Whether you want some fun money, trying to pay off debt, or saving for a new-to-you car, you may be asking, “How can I make $100 a day?” That sounds like a good goal!
You want to know what ways are the best and which ones are not worth your time and effort, and you’ll learn that here. I’ll take you through 11 legit ways to make $100 a day.
This post answers the question, “How can I make $100 a day?”
Sometimes you need a little help with the budget – and that’s okay. This can happen even if your budget balances, but you need a bit more margin throughout the month. And if you’re a low-income earner learning how to make $100 a day can add up to life-changing money.
When it comes to making $100 a day, there are online and offline (or in-person) ways to make money. In this post, I will focus on ways to give you the most bang for your buck, so to speak. You won’t find surveys or too many microtasks. The focus here is to get the needle moving quickly and in a huge way.
This post is all about answering the question, “How can I make $100 a day?”
How Can I Make $100 a Day?
1. Food and grocery delivery
Food and grocery delivery means signing up for delivery services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, Instacart, Shipt, or Grubhub. What you deliver will depend on which service you’re approved to drive for. Each service has its own requirements and positions are not always open (I’m looking at you, Instacart). So be sure to check for availability in your area before signing up to drive.
Also, this will require a bit of wear and tear on your vehicle, scooter, or bicycle, so make sure your maintenance is up to date, or you’ll end up putting all of your earnings back into your ride.
Another thing to note is these services will issue a form 1099 during the next calendar year detailing your earnings from the previous year. I’m not an attorney or licensed tax professional, so be sure to consult one in this case. The 1099 form is because you are an independent contractor – not an employee. This will be the case for most items on this list unless you get a second or third job. Because of this, you’ll have to set aside a portion of your earnings to pay taxes the next year. I can’t tell you how much to set aside, but I set aside 20% of my earnings.
I’ve done food and grocery delivery in my car and on my bicycle for Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Postmates. I’ve never delivered for the other services, but they all operate in much the same manner. They are pretty straightforward in how you earn money. Just be sure to follow company best practices and stay in the busy areas to reduce downtime between deliveries.
2. Freelance writing
If you’re even a halfway decent writer, you can make money as a freelance writer. Forgive my sarcastic tone, but you do not have to be Shakespeare to write to earn extra money. Flowery prose not required. This isn’t to say that you can be a terrible writer and succeed. It doesn’t work that way either. But some skill is required depending on what you want to write.
You can write blog posts, podcast scripts, YouTube video scripts, whitepapers, annual reports, online articles, newspaper articles, ebooks, print books, product descriptions, and so much more. Hey, someone has to write the ad for the local plumber, right?
My point is that there is no shortage of things to write and ways to make money at it. In order to meet your $100-a-day goal, you’ll need to write for someone else and stay off of places like Fiverr and Upwork. Go directly to clients for freelance work and let everyone know you are available for such work.
To find out more about freelance writing, I took a course by freelance writer and blogger Elna Cain called Write Your Way to Your First $1k. And you can find out more about becoming a freelance writer at Elna’s blog, Elna Cain.
My first paid article, back in 2019, was for exactly $100!
3. Freelance web design
Now this is one that is going to require a little bit of technical expertise, but it isn’t as daunting as it sounds. I’ve been designing websites since 2008 when I was a computer teacher and platforms like WordPress have come a very long way since then. These days you can use drag-and-drop builders like Elementor, Divi, and Thrive Architect to design wonderful blogs.
But designing a website from the ground up isn’t the only way to make money as a web designer. Have you ever bought a theme and noticed the developer also offers setup of the theme for a fee? That fee can be $150+. In fact, when I bought this theme from 17th Avenue Designs, it would have cost me around $250 for them to install this new theme over my existing content. This was after I had already paid $49 for my theme (which is awesome, don’t you think?).
My point is that you may not have the skills today to build an entire site with custom code, but you can learn enough to customize some themes for bloggers, coaches, consultants, and more. In fact, it’s even on my list of ways to make money in the future. (By the way, hit me up on IG if you’re interested in buying that service.)
Selling this service for even $150 gets you past your goal of $100 in one day and definitely makes the list of how to make $100 fast without a job.
4. Sell printables on Etsy
Selling printables on Etsy is something I actually do now. A printable is simply a downloadable file someone buys from you that they can print on their own. They may print it at home or at an office supply store. In support of this blog, I sell budgeting printables on Etsy in the SavvyBudgetGirlTV shop. But these aren’t the only types of printables you can sell.
You can sell coloring sheets, trackers, planners, word art, and so much more. Search “printables” on Etsy, and you’ll see what I mean.
5. Drive for Uber or Lyft
You don’t have to just deliver food or groceries. You can deliver people too! Sign up as a driver for Uber or Lyft and start making extra money with your car.
A few additional things to keep in mind:
- As I mentioned before, you’ll be an independent contractor so set aside money for taxes and keep all of your receipts related to maintaining and operating your vehicle as an independent contractor.
- Be sure you comply with relevant insurance laws in your state for driving people. Some jurisdictions require you to have commercial insurance on your vehicle in case of an accident. Don’t skimp on this.
- There are usually stricter vehicle requirements for driving people rather than delivering food. Don’t buy a new car for this, but if your current vehicle isn’t up to par, consider delivering food or another side hustle.
6. Clean homes or offices
Do you love to clean? Or at least can you tolerate it enough to earn some extra money while doing it? If so, this can be a great place to start. Lots of people like me have physical limitations that make it hard to clean for extended periods of time on a regular basis, and we need help! Busy professionals, seniors, businesses, etc all need cleaning help. You could even specialize in cleaning Airbnbs or cars for Turo.
My point here is that cleaning is in such a high demand that you should easily be able to make $100 in one day cleaning. Again, you’ll have to secure the clients yourself because you might not make your goal if you choose this as a job rather than a side hustle. Stand out by offering eco-friendly cleaning, apartment deep cleaning, services to real estate agents, and other specialized groups that could use your elbow grease.
7. Pet sitting or house sitting
In order for this to work and not be overrun by sitting for 10 dogs in a day, you’ll have to narrow your potential client list to those with sizeable disposable income. They don’t have to be millionaires, but they should probably make close to $100k/year or more. You want people who can afford your services and won’t try to shortchange you because their budget is too tight.
With pet sitting or house sitting, be sure to offer any upsells that could get you to your $100 dollar-a-day goal. That could be taking pets to the vet, shopping for pet supplies, grooming (if you’re licensed to do that), collecting mail, sorting mail, looking after plants, and otherwise making it look like the house is occupied so as to deter burglars.
Get creative with this, and you’ll be able to make more money by setting yourself apart from the average sitter.
8. Become a virtual assistant
Becoming a virtual assistant, or VA, is a popular side hustle. While some may think VAs are limited to administrative tasks, the fact is a VA can do a variety of specialized tasks for a business owner. You can charge by the hour or by the project, depending on what services you offer.
There are many courses out there on how to become a VA, but I would first do some Google research and find out what types of services VAs typically offer and see where your skillset lies.
9. Edit videos or podcasts
As a content creator, I learned how to do all of the editing for my content on my own. At times I’ve hired video editors and paid hundreds of dollars per month for the privilege. I don’t pay an editor anymore, but I have been both a video editor and a podcast editor. I also edit my own podcasts right now.
This is the type of work that I would not suggest charging by the hour but rather by the project. If you want something based on hours, then offer a set number of hours of content you’ll edit for the month. For example, charge for a month of your services or charge for (4) 60-minute podcast episodes. You can also offer a discount if someone signs up for multiple months of your service.
When you are determining your price, don’t forget to charge adequately for your expertise and the costs of running your business (such as the cost of software or a new computer).
10. Sell items online (maybe)
I hesitated to put this one on the list because I don’t believe this is a good long-term solution.
In the midst of decluttering or furiously looking for items to sell for money, you may come across items of value that would be worth selling. Of course, now that means either having a garage sale or putting the items for sale online. And then you’ll need to pick the online marketplace based on what you’re selling (Facebook, Mercari, eBay, Poshmark, etc).
Once you’ve run out of stuff to sell, in order to keep this side hustle going, you’ll need to acquire new items to flip for a profit. That’s called retail arbitrage. If you want to get into that, cool, but be aware that it will require significant research on your part to select and buy profitable items. This is not for the faint of heart!
11. Become a Tutor
Last but not least is tutoring others for money. While you could go the standard tutoring route and tutor general subjects such as math, history, and English, I believe you’ll make more money specializing in areas like LSAT, MCAT, civil service exams, personal trainer exams, the RD (registered dietitian) exam, NCLEX, etc. These exams, and the prep for them, can be intense and people want to pass the first time around.
Create a website, flashcards for sale, study guides, and offer individual and group tutoring. You can also offer tutoring for the particularly hard math class at your school no one seems to be able to pass. Either way, the key is to set yourself apart and specialize.
Bonus: Become a Personal Shopper
I included this one because it just sounds like fun. I actually wanted to do this as a side hustle but never did. Beyond people needing groceries and food delivered, for this tip I’m envisioning shopping for gifts and clothes, assisting in car shopping, and other big-ticket items. Just as you would get assistance from someone at a fancy dress shop, someone could hire you to do the shopping for them. Maybe you have prior experience selling cars, as I do. In that case, hire yourself as a car-buying expert and help people save money on their next purchase while earning a commission.
In the end, regardless of how you choose to make $100 a day, you can be sure there are many opportunities out there to do so. You have to get connected with the right people who are willing to pay you to do something they can’t, won’t, or just don’t have time to do. If you can save people time and money, you’ve got a good start.
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