What if you could make some extra money with a fun hobby? Whether you’re wanting to save up for a trip, pay off debt faster, or make a full-time income from home, these money-making hobbies can help you get there.
Now first things first: this is not an endorsement for hustle culture. I fully believe in the importance and value of slow living, in fact I highly encourage you to live a slow and peaceful life. I would never want to promote the idea that we should all be out there hustling, working 80-hour weeks just to pay the bills.
BUT as someone who craves a more enjoyable life- one where I can work for myself, set my own schedule, and afford a life where I’m not worried about whether or not the bills are getting paid, I understand the need for some extra cash.
But just because you’re working towards some extra money doesn’t mean you can’t be cozy while doing it.
That’s why the money-making hobbies on this list are ones that you can do from the comfort of your home, on your own schedule, and without adding a lot of stress to your life.
So if you’re ready to create a better life for yourself, here are 8 cozy money-making hobbies you can do from home!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally would use or do currently use. Please read full disclosure for more information.
1. Creating digital products
We live in the digital age, and digital products are booming right now. And the best part? You don’t really need any special skills or talents to be successful at this.
If you have a laptop, wifi, and an idea, you’re ready to go.
There are so many types of digital products you can create. Do a quick Google search for ‘digital product ideas’ and you’ll see an uncountable number of articles come up with hundreds of ideas.
Coloring pages, Airbnb signage, planners, bottle labels, digital stickers, Lightroom presets, workbooks, literally so. much. stuff.
And one of the best things about digital products- you create them once, list them for sale, and they can keep selling on repeat without you ever having to touch that product again. Once you get the product created, it’s truly passive income.
If you’re interested in selling digital products, here’s a little quick guide to getting started:
- Sign up for Canva or even use Google Docs. If using Canva, a free account is all you need, especially if you plan to create & sell Canva templates. There are also very successful creators who create everything in Google docs. I’m telling ya, it doesn’t take much to get started.
- Brainstorm the type of digital products you want to create. It helps to have an idea of what your niche could be. Here are a few examples, but definitely not all the possibilities:
- digital downloads/printables for Airbnb hosts
- social media/marketing graphics for content creators
- Planners & notebook templates
- Mental health related products
- digital downloads/printables for home (think labels for cleaning products, check lists, etc.)
- printables for kids (coloring pages, learning guides, wall art)
- Pick a platform. A lot of people sell digital products on Etsy or create a Shopify store. I personally have an Etsy store, but mainly sell on my store site which I have through Payhip (and highly recommend). Payhip is free to use and allows you to completely customize the site, and even use a custom domain if you have one! Here is my digital products site in case you’re curious!
- Start creating! And try not to judge yourself too harshly. Your first few designs may honestly be crap (mine were), and that’s okay. Every successful digital product creator started out where you are. Practice truly makes perfect. Seriously, looking at some of my products now compared to what I was creating when I started out is like night and day.
2. Blogging
I may be a little biased, but I truly believe that blogging is one of the best ways to make money from home. Despite what you might think, blogs are still very much thriving (I mean, you are reading a blog right now), and the potential for income is so great.
Here are a few ways bloggers make money:
- Affiliate marketing: share a product using a custom link with your specific tracking code, and make money when someone clicks the link and buys the product (or even buys anything from that website)
- Site ads: the ads that pop up when you’re on a site. Some companies pay per views, some pay per clicks.
- Selling digital products: Whether it’s a membership, a digital download, or something else, a lot of bloggers sell digital products on their site specifically created for their audience.
- Selling a service or courses: Many bloggers sell services (for example: helping coach you on starting a business), or create courses on their areas of knowledge.
The great thing about creating your own blog is that you can choose how you want to make money. Each blogger has their own preferences. Personally, I have no interest in selling services, so I don’t. I am also not a fan of sites that have a bunch of ads, so I keep the ads on my site to a minimum, and am considering getting rid of them altogether.
If you’re interested in learning more about blogging and making money, you can read my other blogging posts here: Blog posts about blogging for beginners
3. Making and/or editing videos
If you like to make or edit videos, now is the best time yet to make money from it. Videos are taking over social media- it’s rare to get on Instagram and see a photo post anymore.
And making videos is becoming easier to do, even if you’ve never made one before.
If you aren’t sure how to get started with this, look at the type of content you enjoy watching online, and try to practice making similar content. Your first several videos might be duds, and that’s okay! If you keep at it, you will keep improving and can be well on your way to making an income from the videos you create.
Like to edit videos but not interested in making them for yourself? Sites like UpWork and Fiverr are great spots to find some video editing jobs to build up your skills! Just make sure you get paid fairly for the work you’re doing!
There is also the growing industry of UGC (user-generated content), which allows people like you and I to create content without showing our faces or posting on our own accounts. You’re essentially making marketing content for companies to show off their products, which they will then use to post on their own accounts.
4. Embroidery is a surprising money-making hobby.
If you’re a cozy homebody like me, you probably know how cute embroidery can be. And you may have even made some embroidery for yourself!
Whether you like to complete the embroidery yourself, or create patterns for others to use, there is a marketplace looking for your work. Etsy has so many examples of this, especially for those interested in selling embroidery patterns and templates.
If you’re a fan of cozy needlework, this hobby could be one you easily turn into a healthy side income or even a full-time gig!
5. Gardening/homesteading
If you love spending time out in the garden, why not make some money from it?
You likely started a garden to have fresh produce for you and your family, but if your time/space allows, why not add a little extra to the garden to bring in some extra cash?
Everyone loves fresh produce- it tastes better than most of the stuff you can get from the grocery store, and just feels more authentic. I live in a super small town, and we have farm stands all around that get sold out constantly, despite the low population.
If you can grow enough extra produce to set up even a small table of produce to sell, your wallet can benefit.
This could also work with selling eggs, or even flowers! Grow what you can, and find a farmer’s market you can sell at on weekends! People in my town even have success just setting up a table in their front yard with a little box for buyers to put the money in.
6. Planning travel is a money-making hobby most people forget about
We live in the digital age and if you’re anything like me, you probably thought travel agents were extinct. But much to my surprise, there is still a whoooooole big group of people out there who get stressed out by the planning part of travel.
I personally loooooove the planning part, and because others know that, I’ve had many people ask me for advice/tips on traveling.
There are so many ways you could make money from planning travel. Here are a few ideas:
- Plan trips for people, and charge a fee (the classic travel-agent way)
- Create and sell guides (ideally digital) for places you’ve traveled to and know well, that others can use to help plan their own trips & reduce some of the stress
- Start a newsletter or subscription site where you share travel deals or use affiliate links to help others find discounted travel while you earn a commission
There are other ways to do this, and if you get creative you can find so many ways to make money as a lover of travel planning! You could even create a digital products business (like we talked about in #1) focused on travelers!
Along with planning trips, I think the travel niche is one that’s great for making money. People will always travel, and that means there will always be a market for travel-related content and products.
7. Baking
Just like with fresh produce, people will always be in the market for baked goods. Whether it’s desserts for an event or fresh loaves of bread for every day consumption (people are truly obsessed with sourdough right now), there is market out there for small, local bakers.
If baking is something you’re good at, why not try to turn it into something that will help you make a little extra money?
Even if you’re short on time, this is something you can do! Take as few or as many orders as you want, and spend your time getting all cozy in the kitchen while making delicious and beautiful treats that people want to pay you for!
8. Doing your hobbies can be a money-making hobby
Nope, that’s not a typo.
What I mean by it is this: there’s a whole market out there for people interested in ‘hobbies’. Whether it’s playing video games, or putting together puzzles, or doing pottery, or reading, or literally countless other things- there’s likely an audience for it.
If you have an interest in sharing your hobbies with others, why not start an Instagram account dedicated to this? You don’t even have to show your face if you don’t want!
I follow an account that just shares cozy video game ideas. I’ve seen accounts of people just building Legos. Ever seen a video pop up of someone just cleaning a rug? Yep, there are so many accounts out there of people doing the most random things, and these accounts can get millions of views per video.
There is truly an audience for anything.
Now I’m not saying that everyone should film themselves doing their hobbies and try to make money off of it. But if this is an idea that excites you, why not go for it?
If you do try this though, just make sure not to let it become about the money and take the joy out of the hobby for you.
I hope these ideas for money-making hobbies have inspired you and given you some excitement about starting a fun little side gig.
Reminder: the idea of hustling is overrated, and slow living is a much healthier approach. If you take up a money-making hobby, make sure to find some balance with it that keeps you from losing all enjoyment in the hobby itself.
Got a cozy money-making hobby that you love but didn’t see on this list? Let me know in the comments!
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