Many of us in today’s society, no matter where we are in the world, are looking for that little extra cash, for a wide variety of reasons. Each and every one of us has deep personal reasons and needs to earn just a little more money. No matter our current income situation…blue collar job, unemployed, well paying career, stay-at-home parent, on welfare, disability payments, and many other ways…we want, need, desire just a touch more cash.
I am no different. Just like you, I am an average person needing more income, no matter how small, to supplement my current two income household. Despite actually having some what decent paying jobs, we still struggle from paycheck to paycheck.
I have thought on this often. Get a second job. Find a better paying job. Have a job that is guaranteed to be on-going and steady. All viable options, but not feasible at this point in my life. After joining a group on Facebook called The Busy Budgeters, I learned of another option, one that has many ways of going about (a few of which I’ve considered before), with a term or “name” of it’s own.
Introducing: Side Hustling. What is it, you ask? This is where you do small side money making, income producing options. There are many, many ways of doing side hustles. Below I list a few that people on the The Busy Budgeters have discussed, considered doing, or actually done.
- Donating plasma
- Online surveys
- Selling online (eBay, Amazon, Facebook)
- Selling on Etsy
- Blogging to make money
- Selling at local farmers markets (plants, vegetables, fruits, handmade items)
- Vendor shows
- Local fairs
- Garage sales
- Coupons and sales shopping
These are seem to be the basic 10 that people do or consider doing at some point when researching how to create a bit of extra cash.
I recently decided to do some of these myself and am currently in the process of working on them and getting things organized and set up. I’ve decided on the following for sure:
- Blogging to make money: The Happy Spin Gazette
- Create an Etsy store: Happy Spin Craftology
- Sell on Ebay: still learning about this one. I do have a store, but need to work on it a bit before posting a link.
- Online Surveys: the only one I have ever done that I liked was BzzAgent, which I will be getting back in to next week.
- Vendor/craft shows and local fair events
- Coupon and sales shopping: I have done this before with some success
- Farmer’s Market: this is tentative as I need to plan and create a garden, which takes time and money that I do not have right now.
(If you have any issues with the posted links, please let me know.)
Two things I have discovered in the last month researching and planning side hustle ideas are these: ORGANIZATION and TIME are important and need to utilize efficiently. If you don’t already, I suggest creating a basis for a plan to organize your projects and time. Set up an “office” area and find a planner that works for you, even something to just get you started until you find a work space and planner that will work better for you. One tip I learned in my research and that I already do when cleaning house…use a timer. Set it for a predetermined amount of time for each task on your list for the day. When it goes off, stop that task and move on to the next.
Side hustling can seem like a lot of work and it does require work. Even so, it does not have to take up all your time and energy. Start off small or test several to see what you like. I feel that this is a good way to earn an extra income without completely wearing yourself out. You can control how much time and work that is put into it.
I say good luck to us all in our adventures to achieve the financial goals we have set for ourselves. We can do this!
Happy Spin Gazette 