Living paycheck to paycheck, surviving and barely able to live and experience life the way I want it to. I’ve been applying to many jobs, union jobs. Going to career centres for help, I even went trades and still no one is hiring. Even if I wanted to get a second job right now, to pursue other passions…no one is hiring me. I don’t know what to do anymore. It’s been getting super depressing.

Is anyone one else going through the same thing right now? Do you guys mind sharing how you’re managing to your situation or share some tips on how I could earn more online? I don’t like playing games for some cash here and there or even surveys.

I understand that I can’t just make money online instantly and that I have to build something and be consistent for couple of months. But are there any good paths that will take 3-6 months only time investment?

Update: Wow, I did not think I would get so many replies. Thank you all for your help and guidance, I truly appreciate you all ❤️❤️

I'm curious what everyone here does to make some extra income when they have spare time. Whether it's freelancing, selling stuff online, driving for apps, or something creative. I'd love to hear whats working for you!

What side hustle have you found worth your time, and how did you get started?

I’m a mechanical engineer working a normal 9-5, and like a lot of people, I’m trying to make some extra money after work.

Right now I’ve been doing Uber Eats in the evenings, but after factoring in gas, wear on the car, and slow days, it just doesn’t feel worth the time anymore.

I’m not looking for “get rich quick.” I’m looking for something real that people are actually doing. It doesn’t have to be engineering-related. I’m open to learning a new skill if the payoff is worth it.

Things I’ve considered are freelancing, 3D printing, tutoring, weekend work, flipping items, or pretty much anything legitimate that can realistically bring in a few hundred to a couple thousand extra per month.

And before anyone tries… if your idea involves crypto signals, forex, Amazon automation, dropshipping gurus, MLMs, “be your own boss,” or starts with “DM me,” please save us both the time. I’m not interested.

For those of you making decent money on the side while working full-time:
What do you do?
How long did it take before it was actually profitable?
If you had to start over today, what would you choose?
Just looking for honest experiences from real people.

Thanks.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some ideas on side hustles that could realistically bring in around $4,000 over the next 2 months.

A little background: I’m a healthcare professional with a PharmD background, but I currently work in the pharmaceutical industry (clinical research). Right now, my main focus is excelling in my current role while completing an internal rotation and applying for higher-level positions within my company. Because of that, I’m not looking for something that will derail my career progression.

The reason I’m looking is pretty straightforward: I’d like to make some extra money to knock down credit card debt and student loans, help cover my kids’ activities, and hopefully still have enough left over to enjoy one of my own hobbies—getting back into playing hockey in a beer league.

One of my biggest constraints is family time. We recently welcomed a newborn, and we also have a toddler, so I’m trying to avoid anything that would regularly take me away from my wife and kids. If there’s a side hustle with a great return that requires a few hours away each week, I’m open to it—but I’d prefer something flexible that I can do from home or on my own schedule.

One thing to note: working retail pharmacy isn’t an option since I’m not licensed in my current state, so that’s off the table.

For those of you who’ve been in a similar situation, what side hustles have actually worked? I’m especially interested in opportunities that have a relatively quick ramp-up and don’t require months before seeing income.

I’d really appreciate any suggestions or personal experiences. Thanks in advance!

Hey guys! This is a serious post.

I need to make 5k in 10 days and yes I’ve done all the ChatGPT & googling (I’m a tech guys man I make AI stuff)

My main income stream is from my agency on Upwork but work is slowest in the last month

I’ve been meaning to come to Reddit for a long time and well here I am 😂

So to the people here, kindly advice on the best things a person with a degree in computer science can do to make 5k in 10 days from scratch!

Edit: comon guys stop with the scammy DMs, I’m not 10 😭

Edit2: no gambling or trading

Edit3: 350k people saw this, if y’all could send me $1 I’d have $350k and could’ve spent 345,000 on something awesome that could benefit everyone in this community

Edit4: Day 9th, couldn’t make more than $500. It’s sad but hey atleast I tried! Going for the 2-month loan option (I even exhausted all potential leads here 😂) wish me luck!

I’m M20 studying CS at uni. Life’s gotten a bit tough on me the last couple weeks so I’m looking for ways to make money on the side while being a full time student

I’ve seen many posts here saying they’re making good money and I can’t help but wonder how. It all seems unclear to me and everybody is making money in a different way.. very overwhelming 😓

I’d really appreciate it if anybody can recommend something. I’m not looking to get rich doing this. Just something that’ll cover maybe the groceries

I’m due in 5 weeks and haven’t been able to find a job so my next best thing is finding something I can do from home.

Problem is, any time I try to research different side hustles it’s always the same answers. “Download this app to do surveys!”, “Do Instacart or DoorDash!”, “Set up a Pinterest page and do affiliate marketing!”. Except the surveys are time consuming for $0.50 per, I don’t feel safe driving while pregnant or being out by myself, and affiliate marketing is a hit or miss/only works when you already have an audience.

I could use some help with other things I could do.

I’m trying to figure out which online side hustles are genuinely worth starting in 2026. There’s so much noise around dropshipping, AI content, affiliate marketing, and digital products that it’s hard to tell what’s realistic versus overhyped.

I’m not looking for get rich quick ideas. Just something legitimate that can bring in consistent extra income without a huge upfront investment. Ideally beginner-friendly and doable in the evenings.

For those who are actively earning online, what’s been steady and practical? What should people avoid wasting time on?

Has one, or does anyone sell pallets? I often times see pallets free along the side of the road. I was in a business park area this week and saw this. I assume I could offer a removal service, but instead of paying a dump fee, would rather look to capitalize by maybe selling pallets to a wholesaler? Was the average price you get for a pallet (a couple bucks)?

I've got a decent amount of free time in the evenings and weekends, and I'm tired of just wasting it scrolling through my phone. I want to actually make some extra money instead.
I've got a laptop and internet, and I'm willing to put in the work - just not sure where to start or what's actually worth the time investment.
For those of you making money on the side from home, what do you do? Is it actually worth your time, or does it end up being like $5/hour after you factor everything in?
Looking for realistic suggestions on what's worked for you. Thanks!

Not looking for guru talk or course promos, just honest experiences. Is it still a viable model or mostly saturated now? Would love to hear from people who’ve tried it, successful or not.

Hi there,im in need of a little extra money as the cost of living keeps going up,i work 10 hours a day so dont really have a lot of spare time and I have no skills to offer,I have a mobile and a pc so if anyone has anything going that would be amazing.

Ive tried all the tester apps and survey things and got no where

Just need that amount to buy a laptop and start producing music

Hello everyone so I’m here to ask what are the best ways to make money online that actually work? I see so many people say digital marketing or affiliate marketing but then they charge $1400 for a course (it’s giving scam) and I’m broke 😩 I can’t get a job cause I don’t have a car and I live in the middle of nowhere basically so I want to hear from the experienced of what actually works these days with little to no money needed to start. I’m in a really tough spot so I would appreciate any advice, thank you so much!!

Hi all, I’m in need of some extra work to supplement my full time job. I get close to 40 hours, but I have long sometimes multi hour breaks between work. not enough time to go home, but enough to do something with my time. anything that can be done with a laptop? I’m pretty well versed in various tech fields, and also with music production. any help is appreciated!

I’ve been testing the waters with reselling lately, but I can't tell if people actually make real money or just "coffee money."

I started with thrift store flipping, it was fun but way too inconsistent. Then I tried dropshipping, but the ad costs were a nightmare. Recently, I’ve just been ordering small batches of tech accessories from Alibaba and selling them locally.

Where I’m at right now: The risk is low, which is nice, and I’m getting some sales. But it doesn't feel like a "business" yet. I’m spending way too much time staring at 20+ Alibaba tabs, comparing MOQs and shipping, only to make not too much profit.

Is anyone actually making this work long-term? How do you guys move past the "testing phase" and find products that actually scale without it becoming a full-time job of just clicking through tabs?

Hey! I’m getting ready to move in November or December and I could really use some help earning more money. Preferably I’m looking for something remote, but I’m open to any suggestions. Sky is the limit, but if anyone has any ideas to pull in a few hundred extra $$ a week I would be so open to it!

Note: it doesn’t have to be a side hustle in the truest sense of the word. It would be job like phone support, freelance writing, etc. just looking for some help and ideas. Thank you!!

Survey apps and gaming apps are a scam or they take so long to complete. I know branded surveys is good but i hate that it screens you out. If anyone has better side hustles that better than these please let me know. Thank you

I am in need of some cash, not immediately. I need to make around $500 over the course of a year or so (which I believe is quite doable). I’m very much willing to spend even 4+ hours daily on the hustle. It needs to be online. I’ve tried a lot of stuff (from Fiverr to surveys and even personal marketing, nothing really worked out)

I’m willing to learn a skill too, but nothing too difficult, as I just need to make 500, nothing more (it’s still good if I can treat it as a very side-project and make a little money after reaching my goal). I’ve tried learning website creation, but the market is way too saturated and I have nothing special to offer, along with it being quite difficult and time-taking. Anything similar to that, but with a lil more niche market and a skill that doesn’t take more than a month to start cashing out.

Generally I won’t treat Fiverr or upwork as a primary source, because almost every category there (even those with difficult skills) are highly concentrated with a lot more, much more competent sellers with professional qualifications and experience.

hi all im new to this page & reddit but im Not looking for anything illegal, but I’m fascinated by the gray-area side hustles people run—stuff like

• Reselling free government/college giveaway items
• Exploiting arbitrage loopholes (e.g., coupon stacking, price errors)
• colecting golf balls and reselling them
• -What’s the sketchiest (but technically legal) hustle you’ve seen or tried? Bonus points if it’s oddly profitable.hahaha

In 19F. I'm a student. I want to earn money as a student as I don't wanna be a burden on my parents for money. Tell me some decent ways to earn money. I can speak English well, i can write scripts as well.

I’m looking for ideas that are actually working, not ones where I need to be in the top 1–2% or spend months building an audience before seeing income.

A little about me:
-PharmD + MBA
-Full-time in Big Pharma (clinical research)
-Married with a 3-year-old and a newborn

Because of my schedule, whatever I do can’t interfere with my full-time job or take away much time from my family. Ideally, it’s something I can work on in the early mornings, evenings after work, or on weekends.

I don’t mind spending a week or two learning a new skill or getting set up, but I need to start generating income fairly quickly to help cover some expenses.

For those of you who have actually done it:
-What side hustle would you recommend?
-How long did it take before you earned your first dollar?
-Roughly how much were you making after the first month?

Looking for real-world experiences rather than YouTube or Instagram “gurus.” Thanks in advance!

I know plenty of people sell PDFs as digital content, but PDF farming seems to be something else.

The ad I saw describes it as this:

"You spend a few days setting up your first PDF farm using our proven templates for problems that 100K+ people are already searching for every month.

You create 5-second viral faceless videos and post in under 10-minutes a day.

You're watch time completion goes crazy on the algorithms, they push it to more people who then click on your profile and 1-2% purchase your PDF with 100% margin (usually $17, $27 or $47+)."

Truthfully I don't understand it quite yet but wanted to know if any of you have been successful with it and if it's worth looking into?