15 Solitary Ways for Introverts to Make Money (No Conversation Required)
4Introverts have been getting a lot of buzz in the past few years. Everyone wants to tell us how to survive in what is, apparently, an extroverted world.
But what if you just want to live in an introverted world?
Luckily, we love to cash in on work-from-home opportunities, so you can keep your interaction with the outside world to a bare minimum.
Here are some creative jobs for introverts that don’t compromise your very real need to just be left alone sometimes.
1. Get Paid for All the Time You Hide out Online
You’re probably doing it right now: browsing the internet at your desk, in your bedroom or in the bathroom at a party… It’s a great way to escape and clear your head.
You could also be getting paid for this. Yup, Swagbucks pays you to watch videos! You won’t earn a lot (up to 150 “SBs,” or rewards points, per day), but the videos are in all sorts of categories — entertainment, home, travel — so you’re likely to find something that appeals to you.
Or, try this trick: Just turn off the sound on your computer, open a new tab and keep the videos going in the background while you work on something else.
You could earn up to $90 a month watching videos through Swagbucks!
2. Shop Online So You Never Have to Go Outside
You know what it’s like out there. Stores are full of people crammed into aisles, holding up the line, chatting you up for no good reason.
Skip it, and shop online. You can find everything you need without talking to a soul. Plus, we’ve got a secret tool to help you make some of your money back.
This secret weapon is called Capital One Shopping — a tool that gets you money back for your online purchases. It’s free to sign up, and once you do, it will scan your email for any receipts. If it discovers you’ve purchased something from one of its monitored retailers, it will track the item’s price and help you get a refund when there’s a price drop.
Plus, if your guaranteed shipment shows up late, Capital One Shopping Shopping will help you get compensated.
Disclosure: Capital One Shopping Price Protection compensates us when you sign up using the links we provide.
3. Help Others Succeed Without Leaving Your House
Contrary to what some extroverts think, introverts do like to help others. If we can make money doing it from the comfort of our home, all the better. So a job making up to $60 an hour helping others succeed — while skipping the face-to-face — sounds like a dream come true.
Those are the perks of working as a bookkeeper, says Ben Robinson, a certified public accountant and business owner who teaches others to become virtual bookkeepers.
And no, you don’t have to have a CPA to be successful in this business. In fact, all you really need are decent computer skills and a passion for helping business owners tackle real-world problems.
We talked to Robinson about what it takes to become a virtual bookkeeper, as well as tips and advice for making this career track work for you. You can read the full interview here, or check out his website for more information.
4. Let This App Spot You a Few Bucks When You Need It
It’s happened to all of us at some point — the dreaded overdraft. It’s not only embarrassing if your card gets declined at the grocery store over a few bucks, but the fees that come with it only put you further into a hole. Double yikes.
But a banking app called Chime® wants to protect you from both of those problems with its SpotMe® feature1. It’s a fee-free overdraft protection that lets you overdraft up to $2001 (for eligible members) without penalty.*
Yep. Just sign up for a free Chime checking account and set up a qualifying $200 monthly direct deposit to take advantage of this face-saving tool. You’ll also get access to other sweet features, like getting paid up to two days2 earlier with direct deposit, help automatically growing your savings and access to more than 60,000 fee-free3 ATMs.
Signing up takes just a few minutes. You’ll need your Social Security number handy — but don’t worry, your information is protected by bank-level security, FDIC insurance and two-factor authentication.
5. Get Paid to Drink by Yourself
Drinking at bars is overrated.
It’s loud, people are everywhere — and they might even try to talk to you. It’s probably better to stock up on some adult libations and just drink at home by yourself.
Ibotta understands and will actually give you money for buying booze (other things) at grocery and liquor stores. If you’re feeling adventurously social, it works at bars and restaurants, too.
Here’s how it works:
Before heading to the store, search for items on your shopping list within the Ibotta app. When you get home, snap a photo of your receipt and scan the items’ barcodes. Bam. Cash back.
Ibotta is free to download. Plus, you’ll get a $5 sign-up bonus after uploading your first receipt.
6. Earn Money From Credit Card and Bank Bonuses
Did you know a lot of credit cards and banks will give you money just for signing up? Instead of getting a toaster, they’re getting straight to the point these days: cold, hard cash.
These bonuses usually come with a few requirements. Typically, you’ll have to spend a certain amount on the credit card or deposit a certain amount into the bank account within the first few months of opening — so find one that’ll reward you for your normal spending habits.
Here’s an option we like: It’s the Chase Freedom Unlimited card*. Its claim to fame? You’ll earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all your purchases. Plus, if you spend $500 in your first three months of opening the card (hi, groceries), you’ll pocket a $150 bonus.
There’s no annual fee, and the cash-back rewards don’t expire.
7. Take Surveys While You Stay Home on Saturday Night
We know surveys aren’t going to make you rich quickly. But if you’re just vegging out on the couch avoiding Facebook event invites, why not use the time to make some extra cash?
There are a bunch of paid survey sites out there, but some of the best we’ve found are Point Club and Harris Poll.
8. Improve Your Fitness Routine While You Skip Happy Hour
Avoiding people doesn’t have to mean you’re cooped up inside all the time.
Maybe you’ve been working on your solo fitness routine to shed some pounds.
Picture this: You step on the scale and finally see your goal weight.
Congratulations! But it gets even better.
You’re about to receive a generous check you can spend on stuff to do alone or wisely stick into your savings — all just for losing weight!
It’s not a fantasy. If you wager on your own commitment to losing weight with HealthyWage, this could very well happen for you… as long as you stick to your guns and lose the weight.
Here’s how: Sign up for HealthyWage, and define a goal weight and a timeframe to achieve it. Place a monetary bet on yourself, of at least $200 a month.
HealthyWage’s calculator will consider how much weight you have to lose, how much time you give yourself to do it and how much money you wager to determine your reward. You could win up to $10,000!
9. Sell Your Stuff Without Inviting People Into Your Home
Negotiating and bartering are tough for anyone. For introverts, they can be agonizing.
Selling your stuff with an app like Letgo lets you skip the trip to the record store or the awkward liaison with a Craigslist buyer.
Start taking a good hard look at your belongings. What do you actually need? What can you make money from?
10. Stay Behind the Camera: Sell Your Smartphone Photos
Occupy yourself on nights out or at parties by snapping photos of other people. It’s a great way to join in on the fun without really interacting with people.
Plus, we found an app called Foap that helps you turn your smartphone photos into cash.
To use it, you’ll download the Foap app on your Android or iPhone, upload your photos and make them available for purchase on the Foap Market.
You’ll split the profit 50-50 with Foap for each photo you sell, and you can sell the same photo an unlimited number of times.
11. Write Freelance for Blogs — or Start Your Own
Everyone is doing it these days, but it’s a safe bet to say introverts were probably the first bloggers.
Carefully composing your ideas before presenting them to people far, far away is pretty much an introvert’s ideal form of interaction.
As a freelance blogger, you can work as much or little as you want, so this makes a nice side gig or full-time job.
Pay varies wildly for writers, so make sure you’re compensated fairly for your time. Check out these seven blogs that pay $100 or more per post.
Feel like starting your own blog? Here’s your ultimate guide to getting started.
TL;DR
- Snag a domain name from GoDaddy (your URL).
- Set up hosting through a site like BlueHost (where your site will live).
- Set up an account with WordPress, and start writing!
12. Take Care of Houses
House-sitting is kind of like babysitting, except you don’t have to be around kids all day. Sometimes, you don’t have to talk to another person at all.
The best bonus, really, is you get to stay in some pretty nice houses. You can get paid to look after them while the owners are out of town.
House-sitting can be a smart way to find free lodging when you travel, or you can actually turn it into a business and get paid for your service!
To learn more, read our full guide on how to find house-sitting jobs here.
13. Write About Food and Wine
If you prefer the company of a good bottle of wine, try getting paid to write about it.
Turn your knowledge of body, fruit, tannin, acidity and sweetness into education and recommendations for other wine-lovers.
If you have writing skills and experience, pitch your ideas to magazine editors. Check out the 10 magazines in this list from WineTurtle to get started.
Also think about how your culinary prowess could apply to other topics. Maybe you can share cooking tips for families? Pitch these parenting blogs and magazines.
14. Work at a Cat Café
Yeah, if you work in a cat cafe, you’re going to have to deal with people. But they’re cat people, so you can probably handle it.
We found three cat café jobs that pay up to $13 an hour, plus tips. If you have barista experience, your main job could be taking and preparing drink orders and helping customers. If you only want to hang out with cats, they have “cat wrangler” positions just for you.
Either way, if you’re a cat-lover, it’s a pretty great way to meet some new feline friends.
Who knows? You might even connect with some cat-loving humans while you’re at it!
15. Write Book Reviews
Spending another Saturday afternoon reading? Yeah, we thought so.
You ought to get paid for that time.
Lots of sites will send you free books or pay you to write book reviews (or both). If you’re an avid reader, it’s a great way to make or save money!
Some sites will publish your review in their magazine or blog. Some will ask you to publish at your own blog or on Amazon. Most ask for your honest review, but a few will only pay for positive reviews.
*The information for the Chase Freedom Unlimited card has been collected independently by The Penny Hoarder. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. The Penny Hoarder is a partner of Credible.
See Also >> 45 Ways To Earn Money Online
*Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.
Chime SpotMe is an optional, no fee service that requires a single deposit of $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to the Chime Checking Account each month. All qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their account up to $20 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals initially, but may be later eligible for a higher limit of up to $200 or more based on member’s Chime Account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. Your limit will be displayed to you within the Chime mobile app. You will receive notice of any changes to your limit. Your limit may change at any time, at Chime’s discretion. Although there are no overdraft fees, there may be out-of-network or third party fees associated with ATM transactions. SpotMe won’t cover non-debit card transactions, including ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, or Chime Checkbook transactions. See terms and conditions.
1 Eligibility requirements apply. Overdraft only applies to debit card purchases and cash withdrawals. Limits start at $20 and may be increased up to $200 by Chime. See chime.com/spotme.
2Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.
3 Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.
