4 Ways the Middle Class Can Make an Extra $500 a Week From Home
Written by
Jennifer Taylor
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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Inflation has made life expensive, so you might be hoping to earn some extra cash. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of side gigs that can allow middle-class people to make money on your own time, from the comfort of your own home.
This can be a great way to supplement your full-time income or for stay-at-home parents, students and retirees to earn money without holding down a traditional job. Many of these gigs are flexible in nature, allowing middle-class people to tailor hours to fit their schedule.
“If you’re looking to make some extra money at home, there are plenty of ways to do it without getting a fully remote job,” said Scott Lieberman, founder of Touchdown Money. “Remote jobs might be getting hard to come by, but these gigs are still plentiful.”
As long as you have a computer and a reliable internet connection, you can get to work. Here’s a look at four remote gigs Lieberman suggested, along with salary information sourced from Glassdoor.
Virtual Assistant
- Average hourly pay: $24
- Average weekly hours needed to earn $500: 21
If you’re a naturally organized person, working as a virtual assistant could be a rewarding gig. Some of your tasks might involve making appointments for your boss, answering the phone, scheduling travel arrangements and monitoring email accounts.
“Setting up someone else’s day can be done from the comfort of your home,” he said. “You can do this work for multiple people, depending on time zones and schedules.”
He said it might work well to have clients in different time zones.
“For example, you could have a client in New York and another in San Francisco, which would give you a good buffer to take care of each client’s needs,” he said.
Generally speaking, this type of job tends to be flexible, as employers don’t need a full-time assistant. Instead, they hire a virtual assistant to handle select tasks on their behalf.
Website Testing
- Average hourly pay: $25
- Average weekly hours needed to earn $500: 20
Companies want user-friendly websites, which is where web testers come in. In this type of gig, you’ll be assigned projects that will require you to carefully review websites to seek out bugs and other glitches.
“Testing a website can be a great way to earn a few dollars here and there,” Lieberman said. “Some companies pay $5-$15 per site, so you could earn $500 while doing your regular web surfing.”
Pay will vary by company and project. For example, website testers at the company UserTesting earn an average of $19-$34 per hour.
Online Researching
- Average hourly pay: $22
- Average weekly hours needed to earn $500: 23
“Answering questions for companies can be a great way to earn a few dollars with relative ease,” Lieberman said. “If you know where to find your facts, this can work well.”
As an online researcher, some of your tasks may include answering questions, examining consumer behavior, reviewing studies, administering surveys and conducting competitive analyses.
Pay varies by company, as online researchers at Open Desk average $22 per hour, $29 per hour at Essay Flame and $34 per hour at Synergy Innovation.
Online Tutoring
- Average hourly pay: $28
- Average weekly hours needed to earn $500: 18
If you know a subject well, Lieberman said you could get paid to share your knowledge as an online tutor.
“Online tutoring lets you set your own hours and work with students on a topic you find interesting, especially if your knowledge is expert-level,” he said.
You might offer one-on-one sessions or tutor a group of students. This could be a regular occurrence with the same pupils or more sporadic to help with tests and projects.
Hourly pay rates vary by employer. For example, online tutors at Chegg average $25 per hour, $28 per hour at Varsity Tutors and $33 per hour at Tutor.com.
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