Common sense dictates that the only reliable ways to save extra money are to (A) spend less and/or (B) earn more. But if you have a day job keeping you busy from 9-5, how are you supposed to bring in extra income?
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Short of trying to change jobs or hoping for a raise, the answer is to get productive on the weekend. Don’t worry; you don’t have to put in eight-hour Saturdays and burn yourself out.
Working on your side gig for just a few hours can cover your grocery bill or get you that much closer to maxing out your IRA for the year, while still giving you time to relax.
These 10 part-time weekend jobs demand little to no prior experience, pay a decent wage, and often offer flexible time commitments.
Try them out when you’re feeling motivated to bring in extra cash outside of your Monday-to-Friday grind.
What jobs can I do on the weekend?
Let’s look into how these flexible weekend jobs and the income potential each of them offers.
1. The Modern Taxi Driver – Drive for Uber or Lyft
How It Works: You’re probably already familiar with app-based ride-share services like Uber or Lyft. Approved drivers with a decent driving record and a well-kept car can sign up to be a driver for these apps.
When users of the app request a ride near your location, you can choose whether or not to accept it. This makes it an extremely flexible part-time weekend job option.
Income Potential: On average, drivers for Uber or Lyft report being able to make anywhere from $15 per hour to as high as $25 per hour.
The best way to maximize your income potential is to be available during popular times when rides are needed and having a gas-efficient car that gets great mileage, reducing your expenses.
2. Deliver Food with a Side Hustle App
How It Works: Similar to Uber or Lyft, DoorDash, UberEATS, and Postmates are apps that allow consumers to request food delivery from registered drivers. Typically, these apps pair with restaurants who don’t offer their own delivery service.
When a user orders food on the app, drivers deliver the food right to their door within an estimated time frame.
You can apply to become a DoorDash “Dasher” by submitting a quick online application and following the approval process to begin making money. If you already drive for Uber, getting approved for UberEATS is simple (but you can also choose to apply for UberEATS only, without also offering Uber rides).
Income Potential: DoorDashers can make up to $25 per hour just for delivering food locally.
You’re guaranteed at least $10/hr (if it’s a slow day and you earn less, DoorDash pays the difference). The Dasher makes money on tips and for the charge of service to deliver the food.
If you have a decent driving record and are available to make a few deliveries on the weekend, then delivery apps can be a great option for flexible weekend cash.
However, you should also be prepared for frustrations like issues with traffic, parking, or slow periods where you earn less.
3. Freelance Online
How It Works: As the gig economy grows, it has become very convenient for businesses to seek out freelance specialists for anything from writing content, digital marketing, temporary sales roles, bookkeeping services, etc.
Popular platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com facilitate this process, making it easy for clients and freelancers to connect and arrange payment.
Income Potential: Depending on how good you are at your chosen freelance field—and how in-demand the service is—freelancers can command high hourly rates. As an independent contractor, you get to set your rates and charge what you think you’re worth.
However, getting freelance clients does require you to spend unpaid time submitting proposals and communicating about the project, so prepare to invest time into building your reputation before the work floods in.
4. Teach English Online With Q Kids
How It Works: Q Kids is an online English teaching platform where fluent or native English speakers can teach basic English skills to students located in other countries. If you’re interested, you’ll simply apply to become a teacher on their website and schedule an interview for a part-time position.
If you are confident in your English skills, have a good grasp of grammar, and enjoy teaching, you may be a great candidate.
Income Potential: Online English teachers can make a decent wage, usually around $15 per hour.
Keep in mind the difference in time zones, so if you’re teaching to students in China, you may have to be available to teach during night hours. This is also one of the less flexible options, since you’ll usually need to keep a consistent schedule with your students.
5. Get Licensed as a Real Estate Agent
How It Works: A real estate agent is someone who sells homes on behalf of their owners and finds potential matches for those seeking to buy a home. To become a real estate agent, you need to pass a basic real estate licensing exam, so this isn’t the easiest part-time weekend job option to pick up.
However, the potential upside is the ability to make a lot of money.
The key as a successful real estate agent is to be available when your potential clients need your help. That includes being “on call” when buyers are anxious to see a home, which does put some limits on your weekend (and weekdays outside work hours).
Income Potential: Generally, real estate agents make anywhere from 5-7% commission on the sale price of a home.
So, if you sell a home worth $300,000, a conservative estimate using a 5% commission rate would be $15,000 commission on that sale. Not bad for a side job to make extra money!
6. Sell on Amazon
How It Works: If you’ve purchased products from Amazon, you may have noticed that there are options to buy from different sellers. You could be one of them, thanks to Amazon FBA.
You can learn a lot more in Peter’s article here, but in short, those sellers have access to the product via a wholesaler and list the product at their desired selling price.
The basic components you need to get started are an Amazon seller account, access to a wholesaler (which can be found by doing a basic Google search for “wholesalers for [product]”), and some up-front cash to purchase some product to sell.
Income Potential: Income potential for selling on Amazon is completely dependent on how much you can purchase and sell the product for, minus costs (i.e. your profit margin).
For instance, if you’re selling protein powder, let’s say you can purchase it for $25 from your wholesaler and sell it on Amazon for $40.
The difference, minus your other costs such as packaging and shipping, is your profit.
Even if you only make $5 on the sale of each product, if you sell 10 per day, that’s an additional $50 per day or $350 per week.
Plus, using FBA, you don’t have to worry about keeping inventory in your own space.
However, there is a risk involved as well. If you invest in a product that doesn’t end up selling, you’ll be out of luck as your inventory sits in a warehouse. Understanding market trends is key to doing well with online sales.
7. Sell on eBay
How It Works: Selling on eBay is a little different than selling on Amazon. eBay is more of an auction site where people go to find used or refurbished products (though you can also have success selling brand-new products there).
Popular products to sell on eBay are used books, electronics, or basic household items that are in relatively good condition.
An easy way to get started selling on eBay is to look for unwanted or used products around your house. Set up an eBay seller account, take a few pictures and create a description of the product, then set the minimum price to start the bidding.
You can declutter and make money at the same time while also building good reviews on your account; it’s a win-win.
Income Potential: Again, your income is dependent on the difference between your cost to buy and the sale price, minus eBay fees and other costs.
If you’re selling items around your house, then there is no immediate upfront cost to acquire the product.
8. Referee for Local Sports
How It Works: You’d be surprised at how many recreational sports need good referees in your local community. You can take a basic course to learn the basics of basketball rules or soccer rules, and then sign up to be a referee for recreational games on the weekends.
Income Potential: Usually the games are paid based on the age you are refereeing. If you sign up to be the referee of a younger age group soccer game, you may get $25 per game (which is generally about an hour-long).
If you sign up to be a referee for older, more competitive ages like a local men’s soccer league, you may get anywhere from $50 to $100 per game, which can run longer.
9. Be a Part-Time Bookkeeper
How It Works: A bookkeeper manages the budgets and expenses for local small businesses. If you’re a financial guru who enjoys budgeting, you may be a perfect fit for bookkeeping services.
Small businesses are often in need of a reputable bookkeeper who can take on the duties of ensuring that their accounts balance, they don’t overspend their budget, they are planning properly for upcoming tax payments, etc.
If you’re not already familiar with popular bookkeeping and tax software such as QuickBooks, that should be step #1.
Income Potential: If you’re a bookkeeper with some experience behind you and some good knowledge and insight on small business budgets, chances are you can make $20+ per hour.
If you’re relatively new, you may be looking at a wage of closer to $15 per hour. You can find work by marketing yourself as a freelance bookkeeper or by searching for local part-time bookkeeping jobs on sites like Indeed.
10. Become a “Jyver” – Jyve App
How It Works: Jyve is a popular app that allows local retail stores to hire part-time work for common tasks such as stocking shelves, merchandising, ordering products, e-commerce fulfillment, brand ambassador, and auditing services.
Similar to other apps such as Instacart and DoorDash, you can sign up to be a “Jyver” and market your skills to local grocery stores needing extra help stocking shelves (or doing other similar tasks).
Income Potential: Generally, the income for Jyvers is the market rate for hourly wages that labor costs in your area.
A job for someone stocking shelves might pay about $15 per job, depending on where you are located. For more information on Jyve, visit their website.
Get Creative With It
Technology has enabled entrepreneurs of all kinds to make extra money on the side when and how they want. Don’t limit yourself to these ideas! There are plenty of other income-generating opportunities not discussed here, including:
- Investing in rental properties
- Building an e-commerce store with Shopify
- Complete a couple of surveys with Survey Junkie
- Manage a local business social media page
- Become a transcriptionist transcribing audio to written text with companies like Transcribeme.com
- Proofread content for local businesses or websites
The best weekend job for you is the one that best matches your skill set, experience, and availability.
Regardless of your current circumstances, chances are that with just a little bit of extra effort on the weekend, you can bring in a few extra hundred dollars per month (or even per week).
For more weekend jobs from home ideas, browse through these 114 side gig ideas.
Other posts to check:
Kate is a writer and editor who runs her content and editorial businesses remotely while globetrotting as a digital nomad. So far, her laptop has accompanied her to New Zealand, Asia, and around the U.S. (mostly thanks to credit card points). Years of research and ghostwriting on personal finance led her to the FI community and co-founding DollarSanity. In addition to traveling and outdoor adventure, Kate is passionate about financial literacy, compound interest, and pristine grammar.
