Login
Get Started
Apply Now

How to Make Extra Money from Home During a Global Pandemic

Plenty of people are doing it tough during the coronavirus pandemic. The unemployment rate hit a 21-year high of 7.4% in June 2020, with the Reserve Bank of Australia forecasting it could reach up to 10% by December.

Many of us will continue to struggle even when the world is recovering from the aftermath. So, as restrictions tentatively lift, now is a great time to think about how to make extra money from home.

If you’ve lost your job or had your hours cut due to COVID-19, here are some ideas for how to earn extra money to help you get by until things turn around.

Become a Virtual Assistant

If you’ve got the experience and/or administrative talents to pull it off, a virtual assistant role could be right up your alley during the pandemic. The demand for virtual assistants was already on the rise before COVID-19 struck, due to the increasing trend of people working remotely and with flexible schedules.

Prior to the pandemic, some experts were already predicting the number of virtual assistants to grow in 2020. Now, as all businesses are forced to reconsider their status quo, virtual assistants are almost guaranteed to become essential components of more organisations.

If you’ve got secretarial skills or experience as a PA or receptionist, freelancing as a virtual assistant could be a great temporary role to help you make extra cash. You may even like it so much that you decide to make it a permanent career change!

Download Some Money-Making Apps

Yes, there are apps out there that will pay you for your time, opinions, and efforts. We covered some of Australia’s best money-making apps in this article, where we looked at:

  • Pureprofile (get paid to complete surveys, watch videos and visit websites)
  • Cashrewards (get cash back when you shop at over 1,200 retailers including Woolworths)
  • Twenty20 (submit photos and get paid whenever a subscriber licenses your pics)
  • Field Agent (take on jobs like mystery shopping and comparing grocery prices)
  • Receipt Hog (upload receipt photos to earn coins and turn them into gift cards).

Depending on the apps you choose, you might discover how to make money on the side without even leaving your couch!

Start a Blog

Blogging has been around for a while as an alternate way of making money. But in recent years, this pursuit has become more mainstream (and more lucrative) for Australians.

One of the more popular blogging niches is travel, but this isn’t a particularly viable direction in today’s climate. However, if you have expert knowledge, experience or passion in a specific area, you may be able to turn that into a thriving blog. Here are just a few of the 101 niches that Blogging Explorer nominates as potentially profitable:

  • Nutrition and supplements
  • Mindfulness (very important in today’s socially disconnected world)
  • Gardening
  • Arts and crafts
  • Exotic cuisine (imagine a guide on making different countries’ signature dishes at home)
  • Video game tutorials
  • Frugal living (pertinent right now as many people are unemployed or on reduced salaries)
  • Relationship advice
  • Pregnancy and parenting
  • Home-schooling (especially relevant at the moment).

Become a Delivery Driver

When you’re thinking about how to make extra cash during the coronavirus pandemic, the answer might be right in front of you – literally on your doorstep once a week (or more often for some of us!).

You’ve probably noticed that Uber Eats and Deliveroo drivers own the streets at night right now. If you’ve got a bicycle, motorbike or moped and free time during the day or evening, delivering food around town could be a tidy way to pad your pockets with extra money.

Alternatively, if you’ve got the qualifications/confidence to drive a truck, you may even consider becoming a driver for larger deliveries. With people turning to online shopping for their groceries and household items in unprecedented numbers, the demand for delivery drivers is high.

Sell Stuff Online

Feeling a bit cramped at home now that you’re stuck there more often? Wondering how to earn extra money? Take care of two birds with one stone by selling some of your non-essentials online.

While physical garage sales may not be a great option thanks to COVID-19, selling some things on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree could be a great way to clear some space and make some extra dough during the pandemic.

As you can see, there are quite a few routes to consider when choosing how to make extra money from home during the coronavirus pandemic. If you need a quick cash boost to help you get by while exploring one of these ideas, a fast $1,000 loan might be the solution.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that Cigno Loans’ articles do not replace advice from an accountant or financial advisor. All information provided is intended to be used as a guide only, as it does not take into account your personal financial situation or needs. If you require assistance, it is recommended that you consult a licensed financial or tax advisor.

CIGNO LOANS

BAD CREDIT LOANS

CASH LOANS PRODUCTS

LEGAL

LOCATIONS

  • Cash Loans Adelaide
  • Cash Loans Brisbane
  • Cash Loans Melbourne
  • Cash Loans Perth
  • Cash Loans Sydney

Financial Risk Disclaimer

Please consider your own circumstances before you use Cigno. Please make sure you read our Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions and this Financial Risk Disclaimer.

Cigno is a business name of FTA Data Solutions Pty Ltd ABN 95 670 814 221.

FTA Data Solutions Pty Ltd is an Authorised Credit Representative (Credit Representative No. 552387) of Finance & Loans Direct Pty Ltd Australian Credit Licence No. 390166.

Cigno is not a credit provider or a credit assistance provider. When you complete the Information Form, you are not applying for credit or any other particular goods and services. The completion of our Information Form also does not guarantee that you will be provided with credit or any other goods and services through our network.

Depending on the information you provide to us in the Information Form, we endeavour to assist you by providing your information to our intermediary partners. Where we provide your information to our intermediary partners, we may receive a fee.

If the information you provided to our intermediary partners meets their requirements, they may connect you with a credit provider, goods and/or services provider and/or specific products to meet your their needs (depending on the information your input into the Information Form).

Any application you ultimately make through a particular credit provider or goods and/or services provider is subject to that provider’s eligibility criteria and terms and conditions. The loan, credit, product or service may not be available to every person. We do not endorse or recommend any particular provider, product or service that you be connected with or offered. All statement on this website are general in nature and do not constitute financial, credit or legal advice (or any other advice).

Contact

SMS: 0429 213 774
Email: enquiries@cignoau.com.au
Post: PO Box 1810, Southport BC, QLD 4215
ABN: 95 670 814 221

FTA Data Solutions Pty Ltd.

Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin

NOTIFICATION OF MISCONDUCT BY CIGNO AUSTRALIA

Ordered by the Federal Court of Australia

The Federal Court of Australia has found that Cigno Australia Pty Ltd (Cigno Australia) and BSF Solutions Pty Ltd (BSF Solutions) have breached the law by engaging in unlicensed credit activity and charging prohibited fees.

In the period from July 2022 to 3 October 2023, over 100,000 consumers have been lent a total of $34 million, and charged fees of over $70 million, under the ‘No Upfront Charge Loan Model’ operated by BSF Solutions and Cigno Australia. At no time has either BSF Solutions or Cigno Australia held an Australian Credit Licence.

The Court also found that Mark Swanepoel (director of Cigno Australia) and Brenton James Harrison (director of BSF Solutions) were involved in these breaches of the law.

With effect from 24 May 2024, the Court has granted permanent injunctions preventing Cigno Australia and BSF Solutions from:

  • demanding, receiving or accepting fees or charges, including amounts of loan principal, from consumers in relation to credit provided under the ‘No Upfront Charge Model’; and
  • engaging in further credit activity pursuant to the ‘No Upfront Charge Loan Model’, including by entering into new agreements with consumers, for so long as they do not hold an Australian Credit Licence.

Cigno Australia was ordered by the Court to, by 5th July 2024, send written communications to consumers who between July 2022 and December 2022 entered into agreements with Cigno Australia and BSF Solutions under the ‘No Upfront Charge Loan Model’.

The Court will later determine whether (among other things) Cigno Australia and Mark Swanepoel ought to pay a pecuniary penalty in respect of this conduct, and whether Mark Swanepoel should be restrained from carrying on a business engaging in credit activity.

Cigno Australia, BSF Solutions, Mr Swanepoel and Mr Harrison intend to appeal the decision of the Court and have filed an application for leave to appeal. If the appeal is successful, some or all of the orders of the Federal Court of Australia may be set aside.

Where can you get more information?

Where to go for further support

You can access legal advice in your state at: Free legal advice – Moneysmart.gov.au.

If you are experiencing trouble with debt, or money worries in general, contact:

  • the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 or online chat (9:30am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday).

If you need someone to talk to, contact:

  • Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hours) or their crisis support online chat or
  • Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 (24 hours) or their webchat