As a millennial, have you ever wondered if you’re as well off as your parents were at your age? According to SmartAsset.com, the average wage of a millennial today is estimated to be 20% lower than the average salary of a baby boomer. No wonder we all want to make more money! If you’re looking for easy ways to make a little extra cash at home, try these 5 simple side hustles that require little or no experience.

1. Freelance work on Airtasker

If you want to utilise your skills or build up your portfolio while making a little money on the side, Airtasker is a great option! It’s sort of like Ebay, but with small jobs instead of products. You can find anything from cleaning tasks to beta testing websites to social media management roles on there.

When you set up an account and find a task that you want to do, you simply bid on the task and explain why you’d be the best candidate for it. If selected by the poster, you have until the set deadline to complete the task. Payment is held by the site until you complete the task. When completed, both you and the poster review each other and then you should receive payment within the week!

I’ve been using Airtasker for a couple of months now and have made a little money on it. While it can be competitive, if you have experience and receive positive reviews, you should be able to make some money quite quickly.

2. Selling unwanted items on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree or Ebay

Ever heard the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? If you’ve got clothes that you’ve never worn or jewellery that you want to get rid of, why not sell it? Most items will appeal to someone. Just ensure that what you’re selling is in reasonable condition. Puzzles with missing pieces are better off at a garage sale!

Virtually everyone in the world has a Facebook account, so Facebook Marketplace should be your first point of call. Set up an attractive scene with good lighting and snap a few choice photos of your item. Think about what you would look for in product photos if you were browsing. Post your photos and a detailed description of your item to relevant local boards. If you have no luck on Marketplace, try Gumtree. If you become desperate, try Ebay. You may have to start low, but if your item is caught in a bidding war, you may be able to make a tidy profit.

Over the years, my family and I have used Marketplace, Gumtree and Ebay to sell items at varying rates of success. Sometimes this method works and sometimes you have to haggle a little to get a decent price for your items. You might be able to make some money quickly by selling unwanted items, but sometimes it takes a while to find the right buyer.

3. Selling products on websites like Teachers Pay Teachers, Etsy or Creative Market

Creatives, this one’s for you! If you’re a teacher, you’re likely to have created a ton of resources for your classroom. Why not make a little extra money by selling them to other teachers who will appreciate them? Likewise, if you have created anything from wedding planning printables to handmade jewellery, you can set up a free shop on Etsy and sell your products there. For those more digitally inclined, you can sell fonts, graphics and even website themes on Creative Market.

Selling products online is pretty easy. All you need to do is set up an account on your desired website and follow the instructions to become a seller (as opposed to a buyer). When you have a product that you want to sell, you simply add some photos/screenshots of the product, set a price, write a description of the product and then upload it to the website.

While Teachers Pay Teachers, Etsy and Creative Market will take a cut of your sale, you should be able to make reasonable money on these sites, particularly if customers give you positive reviews. I have found that the quality, uniqueness and demand for your product will determine how quickly you make money on these sites.

4. Selling photos to stock photo websites like Shutterstock or iStock

Remember that professional camera that you had to get, but rarely use? Why not go through your old photos and see if there are any hidden gems among your hard drive? You may even want to make this your new hobby, as you can sell your photos on Shutterstock or iStock if your work is approved!

The set-up process is similar to #3, but you may also have to submit samples of your work so that staff members can evaluate your suitability. Once approved, you will earn some money every time someone buys your image.

I haven’t personally tried this option, but users have said that the approval process can take up to 4 weeks and each image may only make you about $0.25 to begin with. As you make more sales, the royalty percentage increases, but in my opinion, this option is really only for those wanting to profit from a hobby in the long run.

5. Completing surveys for market testing

I know, I know. This sounds like something your granny would try, right? The idea is that you get awarded points which can be converted into gift cards, vouchers or cash to share your details and opinions with marketers. While some people swear by them, surveys can be problematic for a number of reasons:

• You need to be careful about which sites you sign up for. There are a number of scam sites out there that ask for payment and bank account details. If you’re interested in completing surveys, only use reliable sites like Toluna or MyOpinions which have been around for a while and can send payment via PayPal.
• Depending on your location and demographic, the number of surveys that you qualify for may be limited. As a result, you may have to sign up for multiple sites to receive survey offers, meaning the points that you receive from completing surveys will be spread among different sites and it will take you longer to reach the minimum payout amount.
• You will need to do your research to see which sites pay the best and how many points you will receive per survey. Some sites may require you to complete about 80 surveys before you can convert your points into a payout. That’s a lot of surveys! Consider whether the time you will spend on the surveys is worth the payout amount.
• It can take a while to receive payment from surveys. Even when you do reach the minimum payout, in some cases it can take 8 weeks for your payment to be processed!

I’ve been completing surveys for a couple of weeks and have found it to be a slow process. In my opinion, completing surveys is not a short-term solution for making extra money, but it could be okay as a long-term option, particularly if you’re open to receiving payment through gift cards, as opposed to money.

As millennials, we all want to make a little extra money. Completing freelance work on Airtasker, selling items or products on sites like Gumtree or Etsy, selling photos on stock photo websites and completing marketing surveys are all really easy ways to make money from home that anyone can try. These simple side hustles won’t make you rich, but they are legitimate ways to make a little extra cash if you’re willing to commit to them.

Do you have any more side hustle recommendations? Let me know in the comments below. Don’t forget to follow @empoweredmillennialgirl on Instagram to get inspiration four times a week. You won’t want to miss it!

Have a prosperous week!

Grace x