5 Ways to Get Paid Doing Things You Do Anyway

We all want extra ways to get paid. And, rightfully so. Life is expensive, and when it comes to building wealth, we know that the focus should definitely be on making more money, NOT saving every penny.

There’s the old but true saying that you need to have money to earn money. That’s because starting a business of any kind typically requires, well, capital.

But, what if you could get paid doing things you already do, with resources that you already have? Here are 5 ways that you can get paid to do things you already do anyway, with things you probably already have.

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Drive for Uber

Do you have a car? Do you drive to and from work? You basically have a business right in front of you that you can immediately start up. Get paid today!

Sign up to be an Uber driver and create your own hours, your own schedule, and your own terms, all while using things you already own. You can just turn on your app while you’re driving around for an extra couple of hours here or there.

A bonus? Since you’re essentially running a business, make sure you deduct all your business expenses from your taxes. That means the gas you use while driving, your car insurance, maintenance needed to uphold your business, and any Uber accessories you might have.

(Speaking of Uber accessories, I recommend getting this Uber tip box to help your riders have a better experience and, in return, generate some extra tips!)

Get cash back when shopping online

Do you shop online? If so, and you’re not using Ebates, you’re leaving money on the table. I’ve made nearly $200 back using Ebates in just a year, and I barely shop online!

You don’t have to only be shopping for clothes to use Ebates. I use Ebates for Amazon, which I use all the time. I’ve even used it on Ebay or when renting cars. You can get cash back using Ebates from nearly any purchase.

Ebates pays you every 6 months, either by sending a check or via PayPal (I prefer the latter).

If you sign up with my Ebates referral link here, Ebates will instantly put $10 into your account!

I also use Ebates to hack online shopping for clothes. When I’m browsing online for new clothes, I’ll keep the purchases I want in a Trello board. Then, I check Ebates weekly and when they have special deals for those stores, that’s when I’ll go back to my Trello board and purchase items from the store with an Ebates special.

For instance, Nordstrom will occasionally give 8% cash back through Ebates. When that happens, I’ll go buy items from Nordstrom I’ve had my eye on for a while, knowing I’m basically getting an 8% discount.

Post on social media

Do you post on social media? If so, you can make extra money sponsoring a product or service for your audience. Twitter and Instagram are most popular and common platforms where you can do this.

While you typically need a pretty healthy following to advertise on these and get paid, more often than not brands are looking for accounts with a very engaged and loyal following. If that speaks to you, try signing up with a site like Izea. It’s free and an easy way for brands to find you and work with you.

Here’s a video with three key points to have in mind when advertising on social media:

It can be difficult to grow social media accounts. I’ve never focused that hard on my Instagram following because I want it to be just a fun outlet to share my day-to-day life and connect with other young professionals (follow along with me here!). But, my friend Dayna (who has a beautiful Instagram account) made a super useful (free!) resource called The Hashtag Dictionary, which shows you which hashtags to use given your niche. It will greatly expand your Instagram following.

Walk dogs

If you have a dog, this is a super easy one. Just tack on a few extra furry guys to your daily walks and then wha-bam, you’re making extra money doing something you’d do anyway. An easy site to get started with is Rover. It’s is one of the most popular, flexible and lucrative dog-walking services out there. You can make up to $1,000/month on Rover and they have great support, so you don’t have to worry if anything goes wrong while you’re watching the dogs.

Let’s get real. You don’t even have to have a dog to do this one. Who wouldn’t want to spend their spare time hanging out with dogs? Honestly, I’d do it for free. I mean, look at these things:

(P.S. if you want to follow my family’s pug, you can do so here. It might explain some of my dog obsession.)

Selling your photos

If you’re a photographer, you can make super passive income by selling the photos you’ve already taken. You should have a DSLR camera (I wouldn’t recommend iPhones) and perhaps a light tent if your photos are indoors. (Disclaimer, I know almost nothing about photography. This advice is just from research I’ve done on how to maximize your income with selling stock photos).

Bloggers and online business owners are in constant demand for high-quality photographs. Few can afford an in-house photographer, and that’s where you come in.

It’s worth doing some research on where you’d like to sell your photos depending on whether or not you want credit for your photos. Some sites also require that you only sell photos with them, which might be limiting. Some examples of places to sell your photos are Freeditigalphotos.net, Shutterstock.com, and Alamy.