15 {Legit} Ways to Make an Extra $1,500 a Month

With the holidays just behind us and Valentine’s Day only a few weeks away, the wallet can seem pretty slim at times. Having to stretch finances, miss fun activities, or even struggle to pay monthly bills can put a lot of extra stress on you and your family. However, instead of cutting away at your budget, why not try to add a little more to it? No, you don’t need to go pick up a job at the local frozen yogurt store to pay those bills, there are actually tons of other ways to make money. In fact, here’s a list of 15 legitimate ways you can make an extra $1,500 a month, depending on how many and how much you decide to do.

First off, I recommend you start a blog. Not only is it a super enjoyable (and even de-stressing) activity, it’s also a great way to make some extra cash. Lots of people think you have to be some young celebrity or genius advertiser in order to make money on a blog, but that’s simply not true. In fact, many bloggers make six-figure incomes working very few hours from home. It is a great way to do something you like, while you have a flexible schedule and work from home. It has allowed me to stay home with my kiddies and earn a six-figure income to help support our family. We have paid off student loans, car loans, bought a few fun toys (hello camping!) and allowed us to take the kids on some pretty fun vacations. When I started blogging, I had no idea that I would be able to pay off debt and completely provide for my family. If you are interested in working from home and starting a blog, visit my step by step tutorial. Two of the most common ways to make money from a blog are affiliate marketing and advertising.
A quick jump over from blogging is ghost writing. You still provide written content, but you don’t have to worry about running the blog business and taking care of other aspects. You simply just have to write. And, if you’re really good at this, you can work for multiple companies on numerous projects while still keeping your day job.
If you love doing photography, then there’s a whole load of side gigs you can do to make extra cash every month. If you don’t want to worry about dealing with people for portrait photography then you could do real estate photography. All you need to do is have a good camera and a good eye for quality pictures. With more than 90% of home buyers using the Internet to find future homes, realtors are in high need of photographers to make their properties look beautiful and professional online.
If teaching has always been a passion of yours, then try tutoring to make some extra cash. You can even do online tutoring so that you don’t have to leave your house! Websites like Chegg will pay you up to $20 an hour to tutor their service users. A bit of processing is required in the beginning to make sure you’re a valid and trustworthy tutor, but once you get approved, you can be making money and learning every day.
Closely tied to academic tutoring, is teaching English as a second language. And the best part is that you (probably) don’t have to even study to be qualified to teach English, you probably already know it! There are lots of ways to get involved in teaching English as a second language, from local opportunities to online ones, as well. The longer you do it and the better you are, the more money you can make. You could even get involved in private tutoring lessons!
If you’ve always wanted to be a movie star but just never made it to Hollywood, then there’s still hope for you to accomplish that dream. Start a YouTube channel and, if you’re dedicated enough, you can quickly get up to earning $1,500 a month for ads and other promotional material. Not only is this extra money every month, but it’s also a great way to blow off steam, get creative, and have fun!
Earn some extra income by using your talents! If you have art skills, find places to do face painting on the side! You’d be surprised at how many birthday parties, community events, and fairs are looking for face painters. You don’t have to be the next Picasso, you just need to be good at basic designs and patterns and not be afraid of painting people’s faces. Some really good face painters have even made up to an extra $12,000 a year in doing face painting.
During the summer and warmer season, mowing lawns and doing lawn care is a great way to make some extra money on the side. Depending on the size of the lawn, you can make anywhere from (usually) $10 to $70 per lawn. The average lawn probably takes about 45 minutes to mow and pays $25 to $30 dollars. If you were to just mow ten lawns every week then you’d already be around $1,000. Add some hedge trimming and flower maintenance to your package and you’ll easily make $1,500 a month.
An incredibly easy way to make some extra money on the side is renting out any extra space you have in your home or rent out your actually home when you’re on vacation somewhere! You make money by doing nothing. Programs and companies like airbnb give you access to a wide range of guests who may need a place to stay in your hometown. You just have to pass the host application and you can start making money right away!
Much like Airbnb, companies like Uber and Lyft let you use your own assets to make money on a big scale. You can become a “homemade” taxi driver through some companies that schedule and coordinate all the rides you’ll give. These programs usually let you keep up to 80% of the price of the ride, so it’s a pretty hefty sum of money! This is especially great if you live in a big city where tourism is high.
This idea may seem random, but parking lot cleanup is apparently a great way to make money on the side, and sometimes has made people more money than their day jobs. If you love being outdoors and don’t mind a little bit of hard work, this could be a great option for you. The best part is that it doesn’t require any specialized education, just a desire to make contacts and get to work.
Do people tell you that you’re hilarious? If so, consider doing comedy as a job on the side to make some extra cash. From small weekend activities to huge corporate events, your comedy can bring a smile to people’s faces and some extra cash to your wallet. If you’re really good at it, you could make up to $20,000 per event and even get invited to travel to places like Australia and South Africa!
Turn your musical interests into a source of income with a little bit of hard work and perseverance! It’s actually relatively easy to get a music gig at local restaurants and hangouts. You may have to charge low fees (or not at all), but if you’re good, then you can quickly start making a steady flow of cash. Your goal doesn’t have to be fame (although that would be nice), but with a decent music job you can easily make $1,500 of extra income.
If you want a little risk in order to get that extra reward, consider peer lending. In essence, this is where you loan your own money out to people who are in need of funds to start projects or companies. The program is well vetted in making sure that lenders don’t get scammed and get paid. You might not make money right away, but the benefits can start rolling in if you’re patient, plus you might hit a goldmine, you never know.
For those of you who love sports, then look at part time coaching positions around the community. Many of the community programs and even some schools open their positions to community members if they can’t get a teacher or volunteer. This would let you be outside and in fresh air while getting paid to hang out with young kids! I didn’t coach when I was younger, but I did work sidelines at football games. I just had to stand in the sun and walk a little bit for some extra, easy-made cash.