11 Lazy Ways to Make Money: Low Effort, High Reward

Do you want to make money without putting in much work? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, luckily there are a handful of lazy ways to make money that don’t require much effort on your part. From selling things you no longer need to renting out extra space in your home, here are 11 lazy ways to make money.

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links or referral links. I may earn a commission or credit if you make a purchase or sign up.

1. Sell your unwanted belongings

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you have any old clothes, furniture, electronics, or other items lying around that you don’t need, sell them! You can list your items on websites like Craigslist or Facebook marketplace, or take them to a consignment shop.

Be sure to do some research before pricing your items so you don’t end up giving them away for too little – or pricing them so high that you never sell any.

You can also check out apps that specialize in selling goods. For example, Poshmark is an app that specializes in secondhand clothing that’s higher end. I like that platform since they make shipping simple; you’ll get a pre-paid, pre-addressed label ready to be put on the package and it can be dropped off at any USPS location or picked up from your house. (If you want to shop on there as well, you can use code CHRISSYTHERD to get $10 off your first order).

Another website/app that’s helpful is ThredUp. You can send in your unwanted clothes and they will pay out when they sell (kind of like an online consignment shop). You’ll earn the most on high value brands like Gucci and Lululemon and earn some money on mid priced brands like Gap and Nike. You can send lower priced brands in too (like Old Navy or Forever 21) but they’ll be ineligible for payouts to you. (If you want to shop on there as well, use my ThreadUp link for a $10 credit).

Not only will decluttering your home give you a sense of relief, but it is one of the easiest ways to put extra money in your pocket.

2. Get paid to poop.

Yes, you read that correctly. Some companies are now willing to pay people to donate their stool for medical research purposes.

OpenBiome was previously one of the most popular companies for this, and they’ve already helped many people in the medical community through their work on fecal microbiota transplants.

While they are no longer taking stool samples, other companies are. For example, in the Boston area, there is the “Poop for a Purpose” program. Here are the requirements:

• Age 18-49
• Pass health screening
• Live in the Boston area
• Poop on site at their Cambridge location 3x/week.

Earn $50 every time you drop a deuce. At 3x/week, that’s an extra $600 month to just poop in someone else’s bathroom. (And bonus – you’ll save on toilet paper at your own place!).

3. Rent out extra space for visitors or storage.

Do you have an unused room in your house or apartment? Why not rent it out and make some extra cash?

One of the most traditional ways of doing this is using Airbnb. You can create a listing for your space and set your own price. If you live in a popular tourist area, this can be a great way to earn some extra money. Just make sure you’re comfortable with having strangers in your home.

Another option: If you live near a big medical center, you may find that traveling nurses, dietetic interns, or students in training programs may need a short-term housing solution. Sometimes the directors of these programs keep a list on hand of local folks who are willing to rent out a room. These renters are usually great because they may stay with you for several months at a time, providing consistent income and someone who is often at work.

One last idea in this category is to rent out storage space in your basement, attic, or closets. You can list your space on websites like Neighbor.com. Join as a host and list your space. You’ll pay no fees to list, and only a small processing fee for confirmed renters for your space. They also offer $1,000,000 in liability coverage to help give you some piece of mind.

You can also rent out an extra parking space in your garage; some people may want to store an extra car in the winter months.

4. Become an Amazon Influencer

If you love Amazon and have grown a decent following social media, Amazon’s Influencer Program is an amazing way to bring in some extra cash. The program allows you to create review videos for products sold on Amazon, and earn a commission on qualifying purchases that are made after someone watches your video.

But here’s the best part – after you have a certain number of approved videos (three at the time of publish), your videos are eligible for placement on product pages. This is the real bread and butter of the program. That means a random person looking at products on Amazon may watch your video to determine if they should buy a product. If they do, you earn a commission.

Yes, you do have to put it the time making the videos – but after that, it’s a passive way of watching the dollars flow into your account.

To join, you need to have an active presence on at least one social media platform and a demonstrated history of influencing others. There’s no official minimum number of followers published in their guidelines, but most people think it starts at at least 1K-10K (depending on the platform). If you apply and don’t get accepted, try again when you have a bigger following.

Once approved, you’ll be given a unique URL that you can share with your followers – but again, the real “lazy” money comes in the on-site product placements that don’t require your own promotion.

5. Get paid to do what you love

Do you have a hobby that you love? Why not get paid for doing something you already enjoy and do regularly?

Here are a few examples of side hustles that may not feel like work:

• Love to take photos? Sell your photos on stock photography websites.
• Adore animals? Offer dog walking or pet sitting services in your neighborhood.
• Enjoy yoga? Teach in-person or virtual yoga classes.
• Can’t get enough of social media? Manage a company’s social media accounts and get paid to scroll through Twitter and Instagram all day.
• Love getting crafty with a Cricut? Create custom t-shirts that you can sell to friends and family.
• Draw beautiful photos? Create an Etsy shop where you sell digital prints.
• Enjoy writing? Become a freelance writer and get paid to write for bloggers and publications.

The options are endless – just be creative and think about what skills or talents you have that others may need or want. And don’t forget to charge what you’re worth! If you enjoy doing it, chances are someone else will too – and they’ll be willing to pay for it.

6. Join MTurk.

Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a marketplace for small work tasks called HITS (human intelligence tasks). Think simple tasks that computers can’t do well enough (yet), but humans excel at – like taking a survey, transcribing audio files, identifying objects in photos, and more.

While the pay isn’t amazing ($0.01-$1.50 per task), it’s easy money for something you can do while sitting in front of your TV at night. When I logged in today, here were some of the examples of the tasks that were available:

• Find a company’s name, URL, and email address
• Take a market research survey
• Identify the news vertical of a given news story
• Categorize images
• Describe an image as a story-based sentence
• Type the text from an image.

To find work on MTurk, join then click on “All HITs.” You can then browse through the available tasks and choose which ones you want to complete.

No minimums to complete, so you can log in whenever you’ve got an hour to earn a few bucks.

7. Become a paid friend.

Alright, this one is a little out there – but hear us out. There is a site called RentAFriend.com that allows you to sign up and get paid to be a friend to someone. No, we’re not talking about being paid to be someone’s BFF – but more like being paid to show them around your city, go to the movies with them, or even attend a wedding or other event with them as their plus one.

You set your own hourly rate (most people charge $20-$40/hour) and can choose which activities you want to do with each “friend.” You’re also able to set boundaries about how far you’re willing to travel, what types of events you’re available for, and how much time you have each week to devote to this side gig.

PS – This isn’t an escort service. The site explicitly states that it is for friendship only, not romantic relationships. Even so, be sure to take proper safety precautions whenever you are meeting up with someone you don’t know.

8. Enter giveaways and flip what you win.

If you consider yourself lucky, entering giveaways and flipping what you win can be a great way to make some extra cash.

There are tons of sites that host giveaways – just do a quick Google search to find some. You can also search by hashtags on social platforms like Instagram (like #giveaway or #bloggergiveaway). When doing this, it’s good to sort by the most recent posts so you’re not seeing old, closed giveaways.

Enter as many as possible that have easy entry methods – like a quick entries via Rafflecopter or commenting on an Instagram post. The goal is volume of entries (and a little manifestation wouldn’t hurt here either!).

It’s sometimes a good idea to create a separate email address specifically for giveaway entries. That way, your primary inbox won’t get cluttered with emails from all the different sites.

Once you’ve won, it’s time to sell! You can list the item on eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook. Just remember to factor in the cost of shipping when you’re pricing your items if you’re not selling locally.

9. Participate in medical research studies

If you’re okay with being poked and prodded, participating in medical research studies can be a great way to earn some extra cash – sometimes up to $500 for just a few hours of your time!

There are tons of different types of studies out there – everything from sleep studies to testing new drugs or medical devices. The best way to find studies is through word-of-mouth or by searching online at reputable hospital websites. Occasionally, you may find social shares from various medical organizations promoting their research studies too.

Just make sure that you verify the organization is legitimate before you sign up for anything. You want to be sure that they are practicing appropriate medical safety procedures and that you will truly be paid for your participation.

10. Rent out your vehicle on Turo

With Turo, you can rent out your car to others when you’re not using it. This can be a great way to earn some extra cash, especially if you live in a city where parking is at a premium.

To get started, just create an account and list your vehicle. You’ll need to provide some information about the make, model, and year of your car, as well as upload some photos.

Once your listing is live, people will start requesting to rent your car. You can approve or decline each request based on your availability and schedule.

Turo takes a cut each rental, but they also provide varying amounts of insurance coverage and deductibles – so you know you’ll be protected if there’s an accident. They have different plans depending on what fits your needs best; you’ll earn between 60-90% of the trip price depending on the plan you select.

11. Open bank accounts that offer cash rewards.

There are a number of banks that offer rewards for simply opening an account and keeping your money there.

The requirements for the reward eligibility vary between offers. For example, some banks may require you to set up direct deposit or keep a certain amount of money in an account for a few months before you can claim your reward.

But these can be a great way to earn extra cash with little effort. For example, I recently received an offer to open a Chase checking account. To earn a $225 bonus, I’d have to set up an account, set up a direct deposit within 90 days, and leave the account open for at least 6 months. After that, I could close the account if I wanted to, keeping the $225 bonus.

Do some research to find the best bank for you. Once you’ve found one that offers a good reward, open an account and make sure you carefully follow the requirements for the bonus.

The Bottom Line

There you have it – 11 lazy ways to make money. From renting out space in your home to selling your poop, there’s sure to be an option that fits your lifestyle. What are you waiting for? Get out there and start earning!

PS – Trying to save money at the same time as you’re bringing in extra cash? Check out a ton of frugal life hacks to help you save!

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