20+ Out Of The Box & Weird Ways To Make Money

Here are some weird and wacky ways to make money that you should take seriously if you’re looking for extra income to pad your wallet.

Many of these ideas might be interesting if you are looking for extra money from a good side hustle, whether you’re looking for a few hours or a new career path.

Others might be a bit too weird or awkward for you, but you may as well know some new options that you hadn’t thought of before. There are so many ways to earn extra income that I hadn’t even thought of until I did the research!

This list will give you lots of ideas for your next money-making side hustle. Get creative, and who knows what other weird ways to make money you can try!

20 Weird Ways To Make Money

1. Beekeeping

Why not become a beekeeper?

So many shoppers search for fresh honey, and many are interested in buying local! Once your bees start to produce honey, you’re in business and can make as much as $15 for 12 oz. of honey!

Plus you get all the free honey you want, yum!

People will buy honey for food or honey-based products like face masks and lotions. There are a variety of products you can make, and even make a company out of honey products.

Keep in mind that you will need to initially invest some time to learn how to keep bees and wait for them to produce honey, plus money in the set-up. But this is one job that has perks and may have you earning more than you thought possible.

2. Sell Your Hair

People are willing to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for your healthy hair.

Long hair extensions are popular, and wig sellers are always seeking natural hair to offer more realistic options to their customers.

To sell your hair, you’ll need at least 6 inches and it must be clean, healthy, and shiny. In addition, typically your hair should also be un-dyed and untreated. If you have an unusual but natural hair color, you can earn more for it.

Remember to speak to a wig seller to find out the price before cutting your hair.

3. Cuddle Professionally

Professional cuddlers earn up to $80 an hour, just for cuddling!

Cuddlist and Cuddle Comfort are two companies to connect you with strangers who need a cuddle.

If you don’t mind spending time snuggling with strangers like they’re good friends of yours, this can be an easy and even fun way to make money.

This could be a little outside your comfort zone, and certainly a weird way to make money, but it could be nice for you to connect to others this way.

4. Cash In On Your Life Stories

Make money from your own misery by sharing your crazy life stories! You can tell these stories to newspapers, which will pay $150-$700 for a good story.

If you’re willing to share the details of a crazy or interesting experience, as well as be identified by name and be photographed, you can definitely earn cash.

If you offer your story exclusively to one news outlet, you can earn even more and get your story out even further.

A site or two may buy your story without your personal details, so definitely check out your options if you’d prefer to stay under the radar!

5. Wait Around

No one likes waiting around, so some people will pay you to hold their spot in line while they do something else. This has been a popular job for New Yorkers who wait in line for popular Broadway show tickets.

You can charge a fixed rate, such as $100, or charge hourly to stand in line for someone else. Queueing becomes way more fun when you’re getting paid for every minute you wait.

6. Sell Plasma

While you can’t sell your blood (only donations are allowed), plasma is a component of your blood that you can actually sell. Plasma is needed in the medical field for various applications that save patients’ lives.

There are medical requirements to donate plasma, such as minimum age and weight. And you will be screened for good health before you are allowed to “donate”.

You can make anywhere from $20 to $50 per donation, which will take about 45 minutes. You may donate up to twice a week with at least one day between donations.

7. Play Games & Watch TV

Did you know you can get paid to play games or watch TV?

Swagbucks and InboxDollars are awesome sites for earning cash for being a couch potato!

It’s not a million dollars or anything, but earning $1 – $5 playing around isn’t bad.

If you like playing video games, companies may pay you to be a video game tester or to try out new apps. Or, record yourself playing and stream live on Twitch or Youtube.

Earn some cash watching TV by taking online surveys about TV shows or joining a focus group. You could even set up a blog reviewing the latest TV shows.

8. Taste Test Some Treats

Who doesn’t want to get paid to eat?

Food testers and focus group participants are asked to give their feedback to research companies after eating foods that are in development.

You might have to eat something you don’t like, but your opinion – good or bad – is worth cash to food companies. You can make $17 per hour so clearly eating food and treats is one of the most fun and weird ways to make money.

9. Become A Statue

If you’ve ever visited Las Vegas, Los Angeles, or New York City, you know that one of the weirdest ways people make money is by dressing up.

You can dress up as a movie character, a showgirl, or even paint yourself silver or gold and pose as a living statue. People will tip you a few dollars to take photos with you in your creative costume.

It’s hard to say how much money you’ll make- it depends on your performance and aesthetic, of course- but your tips can be a few hundred dollars a day in a big city.

If you like to play music or sing, you can perform on the street and passersby will toss coins or cash into your hat or case.

For funny people, telling jokes is another weird way to make a living. These types of gigs work best on busy streets in cities where a lot of people will be entertained by your performance.

10. Product Testing

You can get paid $18 per hour to test products before they even hit shelves. Sometimes you’ll get cash to be part of a focus group, or you’ll get free products in exchange for a test and review.

There are even brands that will pay you to test out their mattresses – imagine getting paid to sleep! That’s a pretty weird but awesome way to earn extra cash!

11. Sell Breast Milk

Breast milk is in high demand from mothers who don’t have time or cannot breastfeed their newborn babies. If you can produce breast milk, you can make money selling it online.

Sites like Onlythebreast.com allow you to post an ad and wait for a response from someone who requires breast milk. You can make good money since one ounce of milk can be sold for $1.

12. Sell Your Eggs Or Sperm

Another couple of weird ways to make money would be selling your eggs or sperm, to help couples with infertility issues conceive.

To donate sperm, you are required to be healthy and have no history of sexually transmitted infections. You can earn $40-$70 per donation, and make $1,000 per month that way.

Egg donation is a very serious procedure that requires medical screening. To donate, you must be between 18 and 36 years old. You will have to take fertility drugs at home, and it is a very in-depth procedure. But you can make a lot of money for this, on the order of $5,000-$10,000 per donation.

13. Answer Questions

Best Survey Sites young woman outside with phone in hand happily making a fist and smiling at phone

Taking surveys is a quick and easy way to make money, about $1 – $5 for each survey.

Survey Junkieis a great company to sign up with to get paid just to answer some quick questions. You can even answer these questions while you watch TV.

14. Sell Your Photos

You can make extra money by selling stock photos online. Publishers, designers, bloggers, and small business owners purchase stock photos for a variety of projects like blogs, brochures, and websites.

Photographers generally earn a percentage of each photo sold on the stock photo site. Every time someone buys one of your pictures you’ll get a royalty fee.

iStockPhoto (Getty Images), Shutterstock, and 123RF are all sites that will let you sell your photos. Adobe Stock allows you to earn a 33% commission per purchase of a photo.

Other sites will pay you $0.50 – $50 a pop depending on the size, quality, and uniqueness.

15. Join Clinical Research

Clinical trials are Phase One drug testing, meaning you are one of the first humans to try a drug. The drug has already passed other types of testing before making it to the human stage.

Participating in clinical research is a great way to do good while making money. You can help test new life-saving drugs or vaccines so that the people who need them most can get them safely.

It can be time-consuming to take part in a clinical trial because you often need to stay overnight at a research center or make repeat visits to a doctor. But you’ll be paid well for your time, from $50-$300 per day or visit.

16. Be A Pal

RentaFriend is a site that allows you to sell your time to go to events with someone who needs a friend. It could be a great side income for you if you’re a fairly outgoing person.

Plenty of people don’t like doing things alone, like going to parties or eating at restaurants. You can help them out by being a pal and get $10 -$50 per hour for your time.

This way, you’re pretty much getting paid to do something fun. Who knows, maybe you’ll make new friends on the job!

17. Life Modeling

Local colleges and universities are in need of different body types for art class models.

You can get paid to pose nude for a few hours while art students draw you.

You can earn from $20-$40 per hour and all you have to do is sit there. Plus, you’ll get to see some beautiful artwork that has been drawn of you!

18. Claim Lost Mail

If a package is sent without valid address information, the United States Postal Service might auction it off if they can’t determine an owner.

Auctions of unclaimed items are a bit of a gamble as you are purchasing a package (or a whole lot of packages) without knowing exactly what is in it.

If you purchase in person, you are allowed to look, but can’t touch, move or inspect the items before you purchase them.

You can also buy lost mail online at GovDeal, a website where the government auctions all kinds of items.

Rest assured that this is completely legal!

Who knows, you could buy a package that has a gift card in it, or some other item you would love to use. And if you get something you don’t want, you can always resell it for cash!

19. Rent Your Free Space

Make extra money by renting your rooms, sheds, or even your backyard!

Rent your extra rooms to people on Airbnb, as long as you are okay with strangers living in your house with you. Or, host a foreign exchange student who is visiting and needs a place to stay.

If you’d rather not have someone live in your house with you, you can still make money off your yard. Airbnb will allow you to list your backyard as a campsite for rent. Campers will even bring their own tent!

Your shed can also be a money-maker because people are always looking for more storage space. Neighbor allows you to rent space in your garage or shed.

If you have extra space in your driveway, you can rent out this parking space. This would be especially lucrative if you live in a town with limited or expensive parking.

While you’re not using your RV, consider renting it on RV Share to earn extra cash. That’s better than your camper just sitting in your driveway, or even worse, costing you money for storage!

20. Fiverr Freelancing

The website Fiverr lets people earn money by offering a variety of gigs. You can do anything from write jingles, create characters, or sell poems and jokes.

If you have a weird or unique skill, you can sell your services on Fiverr.

You can even offer your professional services as a freelancer to make some extra money on the side while you work your day job.

Or you can start a business and earn your income from freelancing full-time.

Fiverr is a great place to find a gig such as creating social media graphics, freelance writing, or any other virtual skills you can provide over the internet.

A great thing about freelancing on Fiverr is you can get clients from all around the world without having to leave your home!

Other Easy Passive Income Ideas

1. Blogging

Young beautiful female copywriter typing texts and blogs in spacious light office, her workplace, using pc keyboard. Busy woman working.

If you’re passionate about a topic and would enjoy writing about it, you should start a blog.

Our site is what we do for a living and we both get to work from home– our work is all about helping people with personal finance and so much more!

Bloggers make money in a variety of ways, including affiliate marketing, ads, and product sales. It doesn’t cost much to start a blog either.

Check out our resources on how to have a successful money-making blog, and don’t forget to check out some SEO practices.

Stupid Simple SEO has the best overview of SEO for new bloggers. SEO will make sure your blog ranks on the first page of Google so people will see your blog when they use the search engine.

2. Flipping The Goods

Flea Market Flippers

Flipping is a term for buying something and then selling it for more than you paid for it. You can flip lots of things, including furniture, cars, RVs, and houses, and Flea Market Flipper even has a course on how to do it all successfully!

You need to have the right skills and be crafty to make money flipping if you buy things in poor shape and then repair them.

You also have to be willing to post your items for sale on online marketplaces or in-person flea markets.

If you’re not super crafty, don’t worry. You can flip items that you buy for cheap prices at thrift stores or garage sales, and then re-sell them for market price online.

3. Selling Online

things to sell on etsy

Etsy

Etsy is one of the tops ways to make money online and even work from home. You can sell anything vintage or handmade on Etsy.

If you know about vintage clothing, for example, you can buy nice pieces at thrift stores or garage sales and sell them in your Etsy shop.

You can also use Etsy to sell handcrafted items such as drawings, paintings, home goods, handmade jewelry or clothing, or crocheted or knitted items.

Shopify

Make money on Shopify

Shopify is a great website for selling digital or physical products. If you are good at graphic design, consider creating some stickers or T-shirts and selling them on your own website using Shopify.

If you’re super organized, you could create PDF binder printables that can be sent digitally with Shopify via email, eliminating the need for shipping entirely.

Facebook Marketplace & Decluttr

If you have old items taking up space in your home, easily sell them to someone locally using an app like Facebook Marketplace or Decluttr.

All you have to do is snap a photo, write a short description, and list your asking price. Someone who lives in your area will contact you and arrange to pick it up.

4. Tutor Online

Make extra money teaching English as a Second Langauge at VIPKID.

If you have a Bachelor’s degree and enjoy working with children or adults, you can work online by teaching ESL classes to clients around the world.

These are part-time, independent contracting roles that pay between $14-$18 per hour. Because you’re working with students overseas, you may be working odd hours.

You could also teach any skill you have, such as playing an instrument like guitar or piano.

Or consider tutoring for a subject you were good at in school or studied for your major in college.

Many students are looking for help with their math and reading, and you can provide this tutoring online from anywhere using Skype.

Since tutors are in high demand and are highly skilled, this is one of the best ways to make money on the side.

5. Freelance Writing

woman on couch working on laptop

If you have a writing talent, you can use it to create content for businesses in return for cash.

As a freelance writer, you could get paid to write blog articles, emails for businesses, and even sales and ad copy.

Lots of business owners want someone to write things like social media copy for them instead of having to come up with captions all the time.

You can put your writing passion to work by selling your services as a freelance writer.

Our Key Takeaways

There are lots of weird ways to make some extra money from home. Even a weird side hustle can provide income to pay off debt, travel more, or save for emergencies.

You just have to be creative and you can make money from obscure skills, dressing up, or telling your life stories. Or you can make money by selling plasma, hair, eggs, sperm, or breast milk.

Other fun and wacky ways to make money include taking surveys, testing video games, being a friend, or cuddling professionally.

Find a weird way to make money that you think sounds interesting and give it a shot!