5 Ways To Make Money From Home That Are Legit

Long before I became a single mom, I was a stay-at-home-mom. While my then-husband supported us, I was constantly trying to find ways to help with the household expenses.

I did years of Google searches, which often led to wasted hours signing up for survey companies or get-rich-fast schemes that left me with nothing but an inbox full of spam emails.

I did have some success, though, and I'd like to share those successes with you in hopes that it helps other moms struggling to make ends meet or trying to find a way to feel like they're contributing financially to the household (even though trust me stay-at-home-mama's, I know you've got the hardest job around).

So, without further ado, here are 5 ways I've made money working from home- some of which I'm still doing 6 years later.

1. Textbroker

This is the top dog for me because it's how I supplement my income from working at a school.

I've been a Textbroker author for 6 years and I really enjoy it. You're basically a freelance writer who gets paid per word for their work. Once you turn in your work, you give up any rights to it in exchange for payment.

Authors are rated on a scale of level 1 to 5 and are paid accordingly. The higher the level, the more you get paid per word.

There are three ways to receive orders- open, direct, and team. Open orders are up for any author within that particular level. Direct orders are sent directly to the author and you set your own price per word. Team orders are given to a smaller pool of authors that have to "try out" for the team in order to be selected for it.

I make most of my money through direct orders. I've been doing it for so long that I've built up a reliable clientele.

Payments are made twice a week and are made through a third-party company called Payoneer. The money is then directly deposited into your bank account.

2. Epoll Surveys

Another company that I've worked with for years is Epoll Surveys. They send out surveys through email that pertain to celebrities, movies, and television.

I've gotten to do some pretty cool surveys, like watching new shows before they premiere and giving my opinion on awards shows.

You accumulate points for every survey you take. Once you reach a certain number of points, you can either make a donation to a charity or cash in the points for PayPal money or gift cards to places like Wal-Mart and Amazon.

You won't make a ton of money doing this, but I like to save the gift cards up and use them for Christmas gifts at the end of the year.

3. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is another company that pays out in either PayPal or gift cards. This one can be time-consuming, though, so I don't do it unless I'm really in need of extra funds.

You accumulate points by taking surveys, watching videos, doing searches, making online purchases, signing up for special offers, and more.

People that are really devoted to this can make a decent chunk of change, especially if you do a lot of online shopping.

4. Blogging

It's what I'm doing right now...sharing what I know or feel with others and maybe making a little bit of money in the process.

I'm pretty new to this whole blogging thing and I haven't made anything so far, but I have learned that Blogger and Word Press are the top 2 choices for new bloggers.

They both have desktop sites and apps you can use so you can even blog on-the-go.

To make money, you need companies to pay you to put advertisements on your blog. Most companies won't do this unless your blog generates a lot of traffic.

You can also become an Amazon Affiliate where you include Amazon links in your blog and get paid when someone purchases the product you've linked or makes another qualifying purchase within a specified timeframe from one of your links.

You can also have subscribers to your blog pay for special features like access to members-only deals and offers.

5. Etsy

If you're crafty, you can try selling your products on Etsy. I had a wooden sign-making business for a bit and tried my hand at this. I did find the process a bit confusing, especially when it came to the sales tax portion.

In addition to selling on Etsy, you can create a business page on Facebook and Instagram to generate followers and thus, the possibility of more customers.

I have some friends that also participate in craft shows and manage to make a decent amount of money.

There are so many ways to make money working from home, but none of them will get you rich fast. Like any good thing, hard work and perseverance will pay off in the end. Find something you enjoy and then stick to it. Eventually, you'll see all that hard work paying off and you'll be able to say you did it all on your own. Good luck!