By
Catherine Alford
Having a side hustle is not a new money-making idea. According to a recent Bankrate survey, over 44 million Americans have one. Yet, not all side hustles are created equally. Some, like growing a blog, can take years to produce an income. With others, you can start making money right away.
If you need to earn money quickly, whether from a recent job loss or the government shutdown, here are three of the best options to get paid fast.
For several years, people have earned extra money being an Uber driver, but it isn’t for everyone. Maybe you have young kids riding with you or your car is more than 10 years old. Now, there is another option: Uber Eats.
According to Whitney Hansen, an award winning money coach and podcaster, “The sign up process is incredibly easy. You take pictures of your car registration, driver’s license, and you’re ready to go.” Hansen, who tried out being an Uber Eats driver to decide whether to recommend it to her money coaching clients, said it only took a couple of days before she was able to officially start delivering food to people’s houses and earning money.
The best part, she says, is you can get paid weekly or daily. She recommends it to her coaching clients because, “they will be guaranteed to make some money, they can work on their own time and they can make a decent amount of money for a few hours here and there.” Hansen said she made between $10-$13 per hour when testing the app herself. She recommends driving during peak times, like weekend nights, to have the best chance of earning more.
If you’ve been to any big city lately, you might notice people zipping around on scooters. One of the largest scooter companies, Bird Scooters, actually pays people to charge the scooters overnight in their homes.
Michelle Bryan, a Certified PFE and Communications Manager at Debt.com, says she recommends charging Bird Scooters to anyone looking for a great side hustle. In fact she said she’s been charging scooters herself to make extra money to pay for her wedding.
As far as onboarding, here’s what to do, apply to charge Birds on their website in just a few minutes. Then, Bryan says, they will send you chargers a few days later, which “are a lot like laptop chargers and only use about 8 cents worth of electricity to charge.” Bryan says, “you can make between $3-$20 per scooter” which can add up when you’re saving for a big goal, like a wedding.
This side hustle is best if you live near a big metro area and don’t mind picking up scooters in the evening and returning them to their station before 7:00 AM.
Did you know the postman isn’t the only person who can deliver your mail? In fact, you can deliver packages for Amazon with their program called Amazon Flex. They deliver packages 7 days a week, and according to Shante Nicole, a certified credit consultant and the founder of the nonprofit Financial Common Cents, it’s extremely easy to sign up.
Nicole said, “I loved working for Amazon Flex. It’s probably the easiest side hustle money I’ve ever made.” Nicole explained that once she signed up, she had to submit her vehicle information and watch training videos. Then, she was able to start delivering packages shortly thereafter.
“The best part of working for Amazon Flex was the pay,” she said. “The rate was $18 an hour and shifts were available in 3 or 4 hour blocks.” Plus, Nicole said if you’re a fast worker and finish all your deliveries early, you can still get paid for the entire shift.
If you need to make money quickly after a job loss, you have many options. The three companies above, though, are proven, reliable, and pay quickly. You can get onboarded in a matter of days, and start earning money to help you while you get back on your feet.
