Guides to earning extra income
Practical advice on finding opportunities, real costs, and common mistakes.
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Start with the essentials
Three guides worth reading before you pick a way to earn.
How to calculate your real hourly rate
Work out what you keep per hour from a job, task, route or rental after fees, mileage and self-employment tax, counting every unpaid hour from quoting to waiting.
Read guideTaxes on side income
Know what side income owes in income tax and self-employment tax, which form reports it, when to pay, and why a missing 1099 changes none of it.
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All 7 guides
Every guide, by topic.
- How side-hustle payouts work: methods, timing and feesCompare the four ways gig, resale, survey and AI-task apps pay you, see what each costs and how fast it lands, and spot the payout requests that signal a scam.
- Delivery driver insuranceSee what your own policy, an endorsement and a delivery app's insurance each cover when the app is off, waiting or on a delivery, and what to ask your insurer.
- How to appeal a gig app deactivationRead your deactivation notice, save your evidence, file one appeal that answers the stated reason, and spot which platforms offer no appeal or call a denial final.
- How to calculate your real hourly rateWork out what you keep per hour from a job, task, route or rental after fees, mileage and self-employment tax, counting every unpaid hour from quoting to waiting.
- How to spot side-hustle scamsSpot the scams aimed at gig workers, sellers and survey takers before you join, while you work and on your account, with one short test for each.
- How to check if a job offer is realConfirm a recruiter and role through the company's own careers page, spot the check, reshipping and paperwork requests that mark a fake offer, and know where to report one.
- Taxes on side incomeKnow what side income owes in income tax and self-employment tax, which form reports it, when to pay, and why a missing 1099 changes none of it.
Next step
Put it into practice
Use what you've learned to choose a way to earn.
FAQ
Common questions
About our guides and how we keep them useful.
Start with how to spot side-hustle scams. It applies to every way to earn, and links to the checks for each kind of scam.
Read the scams guideNo. Our guides are general information. For decisions about taxes, contracts, or your finances, talk to a qualified professional.
We follow our editorial policy and update guides when things change.
Read our editorial policyLet us know and we'll review it.
Our corrections policyGuides cover what applies across many ways to earn, like scams, taxes and getting paid. Each way to earn has its own page for the specifics.
Browse ways to earnYes. Send us the question you'd like answered and we'll consider it for a future guide.