21. Rent out your home
Get cash in hand on the first of every month recruiting a roommate to share living costs and/or rent.
Not interested in a long-term houseguest? Websites including Airbnb make it easy to rent out a spare room, a wing of your house or a backyard cottage.
Beth Everett and her husband, Glenn, built a cottage in their backyard in 2014 for their son Jordan to live in when he’s home from college. But while the studio sat empty, visitors to Portland, Ore., began renting the cozy space through Airbnb for $99 a night.
Fox Lair, as it’s known, offers heated floors, a small sitting area decked out with guitars and bongos, and plenty of eclectic artwork. Everett estimated that in 2015 they earned about $9,000 from a steady stream of visitors, money she used to help pay for editing and cover designs for her self-published books, the Lee Harding mystery series. “It was the easiest money I ever made,” she says. “And it was fun.”
You can list your space free on Airbnb, then pay 3% to the site when you receive a successful booking.
Another option: Do you live in a resort town or a busy metropolitan area? You can rent out your home on Vrbo (formerly Vacation Rental By Owner). You set your rates and also charge the renters a $50 cleaning fee. Vrbo charges renter members 8% of the booking fee.
My wife and I rented a single-family home via Vrbo in Asheville, N.C., in October 2018 to attend a family wedding. We pitched in with other relatives to cover the cost of the week-long stay. An upside (next to the stunning views and low cost): The owners were nearby when we had a slight plumbing problem and promptly responded.
Source: 33 Ways to Earn Extra Cash in 2024
