There are plenty of side hustles that help you make money with your vehicle, but fortunately for the car-less, there are just as many jobs you can do without a car. Learning how to make money without a car can significantly increase your income and provide more opportunities.
In fact, many jobs that don’t require a car put more money in your pocket because you don’t have to worry about expenses like gas, parking, tolls, car payments, and insurance.
With that being said, let’s dive into this list of jobs that don’t require a car. You can do most of the below opportunities with just a computer and high-speed internet.
How To Make Money Without a Car
You can use multiple methods to reach your financial goals or focus on one to excel at it. Everyone has different passions and skills. Check out the top ways to make money without a car to see what works best for you.
- Online Surveys
- Make Money with Amazon
- Play Online Games
- Bookkeeping
- Real Estate Investing
- Open an Etsy Store
- Freelance Writing
- Proofreading
- Cash-Back Apps
- Sell Your Stuff
- Blogging
- Digital Marketing
- Customer Reviews
- YouTube Channel
- Dog Walking
- Virtual Jobs
- Online Tutoring
- Teach an Online Class
- Vacation Rental
- Rent Out Storage Space
1. Online Surveys
Online surveys are a great way to earn extra money in your free time. You don’t need special skills; it’s just an opinion you’re willing to share. This isn’t the highest-paying gig when trying to make money without a car, but it can supplement your income or provide extra spending cash.
To qualify, you must complete a profile with as many details as possible about yourself. This allows the survey platforms to match you with open surveys that need the opinions of people in your demographic.
I recommend opening a separate email address for your survey platforms. You'll receive an email when an open survey needs people from your demographics. The surveys are usually first come-first serve, so the faster you try, the more likely you are to make extra money.
My favorite survey platforms include:
- Branded Surveys: Earn points for each survey you answer and redeem points for prizes, such as PayPal cash, direct deposit, or gift cards.
- MyPoints: Earn points for small tasks like taking surveys, playing games, or shopping online. You can exchange your points for prizes like gift cards.
- Survey Junkie: Earn points for answering surveys that you can redeem for PayPal or gift cards.
2. Make Money with Amazon
The Amazon platform offers many ways to increase your income when you need to make money without a car.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Affiliate links: If you run a blog, YouTube channel, or social media page, you can add Amazon affiliate links and make money when someone clicks your links and buys something.
- Writing reviews: Amazon sellers can’t pay you to write reviews (they would get banned), but you can earn money writing reviews on your blog or social media pages or by becoming an influencer. This requires affiliate links but is another way to make money from Amazon.
- Writing eBooks: Anyone can become a writer on Amazon with Kindle Direct Publishing. If you have a topic that has a large audience, consider writing a book and self-publishing to make money from home.
3. Play Online Games
If you play games to pass the time or just love playing them, you can earn a little side cash doing it. You won’t pay the mortgage your earnings, but why not line your pockets with a bit of extra cash doing what you love?
You’ll make the most money playing games you know how to master the strategy, or you can try new games and see how you do.
Here are some of my favorite sites to make money playing games:
- Bingo Clash: Playing Bingo for cash isn’t about luck but strategy. When you master the skills by playing free games on Bingo Clash, you can try your strategies to earn cash.
- Solitaire Cube: Solitaire used to be a game to play alone to pass the time, but if you’re a master at it, you can use it to make some cash on the side. It’s more fast-paced than you’re used to playing on your own, so try a few practice rounds first to see how you do.
4. Bookkeeping
If you have a background in accounting and comply with the latest bookkeeping laws, consider bookkeeping from home. You can work on your own terms as a freelancer or find a company hiring a remote bookkeeper to make money without a car.
Bookkeepers make an average salary of $21.85 an hour. Think about how quickly that can add up when you don’t have to factor in commuting time, gas, parking, tolls, and car maintenance.
You can advertise your services on various sites (like Fiverr), network online, or use your social media pages (including LinkedIn) to get clients.
5. Real Estate Investing
Real estate investing is an excellent way to earn passive income, and don’t worry, you don’t need thousands of dollars to get started.
Of course, if you have the money to purchase a property, you can become a landlord and make money from rent and capital gains from the increased property value.
If not, there are many ways to earn passive income as a real estate investor:
- REITs: Real estate investment trusts work differently than traditional real estate investments. Instead of buying a property themselves, investors buy shares of a company that purchases and manages commercial real estate properties. You earn dividends from the company’s profits and don’t have to lift a finger.
- Crowdfunding: Real estate crowdfunding platforms pool funds from many investors. They use the funds to purchase and manage real estate investments. Sites like Fundrise allow small investments as low as $10, whereas other sites like RealtyMogul require much higher investments.
- Managed properties: If you want to own properties but prefer a passive income opportunity, you can pay a property management company to manage them. All you have to do is collect rent and pay the property management company.
6. Open an Etsy Store
If you’re crafty or into creating digital products, you can sell them on Etsy. Starting an Etsy store is free, but Etsy keeps 6.5% of each sale.
The sky’s the limit with items you can sell on Etsy, but some common ones include:
- Jewelry
- Clothing
- Vintage products
- Cards
- Invitations
- Planners or calendars
- Handmade items
7. Freelance Writing
Companies of all sizes and in many industries need help with their content. Freelance writers have endless opportunities, whether they need blog posts, social media content, or marketing material.
The best way to make money freelance writing is to assemble a portfolio of past work. This shows potential clients what you can produce to help their company grow.
Before offering freelance writing services, decide what you want to provide, whether you’ll write blog posts consistently, manage a company’s social media feed, or create ad copy for their marketing department.
You can advertise your services on Fiverr and Upwork to get more clients and market for yourself using your social media pages, including LinkedIn.
8. Proofreading
You can make money proofreading if you pay great attention to detail and have great grammar skills. The average proofreader makes about $22 an hour, depending on the type of services you offer.
You can proofread blog posts, eBooks, websites, and almost any other content.
Collecting testimonials from past clients can help you get more clients, but Fivver and Upwork often have a large audience for companies and individuals looking for proofreading help.
9. Cash-Back Apps
One of the easiest ways to make money without a car is to sign up for cash-back apps. These apps pay you to shop, especially online, so you never have to step foot in your car to make money.
Each app works a little differently, but overall, they pay you to shop through their portal. You’ll usually earn a percentage of your purchase back. You can cash out when you hit their stated threshold.
Just be sure you understand how the app works. Some are extension browsers that automatically credit you for the purchase, and others are apps you must log into and shop through, heading to your designated store to get credit for the purchase.
Here are my favorites:
- Capital One Shopping: This browser extension ensures you get the best deal for the exact product you’re shopping for online. You can also earn shopping credits for shopping at specific stores that you can redeem for gift cards.
- Upside: Earn cash back while grocery shopping, filling your gas tank, or eating out. Just activate the offer in your Upside app before checking out, upload your receipt, and you’ll earn cash in your account to redeem for digital gift cards.
- Rakuten: Shop online with 3,500+ stores and automatically earn a percentage back in cash. The only downside is you only receive the earned cash once per quarter.
10. Sell Your Stuff
Don’t overlook the opportunity to make money without a car just by selling items around your house.
You don’t need to wait until the warmer months to host a garage sale. Instead, you can sell items on many sites or apps. A few examples include Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Poshmark, and Craigslist.
Of course, if you want to have a yard sale, that’s an option, too. If you choose to sell items online and meet people in person to exchange the product for money, be sure you do so in a safe place, such as the local police station or a populated shopping center area.
11. Blogging
Blogging is a great avenue when learning how to make money without a car. If you are passionate about a topic and can find an underserved niche, you can earn money blogging.
Of course, this doesn’t happen overnight. You must build a solid audience and keep them captivated. Once you do, you can monetize your site with sponsored posts, affiliate links, and ads. When readers click on your links and make a purchase, you earn a small amount of commission.
12. Digital Marketing
If you know the latest marketing tactics, you can make money at home doing digital marketing.
Small businesses especially need help running their ad campaigns, especially Facebook and Instagram ads. Depending on your free time, you can run ads for many businesses, increasing the amount of money you make from home.
13. Customer Reviews
Focus groups are a great way to make money and make a difference with the products and services available. Market research companies and brands need customers’ opinions to understand what they think about their products and services.
Many companies run focus groups online, so you don’t need a car to get to them and can conduct the interview in the comfort of your own home. Some require you to come in person, but they often pay $100+ depending on the survey length.
Check out Focus Group or User Interviews to see how easy it is to make money with online focus groups.
14. YouTube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel allows you another opportunity to make money from home. All you need is the personality to create fun videos and a focus on a niche in high demand.
Like blogging, you must garner a sizeable audience before making money streaming on YouTube. But, once you do and are accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, you can earn money with the following methods:
- Ad revenue: YouTube runs ads on your videos and shares a portion of the revenue with you.
- YouTube Premium: If YouTube Premium subscribers watch your channel, you earn some of the revenue from their premiums.
- Channel memberships: You can create memberships to your channel, giving subscribers special benefits.
- Super Chat and Super Thanks: Fans can pay for highlighted comments or send you ‘tips’ as a thanks for your content.
- Shopping: You can provide links to your store or affiliate links to make more money.
15. Dog Walking
If you’re great with animals, consider starting a side hustle walking dogs or even pet sitting. You choose the services you’ll offer and where you’ll offer them.
For example, you may offer to walk dogs during the day while their owners are at work, or you may consider offering long-term pet sitting either in your home or the owner’s home.
You choose your prices, when you’re available, and the services you offer. While you can advertise your services on flyers or social media for your local area, there are a couple of sites that make promoting your services even easier:
- Rover: Advertise your pet services on Rover, and let Rover do all the administrative work for you. You leverage their large audience and can match with hundreds of pet owners in your area. Keep in mind Rover keeps 20% of your fees charged.
- Wag: 400,000 sitters and dog walkers already use Wag to advertise their services, making money from home playing with pets. They operate in 5,300 cities across the United States; however, they keep a larger percentage of your earnings than Rover.
16. Virtual Jobs
Virtual jobs, as you guessed, are jobs you do from home on your computer. The most popular way is virtual assistants, or administrative assistants who work virtually.
Other ways to work virtually include bookkeeping, tax preparation, data entry, web design, and freelance writing.
If you aren’t sure what you want to get into, browse the current listings on Fiverr. You can see what other professionals offer and determine if you can do something similar or better.
The nice thing about virtual jobs is you set all terms, including your prices, turnaround time, and exact services you’ll offer.
17. Online Tutoring
I love the option to offer tutoring online because it widens your audience considerably. You aren’t restricted to people in your demographic area; you can tutor anyone worldwide!
If you want something structured, you can sign up for services like VIPKid, where you teach English to Chinese students. You work on China’s local time, which usually means working late at night, but this is good for parents with small children; you can work when they are sleeping.
You can also offer tutoring services in almost any subject online and advertise to elementary through college-level students. Determine what subjects you’re a master at and offer tutoring services, making $25 to $50 an hour, depending on the subject.
18. Teach an Online Class
Another great way to learn how to make money without a car is to teach an online class. This differs from tutoring because you teach the course once and sell it repeatedly online.
You don’t have to be certified to teach an online class. If you have exceptional knowledge of a topic, you can teach it! It can be anything from learning how to knit to teaching complex accounting topics.
There are many platforms for online classes, but my favorite is Udemy. You upload the course to their site and then can leverage their incredible audience. With the right marketing tactics, you can make good money with your online class and even upsell students with one-on-one coaching or subscriptions to ongoing courses or information.
19. Vacation Rental
Second homes are great to have when you want to get away, but letting them sit vacant can be a waste of money. Instead, consider listing your home on Airbnb and making money on vacation rentals.
This is another form of real estate investing, but it’s on your terms. You choose when the property is available, how much rent you’ll charge, and what amenities you offer.
Check out the Airbnb site to see the average rent you could earn in your area and all the services they offer, including:
- Guest identity verification
- Reservation screening
- Damage protection (up to $3 million)
- Liability protection (up to $1 million)
- 24/7 customer service
Airbnb keeps 3% of the booking fee for most rentals.
20. Rent Out Storage Space
If your empty space isn’t livable but is excellent for storage, consider listing it on Neighbor. This online peer-to-peer storage platform advertises your storage space to people in your area.
You can list storage areas for personal items, cars, boats, RVs, and business inventory. Like Airbnb, you set the prices, availability, and rental terms. Neighbor keeps 4.9% plus $0.30 of every rental fee.
Where Can I Find Legitimate Remote Work Opportunities Without a Car?
If you don’t want to start a side hustle and prefer a legitimate job, check out FlexJobs, a website that lists the latest, legitimate work-from-home opportunities for both part-time and full-time jobs.
You can also scour listings on social media pages, Indeed, or network by calling companies to see if they are hiring any work-from-home positions.
FAQs
Knowing how to make money without a car opens many opportunities for you. Here are some common questions I get from being looking to get started.
How Can I Make Money Fast Without a Job?
There are many ways to make money fast without a job. If you want to make a steady income to cover the bills, look for freelance opportunities like writing, proofreading, bookkeeping, or tutoring. You can also incorporate passive income opportunities like real estate investments or renting your home or storage space.
How Can I Make Money in My Free Time?
If you’re looking for a way to make money in your free time, consider things like playing games, answering surveys, or shopping online through cashback apps. These are all great opportunities to earn a little money on the side while sitting in the doctor’s office, watching TV, or waiting for your child to come out of practice.
How Can I Make $500 Fast Without a Car?
Believe it or not, it’s easy to make $500 fast without a car. The key is to determine what you’re good at and love doing. For example, if you love pets, consider pet sitting, or if you love writing, become a freelancer writer. If that’s your goal, the best way to ensure you make $500 is to diversify your efforts to maximize your earnings.
No comments yet. Add your own