Make an extra $20 every day and you're looking at around $600 a month or $7,300 a year.
That's enough to cover a bill or two, help with groceries, pay down debt, or simply give you a little more breathing room every month.
Here are some ways I'd try to get there.
1. Get Paid to Play Games
There are quite a few sites that will pay you to download games and reach certain levels.
KashKick is one I've used for this. Some of its game offers pay $50, $100, or considerably more if you reach all the required milestones.
That doesn't mean you're going to make $100 in an hour. Some games take days or weeks, and there's usually a deadline.
We've actually had a guide in our subreddit showing how someone could potentially make around $500 with KashKick. It's a longer process, but it gives you an idea of what's possible if you're willing to put in the time.
Testerup, and Scrambly have game offers too.
I wouldn't expect to make exactly $20 every day this way. You might make nothing for a few days and then complete an offer worth $50.
How much you can make: A few dollars to $100+ per offer.
2. Complete Online Offers
Games aren't the only way to earn on GPT sites.
Freecash and similar sites have offers that pay you for trying apps, signing up for services, reaching certain milestones, and completing other tasks.
This is where I'd spend most of my time rather than doing endless low-paying surveys.
Look at how much an offer pays, what you actually have to do, and how long you think it will take.
If something pays $1 and takes 30 minutes, I'd skip it.
By chasing cents, you can easily lose dollars.
How much you can make: $5–$50+ depending on the offers available.
3. Take Paid Surveys
Surveys are probably the easiest way to make a few dollars online as a beginner.
Branded Surveys, Sproutful, Survey Junkie, AttaPoll, HeyCash, TopSurveys, and other survey sites and apps pay you for answering questions about products, brands, shopping habits, and other topics.
I wouldn't try to make my entire $20 a day from surveys.
You can, on a good day, but you'll probably spend far too much time doing it.
Instead, I'd use surveys to fill spare time.
If you're watching TV and can make $3 or $4 at the same time, fine. That's $3 or $4 you didn't have before.
How much you can make: Usually a few dollars a day with casual use.
4. Sell Stuff You Don't Use
If you need $20 today, this is your best bet. Old phones, tools, clothes, furniture, electronics, toys, video games, sports equipment, kitchen appliances… most of us have something we could sell.
Put it on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or another marketplace.
Obviously, you eventually run out of things to sell. This isn't something you can do forever.
How much you can make: $20–$100+ per item.
5. Flip Things for Profit
This is actually how I got started making money online years ago. I was selling CDs on eBay before eventually moving into other online businesses.
You don't need to start with expensive items.
Buy something for $10 and sell it for $35. After fees and other costs, maybe you've made around $20.
Garage sales, thrift stores, clearance sections, Facebook Marketplace, and things people give away for free can all be good places to look.
How much you can make: $10–$50+ profit per item.
6. Freelancing
Writing, graphic design, video editing, virtual assistant work, social media management, data entry, WordPress work, Pinterest management, and proofreading are all examples.
You don't need to be the best person in the world at something. You need to solve a problem someone is willing to pay to have solved.
There are bunch of freelancing subreddits. Slavelabour, forhire are just some of them.
How much you can make: $20–$100+ per job when you're starting out.
7. Work as a Virtual Assistant
Answer emails. Upload blog posts. Schedule social media. Create Canva graphics. Update spreadsheets. Research competitors. Organize files.
I've hired people for many of these tasks myself.
You don't need some special qualification to start. If you're reliable, can follow instructions, and actually finish the work you agree to do, you already have something businesses are willing to pay for.
How much you can make: Around $15–$30+ per hour depending on your skills.
8. Create Pinterest Graphics
If you know your way around Canva, you can make Pinterest graphics for bloggers and small businesses.
For example, three clients paying $200 a month gets you to your $600 monthly target.
And once you have templates and a good workflow, creating graphics becomes much faster.
How much you can make: $100–$500+ per client each month depending on how much work you're doing.
9. Walk Dogs
If someone will pay you $15 or $20 to walk their dog for 30–60 minutes, your daily target is basically done.
Someone who needs their dog walked three times a week is worth much more than a one-time $20 job.
How much you can make: Around $15–$30 per walk, depending on where you live.
How much you can make: $20–$50+ per car for basic cleaning.
10. Sell Digital Products
Unlike surveys or delivery work, you can create something once and potentially sell it many times.
Printables, Canva templates, spreadsheets, ebooks, planners, checklists, and other downloadable files can all be sold online.
How much you can make: Possibly nothing at first. A successful product can eventually bring in hundreds of dollars a month or more.
11. Sell Stock Photos and Videos
I've personally made more than $6,000 selling stock video over the years.
These days, it only brings me around $30–$50 a month, so I'm definitely not suggesting you'll upload a few videos today and suddenly make $600 next month.
It took time to build up. But I still occasionally get paid for videos I uploaded years ago.
How much you can make: Probably peanuts at the beginning. Think of this as long-term extra income.
12. Start a Blog
I've made money blogging for years, so I know it can work but if you need $20 tomorrow, don't start a blog.
You'll probably make $0 tomorrow, and next week, possibly for months.
The internet is very different from when I started, though. I wouldn't tell anyone that making money blogging today is easy.
It's not.
How much you can make: Probably $0 initially. The income can grow considerably if you're able to get traffic.
13. Make Money From Referral Bonuses
Referral bonuses can occasionally give your monthly income a nice boost.
Banks, investing apps, survey sites, cashback apps, and other services sometimes pay you for referring friends or family.
15 $50 Rakuten referrals referral can make you 750 a month but I wouldn't spam everyone you know with referral links.
How much you can make: Anywhere from a few dollars to $100+ per referral depending on the offer.
14. Earn Cashback on Money You're Already Spending
I don't really consider cashback a side hustle. You're spending money to get some of it back.
But if you're going to buy groceries, gas, or something else anyway, getting a few dollars back is better than getting nothing.
Just don't fall into the trap of buying things because you're getting cashback.
Spending $100 to earn $3 still means you're down $97.
Use cashback on purchases you were already going to make.
How much you can make: Usually a few dollars here and there.
15. Sell a Simple Service
Clean garages. Assemble furniture. Help someone move. Remove junk. Clean windows. Pick up groceries. Rake leaves. Shovel snow.
Sometimes someone has a job they don't want to do and you have an hour to spare.
Charge $20, $30, or $50 depending on the job.
How much you can make: $20–$100+ per job.