are just for big businesses. You'd be mistaken. There are a number of ways you can monetize the idea of a membership site.

First, if you have an existing service business (anything from lawn mowing to accounting), then consider selling a subscription-based option. For example, if you're a landscaper, sell your clients a one- or two-year subscription for your service and offer them a discount for paying up-front. You can invest the up-front payment and you'll profit further if they move away without using the service in its entirety. (This is the business model that fitness clubs and gyms rely on to make so much money.)

Second, you can create a brand-new business from scratch using the membership model. As long as you have something of value to sell, you can package it into a subscription and create a website to manage the membership. For example, you can sell packages that curate professional development materials for people in different fields. You can curate a romance-novel subscription list. Your imagination is the only limit when it comes to creating a membership site.

Lower Your Bills

Many of us waste countless dollars on subscriptions and memberships that we don't use, need, or want. Further, of the subscriptions that we actually do use, we often end up overpaying by hundreds of dollars simply because we're unaware of new promotions or deals that are available.

A service called Trim combines artificial intelligence with human intervention and delivers dramatic savings to its customers on their subscription and membership services. First, with your permission, they will contact your cable TV, internet, and other technology providers and negotiate your bill. While you'll split any savings with the company, they can often trim (get it?) hundreds of dollars off of your bills.

Trim will also go through your monthly expenses and suggest cancellations where its AI indicates you're not using a service or feature. With your permission, they'll even contact the service on your behalf.

Cut Unnecessary Expenses

An app called Truebill functions in much the same way as the aforementioned Trim, but takes the form of an app instead of a digital financial assistant. Truebill offers both paid and free services, and like Trim, it focuses its offerings on saving you money by eliminating unnecessary subscriptions and reducing your monthly bills.

We can't emphasize enough how important it is for your financial health to reduce (to an absolute minimum), the amounts you pay each month in subscriber and membership costs. These expenses add up quickly, and often total thousands of dollars per year. Cutting unused bills, or even reducing them just slightly, creates significant savings.

Another great alternative to Truebill is Billshark.

See Also: 20 Best Places to Sell Used Furniture for Cash 'Online & Locally'

Get Paid to Stay Fit

Staying healthy can earn and save you money in myriad ways. First, you'll spend less on healthcare costs if you're fit and healthy. Fewer doctor visits, less medication, lower insurance premiums, and fewer major procedures all add up to less money spent on your health.

Cutting out unhealthy habits like drinking, smoking, and gambling reduces up front costs and removes the need for treatments to reduce or eliminate those habits.

In addition to the inherent savings involved with getting fit, there are several apps that will actually pay you to be healthy. Sweatcoin gives you money every time you take a step outside. HealthyWage allows you to place wagers on your ability to lose a significant amount of body weight. And the Achievement app connects to over 20 different fitness apps (like Fitbit, Samsung Health, and MyFitnessPal) and rewards you with points when you make healthy choices. You'll look better, feel better, live longer, and save money. It's a win, win, win, win.

Sell Your Photos

If you're an aspiring photographer, you'll find a huge market for your photos online. There are countless businesses and people who need stock photography for websites, who want a special event (like a wedding) photographed, or who hope to get graduation or engagement photos taken.

Regardless of your niche, you'll find that you have the best luck when you focus on developing and marketing your skills in a particular area (like destination weddings, or stock photos of people).

Don't write off major stock photography sites as potential customers. At some of these, you can post your photos for sale online and you'll get a commission every time someone chooses to use one of them. While it may not have the same glamour as getting your shots on the cover of a magazine or newspaper, it still means a few dollars in your pocket.

You may also wish to consider selling your photos on the Etsy marketplace. Your pictures can take a variety of forms, from framed photographs to mousepads and posters. You can also use them as simple "printables."

This online Etsy Printables course will show you how to turn your custom graphics into unforgettable digital products that fly off the virtual shelves. A super-easy way to get your foot in the Etsy door, printables offer a no-fuss product for easy monetization.

Online Data Entry Jobs

Online data entry jobs can be an excellent way to make your way into online freelancing. Frequently posted with no minimum education or experience requirements, online data entry jobs allow you to make a few dollars relatively quickly.

The downside to these jobs is that they pay relatively little and are mind-numbingly monotonous. At the same time, they'll require you to pay close attention to detail and refrain from making even a single mistake.

That being said, beggars can't be choosers, and as far as stepping stone jobs go, there are definitely worse ones out there.

Make Money Online FAQs

You may still have questions about making money online. We've included the answers to as many of those questions as possible right here.

How to Make Money Online Right Now

If you're looking to make money right now, we'd suggest looking back to the "Make Money Fast" subsection of this article. That section includes several great ideas, including taking online surveys, watching paid videos, and signing up for bonus offers that reward instant cash.

Beyond that, you might want to consider completing microtasks online or user testing apps and websites for designers who hope to get an unbiased opinion about their product.

The internet has no shortage of opportunities to make money instantly. All you have to do is look.

How to Make $100 in a Day

If you want to make $100 today, we'd suggest that you sign up for as many services that offer free sign-up bonuses as you can. InboxDollars, Swagbucks, MyPoints, Rakuten, Webull, and Stash are all examples of programs that provide you with free incentives to sign up today.

How to Get Free Money Online

If you're looking for free money online, check out apps and websites that provide sign-up bonuses. Also, look for programs that give you cash back as you shop. Saving money is as good as earning money as far as we're concerned, and cash back is one of the best ways to save large amounts of money that we've been able to find.

How to Make $1000 a Month

Freelancing is your best bet for supplementing your income with four-figure take-homes (or higher). Writing, web designing, managing Facebook Ads, and proofreading are just some of the professions you can practice online.

We strongly suggest, however, that you not go it alone if you decide to freelance. You'll likely benefit from training with an online course, especially if you've never worked in an area before.

How to Make Real Money Online

One of the best ways to make real money online is to start a blog that incorporates affiliate marketing or the sale of your own physical or digital products. These ventures are able to create massive amounts of passive income in a surprisingly short amount of time, and are accessible to almost everyone.

As we wrote about previously, the key to making blogs, YouTube channels, podcasts, and other revenue streams like this work well is to cultivate trust and authority with your audience. Once you've got trust and authority, you can develop an audience and monetize it with the help of various strategies you can find online (affiliate marketing, product sales, ads, sponsorships, and the like.)

Final Thoughts

The best ways to make money online are as numerous as the circumstances and people who look for money-making opportunities. But whether you're looking for a stable second income, a way to replace your day job, or just a bit of spending money on the side, we're confident that at least one of the above ideas will pique your interest.

The same rules that apply to making money anywhere else also apply to the internet. Remember that there are no free lunches, and that "Get Rich Quick" schemes don't work. And in spite of what some people might tell you, not everything on the internet is true. If it doesn't make sense or sounds too far-fetched, search for other, more credible (and information-verified sources.) But beyond that, work is necessary to reach your goals. You'll need to be clever, put in a lot of work, and be patient in order to make a substantial amount of money through the internet.

But you can do it. While you do have to be hardworking and sharp, you don't have to be the smartest guy or gal in the room or have a huge pool of working capital. Humility and honesty, a willingness to learn, a good idea, and elbow grease will all help you reach your goals.

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Ricardo

Ricardo is an entrepreneur, investor and personal finance nerd who enjoys spending time with his family and friends, travelling and helping others achieve their financial goals. Ricardo has been quoted as a personal finance expert in several online publications including Healthline, Bankrate, GOBankingRates, MSN Money, Yahoo Finance, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and USA Today.