How to Make Money from Home During COVID-19 Quarantine

Are you stuck at home due to the novel COVID-19 outbreak? Your local restaurants, gyms and theaters might be closed, but that doesn’t mean you’ll need to live off your savings during the current quarantine. There are plenty of ways to make money from home and supplement your income during these uncertain times.
Today, we’ll show you a few different methods you can use to earn money at home while practicing safe social distancing.

1. Trade Stocks
Though current stock market news outlets are dominated by stories on new lows, veteran stock traders know that volatility is one of the key factors necessary to make money from stocks. Investing in the stock market isn’t only a long-term process — you can also make money by taking advantage of short bursts of market volatility.
There are a few different short-term strategies you can use to make money trading stocks, including:

Day trading is a stock trading strategy that capitalizes on hour-to-hour price movements. Day traders aim to buy stocks when they’re undervalued and sell them at a higher price, saving the profits between the 2 trades. As the name suggests, day traders usually hang onto the stocks they buy for a day or less.
Swing trading is a type of speculative trading that tries to take advantage of price movements over a few days. Swing traders buy stocks that they believe are undervalued, then sell them as they peak in value. Traders who use the swing trading strategy hold onto their stocks for a few weeks or months before selling them and primarily use technical analysis to choose which assets to buy.
Shorting a stock means you borrow a certain number of shares of a stock or ETF from your broker, sell them and purchase them later at a lower price. Once you’ve repurchased the shares you borrowed, you’ll return them to your broker and keep the profits. Shorting is appealing because unlike day trading or swing trading, you don’t need much capital to invest when you first begin. However, shorting can also multiply losses, so you should remember to do your research before you start.

2. Sell Your Old Stuff

Chances are, you have DVDs you don’t watch anymore or an old iPhone you no longer use. Selling your old electronics doesn’t just offer you a way to make money from home — it also helps you free up space and clutter in anticipation of the coming spring season. Let’s take a look at how to make money from home by selling your old electronics.

Decluttr

Decluttr is an online marketplace for selling your old textbooks, electronics, cellphones and more without worrying about online auctions. Selling with Decluttr is simple — start by searching for the items you want to sell to learn more about how much you can earn. If you’re selling books, video games or DVDs, you can quickly find what you’re looking for by scanning each item’s barcode. You’ll get an instant price for each item, which you can lock in for 28 days.
Once you’ve completed your order, pack up your tech and print out your free shipping label provided by Decluttr. Ship your box at your local UPS center and receive next-day payment for your items via PayPal, check or direct deposit.

BuyBackBoss

Have an old smartphone or tablet hanging around since you’ve upgraded? Turn it into cash with BuyBackBoss’s simple system. Begin by telling BuyBackBoss a little bit about the device you’re selling and its condition. You’ll receive an instant offer, which you can then lock in while you ship your device. Be sure to accurately describe your item’s condition for the most accurate estimate possible.
From there, BuyBackBoss will provide you with a free shipping label via email. Print out your label, package your device and ship it. Once BuyBackBoss receives your item, you’ll get paid via PayPal or a check in the mail. It’s simple, easy and quick. Selling your old devices to BuyBackBoss is a fast way to earn a little extra cash while you’re home.

3. Drive For Uber

If your area isn’t on a full lockdown order, you can earn money by signing up for a ridesharing app like Uber or Lyft. Hospital staff, restaurant workers and public safety officers still need rides to work, even during a quarantine.
During a pandemic, it’s especially important to keep your vehicle sanitized when offering rides. Use these tips to keep yourself and your passengers safe while you drive.

Start with a clean slate. Before you sign up with a ridesharing app, clean out any trash or toys in your car. Provide a small trash receptacle for guests in the backseat. You may also want to offer tissues to prevent guests from coughing or sneezing directly into the air.
Sanitize after every passenger. Keep a set of cleaning tools in your vehicle to sanitize after every passenger. If you have a leather interior, wipe your backseat with disinfecting wipes. You may also want to spray the interior of your vehicle with a disinfectant after each passenger. Disinfect the handle, window and interior door of your vehicle after each passenger as well.
Avoid unnecessary contact. Avoid shaking hands with or hugging passengers during or after your ride. Request that your passengers sit in the back seat of your vehicle if room is available. If possible, use hand sanitizer between each ride and wipe your steering wheel down with a disinfectant wipe.

4. Pick Up Home Gigs

It’s never been easier to pick up extra work outside of your standard 9-to-5 in the on-demand gig economy. Gig websites like Upwork and Guru are always buzzing with simple tasks you can complete from home to earn extra money.
Some in-demand skills clients are often looking for include:

Tutoring: Schools across the country have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and parents will pay to keep their children’s skills sharp with virtual tutoring. All you need to get started is a webcam and a passion for a particular subject! Some companies require you to have an education degree — check the requirements before you get excited about this idea.
Copywriting: Have a flair for the written word? Many marketing companies and websites are now turning to freelancers to create content on their behalf.
Video editing: If you have experience editing sound or video, you may be able to find work piecing together video footage for everyone from YouTubers to marketing agencies.
Coding: As more and more employees work from home, more companies than ever need freelance coders to create websites and redesign existing pages.
Social media management: If you have experience growing a company or professional’s platform over a specific social media channel, you can earn money managing and regularly posting to a brand account.

5. Get in Touch with a Financial Advisor

A financial advisor is any financial professional who helps you manage your money and investments. Advisors provide tailored advice to help you meet your financial goals. Financial planners are a popular type of financial advisor who specialize in helping you create and meet long-term financial goals. Before working with a financial advisor, make sure you decide what your financial goals are and come up with a list of questions to help you determine if the advisor’s services fit your needs.

6. Get Paid to Shop with Shipt

Earn up to $22 per hour with Shipt. Shipt is a membership-based grocery marketplace that delivers fresh foods and household essentials. Apply and interview, get approved and download the app — plus meet a few other requirements. You:

Must be at least 18 years of age.
Need a valid U.S. driver’s license and auto insurance.
Are required to have a reliable vehicle —1997 or newer.
Must have knowledge of the produce selection.
Must need to be able to lift 40 pounds.
Need to have an iPhone (iOS 10 or newer) or Android (5.1 or newer) smartphone.

Shipt enables no-contact deliveries, or door drops-offs. All deliveries default to “Leave my order at my door” on the Shipt app and website. You can communicate with customers directly through the app and can decide whether to accept orders that require a physical hand-off. It’s a great idea to use hand sanitizer before and after delivery.

Extra Tip

Has your workplace recently transitioned to remote employment? You might find yourself feeling restless and off-task throughout the day. Take some time to learn how to work from home more effectively by enrolling in a course designed to help you increase your at-home productivity.
Check out Working Remotely: How To Succeed In The New Workplace, a course designed to maximize your concentration and focus as you work from home for the first time. Best of all, you can complete the course entirely online through the Udemy platform.

Earning Money on Your Own Time

From online tutoring to mastering the stock market, there are plenty of ways to earn money and practice social distancing. Unfortunately, there are also scammers looking to prey on laid-off workers and stay-at-home parents searching for work-from-home opportunities. Be wary of accepting any form of payment except cash for your work, refuse to handle payments on someone else’s behalf and reject “job offers” that require your banking details or money upfront. If a financial opportunity seems too good to be true, chances are that it isn’t legitimate.

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