The fastest way to make more money is to invest in yourself and learn an in-demand skill
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Making money—and doing so in the fastest way possible, has been top priority for many Americans. Recent Google search trends data from Semrush reveals that searches for “how to make money” stood at 90,500 and “how to make money fast” stood at 74,000. That’s not surprising, given the current cost of living.
For example, a recent Cardrates survey of Gen Z and Millennial professionals unveiled a startling reality: most Americans can barely afford the roof over their heads…at least reasonably. More than half (52%) of young Americans spend over half of their salaries on housing costs, and it’s been estimated that 76% spend more than 30% on housing, breaking the traditional 30% rule for housing-related budget allocations.
Alarmingly, the Cardrates report also revealed that a striking number of Millennial women—one in 10—are seeing housing costs absorb almost 100% of their salaries, showing that an employer’s paycheck alone is not enough to live comfortably in 2024 (when this study was conducted) or beyond. So it’s no wonder that “making money” is top of many young American professionals’ minds.
How To Make Money In 2025
Below are five simple tricks to make more money in 2025:
1. Learn A New Skill
The fastest way to make more money is to invest in yourself. Whatever you pour into your learning, development, and growth, will be returned in dividends when needed. Taking time to cultivate a growth mindset and learn a new skill benefits your career in so many ways; it enables you to stay relevant within your industry, become in demand by employers and new business clients, and gives you more leverage should you decide to start freelancing.
2. Complete A Career Certificate/Professional Certificate
In line with learning a new skill, why not go ahead and obtain a professional certificate? You can actually achieve this with hardly any cost to you, as many certifications in key skill areas such as project management, product design, and AI are available free of charge. More employers are embracing the skills-first hiring approach, and are even being encouraged by the U.S. Department of Labor to hire based on skills over degree requirements.
Therefore, having a certificate that evidences you’ve spent time honing a specific skill set can help you stand out to employers and demonstrates that you’re committed to your personal growth, and that you’re serious enough about it to make it more than just talk.
3. Start Freelancing
Another relatively fast way to make money is to start freelancing. Most Gen Z and Millennials report being profitable after about three months of running their side hustle, and with the widespread availability of online platforms and freelance marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork, freelancing has certainly become highly accessible and within a few simple steps, you’re all set up and ready to go with your profile.
However, it’s important to note that while it may look easy on the surface, the reality is that it takes much hard work, persistence, trial and error, and consistency to achieve some level of sustainable financial success as a freelancer. You will need to identify a way to carve out your own niche and thoroughly understand and research your target market inside and out. The easy part is delivering the freelance service. The part that most people don’t see is all the hours of research and admin behind the scenes, just to set yourself up and running.
4. Build Passive Income
And then, of course, there’s passive income. You can make money through opting for sources of wealth that constantly generate income, practically even when you sleep. These could range from real estate, to stocks, to high-yield savings accounts, to making money through selling photography online as stock photos and getting paid each time one is licenced.
5. Make Money Through Gig Work
Finally, one of the fastest ways to make money when you need it is through undertaking gigs using gig platforms such as rideshare and food delivery apps, or sites like TaskRabbit, that connects people with handyman, personal assistance, and DIY services locally. While gigs are not sustainable long-term, they certainly are excellent side hustles and can form the foundation for larger-scale endeavors in the future.
Gig work, while unreliable by itself, can lay the groundwork for longer-term business endeavors for … [+]
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Making money doesn’t need to be hard. This year, 2025, is your year to start rewriting the narrative of your career and your finances. This will be the year you decide to finally start learning a new skill, enroll on a course, launch your freelance business, and start creating passive income.
