I promise you, there are more legitimate ways to make more money without selling your soul to an MLM. Between summertime and inflation, the number of MLM Facebook posts I have seen has skyrocketed.
My Facebook is flooded with new MLM posts and people jumping from one MLM to the next for a “better opportunity”. You “must get in now” but they don’t share what it is, how you make money, or what it costs…you have to DM for more info.
They prey on people (mostly women) who are struggling financially and want an “easy way to make money”.
Trust me, if there was an easy way to retire in 5 years and make $20k a month only working a few hours a week like some of them claim, I would’ve figured it out by now. I know it is tempting. I know they prey on your insecurities and weaknesses. I know how badly you want it to work.
According to the FTC, 99.6% of people lose money and if you remember, they sent notice of penalty offenses to companies in 2021 (including all of the popular MLMs) concerning deceptive earning claims.
Okay enough about MLMs, you care about ways to actually make money.
Here are the four legitimate ways to earn more money.
1. Review Your Budget
Okay, I know what you are thinking; how do I earn more money by looking at my budget?! Before you decide on one of the ways to increase your income, you need to review your budget.
- Are there expenses you can reduce or cut (even temporarily)?
- Are there subscriptions you no longer need/use?
- Have you negotiated a bill lately? If not, pick one and do it
This is the easiest way to see if there is extra money you can allocate to another goal (or use as fun money). Need help with your budget? join my signature program, Flourish FinanciALLI.
2. Cash Back Apps/Rewards Cards
This does not always give you money, and sometimes it may take time to build up points, but if you are already spending the money you might as well reap the rewards that are available to you. Most of the time this takes only a few minutes to do and you can get cash or gift cards.
My favorite apps are Fetch (scan your grocery receipts) and Rakuten (cashback when you shop online). You should be signed up for all free rewards programs for any store you shop at often (Target, grocery stores, Starbucks, etc.). You should also sign up for all reward programs for travel companies you use because you can earn perks and free nights (hotels, rental cars, airlines, etc.).
3. Start a Side Hustle (through a company):
These tend to have no-to-little start up costs for you. They tend to be “as needed” and usually you have complete flexibility over your own schedule. Some even allow you to choose your own rate. Here is a list of places you can look for gig work
- Rover (dog walking/sitting)
- Care.com (babysitting)
- Doordash/ UberEats
- Uber/Lyft Driver
- Task Rabbit (various tasks needed locally)
- Online tutoring or teaching English
- Instacart or Shipt
- Amazon Flex (deliver packages)
4. Start a Side Hustle (on your own):
This one would require a little more time (and potentially money) upfront. You may not have instant success with these but if you are willing to put the time into it there is a lot of earning potential available. Here is a list of ideas:
- Make crafted items to sell on Etsy
- Make downloadable items to sell on Etsy
- Create notebooks/coloring books to sell on Amazon KDP
- Clean houses
- Start a blog
- Monetize your social media
- Resell your items on FB marketplace, Mercari or Poshmark
- Refinish and sell thrifted furniture
- Resell thrifted items
- Sell services on Fiverr
- Create an online course
- Create YouTube tutorials
There are so many different avenues you can take to earn a little extra money. Even an extra $100-$200/month can help you reach your financial goals faster. You can also do all 4 options. Pick and choose what works best for you, your lifestyle, and your schedule.
None of them will falsely tell you that if you spend $99 now you will become a #bossbabe capable of retirement in 5 years and actually cost you more money in the long run.
PS: there is a bonus module in Flourish FinanciALLI on making more money (plus 9 core money modules).
