5 Ways to Earn Extra Cash in 2017

It’s a New Year and it’s time to start reaching for those new financial goals. Whether your dream is to save up for an amazing vacation, help your kids pay for college, or simply bulk up your retirement nest egg, here are five brilliant ways to earn extra cash in your free time this year.

While there are hundreds upon hundreds of ways to make extra money, these activities fall into five primary categories:

1. Start freelancing

A great way to make extra money – or a full-time living – is to freelance. Freelancers do everything from writing, to graphic design, to programming, to personal assisting for a wide range of small, medium, and large businesses. Simply find a skill that you enjoy doing (perhaps what you already do at work) and start charging businesses for your services.

Freelancing gives you an amazing amount of control over your schedule, the projects you take on, and your overall workload. Plus, a freelancing gig can turn into a full-time business with your own employees.

2. Pick up a flexible job

There are many reasons to want a flexible job – whether that’s to be a stay-at-home mom, fit work around your schooling, or earn a stable income while traveling.

There are many options for flexible work. From driving for Uber to finding a full-time remote job, you can make a full-time living without confining your schedule to the traditional work week.

3. Sell products online

Thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever to find products to sell. Whether you make items and advertising them on Etsy, import products from other countries to sell on Amazon, join a (non-spammy) MLM company, or buy items at flea markets to sell on eBay, the sky’s the limit.

Selling products online can quickly grow from a side-income into a multi-million dollar business. Simply find a product or hobby that you enjoy, set up an online store, and start selling!

4. Launch and monetize a blog

Another great way to make extra money is to blog. Blogging certainly isn’t easy, but it can become very lucrative! There are hundreds of referral programs that you can join, in addition to affiliate programs, that will pay you every time you send friends to these sites.

Although it takes time to seriously monetize a blog, you can start making money from day one. And it doesn’t have to take long before you’re earning $1000+ a month. If you don’t already have a blog, I certainly recommend getting started right away.

5. Invest your current wealth

If you have money sitting in a savings account, one of the best financial decisions you can make is to start investing. Make your money work for you, and you don’t have to work as hard yourself.

Although you certainly want to focus on making more money, don’t forget to find valuable ways to invest the funds you already have – in the stock market or through a variety of other millionaire investment strategies. Eventually you may get to a point where your full-time income is fully replaced by your investment returns!

How will you make more money in 2017?

As mentioned above, there are many ways to make extra money in your free time – both online and off. Based on this list, and your own ideas, how do you plan to make 2017 a successful year for your bank account balance?

Author Bio: Rob Erich writes about the digital nomad lifestyle on MoneyNomad.com and discusses personal finance for InvestmentZen.com. When not working or blogging, Rob enjoys traveling and volunteering. You can follow him on Twitter: @MoneyNomadRob.