Here is a simple question:
“How is it possible to make money on the side at home?”
That’s why you’re reading this post. You’re at a place that I’ve lived a few times in my life. And I’ve tried many ways to take on an extra income source. Some a bit more successful than others. I’ve found my groove, but let’s cover three different ways to generate extra income. At at the end, I’ll give you my recommendation.
Let’s start with two questions, why do you need extra money and why do you want to generate the extra money from home instead of someplace else?
The first question has three different answers. I list three reasons and put those in three levels of need. What level do you desire to be?

Level 1: Pay expenses
Sometimes our expenses start to get ahead of our income. I know for me, that was a huge deal earlier in my life. And it wasn’t because I

Level 2: Save More
Another reason is to save more for something that you don’t have enough within your current income source. Maybe for college, a house, vacation, or even a car. But it doesn’t matter; you don’t have enough to save in the time that you need the item.

Level 3: Gain Freedom
What about gaining your freedom? Have you thought that you could be generating income to supplement your entire income and significantly more than you could ever imagine? I know I never thought that possible until now.
The next question, why at home? For me, it was because I was already working a job, I had my kids, and I wanted to not be out again at some other gig late at night. Plus, I needed to set my hours and not let people control when and how much time I could spare no a side income.
What’s your reason?
I’m not sure about you, but being at home allowed me to control my hours. I have to give up time, stay up later or get up earlier, but it becomes so worth it.
Here are the three ways to generate income on the side at home.
Selling Products on eBay
A popular option for many people working from home is to sell products on eBay. eBay is the largest auction site in the world; it’s like a world garage sale. Also, many people build real storefronts that sell brand new items. You can find wholesalers either local or offshore manufacturers through Alibaba. You can mark up the price and take the margin (difference from the sale price and cost).
There are many good and bad reasons for eBay sales at home. And yes, you can make some decent money.
Pros:
- You can sell items you have in your home that you don’t need any more
- You can find products on sites like Alibaba or other wholesalers that align with what people are searching to buy
- People are continually searching on eBay for items, and you can take advantage of focused customer needs
- The platform takes care of all the admin work
Cons:
- Marketplace fees are high, so you need to keep that in mind when you price your items
- You may need upfront money to purchase items at bulk and wholesale to increase profit margins
- Maintaining inventory unless you can find a drop shipper
- You need to manage your inventory at home
- You can only make money on items you sell, and you always need to make sure you’re keeping your ratings and reviews high, it matters
- Very competitive without anything other than price to compete
CONSULTING AT NIGHT
Another great option is using your skills to do consulting after work. Maybe you’re a software developer, a graphic artist, editor, life coach, or whatever. You could use those skills as a consultant to help others solve their problems and get paid. Consulting on the side is truly enjoyable. You get to work with clients anywhere.
Instead of finding clients willing to purchase consulting services, you can also post your skills in places like Upworks or Fiverr. These sites allow you to bid for projects or promote yourself. The benefits of a Upworks or Fiverr, they take care of the legal items for you. Sure they make some money from you, but when you’re new, having a middle broker to help with payment and terms is super helpful.
Pros:
- You get to promote what you’re good at doing
- People pay you for your service
- Doing great work gets you referrals to other clients
- Once you make a name for yourself, you can begin to charge a higher rate per project or hour
- You get to chose when you want to take on projects
- If you get a more significant project, you can outsource some of the work and make money from other people doing the job
Cons:
- You only get paid if you work
- You need to find clients and still bid on projects
- You take a risk on your output and skills
- There may be a lot of competition
- The job may be more significant than you initially scoped
- Even though you are at home, you may get deadlines that take away some of the flexibility during busy times for you during the day or night
Build a Website and Promoting Affiliate Programs
The first question: What is Affiliate Marketing? It’s simple, and it’s been around for a long time. Huge companies like Amazon and Target have affiliate programs. An affiliate program means those companies pay you a commission for promoting their product. Once a visitor goes to their site through a special link and purchases a product, you get a commission. Most likely, you’ve contributed to someone’s commission through an affiliate link by reading a product review then clicking on the product within that review. Also, there are affiliate banks that have a huge selection of affiliate products to promote – check out ClickBank.
Unfortunately, you also see a lot of people just trying to sell you crap all the time. But honestly, you’ve run into plenty of sleazy salespeople over the years, no different in online sites than a retail salesperson. Some are honest and truthful, and some aren’t. I truly believe, if you’re going to do this work, you need to be honest and have integrity. It always pays more in the long-run.
Next, you may be thinking; I don’t have the skills to build a website. Or maybe, you’re thinking; I can’t sell anything and get the traffic to a website. Yes, it’s scary. But, it is so worth it because it has the potential to get you to level three on the reason why you want to make money on the side at home.
It’s actually super fun, but you have to patient, as it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, but if you can enjoy the journey and be part of a like-minded community, you’ll have a blast and the potential is unlimited. People can buy from you when you’re not working on your business, this part I love the best as it’s the ultimate freedom.
Pros:
- Working with programs like Wealthy Affiliates are good ways to have web hosting and building out a website through easy to use tutorials – zero experience needed
- You get to focus on subjects you may enjoy like surfing, pets, wine, country line dancing, ultimate fighting, or whatever you like
- Writing good content isn’t difficult, and you can do it at your pace
- Traffic comes with good content writing and some keyword alignment by using tools like Jaaxy
- Affiliate programs pay you and do the hard work of selling, but you make a commission
- You can make money while you sleep
- Companies like Amazon, Target, and a vast variety of companies have affiliate programs
Cons:
- If you’re new to technology, you may be more intimidated even if the tutorials guide you through it all
- If you aren’t a good writer, you will become a good writer
- If you want to do more face to face work, this isn’t a good option
- Its time and effort without seeing a return right away
Conclusion
Making money at home takes work, effort, and is amazingly fun. I’ve given you three options, all three I’ve tried with success. But honestly, my favorite is the last option. Yes its hard work, but the benefits, freedom, and success outweigh all of the cons. The other two are good options, and for some people, this is the right option so I could be wrong.
My recommendation, explore all three. And when you’re ready, sign up for a free start account with Wealthy Affiliate (Read Review Here), go through the week-long course, set up a website, and learn. If the thought of generating income while you sleep isn’t necessary to you, then try eBay or Consulting.
We’d love to hear some of your recommendations, comment below. And if you have questions, leave a comment, we reply.
Change the Direction of Your Current Income and Make Money on the Side at Home
No Credit Card Needed – Just Curiosity and the Desire to Change Your Financial Future
Hi JB,
This is really timely. I am looking to sell on the side on eBay. Possibly textbooks and clothes. I saw that your article stated that a con to selling on eBay is keeping inventory in sync. What exactly do you mean? Are you saying keep the inventory theme in sync like only sell one type of product?
Great question. As you start selling more and more items on ebay, you need to dedicate some space to holding on to the physical goods. If you only have a few items it’s not a big deal. When you have 50+, a few hundred, or even more items that’s when you need to consider how you managed your inventory. You can keep them alphabetical, but one suggestion for ebay selling is to keep them ordered by listing. That way when you sell an item, you can find it by it’s listing id. If you only have one item, try to get ride of the ones you bought first, order by date. I hope that helps and ask way if you need more clarification.
These are all great ways to make money online. I was never that familiar with EBay. But I am familiar with Amazon and how it works. There are many products and many ways to make money but as you stated, the commissions are not big and you have to sell a lot of products. I still feel that it’s the best way to make money. It’s all about the numbers. Affiliate marketing is a lot of hard work but does pay off in the end!
Thanks Rob for the comment. It is a lot of work, but I love that Amazon takes care of all the fulfillment issues for me. That’s worth more than people realized.
A great post. The menus are a little hard to see, but the content is wonderful. I love the links on the bottoms of the posts in the footers.
The information is informative and accurate. I especially love the other options to earning money online. Affiliate links are certainly the better bet. Whereas it is true there is true work required, the reward certainly outweighs the cost in time and effort.
Great comments Duncan. I appreciate the feedback on the links. We always try to make it easy for our readers. We’ll be making some adjustments. And yes, it’s real work, but it pays off.
Hi Jb
I think my favourite is also Affiliate marketing and like any business, you have to work hard but hey nothing great comes without hard work
Thanks for this great article and all the best
Thank Vicki! It does pay off, but it’s work.
Hey JB.
I really like this article as i too am looking for an alternate means to make some extra cash. I have joined clickbank and wealthy affiliate and i believe these platforms can really help to bring in some extra income.
Hi Derval, Both are great affiliate programs. Clickbank has so many products available, and Wealthy Affiliate is a great community. Best of luck!
We all love to have some extra income on the side. I enjoyed reading your post. It’s a very helpful article for anyone who wants to start making money online. I have done some selling on ebay before. I can definitely relate to some of the pros and cons you listed, Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online if you do it right. It can be very rewarding and profitable.
Thanks Hong. Affiliate Marking, as you said, done right, can be rewarding and profitable. I appreciate the comment.
Hi JB!
I have to agree with Affiliate Marketing as my top choice but I guess I would also include Amazon in that. I never thought to promote Amazon exclusively and I’m sure for some it really works. But I’ve found so many good affiliate programs outside of Amazon that was too good to pass up on.
I don’t like Amazon’s low commission but by this point, everyone shops on Amazon and probably has Prime too. I thought sure I could promote a product through the company’s website with a better commission but how many more people will buy that exact same product if they can get it on Amazon with free two-day shipping.
What’s your take on that? Are people more willing to buy outside of Amazon than I think?
Great question Tina. Amazon dominates online purchasing, but definitely, people are willing to buy outside of Amazon. Let’s consider this fact, many of the products have their own product lines that sell through Amazon directly. But product sites make millions and billions in revenue for their own websites and conversion. My take, market the best product that meets your customer needs. If that is through Amazon, great. If that is another site, then great. It’s all about matching customer problems with legitimate products. Your customers should trust you.
These are awesome ways to make some money on the side. I guess what we have to also think about is how fast we need the money. Something like Ebay is going to yield money much faster (specially if you pay for ads) compared to something like Affiliate Marketing.
But in my opinion, if you want something that is more lucrative and that will yield better results in the future, something like replacing your full-time job, then affiliate marketing is the answer. I guess it all depends on when you need the money and how fast you need it.
Thanks for the comment! I totally agree, long-term revenue is way better than a short hit periodically.
Hi and thanks for the interesting article. I have not considered upworks or Fiverr before, but I think you raise some good points on both. You honestly review the pros and cons. I also agree that the Wealthy Affiliate place is ideal for starting out on the affiliate marketing route. Thanks Kenny
Thanks Kenny. I’m glad I could be helpful..
For me, I really want to create an affiliate website. I love writing about stuff and give an honest opinion on them, so I think that would be a great idea if you could start a blog and monitize it through Amazon.
I will check out Wealthy Affiliate immediately! Thanks for the advise.
Thanks Laura!
Thanks for these great tips JB! All are great and I really like the idea of consulting at night for people who already have a particular set of skills. That way, they can work with what they already have. For me personally, my favorite is affiliate marketing. I think its important for everyone getting involved with affiliate marketing to understands that it will require and investment of money and time to be successful like you mentioned. In the end though, the benefits are all worth it. Thanks for this great read and keep up the good work!
Consulting at night is a great idea for people to make money. I’m also partial to affiliate marketing too!
I tell you what, I’ve made some financial mistakes that’s costing me dearly right now as I’ve gotten quite a bit of debt. I’ve taken a side job or side hustle, but the money isn’t coming in fast enough or I’m not getting enough jobs from that to stay afloat from the debt I have. My only other alternative is to have an online business, but I know that takes time, but in the long term it will be so beneficial. Wealthy Affiliate is just simply amazing to learn how to build a website and earn money with it. The training is just amazing. I’ve heard of Fiverr before and Upworks and I’ve made a little bit of money with Upworks in the past, but haven’t really done much with it since then. I really need to get back into it though as it could’ve been a great revenue source for me. Selling on eBay and even Amazon is another great alternative. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks for the comments, and keep positive. Needing money is a difficult place to be in life. But consistent, hardwork gets people through the dark times of needing money to get by day after day. You’re the best, I appreciate you and hard work you’re doing right now.
What an interesting list of choices you have. I agree with you about the freelancing websites, the competition is taught for a new member, and it could take a while until you get your first assignment. About the affiliate marketing, I personally like the education provided by Wealthy Affiliate which I’m a premium member. For Amazon, indeed the commissions are low, but Amazon it’s an already established authority, and it’s a good start for your business.
Amazon’s affiliate program is a great place to start.
Having a job is not a bad thing but I think having a side hustle would help booster your earnings. It is a really good feeling when you don’t have any money problem and when on a regular basis without you doing much work money keeps on coming in.
The quote by Warren Buffet comes to mind that “if you are not able to figure out how to earn passive income while sleeping then you would work till you die”. This is a quote people should have at the back of their minds and one of the awesome ways to achieve this is through making money online.
If you can figure out how to make money online then you are made for life because the more you do the easier it becomes. I can assure you that.
Passive income while you sleep! Great quote, thanks for sharing.
These are all great ways to make extra money on the side. One thing that cought my attention and I have never considered was selling stuff on eBay. It should be a great way to do some drop shipping by buying wholesale and selling at a profit. Even getting rid of “stuff ” in your own house is a good plan. Who knows how much money is lying right there in our houses that could bring in cash instead of just lying around.
But like you mention at the end of your article, my preferred way is also affiliate marketing because there is no inventory and no product to create or buy, its relatively easy to start, and not much capital to invest when you first start!
Thanks for the great ideas, got your website bookmarked for more insightful info!
Thanks Denis. Wealthy Affiliate is my favor, but the others are great examples.
Hi JB
Great post, outlining various ways one can generate passive income. I like how you have also pointed out the PROS and CONS. Makes it easy for someone to select the best method while well informed. It is becoming increasingly hard these days for people to get legitimate program which can actually help them. There are lots of scam artists out there.
Much Appreciated, now i know which way to go!
Thanks for your comments! It is difficult to find honestly and integrity. Too many people state how easy it is, when in fact, it’s a lot of consistent hard work.
Hey there,
these are all awesome and effective ways to start earning income online You cover here! My favourite has to be the 1st one- building website and promoting products, or in other words- affilaite marketing. I love creating valuable content, sharing it with the world and helping people by offering them some kind of new knowledge. It is truly an amazing opportunity to perhaps quit a regular 9 to 5 job (if a person doesn’t like it of course) and start turning Your passion and hobby into something big and significant, such as online business and make living out of it. Thanks for the great article, I really enjoyed reading it. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the great comments, I would agree, building out websites earning money with affiliate marketing is such a great avenue.