With the cost of living constantly on the rise, you may be finding it harder to manage your cash than ever. Sometimes you may face a financial emergency too, and without any savings behind you, it can be impossible to pay for it. You might have to consider outsourcing finance and utilizing direct lender loans. But if you want to increase the money in your bank and not have to pay anything back, you could look at alternative ways of making money. Here are 6 unusual ways you can make money in 2024.

1. Sell Your Boxes

If you’ve got a load of old boxes lying around that came with your electrical goods, you could look into selling them online. You only have to check the auction sites to see how much people are willing to pay for a brand-new smartphone box! It could be that they’re looking to sell their phone but don’t have the original packaging, which can mean they can’t sell it for as much. However, if you’ve kept the packaging for your electrical goods, you can easily make a decent amount of money just by selling the boxes to willing buyers. Most of the time it’s Apple product boxes that are the most coveted, so if you get a new phone, make sure you don’t throw the box away.  

2. Sell Your Crafts

Have you got a hobby that keeps you busy in the evening? If so, you should look to sell what you create online. You’d be surprised at how many people will love what you do and will also be willing to pay for it. You don’t even have to treat it as an official business if you don’t want to. You could just sell the things that you’ve created as and when you make them. If it turns into something more than just a side hustle, that’s great, but you don’t have to start out with that intention. Putting your creations up for sale also helps keep your house clutter-free and allows you to pay for your supplies without using your own savings too.       

3. Pet Sitting

Animals are great to spend time with, and you might not actually have any of your own. However, more people are using pet-sitting services and you can easily make a good amount of money doing so. You could advertise your services and they don’t even need to be that expensive. Most of the time the food is already provided by the owner, so all you need to do is feed them. It could even be animals like fish, that require minimal care too, but people will still pay for the service. If you love animals, you should definitely look into them! Pet sitting is a lovely way to make a little extra money. 

4. Enter Contests

Although you’re not guaranteed to make money, entering a competition can actually pay off. If you search online competitions, you’ll see a plethora of available contests that offer a cash prize. Writing contests seem to pay out fairly large prizes, as do photography ones too. Entering competitions allows you to make use of your skills and you don’t have to rely on sales to make money. Creating your entry can also be fun, so it doesn’t even feel like work. Although you might not win the cash prize every time, you’re still in with more of a chance than those who don’t enter. Some contests also have second and third prizes too, so you may not miss out completely.  

5. Renting

You might think that renting only relates to your own property, but you can actually rent out your possessions too. If you’ve got a room full of musical instruments that you don’t want to part with permanently, you could rent them out to performers who need them for a show and amateurs who are looking to try them out before buying. You could even rent out your bicycles or tools to people who only need them for a short while. Renting out your possessions to those who temporarily need them is not only beneficial for them, but you can make a decent amount of money doing so.    

6. Play-To-Earn-Games

If you’re not wanting to part with possessions or look after animals, you could earn money without even leaving your home. Play-to-earn games are the latest craze in the gaming world, and you can easily download them on your mobile phone. Once you have your chosen game, playing it will give you rewards that equate to value in real life. You don’t have to be a top gaming streamer with loads of sponsors to make money either. Play-to-earn games allow you to earn money no matter your skill level, so you can easily make a quick buck just by kicking back for an hour. There are all different types of games too, so if you’re great at word puzzles, but not so good at shooting games, you’re still able to earn. 

Earning money doesn’t have to be limited to just your day job, there are lots of easy ways you can earn extra cash on the side without having to work two jobs. Who knows, you may find your new passion and create a whole new career! And if not, you’ve still managed to bring in some money and had fun while doing it.

Suggested:

How to make money online without paying anything?

6 Ways to Make Money Online.

Android Apps That Pay You Money.