4 Brilliant Ways to Make an Extra $500 a Month

A car may be a depreciating asset, but it can also be a moneymaker. On weekdays GaNeane Lewis, 45, is a surgical technologist in Sacramento, but on weekends she's a Lyft driver, making about $200 per week ferrying passengers in her 2011 Ford Fiesta (Lyft takes a 20 percent commission on each of her rides; new drivers are charged a commission of 25 percent, or 36.4 percent in New York City). The mom of four started working part-time as a driver two summers ago to stop living paycheck to paycheck. "I can do it whenever I want," she says. "If I need a lunch break, I just turn off the app, grab food, and turn it back on when I'm ready." The cash gives Lewis some budgetary breathing room. "I can drive five hours and have more money in my wallet that week," she says.

Take My Car, Please
Own a vehicle but don't feel like driving? Rent out your ride by the day on Turo.com. The site even provides $1 million in liability insurance.

Wheel Life
The average American driver makes two car trips per day; total cruising time: about 46 minutes.