Make Money

How to Get Money While Waiting for Disability (25 Ways & Tips)

October 23, 2022

You will surely learn how to get or make money while waiting for disability by reading the very helpful tips in this article.

There are as many as 25 ways and tips in this article for earning money while waiting for disability.

Importance

If your situation has called for you to file for Social Security disability benefits, it is important not to feel bad about making an application for benefits as your employer and you have paid into the system and if eligible then you deserve those benefits.

The unfortunate reality is that the time involved can be rather extensive.

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Specifically, there can be a waiting period of 3 to 5 months and that if the doctors have filed in a timely manner the necessary paperwork attesting to your disability.

Waiting 3 to 5 months for money to come into the household can be pretty unnerving and difficult to provide for yourself while waiting for determination and for your first paycheck to arrive.

Therefore, you may want to consider options that you may have while waiting for that disability money to be deposited into your checking account or to receive a check in the mail.

Therefore, mustering up as much patience as we can let us look at opportunities that you can take advantage of to earn money and not jeopardize your application for disability payments.

25 Legit Ways & Tips for Getting Money While Waiting for Disability

1. Know How the Federal Government Disability Program Works

The federal government offers Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income to provide financial assistance to individuals who meet the disability requirements as defined by the program.

The benefits are provided to individuals including certain family members if they qualify.

Qualified individuals are those workers who have worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes on their earnings.

If eligible and if you have a disability, you can make application for this insurance and possibly receive benefits.

2. Know How Long of a Wait It Will Be

The application process starts by accessing the online site and information and documents are gathered and submitted for application.

Eligibility is determined and is based upon the proper and accurate submission of these documents, which also includes a statement by your attending physician as to your disability.

3. Know The Reasons

There are a variety of reasons that qualify you to submit a claim for Social Security disability insurance.

Those disability claims can be either in the area of a physical disability or a mental condition.

The expectation of these conditions is that it is expected to stay with you for a full year or longer and the condition itself prevents you from working.

4. Know What You Shouldn’t Do

The fine line in making application for these insurance and monetary payments is that you are unable to work and therefore when looking for a job to bridge the gap between filing for a claim and receiving payment needs to be a delicate tightrope walked.

Therefore, you would not be able to take on a typical job because that might imply that you are able to work and therefore would negate your claim.

In addition, if your claim is approved and you start receiving financial benefits it is important to realize and understand that you cannot make extra money or you are limited on how much money you can earn when receiving benefits.

If you go over the income limit you will lose your disability benefits.

You are able to earn some money while collecting benefits, but it is usually limited as what you can do in earning that wage because of your disability.

5. Donate Blood

A possibility of earning income while waiting for your disability insurance claim to be approved and start receiving money is to donate blood.

There are private companies that will pay for the blood that you donate, and these companies will pay you per donation.

It is possible that you may earn anywhere from $20 to $50 per blood donation.

6. Donate Plasma

Another option is to donate plasma.

Plasma is collected through a blood donation and separated from the other blood components and when collected the other blood components are safely returned back to you through your own blood.

With plasma you can donate more often and according to the American Medical Association you can donate plasma every 2 days but no more than twice within a 7-Day period.

There’s a possibility that you could earn anywhere from $30 to $60 for each donation of plasma.

7. Freelancing

If you have a disabling condition there are various freelance jobs that you may be able to take that will accommodate your physical or mental condition.

You can go to a freelance website such as www.upwork.com, register, and begin bidding on jobs according to your skills and talents that you would be able to accomplish.

For example, you could be involved in:

Graphic design
Virtual assistant
Book reviews
And so forth

You bid on various jobs and if selected you begin to work and when the job is completed payment is made to you through the Upwork site with a portion of your earnings taken out as their administration fee.

8. Writing

Another option that you may wish to consider and pursue is that of writing.

If you have a writing ability you can access a number of websites of which one is www.iwriter.com.

You can look at the various postings and if something resonates with you can indicate your ability to take on the job and if awarded then you go to work.

9. Blogging

A way that you can make money that perhaps will accommodate your disability is by writing a blog.

A blog is an opportunity to write about something that you have an interest or a passion in and that the content that you provide will resonate with followers.

The followers in turn may support you monetarily.

In addition, you could work with affiliate advertising companies (www.clickbank.com) as well as possibly gaining a sponsor.

A possible suggestion of your blogging subject could be working through the Social Security disability system and helping others by what you have learned and experienced.

10. Rent Space

If you own your own home a possibility of earning money is to rent out any available extra space that you may have.

You could enter into an agreement with an individual and they would get a certain area of your residence in order to store their items.

This would be a win/win for all involved as they would realize a cheaper rate for the storage of their items, and you would receive the added income.

11. Seek Donations

If your particular circumstances are extremely dire and you are not averse to having others help you out you could always start a Go Fund Me page that would talk about your disability, where you are at and your need for financial resources.

12. Garage Sale

A good opportunity to earn quick money on a weekend is to conduct a garage sale.

You could go through your home and determine what you don’t need, and you could make that part of the inventory for your garage sale.

13. Clean Closet

A way to not only earn money but be productive in the process is to clean out your closet and other storage areas within your home.

You could make separate piles as to what you wish to keep and what you could sell.

You then could list these sellable products on a site such as www.eBay.com and list these items for sale at a set price or to the highest bidder.

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14. Tutor

If you have a skill or a talent you could always use your teaching ability to show others how to incorporate this skill or talent into their own lives.

This can be done online with minimal physical activity.

One such site that you could potentially register on can be found at www.tutorme.com.

15. House Sitting

Another passive physical way of earning money is by providing house sitting services.

Often people want to get away for a period of time but would feel more comfortable if they had someone that they knew or could trust that would stay at their home and make sure that the security of the home was maintained.

16. Pet Sitting

If you enjoy animals a good way of earning money would be to pet sit.

This service could be provided while people are on vacation or away for a period of time in which their household pets need to have attention and care provided.

You could advertise your services through your social media platforms or by word of mouth.

People who know about your situation may be more prone to helping you not only with the service that they need but while you wait for your disability money to arrive.

17. Use Reward Sites

From the comfort of your own home and with little physical activity you could take advantage of various reward sites.

Through these reward sites you can participate in online surveys, watch movie trailers, play games, etc.

When these tasks have been completed you are given either reward cards or actual money.

One such site is Survey Junkie.

18. Search Engine Evaluator

There are a number of search engines that are utilized by people and search engine providers are always trying to optimize that experience for their users.

Some of those search engines include:

Google
Bing
Yahoo
DuckDuckGo

This particular opportunity to earn money is accomplished through companies that wish to hire individuals to utilize the search engines, perform a number of tasks, and provide feedback.

The purpose of evaluating the search engines is to inform the company about various aspects of their search engine so that they can make adjustments as needed to their algorithms in order to maximize the search engine process for their customers.

A site in which you may be able to log onto and find this type of position can be found at www.appen.com.

19. Caption

If you are able to type a good opportunity to utilize your typing and listening skills is by typing captions.

These captions are embedded in various videos was so that individuals who are hearing impaired can watch the videos and read the captions so that they get the full extent of what is being shared.

A possible website that you can access to find a captioning job can be at www.rev.com.

20. Transcribe

There are websites that hire freelancers with good typing skills to transcribe a number of audio files.

If you have good typing skills and have no limitations physically you could apply for one of these transcription jobs.

Such a website can be found at www.transcribeme.com.

21. Task Rabbit

TaskRabbit provides an opportunity to earn money wherein individuals needing a job done link up with a tasker or individual that can determine whether they can do that job or not.

Going to www.taskrabbit.com you can register and begin to look for odd job opportunities within your neighborhood that you feel would be a good match for your skill set and physical capabilities.

Some of the jobs that are listed on this site can include:

Walking a dog
Moving boxes
Cleaning
Running errands
And so forth

22. Voice Over

A prime opportunity to earn money that does not take much involvement physically is to utilize your voice.

Through a website such as www.voice.com you can register for opportunities in which a company or individual is looking for a particular voice to utilize for their service.

The voice that you have may be soothing, have a certain pitch, accent, dialect, etc. that may resonate with their need.

23. YouTuber

Another opportunity that presents itself is to earn money is by taking to YouTube and creating your own YouTube channel.

Given your situation one of the possibilities or areas of discussion on your channel could be the process involved in filing for disability.

This may prove to be helpful to many individuals who are in the same situation that you are and you can share from your experience that may prove to be helpful.

Potential money can be made through the giving of donations by your followers, affiliate advertising, selling of merchandise, or finding a sponsor.

24. eBook

Given your current situation and what you are going through by filing for disability and waiting you could write a helpful e-book for others to read and learn from your experience when they are facing the same process.

For help in the publishing of an e-book you can go to https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/.

25. Data Entry

One additional way that you can earn money is, if you are detail oriented and a good typist, is by providing data entry work.

Being a data entry clerk simply means that you take different types of data (financial, personal, etc.), and enter that data into your employer’s choice of software.

Typically, the data is provided to you via technological means and you enter the data and then return that completed project back to the employer.

These types of jobs are often available and can be found on websites such as www.upwork.com or www.indeed.com.

Personal Story

One of the most moving experiences that I had when working for a not-for-profit was when I observed the tender loving care given to a middle-aged father by his son.

I was sitting by the window in my office, and I just happened to glance out the window that gave me a view of our parking lot.

There, seated on the passenger side of the vehicle, was the father and he was getting a sponge bath by his son.

The sponge bath consisted of washing his feet, upper torso, underarms, face, and so forth.

I tried to look away as I felt like I was intruding on this very intimate and personal scene and yet I was hypnotized by the loving care demonstrated by the son towards his father.

I know of their relationship because they came into our building looking for food and their story was that they were waiting for the father’s disability to be approved and for them to start receiving the money.

Their home was on four wheels.

How to Make Money While Waiting for Disability FAQs

How Many Individuals, on Average, Are on Social Security Disability Insurance?

According to CBPP roughly 8.2 million people receive this benefit from the government along with 104,000 spouses and 1.4 million children.

What is the Average Amount Per Month That an Individual Can Receive From Social Security?

The average amount that a recipient of this benefit receives is $1,358.

You Can Do It

As if being disabled is not bad enough and not having the ability to take on a typical job and earn a wage then having to wait for your insurance through the government to “kick in” is doubly exacerbating.

It is important for you not to get discouraged and realize that there are ways that you can earn money to help you through this rough spot till your disability claim is approved and you start receiving your benefits.

Conclusion

In this good news bad news scenario, the good news is that you have a safety net to help you through your disability by laying claim to Social Security Disability Insurance.

The bad news is that there is a significant waiting time for the checks to come in.

The good news is that there are freelance opportunities or “gigs” that you can be involved with that are within the working realm of your disability and in which you can get paid.

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