Market Performance: April 17, 2024.

US stocks finished largely in the red on Thursday as April's doldrums lingered in the market. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.2% to notch its fifth straight session of declines, its longest losing streak of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered just above the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped 0.5%, extending tech's recent slump.

Stocks have struggled amid concerns inflation is no longer cooling and the Federal Reserve could ease back on interest rate cuts. Fed officials fueled those worries on Thursday, with Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic reiterating that he doesn’t expect to lower rates until the end of the year.

Ways To Make $200 (or More) a Day Working From Home

If you’re looking for ways to earn $200 or more a day from the comfort of your home, you’re in luck. There are plenty of options for making money based on your skills, interests and how much time you’re willing to commit.

Some of these methods are relatively passive, meaning you don’t have to do much beyond the initial setup to keep the money coming in. Others require a more hands-on approach. Whatever the case, they can all be a great way to supplement your regular income. Or, if you’re interested in turning what you do into more of a full-time gig, you might even be able to do that.

Become a Prompt Engineer

Pay estimate: $55 an hour “As an owner of an online business, I always stress that if you want to earn money online, you have to treat whatever gig you are doing as a business,” said Ryan Carrigan, the CEO and co-founder of moveBuddha. One way to earn money from home is to become a prompt engineer. “As a prompt engineer, you train generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) to generate solutions to the desired output,” Carrigan said. “All it requires is a good command of English.”

Rent Out Parts of Your Home

Pay estimate: $200 or more a day If you own your home and have some extra rooms or spaces available to rent out, you could earn a decent amount of money this way, too. “You can rent storage space in basements, attics, closets, garages, or storage sheds. You can also rent out parking spaces in your garage or driveway. If you have a lot of land, consider renting out part of it for storing larger vehicles such as boats and motor homes,” said Ryan Barone, co-founder and CEO at RentRedi.

Get Into Affiliate Marketing

Pay estimate: $20 to $200 per qualified gig Affiliate marketing is another way to earn money from home. It typically takes a bit of time and effort to get started, but if you’re willing to commit, you could earn $200 or more a day. There are plenty of ways to earn money as an affiliate marketer, but Carrigan suggested Home Depot specifically.

Become a Freelancer

Pay estimate: $48 an hour As a freelancer, you can start earning money from home using the skills you already have. Even if you have a traditional job, you could supplement your income this way. “Put your work skills to use. Do you freelance as a writer? Or are you a website designer, looking for logo design and web layout creation work? Maybe you’re a programmer or digital marketer with a specialized skill,” said Erika Kullberg, an attorney and personal finance expert and founder of Erika.com.

Write and Sell eBooks

Pay estimate: 99 cents to $5 per eBook Another way to earn $200 a day from home is to write and sell books on platforms like Amazon. You can get started by learning how to design these books on YouTube and then signing up on the Amazon KDP site and listing your eBooks there.

Become an Online Tutor

Pay estimate: $35 an hour Online tutors typically earn about $35 an hour, meaning you could earn $200 a day by working about 5 1/2 hours. “Use what you know to help others as an online tutor or teacher for subjects like math, science, languages or test prep,” Kullberg said. “You can land a job working via Skype or another interface from places such as Chegg Tutors and Tutor.com to help students around the world with their homework and test prep.”

I Saved Over $400 in 15 Minutes With This Budgeting App

If your hand’s in the air like mine is, you’re not alone. A recent CNET survey found that nearly half (48%) of respondents have forgotten to cancel a free trial or paid subscription, such as streaming services, subscription boxes and memberships to big box retailers.

And with respondents spending an average of $91 a month on subscription services, that can add up to a lot of money for something you’re not even using.

In 15 minutes, Rocket Money saved me over $400

Rocket Money is a budgeting app that monitors your income and expenses, helps you set savings goals and tracks all your subscriptions in one place, whether you use the free or paid version.

The first thing I noticed was that my subscription to HGTV Magazine, which costs $49.97 for a year, was up for renewal in four days. Given the enormous pile of back issues I’ve accumulated but not yet read, canceling this subscription was a no-brainer. Rocket Money gave me two options: The app could cancel this subscription for me, or I could call the number they provided to cancel it myself.

The process was fairly painless, but I have one complaint. I didn’t know until after I’d submitted my cancellation request that it could take two to seven days for Rocket Money to complete the cancellation -- I found out from the popup confirmation I received after submitting.

Does Rocket Money cancel subscriptions for free?

Rocket Money’s free version only shows you your subscriptions -- it won’t cancel them for you. To access this service, you’ll need to pay $4 to $12 per month for the paid version. You choose your amount, and you’ll enjoy the same features however much you pay.

Other ways to avoid overspending on subscriptions

I used Rocket Money to trim my subscription costs because it’s the budgeting app I use and I’d rather save a few minutes, especially if it doesn’t cost me anything extra. But you can cancel them yourself if you don’t mind taking the time to call a customer service line or log into your online account.

These tips can help you maximize your savings: Note your renewal dates. Review your budget regularly. Rotate your streaming services. Take advantage of complimentary subscriptions. Visit your local library. Threaten to cancel.

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