Make Extra Money with These 5 Easy Side Jobs
According to the personal finance website Bankrate.com, 1 in 5 Americans make extra money on the side, and more than a third say they earn over $500 a month doing so. Why? Not only do Americans need more money to simply pay their bills, but they also need savings to cover unexpected expenses.
- About 60% of Americans had a significant unexpected expense in 2016.
- Nearly 50% of $75,000+ households and college grads don’t have enough savings to cover a $500 emergency expense.
- 41% will to use savings to pay for these costs.
- 21% will pay for emergencies by using a credit card.
- 11% will borrow from loved ones.
Getting a side job is a fantastic way to avoid becoming part of the majority of Americans who are unprepared for unexpected expenses, such as a car repair or sudden illness. There are quite a few varieties of side jobs that run the gamut from tutoring to running your own Uber business. Here are five other easy jobs you can take on to bring in extra income.
Freelance: Sell Your Services
There are several online platforms available for finding freelance work and marketing your skillset. One of the more popular ones is Upwork, which features work for programmers, designers, writers, customer support reps, and more.
Another option is Fiverr, a freelance services marketplace for entrepreneurs. The website features any and all (legal) services with more than 100 categories to browse and choose from. They feature gigs for musicians, web analysts, writers, developers, designers, voiceover artists, and more.
And of course, blogging is another freelance option. You can get paid a number of ways, from writing for a company or client to using Fiverr and Upwork to writing for pay per click advertising. The more you do it, the more experienced you become, which means you can increase your rate as time goes by.
Sell Your Products
Are you creative? Do you have artwork, jewelry, crafts and supplies, or something similar to sell? Much like writers and designers who want to sell their freelance services, you can earn money for your handcrafted products through a number of online platforms such as Etsy and Craigslist.
On Etsy, there’s an endless variety of specially-made products with a broad range of categories, from clothing and jewelry to weddings and kids, as well as home and lifestyle products. You want it, and they’ve probably featured it, which offers the creatives lots of room to sell whatever they want.
Another flexible side job you can have is providing stock photos. There are numerous companies out there, like Getty Images, Shutterstock, and iStock, where you can sell your photos for a profit. Obviously, this is an easy side job to do in your spare time, which means you don’t have to worry about running out of energy or time to do it.
Become a Part-Time Bookkeeper
Though it might seem like you need to be a CPA in order to become a bookkeeper, you actually only need to have decent computer skills. As a bookkeeper, you’ll be helping business owners deal with various problems. Best of all, you could eventually earn as much as $60/hour.
House Sit
Have any friends or friends of friends who are going out of town for an extended period of time? If they want someone to watch over their home, you could step in and get a decent amount of money just for doing what you would normally do, albeit at another house.
Of course, if you really want to make an ongoing income doing this, you’ll need to branch out and create a profile of the services you offer. One of the huge advantages to this is that you can travel all over the world watching other people’s homes for them.
Of course, flexibility is the key here. The more flexible you are with dates and locations, the more opportunities you’ll have. If you’re new to this, one way to get your business going is to include other relevant experiences, such as what you’ve done as a homeowner. Just think about what you’d want if you were looking for a house sitter and create a great profile reflecting this.
Become a Pet Sitter
Much like house sitting, you can easily become a pet sitter. Oftentimes, the two will go hand in hand. On your profile, make sure to highlight your animal-care experiences.
Another Way To Make Ends Meet
Heard of payday loans? In California, it is easy to get a payday loan up to $255 in as little as 30 minutes. This short-term financial tool can help you cover expenses between paychecks, especially when you've run out of options. A payday loan could help eliminate the stress you experience from bills that you can’t pay on time, overdraft fees, and late charges. Best of all, you even those with bad credit could qualify.
What Payday Loans Are
This kind of short-term cash advance is based on earnings from an eligible candidate’s next paycheck. It is not based on credit history, and there are no credit checks required for approval. In order to get approved, here are the simple required items:
- Most recent paycheck stub to verify proof of income
- A blank check from an active checking account
- Driver’s license or other valid state-issued I.D.
- Be a minimum of 18 years old
The Best Way to Break the Paycheck-To-Paycheck Mentality
With almost 60% of Americans having a significant unexpected expense last year, it's important to overcome the paycheck-to-paycheck mentality. Payday loans may be the right choice for you, so do the research, explore your options and take action today.
Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.