10 Ways to Earn an Extra $10,000 This Year

There are so many reasons to ask, How can I make an extra $10,000 this year? Maybe you want to retire early and a small extra income will do the trick coupled with your savings and investments. The economy might be bad, your hours cut or are unemployed. Maybe you are retired and just want something to do that adds value to the lives of others while providing extra income for bills.

Regardless your reasons for wanting to earn extra money, what you need is a list of ideas for accomplishing the goal. Below is a list of 10 ways to earn an extra $10,000 this year (unless you are reading this New Year’s Eve, then you can start next year). Each of these opportunities are used to earn extra money by family members or clients in my office. If you read to the end I have two bonuses.

 

 

Grocery Delivery

This growing trend has turned into a very good paying job you can work whenever you feel like it. You can work as many or as few hours as you want. Mrs. Accountant (my lovely bride) works with elderly and shut-in people. One of the most requested tasks is grocery shopping.

Finding clients is easy. Instacart and similar services are always looking for more people to deliver groceries. You can do an internet search for companies looking for delivery people in your area. The pay is good, the tips better. And best of all, you choose your hours and which orders you want to fill. Remember to keep good records. Miles are tax deductible so if you don’t drive a Ferrari you will probably have some income that isn’t taxed, too, since the mileage deduction might be larger than the expense of operating your vehicle.

 

Delivery Services

This is a broad category. Groceries are listed above, but that is only one type of delivery service. I have clients who deliver meals from local restaurants. If you respond to requests quickly the tips tend to be quite generous. 

Food is only the newest fast growing delivery service. If you have a truck (or a trailer) you can deliver large items from hardware stores and other retail outlets. One of my clients turned a small delivery business into a 7-figure business. He handles a large percentage of deliveries from several hardware stores. 

Almost anything a person or business buys needs delivery. The hours are flexible, coupled with a high income. You can start your own business, making a few calls to set up the service, or use online companies already in the delivery business. Either way, the delivery business is the biggest opportunity for above average income and flexible hours in our economy at this time.

 

Selling Tradelines

This idea has been around for a while. I published several times on the issue. You can start your research here. 

I don’t sell as many tradelines as I used to. I still earn around $4,000 per year for about 2-4 hours of work. The biggest drawback is it takes time to get your first payment (typically about 2 months). 

The reason I pulled back is time. Yes, the money selling tradelines is really good, but I also have a tax practice, this blog and more people than I can count who want consulting services. Selling tradelines is about the easiest way to make side money I ever saw, especially if you only want a couple thousand extra for fun money. Tradelines would not be a good option if your goal is $50,000 per year. However, when I worked it hard in the beginning I did approach $30,000 the first year. For a modest effort it is possible to earn $10,000 per year and more.

 

Consulting

Consulting needs clarification. Making money consulting is different than coaching (another possible idea I will not cover) and requires a narrow niche to do well. 

There are plenty of people selling coaching/consulting courses on social media that basically tell you to do what they are doing. That is not consulting! At least not a kind of consulting that adds value and is worth buying.

The trick to successful consulting is focusing on one issue. For example, I consult on tax issues. That makes sense. I run a tax office and stay up-to-date on the tax laws. Of course my consulting services expand beyond the original topic. People ask about investments, retirement planning, legal issues, starting a business and even personal problems. Many times I’m qualified and comfortable expanding the scope of the consulting agreement. Retirement planning and business issues rise to the top. Legal issues I defer to an attorney. Personal issues many times require a professional social worker or medical professional. When possible, I try to help the client find the appropriate professional. 

Consulting done right is very profitable. A 6-figure income is not unheard of. Focus if the key. As I write there are several new tax laws to stimulate the economy. Just that one topic will keep you busier than you want if you choose to focus on it. Businesses and individuals are in desperate need for quality consulting and accounting firms like mine can’t handle all the work. BTW, I turn away over 90% of consulting requests because there are not that many hours in a day. Consulting is a good business.

Remember, focus if you want a consulting side gig. You don’t want to and can’t be everything for everyone. 

 

 

Elder Care

Demographics provide the direction jobs are going. An aging population is going to need more services for the elderly. As you will see below and in the first bonus, elder care is not about working in a nursing home. 

People want to stay living in their home. They want their independence. It is cheaper for families and communities to give as many people as possible the option of living at home. 

Elder care extends to the disabled. Mrs. Accountant works for a company very part-time helping an elderly couple and a disable man. She cleans their homes, cooks meals and runs errands for them. She works less than 15 hours per week. It’s something Mrs. Accountant wants to do and she enjoys it. Of course you can work more hours if you want.

Clients are found one of two ways. Most counties hire, along with private companies contracted through state or local agencies. You can also provide cleaning, cooking and shopping services outside government supported programs. 

It is easiest to work through a company handling all the back office work or government agencies. For part-time work you can add $10,000 or more to your income in a year without working long hours. You can also choose your own schedule.

 

Gardening

Do you like working outdoors? Growing a garden? Did you know you could get paid to garden?

This unique side gig is overfilled with benefits. You get to work outdoors during the summer months doing what you love most and get paid for it.

It is a seasonal job, however. Where you live determines the scope of your gardening side hustle. Northern areas have a shorter growing season. Southern areas might include planting fruit trees. It all depends where you live.

Here in NE Wisconsin I have three clients who help people who can’t handle all the gardening chores. There are farmers outside the Fox Cities with plots divided in a field people can rent to garden. One of my clients helps elderly people by driving them to the garden plots and helping them with the gardening chores.

Best of all is that most gardens provide more produce than the client can eat so you get a wonderful supply of fresh fruits and vegetables as they come into season.

 

Lawn Care

There is a theme forming in this list. Lawn care services for those folks who want to stay living in their home, but can’t handle pushing a lawn mower are ideal clients. 

Don’t forget businesses! Business owners and landlords are always looking for high quality lawn services at a reasonable price. My office pays to have the lawn cut.

Lawn care is more than clipping lawns, too. Dealing with weeds and fertilizing lawns is also part of the deal if you want. There are also plenty of opportunities for light gardening work here as well, though many times it involves working flower beds. rewarding work that also fills in for healthy exercise, too.

 

Tax Preparer

I have encouraged this side hustle for years. There are an army of people pulling $10,000 per year and more working part-time seasonally.

Once again there are two ways to address this opportunity. First, you can run it as your own small business. A 15-minute presentation at a local Optimist Club or apartment association and you will have more clients than you want unless you want a very full-time business. 

The second way to earn a hansom income in spring is to work for an established tax office. Tax offices are always looking for good seasonal employees. (God, don’t I know it!) Not every tax office is for you; choose which fits best. There are the low cost tax offices where basic returns are prepared. If you can run a computer you can handle the returns they prepare. As your skills grow you can work at more traditional tax offices and CPA firms. Starting wages generally are $10-$17 per hour, depending on the part of the country you are in. Office like mine and CPA firms frequently pay people with tax experience $20 per hour and up. Very experienced preparers can demand $50 or more per hour. Not bad for part-time seasonal work.

For readers in the northern climes this is perfect. When the snow melts and you feel like running around outside tax season is over. 

 

Dog Walking

Mrs. Accountant enters again. The same elderly couple who has Mrs. Accountant buy groceries for them also has her walk their dog. Coco the dog, I am told, goes wild when Mrs. Accountant arrives. He is so excited to go for a walk with his human.

Mrs. Accountant wears a lot of hats when performing elder care services. However, there is no reason you can’t focus on a narrow niche. Dog walking is getting to be big business. If you love animals I can’t think of a more rewarding side hustle.

And the pay can get very generous.

 

 

Pet Sitting

If you enjoy animals and walking outdoors, dog walking is for you. Married to that side gig is pet sitting. The demand for pet sitting services is massive and growing, at $440 million in 2017. 

There are several avenues to earning extra coin in this hustle.

First, you can pet sit at the pet owner’s home. Second, you can provide pet sitting in your own home. This option does require the space and the ability to have pets in your home or apartment. Third, you can work part-time at a pet sitting service or kennel. Generally the pay is low, but getting paid anything to pet cats and dogs and feed them is beyond awesome.

Finally, humane societies and shelters are always looking for help. Again, this is a low wage route. But if you love animals and there is no other option available, this can be the perfect option to earn some extra income on your schedule doing something you love.

 

Bonus #1: Friendship Service

In 2019,  36.48 million Americans lived in a one-person household. That is a lot of lonely people. Many are older and have lost a spouse or significant other. Many times they have no surviving family. Some suffer disabilities.

Loneliness is an extremely painful experience you can resolve by providing a friendship service. There are clients in my office who spend 10 or so hours a week visiting their client just to talk. Sometimes they need help finding someone to help with a household need, such as hiring a plumber, or for repairs to their home. 

Usually all they want is someone to talk to. Local social services sometimes cover the cost of friendship services, other times not. The work, obviously, is not hard, but it is important. Not only are you providing human contact to people alone, but are also visiting to assure they are safe and healthy. 

As our society ages and people have smaller families, friendship services will become more and more common. At this time demand far exceeds the supply of people willing to be a friend. I can’t think of a better way to earn some extra money than by providing a ray of sunshine to the life of a wonderful human being.

 

Bonus #2: Tutoring

I have a large number of clients (and my oldest daughter) earning a good income tutoring. There are several levels you need to consider with this hustle.

Tutoring can be a work-at-home business with all the tutoring done online. You can focus on local primary and secondary students or college kids. There are numerous online options for tutoring. I have a client who teaches at the local high school and also teaches (not technically tutoring) at several online schools. His income is well into the 6-figures. 

Companies that offer tutoring services are also a good place for a part-time side gig. It can turn into a full-time job if that is your desire, or it can remain small, falling within our discussion of earning $10,000 per year.

My daughter tutors online, but also meets with students at the local library. She works closely with the parents and the teachers so she can provide the best help. In these cases the parents pay the tutoring fee. Generally, the parent pays for a package of 10 tutoring sessions at a time. It doesn’t take many of these to start earning some generous side money.

Teaching English as a second language is in high demand. My oldest daughter traveled to China for a year to teach. She lived with a host family and was paid by them as well. It has been a highlight of her life. She is now working to teach/tutor not only in the US, but in countries around the world online. 

Group tutoring is also an option in all these situations. An important point to consider, if you want to be successful tutoring, is to focus on the kind of client you want to serve. My daughter has a few local clients she tutors, but her passion is to tutor children around the world. Being everything to everyone is usually a recipe for failure. Focus on the type of student you want to tutor and you will find tutoring a rewarding side hustle providing a nice income. You can always change your mind on the kind of student you wish to tutor.

 

Our 10 ideas turned into 12 way to earn an extra $10,000 or more this year. Extra money is always nice, filling the vacation or holiday fund. Or invest it for long-term income stream. No matter what the economy does there are always opportunities to earn extra money doing things you enjoy. 

Do you know side hustles I haven’t mentioned that pay $10,000 or more per year? Do you have experiences with the side hustles I mentioned? Please share them in the comments section below. Thank you. 

 

 

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