This post would become incredibly long if we were to list down all the things that are getting costlier. In times like these, even a small splurge can leave you guilt-ridden, or with lighter wallets. Well, that need not be the case if you are even slightly enterprising. The internet can come to your rescue, and all you have to do is attempt the right opportunities. From my years as a personal blogger, a financial planner, and – in the want of a better phrase – ‘searcher of things’ on the internet, I have found several methods which people can (and actually do) use to make a small but consistent side income. Here are five of those ways you can make money online. These are all legal, ethical, and do not require, in most cases, any specialised skill.
Auction Stuff You Do Not Need
One close inspection of your house and you are sure to find many things that can fit this list. There are old books which can be put for sale. (Many shopping platforms have the provision of selling old books.) You can take your old clothes and head to places with good exchange offers on clothing. Even high-cost things like your old electronics, furniture etc. can be sold for a good price on online platforms like OLX and Quikr. There are several Facebook groups for key Indian metros where people sell and buy stuff all the time.
Take Paid Surveys
Many organisations are now using the internet for getting crucial surveys. The best part – they pay you to participate in them. Paid surveys are incredibly popular in international markets and are gradually getting popular in India too. Some of the popular sites offering paid surveys are Triaba, PanelPlace and SurveySavvy. Getting paid for sharing opinions – earning money doesn’t get easier than this.
List Your Spare Room On Airbnb
Many of us live independently. Especially in the case of singles, people have an entire house to themselves. So why let that extra space go unused? Just list your spare room on home-listing sites like Airbnb. That way, you earn some extra money for no extra effort. Let’s not forget you get to meet fellow travellers and get many stories and perspectives which you otherwise might never get exposed to.
Write And Monetize
In some or the other form, we consume quite a lot of written content over the internet. Every niche has its audience online, and you can benefit from that too. Tap into the writer in you and create your blog/website. Once the blog has a sizeable audience, monetising the blog would give you a pretty good source of income. This is how you can monetize your website with Google ads.
Play Rummy
I was mildly surprised to find out that Rummy is considered a legal game by the Supreme Court of India. Most of us have played this game at some point in our lives. Either with friends at parties or with family during festivals. If you’re good at it, there are various websites that let you play with real money and encash your earnings when you win. I found RummyCulture quite simple and easy to get used to. I played a few practice games to warm up and then played cash games. While modest, I did take away some money, purely on the basis of my skill.
All these tips are practical and easy to start. There are other ways to build an income-source online but they either require higher skill or more time. A word of caution here. Please ensure you do not sign up for any Ponzi scheme or click on those seemingly-unreal ads that promise you lakhs of rupees each month. Nevertheless, go ahead and try one of these methods and let me know how it goes.