As a single mom, managing the finances can be stressful. Having just a little extra cash each month could be huge for your budget. This is why I put together this list of the best side hustles for single moms.
From quick and easy tasks to bring in a little extra income to side hustle ideas that could turn into a full-fledged career, your options are truly limitless.
And the best part of it all? You can do the majority of these from your home! So, there is no need to try and find a sitter for the kiddos – just go ahead and forget that expense.
I split this list up to make it easier to digest. Choose which type of side hustle for single moms best suits your financial needs and time commitments.
Profitable Side Hustles for Single Moms
Here are the top side hustles for single moms to make extra money:
- Take Surveys Online
- Earn Cash Back
- Play Games Online
- Sell Unwanted Stuff
- Rent Your Extra Room
- Rent Your Extra Storage Space
- Rent Your Car
- Shop for Groceries
- Babysit
- Care for Pets
- Peer-to-Peer Lending
Easy Side Hustles for Single Moms
1. Take Surveys Online
Believe it or not, you can earn extra cash right from your living room sofa by taking online surveys through a site like Swagbucks or Survey Junkie.
These online survey sites offer cash rewards and gift cards for filling out forms, watching videos, and completing online activities.
Filling out surveys is fun, and you can rack up rewards in the process. You won’t become a millionaire overnight. But you can definitely bring in some cash or free gift cards to some of your favorite stores, such as Amazon or Target.
2. Earn Cash Back
As a single mom, you likely grocery shop a ton for the kids; why not save money by using a cash back app and earn rewards redeemable for a cash payout or free gift cards?
Using a web browser extension and app like Capital One Shopping for online purchases or Ibotta for your grocery runs really adds up!
Use multiple cash-back apps to double dip on the rewards. Fetch is another great app where you only need to take a picture of your receipt to earn rewards. That is it! Snap a quick pic of the receipt before you toss it and earn points that stack up, redeemable for free gift cards!
3. Play Games Online
I know that playing games for money doesn’t sound like something many single moms want to do, but hear me out. This isn’t sitting around and ignoring your kids by playing games all day.
Once the kids are in bed, instead of scrolling on social media or sitting and doing nothing while binging your favorite Netflix show, use an app like Rewarded Play to simply play some fun online games like Solitaire or Mahjong and earn points you can redeem for free gift cards!
4. Sell Unwanted Stuff
If you have kids, you probably have many items around the house you don’t use anymore, from old televisions to toys, games, outgrown clothes, and DVDs.
You can sell your old items on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Nextdoor. You can also head over to Decluttr, a site that buys and sells unwanted tech and media.
Decluttr covers shipping costs, and they’ll send a box right to your door. As a bonus, Decluttr wipes old electronics of any data so that they can be safely recycled or resold in their online marketplace, giving you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your private data is protected.
5. Rent Your Extra Room
This one might be one of the best side hustles for single moms with just one child. If you have an extra room in your home, consider renting it on Airbnb to bring in extra cash.
Renting your space on Airbnb may feel a bit invasive at first. But it can be a great way to bring in extra cash while meeting interesting people traveling for work – or even better, if you live near a college campus, hosting a college student for a while!
Doing this at least once a month can generate cash to make rent easier or pay down your mortgage faster.
6. Rent Your Extra Storage Space
This option might be better for those single moms who do not have a spare room to rent out. If you have a garage you do not use or an outdoor building that is half empty, consider renting it out with Neighbor.
Neighbor is an online platform that’s been dubbed the “Airbnb of Storage.” It allows you to rent your extra storage space for everything from cars to overstocked inventory.
7. Rent Your Car
It may be easier to rent your car during the day than renting your house or apartment. If you have a vehicle you’re not using, head over to Turo and put your vehicle up for rent.
This option is excellent for people with large cars like trucks, vans, or SUVs. You’ll have full visibility into the person renting your car, and the site also offers insurance to protect your property.
Putting your vehicle on Turo is one way to pay for gas, car payments, and maintenance.
And the best part is it requires absolutely no work on your part other than transferring the keys and keeping your vehicle clean, safe, and presentable.
Side Hustles for Single Moms with No Qualifications Required
8. Shop for Groceries
If you have a reliable car and are up for it, why not head over to Instacart and launch a side hustle to help local community members with grocery shopping?
Instacart shoppers get paid to buy groceries and deliver them to people around town. Customers will place orders, and you can even chat with them while collecting their items.
It’s an easy way to make a few bucks on the side to help pay for your own groceries.
9. Babysit
As a single mom, you’re already caring for your own kids. Consider scaling your childcare by offering daycare services to a couple of other parents, too.
To make it easier, you can even partner with another local mom or two in your neighborhood and take turns watching the little ones.
For people who enjoy spending time with kids, babysitting is the perfect side hustle for single moms. You get to teach kids new things, watch movies, and play. There’s also nap time to give you a much-needed breather!
Use Care.com to find sitter jobs or ask around your network to find people looking for support with their kids.
10. Care for Pets
It doesn’t matter what kind of animal it is—dogs, cats, horses, snakes, rabbits—if it has a heartbeat, you’ll care for it.
If this describes you, consider working with animals as a side hustle. You can make a lot of money walking dogs, pet sitting, playing with cats, or even tending to livestock like chickens, pigs, cows, horses, or goats.
If you don’t know where to start, check out sites like Rover. Caring for pets can be very rewarding and something you can usually work into your schedule for flexibility.
If you have space, you may even be able to have people drop their pets off at your home in the morning and pick them up at night. Most pet owners would be glad to have the help, and I am sure your kids would love to play with a new furry friend for the day!
11. Clean Houses
Cleaning houses isn’t the most glamorous work. But sometimes, it’s just about making ends meet and providing a valuable service.
You can bring your own or use your clients’ supplies when cleaning houses. You’ll work this out with individual customers, who will have their own preferences about the products and materials you use.
If you’re good at cleaning and do a thorough and consistent job, you can potentially start your own business and land steady pay as a cleaner.
12. Translate
There are many opportunities for people who are proficient in other languages.
If you are skilled in a popular language like Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, or Portuguese, you should strongly consider visiting Translate.com and looking for companies willing to pay someone to translate for them.
Translating text and audio is fun and easy if you’re fluent. Plus, it’s a solid way to keep your language skills sharp if you’re primarily speaking English every day.
13. Transcribe Audio
You don’t have to know another language to make money transcribing. You can also make decent side money by taking audio and video files and turning them into text documents.
For example, this may include working with podcasts, client interviews, marketing videos, or even phone calls. Companies often use transcription services, but they’re expensive and don’t always do an accurate job.
If you have a great ear and the patience to sit through a recording for half an hour to an hour, you should consider transcribing, as it’s one of the great side hustles for single moms.
14. Provide Customer Service
In the past, you typically had to go to a call center to provide customer service. But today, you can do it right from your living room.
Many companies worldwide outsource customer service positions to home-based workers.
These jobs tend to be in the highest demand around the holidays when a large influx of customers call with questions. However, you can find customer service jobs year-round.
Remember that these jobs are highly driven by analytics, and you usually have to stick to a script or a list of best practices, especially when working in highly regulated fields like finance or healthcare.
However, if you have good people skills and can help people solve problems and work through challenges, this type of job could be a good fit as a side hustle for single moms.
15. Rideshare Drive
Another way to put your car to use is to drive for a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft.
Driving for a rideshare service is flexible, as you can do it at any hour of the day or night. Consider driving exclusively while the kids are in school or on your way to do errands. You’ll receive a commission for each passenger you pick up, and you can earn tips, too.
By driving for Uber or Lyft, you can make money to pay for gas, car repairs, and car payments while hopefully having some money leftover to pad your emergency fund. Plus, you’ll be your own boss and can work whenever you please.
16. Plan Events
Busy working professionals often don’t have the time or expertise to plan large-scale events like weddings. Instead, they often hire private consultants to manage the process for them.
If you have experience planning weddings, consider offering your services to friends, family members, or community members. This requires a great eye for design, bargaining, and organizational skills.
At the same time, if you’re a natural, you can do it from your kitchen table, earning money with a side hustle for single moms.
Freelancing Side Hustles for Single Moms
17. Be a Virtual Assistant
There is currently heavy demand for people with great communication skills to work as virtual assistants.
Virtual assistants provide various services, from scheduling meetings, answering phones, sending emails, and coordinating interviews.
Working as a virtual assistant is great because you can do it from your own home. If you do a good job, you can receive steady pay, and often, the work is flexible enough to do as a side hustle.
At the same time, working as a virtual assistant can expose you to people who can potentially advance your career or help you get more work. You can also learn great new skills working as a virtual assistant and use those skills to get better-paying jobs.
18. Be a Freelance Graphic Designer
Do you have graphic design skills? If so, you will find no shortage of side hustles for freelance designers.
I recommend using FlexJobs to start your search for some great flexible freelance work.
FlexJobs does not solely focus on graphic design jobs, but by simply using its search and filter functions, you will find what you are looking for.
Plus, you may find other freelance opportunities on the app that interest you more!
19. Be a Freelance Writer
Freelancing as a writer is great for single moms with great writing skills. You can write content for small to mid-size companies when the kids are sleeping or at school. You don’t need a degree, but you must have impeccable grammar and understand basic SEO techniques.
With that said, there is no lack of job opportunities for freelance writers. You can find many opportunities on sites like Fiverr, and if you do your best, you might land an ongoing gig.
Parker King, the founder of The Nurse’s Purse, launched a side hustle as a freelance writer for SEO agencies and personal finance blogs that turned into a full-time career.
To get started, build an online portfolio of your best content, and do your research to set rates that reflect the quality of your work and the effort you put into it. You can find writing gigs through freelance sites like Fiverr, but I also recommend optimizing your LinkedIn profile and tapping into your network to connect with clients.
20. Be a Social Media Manager
If you’re the type of person who commands attention with your social media posts and knows how to attract followers and build an online presence, it might be time to try to become a freelance social media manager.
Suffice it to say that these skills are in high demand. You can work with local small business owners who need to bolster their social media presence and drum up business online. You can also visit sites like Fiverr or Upwork for the chance to work with companies around the world.
21. Provide IT Support
If you’re computer savvy, you may want to look into providing IT support. You’ll need a fast computer, a phone, and the patience to walk people through technical problems.
If this sounds like something that interests you, start by putting up advertisements on local bulletin boards or job boards. You can also offer your services online through social media and job sites.
Side Hustle Business Ideas for Single Moms
22. Teach English
From older working professionals to young students, the internet is full of people trying to learn English.
You could bring in some money on the side by working for a site like VIPKid. You’ll need a TESOL/TEFL certificate, a computer, and an internet connection to work for most sites, and some sites require a college degree.
Teaching English requires a lot of patience and the ability to communicate well with others. If you possess these skills, you could make a lot of money helping others improve their English capabilities. You’ll also meet all sorts of interesting people, making the job fun and rewarding.
One of the coolest parts about working as an English teacher online is that you never know who you’ll work with. The person you teach English one day could grow up to become a successful CEO, a world-famous celebrity, or a doctor who saves lives daily.
23. Sell Your Crafts and Designs
Maybe you like to draw and make art, but you don’t want to go through the hassle of putting your designs onto shirts, hats, or mugs.
That part of the process is expensive, difficult, and time-consuming. Worse, it often results in having excess stock sitting on hand, making your house feel more like a factory full of boxes than a home.
Instead, check out Amazon Merch and Etsy sites, which let you sell your designs for money. Simply upload your image, and if someone is interested, you get paid. This makes it easy and painless to sell your artwork.
24. Wholesale Real Estate
Selling real estate requires having a license or certification. However, you don’t need one to sell real estate wholesale, making it one of the best side hustles for single moms.
In a wholesale real estate transaction, you find sellers and help them locate buyers. Then, you act as a liaison, negotiating the price and helping work out a deal.
In the end, you get a cut of the commission. It’s not a bad way to earn cash if you’re good at bringing people together.
25. Run a Neighborhood Garden
If you have a nice plot of land, you may want to consider starting a community garden for your neighbors.
Plant seeds, grow vegetables, and either sell them to your neighbors or ask people for donations. Seeds don’t cost much, and after the initial setup, a small garden won’t require much maintenance.
As a bonus, gardening can be a fun and relaxing activity to unwind and bond with the kids at the end of the day.
You’ll also soak up Vitamin D by being in the sun more often.
26. Model Fashion or Makeup Accessories
You can also consider working with local organizations as a fashion model.
Often, you don’t need much or any experience to do it, and you can learn everything you need to get started through a site like Udemy. There is also an abundance of content offering tips and training on sites like YouTube.
Another way to get started is to pick up the phone and call a local modeling agency to see if they are looking for new people. You never know when you might make the right phone call at the right time.
Passive Income Side Hustles for Single Moms
27. Start Micro-Investing
The more you work, the more your money will pile up. You can generate even more by putting it into investment accounts and collecting passive income.
You can easily start micro-investing and then move on to opening a brokerage account for short-term investing and a retirement account for long-term, tax-advantaged investing.
If you make wise investments, your money can double or even triple over time—perhaps to the point that you no longer need a side hustle!
Investing doesn’t take a lot of time out of your day, making it a great side hustle for busy working moms.
Acorns is a great simple way to start investing by simply rounding up your purchases and investing your spare change. We all have to start somewhere!
28. Try Peer-to-Peer Lending
If you have a bit of a financial cushion, you may want to consider lending some of it as another potential way to generate income. Look into peer-to-peer lending sites like Lending Club, which can connect you with borrowers who need small loans.
Peer-to-peer lending is somewhat risky, as there is always a chance the person won’t make good on their loan.
However, you can usually gain visibility into who’s borrowing your money. Plus, you can determine your own interest rate.
Learn More:
Why Start a Side Hustle as a Single Mom?
A side hustle is a job you take on in your spare time to supplement your full-time income and earn extra money. You can work one side hustle, or you can have several.
Here are some of the top reasons to start a side hustle as a single mom.
- Build an Emergency Fund: As a single mom, you need to be able to cover any emergency. This isn’t an easy task for a busy mom struggling to put food on the table. Working a side hustle can help bring in extra cash. Over time, you can stockpile money to earn passive income through investments and build a robust emergency fund to handle unexpected situations.
- Pay for Food: Food is expensive. But it’s a lot easier to afford when you have multiple sources of income. Plus, if you think paying for food is tough with a child or toddler, just wait until your kids become teenagers. They’ll eat you out of house and home.
- Pay for Clothing: No sooner do you buy a new pair of pants than your kid has a growth spurt. They grow out of clothes as fast as you can buy them and these new clothes cost good money! It’s exhausting. But with a solid side hustle for single moms, you can ensure you always have enough to cover trips to Target without going into debt.
- Put Money Aside for College: Eventually, your kids may want to go to college and start a career. And with college tuition historically expensive, even with grants and scholarships, your brilliant kid might need financial support to pay for school. The more money you save now, the easier it will be to pay for college down the line.
- Have More Fun: As a single mother working and caring for little ones, it can seem like you’re always working. By working side hustles, you can save up a little more for occasional trips out with your friends without feeling guilty about it—which is essential for your mental health and well-being.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it normal for single moms to work from home?
More people than ever are working from home today, so it’s perfectly normal. If you look around, you can find great opportunities to make money online right from the comfort of your own home. And as a single mom, this could make your life so much easier, not having to commute to work every day.
Can blogging make you money as a single mom?
Starting your own blog can be fun. But it will take a lot of work before it starts to bring in serious money. For faster results, look into affiliate marketing and setting up ads through Google AdSense so you can get paid when people click on your links and buy things.
Is Craigslist safe for finding side gigs as a single mom?
Craigslist has some legitimate opportunities. At the same time, the site is also loaded with scams. Be extra cautious when finding work on Craigslist, and always meet people in public before working for them.
Is it legal to have a side hustle as well as a full-time job?
Yes. It’s legal to have a side hustle if you’re working full-time. However, it may be against your employer’s rules. If you suspect a conflict, check the rules before starting a new endeavor to avoid getting fired or sued.
Which Side Hustles for Single Moms is Best for You?
If your purse feels light at the end of each month, consider looking for ways to earn more. It doesn’t have to be a massive commitment, but the best side hustles for single moms can ensure that you and your kids have everything you need to live a healthy and happy life.
Stay-at-home single moms might want to look into home jobs that they can do while keeping an eye on the kids. If you have someone to watch your kids, look into jobs that you can do outside the home that spark your interest.
The perfect side job for single moms is the one you enjoy doing that fits your busy schedule and pays well.
You never know where your next lucrative side hustle will come from and how it might transform your financial situation before you know it.
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