A friend of mine was struggling to cover rent last year.
She had a decent job but it wasn’t enough.
One weekend, she tried pet-sitting for a neighbor.
By Sunday night, she had made $180 (just for walking dogs and keeping the pets company).
That one gig turned into regular weekend work.
Now she’s booked almost every weekend.
Turns out, she’s not the only one — and it all started with a simple Reddit search for ways to make extra money.
Reddit is full of people sharing real ways they earn extra cash — no fluff, no fake guru advice.
Reddit Thread That Inspired People to Make Extra Money
Recently, a user named Frosty-Comment6412 asked in the r/AskWomenOver30 subreddit: “What are your ‘side hustles’ or ways you earn a little extra?”
The other people replies were full of smart, simple ideas.
Some make a few hundred a month. Others pull in thousands.
Here are the best responses — straight from real Reddit users making it work.
1. “I work from home, so I’m signed up as a Rover pet sitter and only take listings in my (very large) apartment complex! That way I can walk other dogs alongside my guy (who loves other dogs but is weirdly nervous walking alone) and pop in on all my neighbors cute pets while making some extra cash.”
“In my current area, the rates are usually $40 for an overnight, $20 per drop-in visit (like if I went 2x per day to feed, walk, and play with them for a bit), or $15 for a 30-minute walk! When I lived in NYC it was much higher, but that was when I was mostly using the service, not working for them 🙂 I also have repeat customers that I trust in my complex now—so sometimes I just trade off dog sitting with them when I need to go out of town and my dude needs a friend near home!”
2. “A lot of UK banks will pay you about £150-£175 to switch your bank to them, so I’ve done this a few times now.”
—u/Penguin335
3. “I’m a professional cuddler on the side.”
—u/AlamarAlamar
4. “I virtual assist, which is basically me checking other people’s emails and stuff for another 10 hours a month. I had to set my own business so it’s a commitment but it’s good and only mine.
I plan for this to be my full time income by the time my toddler is in kindergarten.”
5. ”This won’t apply to that many people- but I’m a doctor and I take extra shifts at the hospital. I was looking at my w2 and realized I made $38,000 extra this year due to my extra shifts.”
6. “Churning credit cards.”
“I only recommend doing this if you are 100% financially responsible and sort of enjoy doing it. I think most people would think it’s a giant pain in the ass at minimum, but it’s like a game to me.”
7. “Server/bartender. I work every weekend and eventually want to let it go, but I love the hospitality industry, food, and business I work at. I work about 24 hours between two weekends and bring home at least $500 every two weeks. Lately it’s been trending more towards $750-900 every two weeks so about $1000-1800 addl every month.”
8. “Not attainable or desirable for many but I’m a landlord. I bought a two family home, live in one unit and rent the other. The rental income offsets the mortgage payment by about 60% (though my tenant has lived here for 3.5 years and I have not raised the rent. Market rate would be quite a bit higher). Since it’s only 1 unit it’s not a huge amount of work, plus I do a lot of tenant screening and don’t raise the rent so tenants tend to stick around for multiple years.”
9. “Seasonally I work PT for a concert venue as an usher or ticket taker. Last year I made about $2500 extra and was able to pick and choose what I worked.”
—u/Sbhill327
10. “Market research and selling stuff on eBay. I averaged an extra $360 a month with this last year.”
—u/ngng0110
11. “I tutor kids (math, physics, chemistry and english) as a side hustle and it contributes 41% of my total income.”
“My side hustle is registered and I pay taxes on it. That being said, when I started working I posted an ad on my Facebook profile and my friends shared the post. I’ve never had to repost since I can barely take on all of the clients.”
12. “I’m a cook in a private hospital, have been there around four year and I get around $30ph nzd. Recently I advertised on Marketplace as a housekeeper, $40ph cash, 2 hours minimum per visit. I work hard, but get paid well. I do everything related to housekeeping, cleaning, ironing, making meals whatever. I listen to audiobooks while I work. After I finish at the hospital, I go clean a house for 2-3 hours.”
—u/NZ-Food-Girl
13. “Cat sitting! My work schedule is very flexible but even when it wasn’t I would still get so busy around any holiday that I would be turning down work. November and December it’s an extra 8-10k but the key is to pick up good clients throughout the year since people are less likely to book a new sitter for a week-long trip especially with the additional holiday fees.”
“My previous career was in culinary/hospitality so I also pick up shifts with catering companies through staffing agencies if I have spare time. Easy work and most of the time their expectations are very low lol.”
—u/limetot
14. “I own my business, but it’s seasonal so I’m off in the winter. I’m also older so my bones turn to dust if I’m sedentary for too long so two years ago I delivered groceries during the winter so I would walk more. I ended up walking like 2 miles a day and I lost a bunch of weight (bonus!), but I hated the driving. So last season I started selling vintage shit on eBay and as my winter gig. It turned into another full time job, lol.”
15. “I sell real estate as a side hustle. I’m in a big city. I’m not making crazy amounts because my deals are small + they take time, and I can only handle a handful with my demanding f/t. It’s been my investing/travel/play money for over ten years now and I love having this additional stream.”
16. “I recently started selling my nice-but-not-actually-worn (or used) things on Poshmark. It’s not a meaningful income by any means, but it makes me feel good to clear out space and make a little petty cash and not feel so much buyer’s remorse over not actually wearing (or using) the thing. It started with a wedding dress because, like…what do you do with a wedding dress? And then spread to other parts of my closet :)”
—u/Olivia_VRex
17. “I teach yoga on the side. two days a week, one hour classes. half hour set up and half hour cleaning up the studio after. occasionally i’ll pick up a few extra shifts. i made 4500 last year doing this! i also work for a national chain, so i get a free membership and a plus one! i also got my yoga teaching certificate for free with them under a scholarship (value 4,000)…so worth it. plus i love how people feel after they leave my class.”
Got a way you make extra money on the side? Don’t keep it to yourself — drop it in the comments!
You never know who you might help.
If you’re looking for even more proven ideas, check out this list of
👉 10 High-Paying Side Hustles You Can Start Today
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
