18 Quick Ways To Make Extra Money In Philadelphia (2024)
Looking for some quick ways to make money in Philadelphia? Wondering how people living in the city are making extra money in 2022?
Side hustles are a great way to earn some extra cash alongside your daily job to build up some savings.
If you have an extra degree, some special set of skills, or have a spare room or some old pieces of furniture or books, you can use them to make some additional money on the side. For side hustles, you don't need to commit full-time or even be on contract; you can go in, do the job and get your cash. The best part about this kind of job is you get to be your own boss!
What is the average cost of living and income in Philadelphia anyway?
- Cost of living: $2,361 per month for a single person, $5,659 for a family of four
- Average income: $72,000 per year
Considering this, it makes sense if you want to make some extra money.
If you're looking to make some quick cash in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania then here are 19 great side gig options for you.
1. Get A Part Time Bartending Gig
If you live in in Philadephia and your surrounding neighborhood is filled with bars and pubs, you can work as a part-time bartender and make some extra cash.
If you enjoy socializing and a fast-paced environment, bartending can be extremely lucrative and a fun way to meet new people.
Earning Potential: Bartenders make $14/hour on average.
Requirements: You'll need to meet the minimum age of your state to serve alcohol, a high school diploma & training or certificate in this field can get you ahead of others. You might have to be flexible about working night shifts and working on weekends. Having a positive & engaging personality along with good communication skills can work as a bonus.
Investment needed: $0 starting cost if you have prior experience working as a bartender. Otherwise, a 40-hour bartending program can cost anywhere between $200 - $800.
How To Get Started: You can drop off your CV at your local pubs or bars or, you can apply for bartending jobs on job searching platforms like Indeed or LinkedIn.
2. Rent Out Your Extra Space
You can rent out spare space in your home for some extra cash, like an extra room, or your garage.
You can offer your property to someone looking for accommodation or storage space and make some decent income from it each month.
Earning Potential: Up to $300/month
Requirements: You will need an extra room that's in a good condition with all the basic facilities.
Investment needed: $0 investment if the room is in good shape.
How To Get Started: Visit websites like Neighbor and list yourself as a Neighbor host. For more info click on this link.
3. Drive For Uber Or Lyft
If you've got a car and time on a Saturday, you could be making some cash driving people around. Instead of wasting your time sitting through traffic when you sign off from work, you can drive an Uber or Lyft and earn some extra cash in Philadephia by the time you reach home!
Ridesharing apps are one of the most lucrative ways to make extra cash. Not just because of the flexible schedule, but the revenue you generate!
Earning Potential: Up to $26/hour
Requirements: Meet the minimum age to drive in your city, have at least one year of driving experience, and clear a background check. See all requirements
Investment needed: $0 upfront if you already have a car!
How To Get Started: Apply to be a driver at Uber here, or Lyft driver here.
Don't have a car? Rent a car for ridesharing or deliveries with HyreCar.
4. Become A Warehouse Associate
If you don’t enjoy doing desk jobs, like interacting with people, and want to work in the logistics or related sector, then working as a warehouse associate could be your calling. You can do this as a part-time or a full-time job and earn a living.
Earning Potential: Up to $21/hour
Requirements: You’ll require at least a high school diploma, have to be physically fit & hardworking, have good time management & interpersonal skills, inventory control & documentation skills, be organized & have an eye for detail, and most importantly, the ability to work with a team.
Investment needed: Don’t need to invest any amount to start working as a warehouse associate.
How To Get Started: Search for warehouse associate jobs on ZipRecruiter and Indeed.
5. Sell Stuff At Flea Markets
A flea market is an outdoor or street market where people buy and sell mostly used or upcycled goods at cheaper rates. You can sell second-hand clothing items, pieces of jewelry, artworks, vintage items, upcycled furniture, used books, shoes, home decor items, and a whole lot of other products at these flea markets.
Earning Potential: How much money you earn from selling at a flea market will depend on the kinds of products you are selling, their quality, and their demand in the market. If you sell unique or vintage items then you can keep high prices for those products and earn a significant amount.
Requirements: You'll need to apply for a sales certificate or a business license, search for flea markets n your local or neighboring area, and ask about rent prices for your booth.
Investment needed: You'll have to pay for a booth and buy the products you want to sell. You can start with building a small inventory with limited items and later add more products.
How To Get Started: Determine the kind of products you would sell, create a business plan, register your flea market business, and decide the mode of payment for customers and the type of flea markets you want to sell in. To find your nearest flea markets you can take a look here.
6. Become a Dog Walker
If you have a couple of hours and need an exercise buddy, consider taking a stranger's dog for a walk. There are tons of people in the area that can't walk their dogs and will pay you to have a fun hour or two with their bundle of fur. Can it get any better?
Apps like Wag let you work on a flexible schedule and choose when you want to work. However, if you're open to doggy sitting/boarding - you're on call 24/7. Still, you're doing a service to your neighborhood and getting paid handsomely for it!
Earning Potential: up to $25/hour
Benefits: You get to play with a furball, get some exercise and explore the area!
How To Get Started: You can apply to be a dog walker through apps like Rover, Walkatxpets, Wag.
Dog walking can bring in some serious money. Learn how Melodi makes $54k/month walking dogs.
7. Start Dropshipping Online
Another easy way to make extra money irrespective of your location is to start a dropshipping business. You can set up an online store & start earning money with minimal effort.
All you need to do is select the items you want to sell, add them to your online store & start selling. The supplier is responsible for packing & shipping the product directly to your customer. All you need to do is market.
Earning Potential: Depending on your skills and effort, you can make up to $100,000/year
Benefits: You will be your own boss, gain entrepreneurial skills & operate the store from anywhere in the world
Requirements: You will need to have a business license to sell at a dropshipping store.
Investment Needed: You will need as low as $100 to start a dropshipping business.
How to Get Started: You can start by setting up a free online storefront via Wix or Weebly
Learn how Amanda makes $12k per month dropshipping these tiny products.
8. Get A Part Time Job As A Waiter / Waitress
As a restaurant server in Philadephia, you will need to attend to customers, make suggestions as per their liking, wait tables, handle queries, deliver checks & receive payments.
Earning Potential: Servers make $13.95/hour (on average) + tips
Requirements: If you can show any previous waiting or restaurant serving experience you'll get a preference. Other than that you'll need to have patience, be good at customer service, have a pleasant personality, pay attention to customer safety & cleanliness, and be reliable & responsible. Having a high school diploma is also helpful for your resume.
Investment needed: $0 investment needed to get started as a restaurant server.
How To Get Started: Reach out to people in your circle and ask them whether they know someone in the restaurant business. Or apply for restaurant server jobs on Indeed.
9. Become An Instacart Shopper
Instacart is a grocery delivery service that pays people to shop for groceries at local supermarkets and deliver them to customers.
There are two options for becoming an Instacart shopper:
- If you don't have a vehicle or driver's license, you can work as an Instacart in-store shopper as it will only require you to compile orders in the store.
- You can opt to become an Instacart full-service shopper which will require you to do both shopping and deliveries at the customer's doorstep.
Instacart allows you to work independently on your own time.
Earning Potential: Up to $5 to $10/hour
Requirements: You'll have to be18 years or above, pass a background check, have a social security number, have a smartphone with a data plan, and be physically fit, you will also require a checking account to collect direct payments. If you have a car along with a valid driver's license you can go for the deliveries and earn some more extra cash.
Investment needed: You don't need any money to start working as an Instacart Shopper.
How To Get Started: You can apply directly from Instacart's website or app and register yourself as an Instacart shopper. Click on this link to get started!
10. Make Money Renting Out Your Car
Are you using your car for a short time and it just sits idle for the rest of the day? Or do you own more than one car and want to use the extra one to earn some additional income on the side. Renting your car out on an hourly basis can be a good source of side income for you to have while you are working a regular job.
Earning Potential: Up to $10/hour
Requirements: You will need to have an extra car that's in good running condition and also car insurance. You should yourself check or ask the agent to check if the person you are renting your car to has a valid driver's license, a government-approved photo ID, and no criminal background.
Investment needed: $0 upfront cost if you have insured the vehicle beforehand.
How To Get Started: List your car on HyreCar or Turo and let your car earn for you while you rest.
11. Become A Part Time Barista
If you love the smell of coffee and want to be surrounded by the smell of it then the barista job is for you. You can work as a barista in your local coffee shop in your free time and earn a side income. Your job will be to make coffee or coffee-based beverages and serve them to the customers.
Earning Potential: Up to $16/hour
Requirements: Be at least 18 years of age, have the flexibility to work multiple shifts, good communication skills & basic math skills. It will work as a bonus if you can show any previous experience of working as a waiter/waitress or barista, also having knowledge of how to handle brewing equipment will be an extra plus.
Investment needed: $0 starting cost to work as a barista if you want to start as a fresher. Otherwise, if you want to take a professional barista training it can cost you anything between $120 - $$2,600.
How To Get Started: You can search for barista job listing on popular job portals like Indeed.
12. Work As A Wine Consultant
Are you a wine connoisseur and passionate about learning new things about wine? Then you can use this knowledge to work as a wine consultant. As a wine consultant, you will be working with restaurants, bars, and other establishments that serve wine. You will help the enterprises determine what wines to offer and how to pair them with different food. Wine consultants can also assist customers in choosing a wine that will suit their tastes.
Earning Potential: Up to $29/hour
Requirements: You'll need to have a background in wine, it could be working at a bar, vineyard, or a winery, or getting training to be a wine steward.
Investment needed: $0 starting cost if you have previous training or background in the wine industry.
How To Get Started: You can search for wine consultant job listings on job search engines like Zippia or Indeed.
13. Work As A Part Time Night Trash Collector
If you have a few hours at hand at night time and looking for ways to earn some extra cash in Philadephia, then becoming a night trash collector can be an option you might want to consider.
As a trash collector, you will collect trash & recycling bags from apartment doors and take these bags to dumpsters within the complex. (It likely does not require offsite driving and/or discarding, or not carrying any large items).
Earning Potential: Up to $21/hour
Requirements: Must be at least 18 years of age and physically fit to perform the task, should know how to read, write, and speak English well enough to do the essential paperwork and to be able to communicate to customers, and should go through a criminal background check.
Investment needed: $0 investment!
How To Get Started: You can apply through platforms like Indeed and start working as a part-time garbage collector.
14. Become A Part-time Caregiver
Taking care of old and ailing people and providing them with all the required assistance can be a good source of income to have on the side. If you have a few hours to spare and want to do something meaningful and grow your income, then working as a caregiver can be fulfilling. As a caregiver, you will take care of your client's personal care(bathing, dressing, exercise, etc.), cooking, cleaning, and housekeeping duties.
Earning Potential: Up to $15/hour
Requirements: You’ll need to have great knowledge of first aid, emergency response and (CPR), cooking, housekeeping & time management skills, be attentive & compassionate and practice immense patience. You'll get an extra advantage if you can show any earlier experience working as a caregiver.
Investment needed: $0 investment is required to start a career as a caregiver.
How To Get Started: Famous job portals like SimplyHired & Indeed have several caregiver jobs listed on their site. You can visit their pages and apply from there directly.
15. Learn Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing. An affiliate marketer earns a fixed sum as a commission to market products or services from another brand.
If you are good at sales and marketing, have good technical aptitude, and have good communication skills then doing affiliate marketing is one of the most lucrative ways to make extra money in Philadephia. It allows you to work on a flexible schedule and the revenue you generate can even exceed your full-time job.
Earning Potential: Up to $28 to $192 per hour
Requirements: To become an affiliate marketer, you will need to research the available affiliate programs, evaluate market demand, and analyze the competition. The next step would be to identify a niche in which you can influence your audience by creating and publishing top-notch content. Find companies offering affiliate marketing programs on the internet and reach out to them via emails or social media channels.
Investment needed: $0 investment needed if you have a laptop and fast internet connection.
How To Get Started: Decide on a platform (Ex: Instagram, Youtube, etc.) > Pick your niche > Look for affiliate programs to join > Produce great quality content > Push traffic to your affiliate site > Encourage people to click on your affiliate links > Convert those clicks to sales.
16. Make Money Renting Out Your Pool
Do you have a private swimming pool on your property? You can rent it out for some extra cash. Offer your poolside property to event companies or someone looking for space by the pool to host an event or party and make a handsome income from it by each hour.
Earning Potential: Up to $60/hour
Requirements: You will need a pool that’s in good condition with all the basic facilities and cleaning equipment. The next thing you require is insurance to protect your property from damage. Also, you should set rules & expectations and be clear about it from the start, as it is your personal residential property.
Investment needed: You'll need to pay for insurance if you don't already have one. The insurance cost will depend on the state you are living in, plus there will be some cleaning and maintenance costs which can be around $130 per month on average.
How To Get Started: Visit websites like Swimply and list yourself as a host.
17. Get A Job As A Data Survey Associate
A data survey associate is responsible for conducting surveys & collecting data using various mediums like focus groups, interviews, market analysis surveys, public opinion polls, questionnaires, literature reviews, and file reviews. If you love doing research, enjoy meeting with new people & interacting with them, and have excellent interpersonal skills & social skills, plus well-acquainted with various social platforms then this job is for you.
Earning Potential: Up to $49/hour
Requirements: Minimum a Bachelor's degree but if you have a Master's degree or Ph.D. in a respective field it will work as a bonus. Have to have excellent analytical & problem-solving capabilities, need to put attention to detail, plus critical thinking & communication skills are a must.
Investment needed: $0 investing if you want to work as a data survey associate.
How To Get Started: Search for data survey associate jobs on ZipRecruiter and Indeed and apply right away.
Not looking for extra income, but rather a better job? Find a new job in Philadelphia:
Resources:
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
