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DollarSprout

We help everyday people earn more on their own terms. Since 2015, our team has tested hundreds of legit side hustles, small business ideas, and income apps to help readers boost their income and gain more financial freedom. Join our 200,000+ community and get proven, actionable ways to make extra money online or offline — no fluff, no hype.

Featured Post

How This Kansas City Baker Built a $1K/Month Bread Class

Hey Reader, When Dan Ansaldo first tried sourdough, it was just a weekend experiment for his wife and kids. A few years later, a friend asked if he’d teach a class. He said yes, and ten people squeezed into a dining room for his first run. The oven could barely keep up, but the idea worked. Fast forward to today: Dan runs his classes out of KC Wine Co.’s barrel room, where up to 40 people show up, mix dough at their own stations, and leave with a starter and loaf-in-progress. At $30 to $50...

Melody Morton-Buckleair in a cream turtleneck smiling, with a graph overlay showing $24,470 in gross volume from her Pilates studio.

After her divorce, Melody Morton-Buckleair wanted something simpler — a way to work at her own pace, on her own land, without the overhead of a commercial lease. The answer was sitting in her backyard. She transformed a tiny home into a fully equipped Pilates studio, now netting $23K a year while keeping a part-time schedule. In our latest success story, Melody shares: Her exact startup costs (and how she avoided spending $20K on equipment) How she gets new clients without spending hours on...

Woman working at a laptop with paperwork and coffee, representing the middle-class creator economy.

Hey Reader, We all know the headlines: viral videos, million-subscriber channels, creators quitting their jobs after one big break. But that’s not most people. There’s a massive group of creators quietly earning $500 to $3,000 a month — enough to pay bills, fund hobbies, or stay home with their kids. They’re not famous. They’re not chasing trends. They’re building something sustainable. And almost no one talks about them. This is the internet’s forgotten middle class — and they might be the...

Bullseye target with a green gift card and black arrow, symbolizing hitting your goal with free Target gift cards.

Hey Reader, You’ve probably seen those sketchy “free Target gift card” offers floating around. Most of them are garbage. So I spent some time testing the ones that looked promising — apps, receipt scanners, shopping tricks — and found six that actually paid. No shady hoops, no spam. The fastest win? I scanned one grocery receipt and got a $10 Target card. 👉 Check out the full list here If you shop at Target even a little, this is a super easy way to save. – Ben Co-Founder, DollarSprout

Kyle Stroud, owner of All Ways Organic Phoenix, smiling in uniform beside his dog, both wearing branded polos, with a graphic showing "$1,000 per week" earnings.

Kyle Stroud didn’t know the first thing about carpet cleaning when he started. No trailer, no team — just a borrowed machine, a used pickup, and the pressure to make rent. Now he earns about $1,000 a week working just 2–3 days, with plans to grow his business on his own terms. In this new story, you’ll learn: Why he regrets spending $10K on ads How a $20 drill brush saved him hours per job The one thing that turned everything around (hint: it’s free) What gear he swears by, and what he’d skip...

Professor Benjamin Bailey standing on a beach with a screenshot of his pension calculator website, ValueYourPension.com, in the background.

Hey Reader, We recently published a side hustle story that really stood out for how simple — and replicable — it is. Benjamin Bailey is a college professor who wanted to help his wife solve a recurring problem in her work. So he spent $2,000, hired a couple of freelancers, and built a pension calculator. That was it. No coding. No launch strategy. Just a practical tool that solved one specific problem. Now that tool brings in $10K to $11K a year in passive income — and he barely touches it. 👉...

Steve Hunsaker, founder of a seasonal light-hanging side hustle, speaks into a microphone while wearing a Valley Christmas Lights t-shirt. A house lit with holiday lights glows in the background.

Steve Hunsaker didn’t plan to build an empire out of Christmas lights. But five years later, he’s closing nearly a million dollars each season — in just eight weeks. What changed? Systems, storytelling, and a whole lot of hustle. Inside his story: 🎯 The $3 yard sign that sparked an avalanche of referrals 🧰 How he fixed a broken season with bins, labels, and a better calendar 🔥 The near-meltdown that almost ended the business — and what saved it 🚀 Why starting small helped him scale fast Want...

Amelia Eudailey, founder of Chef Hej Hej, smiling and flashing peace signs at her Swedish hot dog pop-up stand, with a fully loaded hot dog in the foreground.

Amelia Eudailey didn’t go to culinary school. She didn’t write a business plan. She just loved Swedish food — and knew she was burned out from tech. So she launched a small pop-up in San Francisco, serving hot dogs with shrimp salad, pickles, and sourdough buns. Then she sold out. Then she got featured in Eater SF. Then she quit her job at Zoom. Now her food stand, Chef Hej Hej, grosses up to $2,000 per event. In this today's side hustle success story, Amelia shares exactly how she made the...

Woman designing T-shirt artwork at her desk, preparing digital products for print-on-demand sales.

Hey Reader, For a long time, I thought making $10K a month meant landing a six-figure job or building a startup. But over the years, I’ve hit that number through multiple side hustles — blogging, freelancing, flipping collectibles, and (more recently) starting a print-on-demand shop from home. I’m not alone. These days, more people are reaching $10K/month by combining a few income streams — not just relying on one big win. So we put together a detailed guide:👉 How to Make $10K a Month (Even...

Jeff Proctor, co-founder of DollarSprout, relaxing on a porch with his dog while scrolling on his phone by a fire pit at night.

Hey Reader, If you're reading this on your phone, you already have everything you need to start earning. We tested more than 50 apps and platforms to see which ones actually paid — not in points, but real money. Some paid us for scanning receipts. Others rewarded us for playing games, answering surveys, or even just sharing anonymous data (with permission). Whether you’ve got 5 minutes or want to build something more steady, these are the tools that deliver. 👉 See the best ways to make money...