10 creative side hustles that will boost your income
We all wish we could make more money and in these tough economic times of Covid-19 driven business closures and forced self-isolation, it’s never been more important to keep the money rolling in.
Even in those heady pre-pandemic days, for many of us it seemed that no matter how much we earned, something always happened that resulted in more going out than coming in. Even if you’re super-restrictive with your expenses, it’s often hard to achieve financial goals.
So, why not try a different approach? Start thinking about ways to make more money instead of restricting your expenses. Depending on your skills, there are many side hustles that can add more cash to your pocket each week - here are our top 10:
1. Rent your car
How about paying off your car loan from the income you get from the car itself? Monetise your car instead of just having it sit at your office parking space while you’re working or even at night. The pandemic may slow things down, but plenty of people still need to get from A to B. Hook up with Car Next Door to send your wheels out to work when you’re not using them.
2. Rideshare driving
If you don’t want to take the risk of having somebody else driving your car when someone rents it, you can still earn extra income from your car by driving people around. You can do this anytime that suits your schedule. Most rideshare drivers sign up with multiple companies, so check out Uber, Ola and DiDi. Just make sure you have plenty of anti-bacterial wipes on hand to clean in between rides.
3. Food delivery services
Rideshare is all the rage but if you don’t like the idea of driving people around, you can also earn some extra cash by delivering takeaway foods, groceries, and other goods to your local neighbourhood. Sign up with food delivery services such as Uber Eats, Menulog and Deliveroo and wait for the orders to start rolling in.
4. Babysitting
Most of us love and adore them - babies are the greatest gifts of life and are a classic source of extra income too. Although babysitting gigs may be very few and far between right now, things will eventually change and you don’t have to have specialised skills to be a babysitter. All you have to do is to love them and keep them happy while mum and dad are out. Join Babysitters Now to get connected with parents looking for babysitting help – just $25 for life membership. Or, sign up to Babysits - you control your profile, prices and who you choose to work with.
5. Pet sitting
If there’s no baby to take care of, or babysitting is simply not your cup of tea, then animals might be your thing. If so, you can earn extra cash by taking care of someone else’s four legged friend by offering your services as a pet sitter or even a dog walker. Check out platforms like Mad Paws for side hustles like this (it’s free to join but you’ll pay a 20% service fee on all jobs).
6. Cook up a storm
If you have a knack for cooking and preparing food, this might just be the best option for you. A lot of people love to eat good food, and we’re pretty sure you do too. If you cook for the family, all you have to do is add some more that you can sell in your local neighbourhood. Plenty of people are doing this right now on Facebook Marketplace.
7. Freelancing gigs
One of the most thriving industries in this decade is remote working, better known as freelancing. You can earn more on top of your regular job by working remotely, with an endless list of jobs you can do, and in most cases, you can work your own hours too. For example, you might be able to turn your hand to writing or data entry outside your regular working hours. Check Airtasker for a world of money-earning opportunities.
8. Airbnb
Another great way to earn some more money is by renting out your house or even just a spare room through Airbnb. There’s no investment needed – just use what you’ve already got to bring in some extra cash.
9. Amazon’s FBA program
If you sell physical products – or you want to start selling physical products, then Fulfilment by Amazon is a service from Amazon where they stock, pack, ship, and service your customers’ orders without you having to physically hold the products yourself.
10. Tutoring
Loads of people want to learn something new, enhance their skills or just get good grades - so if you’re an expert on any subject then making money from tutoring might be a great option for you (although you may need to do it remotely or over the phone for the next few months). The best way to get noticed is to promote your services online or in your local newspaper.
A final thought
These side hustle ideas will definitely help you to make some extra money when you need it, but in these Coronavirus times, we know many people may need urgent financial help just to pay for the essentials. We can take the stress out of worrying - just check out our flexible cash loans from $1,000 to find out how quick and easy it is to get your hands on some extra funds. Once a loan is approved, we can usually deposit the cash into your bank account within a few hours.