In a perfect world, a full-time job would be enough income to make ends meet. Your yearly salary would cover grocery trips to Trader Joe’s, nights out with the girls, and your Target addiction. A girl can dream. As much as I’d love to log off at 5 pm, if having multiple income streams can make me feel a bit more financially secure and make those Target trips more feasible, I’m all for it. If you want to put a few more zeros in your bank account each week, adding a flexible side job or two to your after-work hours is definitely a good idea.
Whether you’re looking to set aside a few grand in an emergency fund for those unexpected accidents, or you want to treat yourself to a designer gift (I’ve had my eye on that Gucci Jackie Shoulder Bag for a while) or a vacation to Italy (use that PTO!), using your spare time to earn some extra income saves you from that financial anxiety most of us suffer from whenever it’s time to pay the bills. Let’s be honest, working another part-time shift after clocking into a 9-5 Monday through Friday is less than ideal, so why force yourself? So, prioritize your work-life balance and save your time and energy after work on the weekdays and make extra money on the weekends.
Dealing with the impending doom of the Sunday Scaries is no fun at all, but being productive on the weekends? My idea of a good time. Here is a roundup of the best ways to earn extra cash from weekend work from someone who values free time and extra money just as much as you do.
How To Make Extra Money On The Weekends
Deliver for DoorDash, GrubHub, or UberEats
Do you love driving around in your car for hours, blasting Taylor Swift, and exploring new places? Well, food delivery might be your way to earn extra money. All you need is a functioning car, a phone, and some free time on a Saturday or Sunday and you could easily wrack in a couple hundred dollars of extra cash for your trip to Paris fund. The best part? You decide your hours. Each delivery takes about 30-45 minutes depending on how far you have to travel and you barely have to interact with anyone.
Sell Used Items
Whether you’re a Facebook Marketplace connoisseur or Poshmark is more your jam, selling used items is an easy way to earn money outside of your full-time job. Post your unused or gently used clothes, decor, kitchen supplies, and more on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Poshmark, and you could clean out your unwanted pieces by the time you have to clock in on Monday morning.
Start Pet Sitting or Dog Walking
If you’re looking for an excuse to hang out with a pup all day, dog walking or pet sitting is the perfect side hustle for you. Rover is an app that can help you get paid to play with pets. Sounds like heaven, right? All you need to start getting paid upwards of $35 an hour is to set up a profile and start accepting requests based on your preferences. You just choose a furry friend based on how long you want to keep an eye on them, whether that be for a couple of hours, a couple of days, or a week. This side hustle is ideal for someone with a free weekend here and there.
Consult in Your Field
Do you ever wish you had a mentor who could’ve made the beginning of your career a lot smoother? Why not be that person for someone else? As long as it doesn’t violate your non-compete, consulting in your field could be a flexible side hustle to fit in your weekends—adding upwards of $18 an hour to your bank account.
Become a Virtual Assistant
If you’re looking for a job that holds similar stability to your full-time job, being a virtual assistant could be the way to go. Usually hired on as independent contractors, a virtual assistant is a remote position that offers support to a company or a higher-up employee—basically filling the role of executive assistant. A common hourly pay for a virtual assistant is anywhere between $30 and $75 an hour, so keep an eye out on Upwork and Fiverr.
Try Event Staffing
Event staffing, a.k.a. working weddings, conferences, trade shows, seminars, festivals, and exhibitions is a fresh way to meet a new friend or two while bringing in some extra cash. Agencies are always on the lookout for greeters, security, ushers, caterers, servers, bartenders, and cash register operators, so if you’re interested in making between $15 and $23 an hour, apply now.
Be an Online Tutor
If you tutored in high school or now enjoy keeping up with your academic studies as an adult, tutoring might be a stimulating way to make money on the weekends. It’s common for tutors to offer somewhere between $18 and $25 an hour, depending on the course material you’re servicing.
Get into Retail or Service Work
If you’re looking for a more regimented way to make extra money on the weekends, retail or service work at your local grocery store or nearby Abercrombie could be the part-time job you’re looking for. It depends on each state, but retail and service workers usually make around $15 an hour, give or take, so keep that in mind when applying for jobs.
Start a Blog
A blog is safe space to share your thoughts and opinions on whatever topics you find inspirational. It can also be a source of income. All you need to do is create a website (Squarespace and WordPress are our favorites), create a brand that readers can resonate with, and start posting. If you monetize your content and create a subscriber system, you could make upwards of $50,000 a year just from blogging alone.
Start Freelancing
Have a passion for writing or design but don’t know how to get your work out there? Or already established in your field and looking for a little extra income? Freelancing, as long as it doesn’t violate your non-compete agreement with your full-time gig, allows you to control your hours and rate. If you’re just starting out, places like UpWork or Fiverr are great places to look for freelance work. If you’re already established, chances are you already have a network to tap for freelance opportunities, so dust off that LinkedIn login and get to it.
Run Social Media for a Small Business
Whether you’re representing a small business in your hometown, or helping out a micro-influencer whose content you’re a fan of, managing a small social media account could be the touch of creativity your weekends need—netting you up to $60 an hour. Just set aside two to three hours every week to plan out your client’s posting schedule and help them stay on top of trends and watch their follower numbers soar.
Be a Personal Shopper
Whether you’re the fashion it-girl of your friend group or you love a grocery store run, with personal shopping as your side hustle, the opportunities are endless. You could register as a shopper on InstaCart or Shipt Shopper which will take you to stores like Walmart, Walgreens, Target, Costco, Petco, and more, making the interaction with your client smooth and hassle-free.
Test Websites & Apps
App or website testing through programs like UserTesting or TryMyUI is ideal for those looking to make a few extra dollars without leaving the comfort of their couch (me). You’ll need a laptop or a phone, but other than that, no specific skills or tools are required. Perfect for a lazy girl Sunday.
Be a Tour Guide
If you live in a historic city or a town that grabs a lot of tourist attention, consider being a tour guide. You don’t need any specific experience or skills, just love for your city. The job normally pays somewhere between $10 and $15 an hour, but the human interaction you receive and the memories you help create for others are priceless.
Offer Home Organizing Services
The Home Edit queens Clea and Joanna have proved that professional organizing is definitely a reliable side hustle for some. Whether you’re making a laundry room more functional, a bedroom more calming and less cluttered, or a kitchen layout practical for a frequent cook, home organizing requires a creative mindset, a focus on intentionality, and attention to detail, bringing in a rate of $75 an hour.
How To Find A Weekend Job
Before you start your job search, experts recommend first assessing your already existing skills and interests. “To find a side hustle, you should think about your existing skills and interests to narrow down what kind of opportunity you’re looking for,” says small business specialist at NerdWallet Randa Kriss. “Your best assets are the knowledge and skills you already have. You should choose a side hustle that you want to work on and can be passionate about.”
There are tons of platforms to either post your service or apply for a weekend job. Whether you’re interested in unconventional ways to make money like virtual assisting or you’re going the traditional route and leaning toward retail work, update your resume, prioritize your interests and skills, and get ready to bring some excitement to your weekends once more.
Ideal for creatives and those looking to work remotely, Fiverr makes the connection between freelancer and employer seamless and successful. All you have to do is set up an account, create a gig where you can offer your services, and start receiving orders. You can make between $5 and $10,000 on a single assignment on any service ranging from website design to social media content creation, to even game design.
Employers from all industries use Upwork to connect with freelancers—cutting down on unanswered emails and making for more productive work relationships. Whether it’s a quick two-hour job or a month-long position, freelancers can easily apply, interview, connect, and work with employers in fields that interest them like development and IT, design and creative, sales and marketing, writing and translation, admin and customer support, finance and accounting, engineering and architecture, and legal.
If you’re looking to take on a few odd side jobs during the weekend that are more unpredictable and exciting, TaskRabbit will always keep you on your toes. TaskRabbit connects you with local consumers looking for help with everyday activities like mowing the lawn, cleaning their house, fixing a plumbing issue, furniture assembly, moving, delivery, and other handy-person work, starting at $50 an hour.
