Last Updated on September 23, 2021 by BookScouter

Extra cash never hurt anybody. What would you do with 50 dollars? Maybe you could use the cash to have a nice dinner out, or pay an overdue bill, or even buy yourself something nice. Here are FIFTY ways to make $50 instantly (or more!) on the side.

Sell Used Books

1. Use the BookScouter app to sell your used books! It’s easy – just download the app and scan the book’s barcode to see quotes from book buyback companies. Textbooks sell best, but sometimes paperbacks will sell as well. I regularly make several hundred dollars a month using BookScouter.

Sell Unwanted Clutter

2. Use Facebook Marketplace to sell some of your unwanted clutter. Marketplace is especially great for large items like furniture and sporting goods that would be difficult or expensive to ship.

Get Cashback

3. Download the ibotta app to get you cash back on grocery purchases you would make anyway. I started using it for my family of four less than two years ago and I’ve already made $223.15.

Earn Rewards on Bing

4. Use Bing as your search engine and earn rewards points every time you search online. Redeem your points for gift cards to places like Amazon and Starbucks – it might take some time to get $50 in gift cards, but it’s the easiest money you could possibly make!

Cash Bonus

5. Lots of credit card companies offer a cash bonus when you open a credit card (which you can do online) and spend a certain amount in the first month. I recently earned $200 as a bonus when I got a new credit card!

Complete Surveys to Make $50 Instantly

6. Complete surveys through a site like SurveySavvy or Swagbucks.

YouTube Channel

7.  Start your own Youtube channel! Find your niche (cake decorating! reviewing toys! dog training instructions!) and make interesting content. Before long you’ll be able to run ads and rake in some cash.

Freelance Writing

8. Try your hand at freelance writing. Sites like Penny Hoarder will pay you for well-written content. I’ve made about $75 each for articles like this one.

Free Lottery Tickets

9. Give your luck a try with an app like Lucktastic, which lets you do free scratch-off lottery tickets to win real prizes. You might not win at all, but some players have won up to $15,000!

Freelance your Skills

10. Fiverr.com is a freelance marketplace that allows you to offer your services for as little as $5. You can offer easy things like data entry or more skilled labor, like web design or video editing, if you have the relevant skills. You can set your own terms and make $50 in almost no time!

Invest

11. Get started with an investing app like Stash or Acorns. Both apps enable you to invest small amounts of money and have good track records with returns on investments. Plus, these apps often provide bonuses to new users!

Sell Stock Photos

12. Do you take awesome photos? Try your hand at selling stock photos on a site like Bigstock or Foap.

Don’t Ignore eBay

13. Offload your old collectibles on ebay. You might be surprised what you can make!

Sell Old Clothes

14. Clean out your closet and send your clean, gently used items to ThredUp. They’ll send you a clean-up kit and they’ll even pay for shipping – just fill up the bag and send it back. You might make $50 and you’ll definitely love your freshly organized closet!

Sell Old Electronic Devices

15. Who doesn’t have an old cell phone squirreled away in a drawer somewhere? Trade yours in for cash! Websites like Buybackworld make it quick and painless.

Earn Cashback on your Online Shopping

16. Use Rakuten (formerly known as ebates) when you’re shopping online. It will help you earn cash back on your purchases. And they offer a bonus for first-time users! I’ve made $52.87 so far using this app.

Sell old CDs

17. Dust off that stack of CDs you never use anymore. Use the Decluttr app to sell them all and make yourself some dough!

Start a blog

18. Start a blog about something you love – classic cars, sea kayaking, whatever. You can monetize your blog by running ads. It might take a while for you to get to $50 but if you stay with it you’ll get there eventually. And if you’re blogging about something you love, you’ll have fun in the meanwhile.

Check Unclaimed Funds

19. Search state and federal unclaimed funds to see if you are owed any money. For example, you may have missed out on a rebate or overpaid on a bill but never received the refund. There’s nothing better than digging up money you didn’t even know you had!

Search for Class Action Lawsuits

20. Do a Google search for current class action lawsuits. Recently a snack food company I often purchase snacks from received a major judgment against them for false advertising. I was able to file a claim and score some cash!

Rent your Place Out

21. Give Airbnb or vrbo (Vacation Rental By Owner) a try! It might take some work to spruce up your place and get it ready, but listing it can be a great way to earn some extra money. It can work out especially well if you go away on long trips yourself – your vacant place might as well earn you some cash while you’re off having fun.

Pet-Sitting and Babysitting

22. Offer your pet-sitting or babysitting services online. Sure, this will require you to do some real work offline, but it makes it takes a lot of the work out of booking your gigs. Sites like care.com make it easy, but you can also just post on social media and let your local community know you’re available.

Reward Programs

23. Sign up for all the rewards programs you can find. Kellogg’s, Starbucks, Purina, and many other companies offer rewards programs with points for purchasing their products. Often you can redeem the points for gift cards. Score!

Credit Card Bonuses

24. Don’t forget to take advantage of your credit card bonuses. Most credit cards offer a cash back percentage on your purchases. If yours doesn’t, try switching to Chase Sapphire. Then use your credit card for as many purchases as possible – just plan to pay the balance off in full every month.

Flip Used Stuff to Make $50 Fast

25. Start flipping used stuff for a profit. You can shop at the thrift store for things that might have a higher resale value online, or you can find things that need work (like furniture) and fix them up. Peruse the thrift store, craigslist, freecycle, or facebook Marketplace for good stuff. It’s amazing how much more money you can make simply by taking more flattering photos of your merchandise. Check out this article for tips.

Online Studies

26. Do your part for science by participating in online studies through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Each study typically pays very little, but they’re often very easy to do (potentially even while you’re bingeing Netflix) and that money eventually adds up!

Sell Other People’s Stuff

27. It’s common sense to make money by selling your extra stuff, but what about selling other people’s stuff? Once you have your ebay account set up, ask around to friends and family to see if anyone has stuff lying around that they want to sell. You could agree on a flat rate upon the sale of their items or you could charge a percentage of the final sale value. You get your money and as an added bonus, you get to help your friends and family line their pockets too!

Set up and Etsy Shop

28. Are you crafty or artsy? If so, think about setting up an Etsy shop. My friend has always had a creative streak and when she finally got around to opening an etsy store, she couldn’t believe how much money she made. Less than a year after getting started on etsy, she had made enough to take her entire family on a Disney vacation.

Cashback with Dosh app

29. Download the Dosh app and link your credit card. Every time you use your credit card at one of the Dosh-affiliated retailers, you get automatic cash back! There are retailers available all over the place (e.g. I get automatic cash back when I order delivery from Papa Johns), but there tend to be more opportunities available in larger cities.

Cash Rebate

30. Many credit card companies are now offering special promotions where you can get a cash rebate on top of your usual credit card points. Log in to your credit card account to see if this is an option for you. Recent promotions from my credit card included extra money back at Starbucks and Auto Zone. You do have to opt in to the promotions before you spend the money though, so keep an eye out!

Allow to Track Your Internet Usage

31. Help the Nielsen Consumer Panel understand how people use the internet by allowing them to track your internet usage on your computer and smartphone. Your data will be kept anonymous and you’ll be compensated for your contribution.

User Testing

32. Give user testing a whirl. Companies will pay you to try out their websites and other user interfaces and give them feedback about your user experience. Get started at this link.

Be on a Mock Jury

33. Do you love crime TV? Ever daydreamed about being on a jury in a high-profile case? You should try being on a mock jury! Mock juries allow attorneys to have practice runs before they have to actually present their case in a real courtroom. You can mete out judgment from the comfort of your own couch, and get paid for it! Get started here.

Sell Avatars for Computer Games

34. Create and sell well-developed avatars for popular computer games. This can be profitable and very enjoyable if you’re big on gaming. The process may differ depending on the game, but you can just Google to get good information (e.g. “Sell Second Life avatar”).

Bet on Horse Races

35. In most states, it’s legal to bet on horse races online. Now, betting on anything is certainly not a sure thing, but you might get lucky. Just don’t count on it!

Play Online Poker

36. Try your hand (heh heh) at online poker. Just like horse betting, this is not a surefire way to make money. You can improve your odds by learning some basic strategies before you dig in.

Cryptocurrency

37. You’ve probably heard of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. There is money to be made in mining cryptocurrency, and there are lots of different types of cryptocurrencies. Here’s a handy guide to explain the basics.

Trade Foreign Currencies

38. Cryptocurrency isn’t your thing? Try real money. You can monitor currency exchange rates to trade foreign currencies at optimal times that will net you extra cash. This article explains how to get started.

Make an App

39. Make your own app! Sell it! Rake in the cash! Get started here.

Kickstarter

40. Why do you need to make $50? Are you trying to raise money to get a good idea off the ground? If so, try setting up a Kickstarter to crowdfund your idea. Or maybe you need some funds for a noble cause like finally paying off your student loans. If that’s the case, try GoFundMe. You might be surprised at how many people are willing to help you out!

Sweepstakes and Giveaways

41. Enter sweepstakes and giveaways. You never know when you might get lucky! Sweepstakes Advantage keeps a current listing of active sweeps. I’ve been doing this for about five months and have won over $300 in gift cards and merchandise.

Teach Online

42. Teach online. The appropriate qualifications vary depending on what you’re interested in teaching, but if you have a Master’s or PhD, consider teaching for an online university like Western Governor’s University. You’ll make a lot more than $50!

Online Tutoring

43. Not quite ready to teach a full course all on your own? Try online tutoring to get your feet wet.

Do Virtual Transcriptions

44. Bust out your listening ears and become a virtual transcriptionist.

Watch Videos

45. InboxDollars will literally pay you money to watch videos on your computer. There are tons of options to choose from. You’re probably watching some videos online anyway – you might as well get paid for it!

Write an eBook

46. Write your own eBook and publish it yourself. You can price it low to have better odds of it selling well. This article will give you some guidance.

Cancel your Free Trials on Time

47. You know all those places that are always trying to get you to sign up for a free trial? And then if you don’t remember to cancel the free trial, you end up having money automatically deducted from your bank account to continue the service? Well it turns out you can flip this around on the companies. If you’re well organized and never forget to cancel your trials, you can end up with some great free stuff that you could potentially turn into cash (e.g. by selling on ebay). Project Payday will help you figure out the basics.

Proofreading and Editing

48. If you have an eye for detail, try proofreading or editing others’ work. Here are some places to look for freelance proofreading work.

Sell Gift Cards

49. Have any gift cards sitting around that you don’t really plan to use? You can sell them on Raise! Many gift cards sell for close to the face value.

Think Outside the Box

50. Get creative! One time when I wanted some extra cash to pay on my student loans, I sold my ponytail on ebay for $82. Then I wrote an article about how to sell hair on ebay and I sold the article for $75. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box!

With this master list of ways to make $50 (or more) you can take the trip, make the investment, splurge, or save! You might also be able to replace some or all of your income by implementing some of these strategies. Side-hustles, even small ones, make a different in your financial freedom.

Written by BookScouter Contributor Crystal Koenig.