One of the best things about living in today’s world is that one can profit from anything. There are many weird ways to make money. That includes anything from being a professional cuddler – yes, you read that right – to crying for cash! You wouldn’t believe how some people pay their bills.
Still, as strange as these gigs sound, they are entirely legitimate ways to earn the bucks. Some of them might even turn into a career! Others mostly make for fun reading. Without further ado, let’s hop onto the weirdest ways to make money.
Table of Contents
- 1 Become A Professional Mourner
- 2 Sell Your Friendship
- 3 Become a Jellyfish Entrepreneur
- 4 Test Out Waterslides
- 5 Become A Virtual Magnate
- 6 Get Paid to Lose Weight
- 7 Become A Professional Napper
- 8 Sell Inanimate Objects as Pets
- 9 Sell Your Mugs
- 10 Turn Your Pet into A Star
- 11 Sell Your Hair
- 12 Start a Puppy Kissing Booth
- 13 Get Paid to Review Sensitive Content
- 14 Become A Taste Tester
- 15 Participate in Clinical Trials
- 16 Donate Sperm or Eggs
- 17 Sell Your Breast Milk
- 18 Become A Beekeeper
- 19 Cuddle
- 20 Mystery Shopping
- 21 Get Creative with Thrifted Items
- 22 Push People for A Living
- 23 Become A Hand Model
- 24 Became A Medium for Deceased Pets
- 25 Participate in Competitive Eating Contests
- 26 Get Rid of Lice for A Living
- 27 Sell Weird Toilet Paper
- 28 Pick Up Dog Waste
- 29 Become A Doula
- 30 Become A Spiritual Cleanser
- 31 Test Condoms
- 32 Hold Laughter Therapy Sessions
- 33 Become A Dog Sitter
- 34 Be A Hangover Helper
- 35 Pretend to Be a Patient
- 36 Take Selfies to Sell Clothes
- 37 Bottom Line
- 38 FAQ
Become A Professional Mourner
It may sound crazy, but some people get paid to cry and mourn the deceased at funerals. That is considered standard practice in cultures where people highly respect and honor the dead. Others merely wish to give the impression that the lamented had a bigger social circle than they did.
A professional mourner is a compassionate person with excellent social skills. The mourner dresses appropriately and always blends in with the crowd. Mingling is allowed and even encouraged in some cases. Getting into this job could make you anything between $30 and $120 per funeral. It sure is one of the strange ways to make money, but it pays well.
Sell Your Friendship
If you are a friendly and outgoing person, no job is better for you than this one! Extroverts can now get connected with lone wolves to help them fulfill their social needs. RentAFriend.com is the best app for this. People can rent you for various daily activities such as a lunch or museum date.
A person enters specifics such as their preferred age, gender, and sexuality. The results are then filtered to show people that fit the description. The price is set at an hourly rate, and one can make anything between $20 to $50 an hour. Truly one of the most interesting but weird ways to make money online.
Become a Jellyfish Entrepreneur
Currently, the jellyfish market isn’t as widespread as selling pedigree cats and dogs, for example. Thus, now is the perfect moment to start investing in a jellyfish business! These slimy and funny-looking sea creatures can make for the ideal pet and go for hundreds of dollars.
Many people buy jellyfish because they add a touch of tranquility to their homes. Their tanks are reminiscent of the 1960s’ must-have decor item, lava lamps. Even better, these tanks are not cheap at all. Seriously, one sealed deal on jellyfish, a tank and some food could make you more than $300!
Test Out Waterslides
That’s right. You can get paid to test out waterslides! On the rare occasion, a spot opens up, and a person is assigned to test out new waterslides. The tester then makes a note of the waterslides’ adrenaline factor, the splash it makes, and so on. Sometimes the job is less exciting and more about ensuring the safety of the waterslide.
Become A Virtual Magnate
Most of us have heard of the game SecondLife before. It is a virtual world where strangers meet and fall in love, and aspiring entrepreneurs build their first empires. It is a game with an established economy. SecondLife is home to many thriving business moguls who have gained fame in-game.
Have you ever dreamt of owning a coffee shop or a boutique? SecondLife users can start a hustle of their own online! Some even go far as to become business owners, realtors, tattoo artists, and so much more. Users earn Linden Dollars, which they later exchange for real US dollars.
Get Paid to Lose Weight
Speaking of other weird ways to make money, have you ever made a bet with a friend to overcome a challenge in a certain amount of time? You can now get paid for it! Anyone who is trying to lose weight will appreciate the endless weight-loss apps that promote a healthy lifestyle.
In the meantime, they challenge you to reach your daily or weekly goal and pay you for doing so. One such app is HealthyWage. You set your goals and give yourself a decent timespan. The app rewards you once you reach them. If you fail, you get nothing. What a way to get motivated, huh?
Become A Professional Napper
One of the wackier jobs we’ve come across is the professional bed tester. These people are paid to test out beds in furniture stores or hotels. On a larger scale, the tester pays attention to the lighting, how soundproof the walls are, and the overall tranquility level. It’s one of the most awesome and strange ways to make money for sure.
Sell Inanimate Objects as Pets
The pet rock is no longer just a cartoon thing. People pay real money to tend to a stone of their own. You are not limited to only selling rocks, though. Just about any inanimate object would work. And what’s best, they go for a ton of money! Try to be creative and invent the next pet rock!
Sell Your Mugs
Who doesn’t enjoy a morning coffee in a fun and quirky mug? Perhaps one of those with a quote on it! If you have a bunch of mugs like this, we recommend listing them online. People go crazy for cute mugs, especially if they are a collector’s item.
Turn Your Pet into A Star
Every pet owner has an album full of pics dedicated to their pet on their phone. Silly pictures of your dog wearing a funny hat or a stupid video of your cat coughing up a hairball, the list goes on forever. Why not profit off all this cute content?
People love to watch photos and videos of ridiculous-looking animals. We all often find ourselves endlessly scrolling through adorable Instagram accounts of dogs. So, why not jump on the bandwagon and profit off of it? Make your cat or dog an Instagram star. As your followers will rise, so will your ad requests!
Sell Your Hair
If you belong to the 1-2% of the world population with natural red hair, you should consider selling it. However, this doesn’t mean only redheads can sell their hair. Anyone can. And the best thing? Hair grows back, which means you can resell it again and again.
We mentioned redheads because the rarer your hair color or length is, the more it will cost. Bonus points if you have virgin hair, a.k.a. non-dyed, all-natural locks. Check out the HairSellon Calculator for the best estimate of the cost of your hair. Selling weird things online can pay off sometimes!
Start a Puppy Kissing Booth
If you have a dog, you’re undoubtedly tired of strangers approaching you on the street begging to pet it. Perhaps you’ve thought to yourself, “If I had a dollar for each one, I’d be a millionaire!” Indeed, now is your opportunity!
Puppy kissing booths are preferable to traditional kissing booths. Picture a grumpy, tired stranger passing by. They will jump at the chance to be kissed by your doggy. Of course, this isn’t a reliable side hustle, and the income isn’t high. Regardless, it can be a lot of fun!

Starting a puppy kissing booth, selling your hair, or crying at funerals are among the weird ways to earn cash in 2021.
Get Paid to Review Sensitive Content
One of the most brutal weird ways to make money online is by reviewing sensitive content. Many platforms such as YouTube and Reddit have millions of users posting non-stop. Imagine the hassle of going through all that content to ensure that there’s no funny business going on?
That’s why these major companies hire others to do the job for them. Just make sure that you are prepared for the task at hand. Many people have reported horrible aftermath effects due to watching gut-wrenching things such as murder or pornography. We recommend you stay away from this one if you have a weak stomach.
Become A Taste Tester
All the foodies will love this one! If this sounds like the dream side-hustle for you, jump on the bandwagon and start eating food for money. Many restaurants want to get a second opinion on their food, and that’s when people like you come in.
A taste tester can get paid by the hour, part-time, or full-time. You can make a good couple of bucks per hour, which isn’t so bad considering you might get paid to eat some delicious food. Several apps invite people to sign up for taste tests. The average taste tester salary in the US is about $41,000, which isn’t that bad.
Participate in Clinical Trials
If you don’t mind being a guinea pig for a couple of bucks, you can start participating in clinical trials. www.clinicaltrials.gov is a fantastic place to start. The National Institutes of Health sponsors this website, which provides information about more than 125,000 clinical studies in 180 countries.
There are pros and cons. The biggest con is the potential risks and side effects. The pros outweigh them, though. You could end up getting treatment that is exclusive or help advance cancer research. The feeling of usefulness and the extra money has led many people to consider entering these trials. Clinical trials usually pay between $50 and $300 per visit.
Donate Sperm or Eggs
Donating reproductive cells is one of the weird ways to make money but can be very rewarding. It can help give the opportunity of creating a new life to struggling couples. It also pays well. Generally, women can donate eggs every other month. Doctors suggest you don’t do it more than six times for the sake of your health.
As for men, one can make sperm donation a couple of times per week. Eggs go for thousands of dollars, while one-time sperm donation goes for around a hundred dollars. That still puts men at an advantage, given the fact that they can donate several times a week, every week.
Sell Your Breast Milk
A lot of women opt for buying breast milk for several reasons. Some cannot breastfeed at all due to a lack of milk production. Some babies don’t latch on well due to a specific deformity, for example. Others find it to be painful and prefer they buy the milk instead.
That’s why many women choose to sell their milk. They may have enough for their baby and some leftovers. The best way to sell your breast milk is online. On average, a woman makes from $1 to $2.50 per ounce. Say a mom wants to buy a week’s supply. That would make you about $300 or $400 a week.
Become A Beekeeper
Beekeeping is one of the best ways to earn a steady income. Beekeepers usually start with a small bee colony as a hobby. For this, a beekeeper needs to live in the right environment and own proper beekeeping equipment. Bees enjoy a lot of sunlight as well as blooming flowers.
That’s why a lovely garden or a heavily forested area is the perfect spot. Once your bees make honey, you can collect it and keep it for yourself, or in this case, sell it. Natural homemade jars of nectar can go for up to $10 a kilo, depending on the beekeeper’s quality and skill. While beekeeping is not an easy job, it can be gratifying and profitable.
Cuddle
Yes, you can snuggle up with a stranger for money. A lot of people make a decent living this way. Professional, full-time cuddlers make more than $50 an hour. To become a cuddler, one can join an online agency and complete a short training. Some popular agencies include Cuddlist and CuddleComfort.
A professional cuddler always completes said training where they learn various things. First of all, it is essential to provide company to these people without getting attached. You have to be prepared to talk with your clients on occasion, without turning it into a therapy session, and so on.
Mystery Shopping
Adding onto the list of strange ways to make money, we have mystery shoppers. Mystery shopping involves researchers masked as regular customers entering a store and documenting their experience. Many businesses hire these researchers to understand better what attracts customers and what shoos them away. It’s one of the best market research tools.
A mystery shopper may be required to do several tasks. They may ask you to buy something, check out their business website, ask for customer support, and so on. In the end, you will have to provide a detailed report on your experience. Gigs pay from modest $8 to generous $100 per task, depending on the complexity of the shopping experience.
Get Creative with Thrifted Items
This one can be a hit or miss. If you consider yourself creative or are familiar with sewing, for example, this might work out well for you. Buy a bunch of plain-looking clothing or other miscellaneous items and give them a personal touch!
You have no idea how often I see someone wearing a cute top only to find out they had made alterations to it themselves. It can feel great knowing that you’re the only person with that particular clothing piece. So, take out your needles and beads and start selling your items online!
Push People for A Living
Hands down the most horrifying one that made the list! In China, where the population exceeds a billion, a train pusher is a real thing. The pusher’s job is to stand by bus or train stops and push people inside to close the doors. That is nobody’s dream job, especially if you tend to get anxious in crowds. It’s definitely a unique and weird one, though!
Become A Hand Model
Do you tend to get a lot of compliments on your hands? Perhaps a relative has mentioned that you have the perfect fingers for a piano. Then you should think about pursuing a career as a hand model! Just like regular modelling, one has to take extensive care of their hands.
Keep them clean, moisturized, and free of age marks or scratches. This is something that special skincare can help with. Also, keep a clean manicure and do not! get your nails done unless your agent says so. Soon enough, everyone will be looking at your hands wearing expensive jewelry on some giant billboard!
Became A Medium for Deceased Pets
One of the more chilling weird ways to make money is to become a medium. Mediums possess telepathy and clairvoyance to contact the deceased and reconnect them with their loved ones. The same goes for dead pets. A lot of owners would give anything to talk to their furry friend one more time. If you too possess these refined skills, you could easily see yourself making $20-100 a session.
Participate in Competitive Eating Contests
Competitive eating is an activity in which participants shove as much food as they can into their mouths quickly. MajorLeagueEating is the best website to get familiar with the “sport”. If you understand and acknowledge the inherent risks of eating 20 hotdogs at once, who are we to stop you?

Your dog can be a source of income in various weird ways. You can try and make it a social media star or allow people to pet and hug him as therapy. For the latter, the dog will probably need appropriate training.
Get Rid of Lice for A Living
This one might make you cringe a little, but it’s nothing you’ve never seen before. We’ve all had lice at some point during our childhood. The majority of us would even shave our heads! However, lice removal professionals have made this a thing of the past. Get the proper training, and you might end up making more than $100 per session!
Sell Weird Toilet Paper
There are many ideas when it comes to selling weird things online. If you have a design niche, you can always create some funny-looking toilet paper! Sure, it’s not the most efficient way to make money, but it’s entertaining, and people will buy it solely for that reason. There was this amusing dollar-bill toilet paper roll circulating the internet for a while. Everyone went nuts for it!
Pick Up Dog Waste
As DoodyCalls says, it’s our duty to pick up doody! This website offers a steady job of picking up dog waste. People’s backyards are cleaned by trained technicians who visit their homes. If this job seems too filthy for you, consider it a way to help the environment. Sound better now?
Become A Doula
No, a doula and a midwife are not the same things. The doula sits at the mother’s side and holds her hand as the midwife gets involved during the birth and delivers clear instructions. A doula’s job is to help the mother with any specific requests for the delivery and postpartum period.
Other responsibilities include planning the delivery and its location and assisting the mother with household chores. During this time, the doula also serves as emotional support and a shoulder to cry on. It is truly a rewarding job and one for the emotionally intelligent.
Become A Spiritual Cleanser
If you live and abide by the rules of feng shui, this is the ideal job for you. Any ritual’s potency is amplified by adding sacred layers such as candles, stones, aromatherapy, music, and so on. Spiritual cleansers believe what they do matters and brings peace to the home.
They can advise you on what healing crystals to buy for your house or produce positive energy through prayer. It is critical to affirm the purpose of each room to keep negative energy out. They may also rearrange some items according to feng shui principles or suggest the best location for each crystal.
Test Condoms
Now you will finally have a legitimate excuse to take that hot chick from the bar home. After all, one might say it’s for an important cause! Companies such as Durex often develop new ideas for condoms and how they will feel or taste. To gain a sense of what the consumers enjoy, they hire folks to try them out.
In return, you will probably be compensated with a cash reward of up to $1,000. In exchange, the testers provide a detailed study of the condoms’ authentic feel and comfortability. We agree this one goes to the top of the list of weird ways to make money.
Hold Laughter Therapy Sessions
Laughter therapy is a sort of therapy in which a trained individual uses laughter techniques to alleviate both physical and psychological pain. To become a laughter therapist, you should ideally be a licensed therapist, as you will have a better understanding of the job and its benefits.
If you’re wondering what techniques a laughter therapist may use, we heard that they often show funny photos or clips to their patients or banter with them. It’s much like entertaining a child. Get good training, organize your CV, choose your fee, and start as a laughter therapist!
Animal lovers are going to love this one! Dog sitting is always in high demand, especially during the winter and summer holiday seasons. Owners drop off their canines at the sitter’s house and go on about their business. While they’re gone, the dog sitter is responsible for the dog’s wellbeing.

Some people just need a good laugh, and they would pay for it. That’s where holding laughing therapy sessions come into the picture!
Become A Dog Sitter
Dog sitting is the ideal job for animal lovers. It’s always in high demand, especially during the winter and summer holiday seasons. Owners drop off their canine friends at the sitter’s house and go on about their business. While away, the dog sitter is responsible for the puppy’s wellbeing.
As a sitter, you have to keep close track of when and how much they eat and drink and walk them regularly. Most dog owners prefer experienced sitters, preferably ones that have a canine companion of their own. If you want to try your luck with dog sitting, check out apps like Rover and Fetch!.
Be A Hangover Helper
How awesome would it be to have someone bring you some warm pizza and clean your house after a night of drinking? Hangover helpers are paid $20 to assist people who are recovering from a hangover. Consider it a side-gig if you are up for dealing with cranky teenagers and young adults.
Pretend to Be a Patient
Pretend patients are given a small fee to assist prospective doctors, similar to mystery shoppers. Medical students will probe and poke at you to practice their deductive and people skills in a controlled environment. It’s something like a theatre play.
The actors are assigned a role. For example, some cope with drug abuse and others deal with deeply-rooted psychological issues. As a result, they will act according to their roles. The use of improvisation is strongly encouraged.
Take Selfies to Sell Clothes
And some more weird ways to make money online! Often I will decide to shop online only to face genuine disappointment. I cannot see how any of the clothes fit! Plus, let’s be honest, not all of us look like the supermodels on the websites. So, many people opt for shopping at Stylinity.
Stylinity is a website where sellers take pics of them wearing cute outfits they want to get rid of. Buyers then order the pieces they want, and the merchants get a percentage of the money they can trade in for exciting products or cash.
Bottom Line
To recap, there is currently an infinite number of ways to make money on the internet. All you have to do now is concentrate on your aim and get creative. Some of these gigs have the potential to pay your monthly bills if put to the correct use. And, make sure to subscribe to our ProMoneySavings Newsletter for more life-saving tips and tricks!
FAQ
What is the best way to quick cash?
There isn’t just one way for this. If you want to earn a quick buck, you can try out any of our suggestions above. These include becoming a professional mourner, cuddling strangers for money, running a puppy kissing booth, and so on.
Which of the above options will make me the most money?
You have to try your luck with this one. Some people have created empires through virtual worlds, and others make a decent living working as professional bed testers. It’s up to you to discover your innate skills and take advantage of them.
Is it worth being a guinea pig for money?
In short, maybe. It depends on how risky the procedure is. People got paid big money to test out the coronavirus vaccines before they hit the shelves. Other diseases are waiting for treatment which cannot be completed unless extensive research is done. It’s up to you to decide whether the possible side-effects are worth it.