71 Awesome Hobbies that Make Money in Your Spare time

Hobbies are a wonderful way to occupy your free time.  Participating in hobbies offers many benefits. But what if you could turn your hobby into a side income?  There are many hobbies that make money you can do at home in your free time.  I have tried several, which I will share with you at the end of the post, but first, let’s take a closer look at money-making hobbies.

What are Hobbies that Make Money?

Hobbies are anything that you enjoy doing in your spare time.  You don’t have to spend a lot to have fun or to make money with your hobby.  With all the hobbies out there, it can be hard to settle on the one that is right for you.  Never fear, I’m here to help! I will provide you with all the information that you need to get started with your hobby along with a list of specific hobbies that make money.  

How to get started with Hobbies that Make Money

Some hobbies, including those that make money, require a bit of initial investment.  Others require no investment at all. How much depends on the hobby itself. The first step is choosing a hobby that you are interested in.  Then, find out what you need to get started, and taking action on it.

Tips for Success with Hobbies that Make Money

Not every hobby is for every person, including hobbies that make money.  To be successful with your hobby that makes money, pick something that fits both your interests and your budget.  Find something that you are very passionate about. When you pick a hobby that you love to do, it keeps the “fun” part and has less of a chance of transitioning into “work”.

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Hobbies that Make Money You Can Do At Home

Sometimes you need something that you can do not just from home, but staying at home.  

• Baking

Baking may sound like a pretty ordinary hobby and you may be wondering how baking could be a hobby that makes money.  Baking takes time – time that not everyone has. Many people will happily pay you to bake a birthday cake or some cookies for a special occasion.  You could also sell things such as fresh bread and rolls around the holidays.

• Healthy Meal Prep

Many people are trying to eat healthily, but sometimes they just don’t have the time to prep lunches for the week.  If you have the time and the cooking skills, you can sell healthy pre-prepared meals for people that need something quick.

• Gardening

Nothing tastes quite like a homegrown tomato. Even a single plant in a container can yield many fruits.  There is a growing demand for fresh produce both from local restaurants and through local farmers markets.  You can not only grow your own vegetables to feed your family but make a little extra money from this fun hobby as well.

• Gaming

Why you may ask, is gaming on a list of hobbies that make money?  Many gamers broadcast on platforms like Twitch and Youtube. They talk about gear, how to do certain obstacles, puzzles, and dungeons, or simply live stream with commentary as they play.  They grow a following and monetize in much the same way that other YouTubers, vloggers, and bloggers do.

• Making T-shirts

You can screen print t-shirts at home. You can also do iron-on transfers to shirts and other apparel at home.  Other people can submit designs to you or you can try making some from your own designs to sell.   

• Reviewing Merchandise

People like to know what they are getting, especially if the item is expensive.  They want to know if the item is good quality and does what it says it will do. Reviewing things can be a good way to make money because you can get sponsors to pay you for exhibiting and reviewing their products. This usually takes the form of doing an unboxing video on YouTube or writing a blog post.   

• Beekeeping

Beekeeping is a rather unique hobby that makes money.  This gives you access to raw honey, which has many health benefits.  

• Food Preservation

Gardening is great, but the plants don’t last all year.  However, you can preserve food and still continue to reap the benefits (and the profits) from selling the jars of canned food.  Just make sure that you are abiding by all state and local laws for home canned food. 🙂

• Bonsai Trees

These are the cutest little trees!  Bonsai trees are tiny ornamental trees that you can trim in all kinds of unique ways.  People buy them for indoor decorations. If you have a green thumb, then you might try this usual hobby and sell your bonsai trees to make money.  Amazon even has starter kits with everything you need to grow your bonsai trees.  

• Computer Technician

Are you good with fixing PCs?   Many people need help in this department. If you love fixing computers, you might consider starting a hobby as a computer technician to make money on the side.  

Hobbies that Make Money Online

Many hobbies that make money are online hobbies.  These hobbies include such things as:

• Freelance writing

Are you a good writer?  There are many ways that you can start your own freelance writing business and make money from your hobby.  

• Blogging

This one is obviously my favorite hobby that makes money.  I started Start A Mom Blog as a hobby 3 years ago with a goal of making enough to cover the mortgage.  Now I have reached my ultimate goal and retired my husband! It’s easier than you think to start a blog and make money.  You can secure hosting from Bluehost or Siteground for less than $5/month.    

• Writing

Even if you are not interested in freelance writing for other people, you can still make money writing for yourself.  Do you have a book or ebook inside you? Check out my ebook by number course for a step by step walkthrough of the whole process.  

• Video Editing

If you have ever recorded any type of video, you know there are some things that need to be edited out.  You can start video editing as a hobby that makes money by offering your services to other people.

• Web Design

In this day and age, almost every business has a website.  However, not all websites are created equal. If you have some great web design skills, you may be just the hero that a local small business is looking to design their website.  Many know they need one but are clueless on how to design a great looking site that converts.

• Editing

Just as videos need editing, so do the vast amounts of writing that other people do.  If you have the spontaneous and irrepressible urge to correct people’s usage of “there, their, and they’re” then you might consider starting a hobby that can make money as an editor.  Plenty of people will say “thank you” for your corrections, instead of the eye rolls you get from your kids.

• Stock Market

I briefly tried making money on the stock market.  It did not go very well. However, many people enjoy trading on the stock market.  As hobbies go, this one can make you money, but it can also lose you money, so be sure you do your research before investing a large amount!

• Social Media Manager

Do you love being on social media?  People will pay you for that! Many bloggers need social media managers.  A social media manager does exactly what the name implies -they manage social media posts on the blogger’s behalf.  

• Coding (Develop apps and Websites)

Coding is a very techy hobby that makes money.  There is a reason that there is an app for everything now.  As people grow more dependent on their smartphones, apps are constantly in demand.  Can I get an app that finds my keys for me?

• Starting a Youtube channel

Starting a youtube channel is a hobby that goes great in combination with blogging.  What starts out as a way to make a little bit of money on the side and have fun, has the potential to grow into a full-time income.  I recently did an interview with Tasha, who is a youtube superstar. She shared her own journey along with tips on how to start your youtube channel and make money.  

• Webstore

From Etsy to Amazon – there are many ways for you to set up your own webstore

• Sell Used Books

If you are wanting to sell used books, you have several options.  Among the ones I know about are bookscouter, halfpricedbooks, and Amazon. Be sure that you are completely honest about the condition of the books, especially if they have a bit of wear.  

• Taking Paid Surveys

The most popular sites that I’ve seen for taking paid surveys are inbox dollars and swagbucks.  

• Website Optimization

If your website loads slowly, people will navigate away before the page even comes up.  This means that people will pay you to optimize their website to run lightning fast.

• Proofreading

Just like editing – people want your grammar skills.  When you write something, you are often blind to your own mistakes.  We all need a 2nd set of eyes on our writing.

• Watch Movie Previews (Inbox Dollars)

Inbox dollars is one of the paid survey sites.   They also pay you to watch movie previews as well.

• Graphic Design

Most bloggers use opt-ins to grow their email lists. This is usually some form of digital product that they give for free in exchange for an email address.  It can be something like a checklist, a planner, wall art, list of tips, a cheat sheet, or a calendar, or other type of printable.  These will all have better conversion rates if they look pretty. If you have some graphic design skills you can design these for bloggers to save them valuable time.  

Hobbies that make Money for Stay at Home Moms

Being home with your babies is amazing, but often you need a hobby as well.  It’s even better if that hobby can make you a bit of money. There are many hobbies that stay at home moms can do. If you need additional ideas after reading this list of hobbies, you can also check out 50 Real Ways To Make Money As a Stay at Home Mom.

• Flipping Garage Sale Finds
• Photography – this one does take a bit of investment up front for a quality camera, but you can either book sessions with people or take photos to sell for stock images.
• Illustrating and Design
• Cooking– like baking and healthy meal prep above, cooking is always going to be in demand.  
• Fitness – you can become a fitness instructor and help others get in shape.
• Pets – It can be very difficult to find someone to watch your pets when you are out of town if you do not have family nearby.  Pet-sitting can be a great hobby that can grow into a business. You could also do obedience training or dog walking.
• Babysitting
• Direct Selling – Checkout the companies here.

Direct selling for a hobby that makes money usually involves working for a company and selling their products from your home.  You may be familiar with some of these companies such as Avon, Limelight, Rodan and Fields, and Paparazzi Jewelry. Check out my guide for how to grow your direct sales business quickly!

• Event Planning

Do you love planning out events?  Are the showers and birthday parties that you throw always over the top with coordinating decor and cute themed everything?  You may have a knack for event planning. You can easily turn your talent into a hobby that makes money as well as help relieve stress on others.  

Hobbies that Make Money for Retirees

• Travel – If you have a travel blog, or are good at travel hacking, this hobby can actually end up making you money instead of costing money.
• Carpentry
• Refereeing – kids sports always need referees for their games.  This is a great hobby that makes money if you love sports and kids
• Auto Mechanics – Nothing is more annoying than being without my vehicle.  Even if you do not like automobiles, plenty of small engines need repairing too.  
• Buying and Selling
• Drive Others Around (Uber/Lyft)
• Catering
• Fishing – Private fishing guides hire out for several hundred dollars per trip.
• Handyman/Odd jobs
• Auto Detailing
• Teaching/Performing Magic
• Upholstery
• Product Innovation – Do you have an inner Mr. Wizard?  Do you like coming up with unique ideas to solve problems?  You might try your hand at inventing.

Best Money Making Crafts

• Painting
  • Do you have talent with a brush and canvas? You can sell your artwork online or at a local flea market or other venues.

• Woodworking
• Woodburning
  • Have you seen what people can do with this beautiful hobby?  I must say, the results can be astounding.

• Making Pet Clothing
• Making gourmet pet treats
• Flower Arranging
• Candle Making
  • Who does not love scented candles?  They are fairly easy to make and you can get started for less than $30 with a starter kit from Amazon.
• Soap Making
  • Like candle making, soap making is increasing in popularity.  It’s fairly easy to make, smells great and makes great gifts. It’s also something that’s fairly easy to market both online or through a local venue. A starter soap making kit from Amazon will run you about $15.

• Sign Making
• Cricut Crafts
  • Cricut machine is a die cutting machine.  They are extremely versatile and can be used to make all manner of crafts. They can cut designs from paper, vinyl, iron ons, cardstock, poster board and even fabric.  Your imagination is the limit on this one and you can easily transfer digital designs from your PC or smartphone.    
• Crochet
• Jewelry Making
• Sewing
  • Some may think that sewing is becoming a lost art. However, if you have the skills you can do custom alterations for people and clothing repair.
• Quilting
  • Again, quilting is a hobby that not many people know how to do any more. It’s very time intensive. However, a handmade quilt can sell for hundreds.  What’s even better is that you can make it from scraps of material that you already have laying around. A friend of mine made a quilt for her husband for Christmas out of denim scraps that she got from cutting up her kids torn jeans.  (He loved it!)
• Leatherworking

Free Hobbies that Make Money

You can have a hobby that makes money without having to invest anything.  If you have any sort of skill, you can probably transform it into a hobby that makes money by teaching others.  If teaching is not your thing, then perhaps you could get paid to coach a sport, become a local guide, do a comedy act, or public speaking.  

• Music teaching
• Comedy
• Coaching
• Public Speaking
• Home Decorating (For Others)
• Giving Dance Lessons
• Become a Local Guide

The Last Thing You Need to Know about Hobbies that Make Money

If you are looking to make money in your spare time, your own creativity is the limit.  There are many hobbies that make money to choose from. You may have to try several to find one that is a perfect fit for you and that’s ok!  I tried investing and flipping furniture before I found blogging.

Hobbies that make money are not limited by your age or financial situation.  There are hobbies that you can try that require no investment. What is your favorite hobby or one that you would like to try?

Leave me a comment below! Let me know what’s worked for you!