Why would you want a side hustle?
Perhaps you have been doing the math and realize that you can get to your retirement goal or savings that much faster with an extra $500-$1,000 a month of income.
Maybe you would like to save for a vacation or some other discretionary spending. You can do some of these side hustles in your spare time throughout the day; some are fairly passive, some have peak hours that are best to work, and some side hustles are weekend jobs.
The cool thing about a side hustle is you can often use it to engage your mind differently from your day job and actually recharge some. Not all side hustles are worth your effort, so keep that in mind when choosing which ones to explore further.
1 . Uber
If you have a car and extra time and don’t mind driving around, Uber could be a good option for earning money fast. There are definitely peak hours and events that you can make a lot more money per hour if you plan to work these peaks ahead of time. This is good for a side hustle because you can pick and choose when to work.
2. Food Delivery
Ever since the pandemic lockdown started, demand for carryout and delivery has exploded. This trend will likely not go away entirely as many users have become accustomed to ordering from them.
You can become a driver for Postmates, Doordash, or uber eats  as a side hustle. You might be wondering how much Doordash pays. The prime times for this are during the lunch and dinner rush.
3. Become a Lime Juicer
Many cities in America are now littered with electric scooters on their sidewalks. For better or worse, these dockless scooter companies have made a go of providing short-distance transportation options. That being said, they need people to collect the scooters each night, charge them, and put them out in the morning.
The upside of being a Lime Juicer is you get to decide which days you work. The downside is, there are diminishing returns after you collect the ones near your house. In addition, the scooters are listed to need charging around 9 pm each night, and they have rules about when you have to return them to a hub. In my area, that currently is 10 am.
In my area, payouts are $3.25 to $4.50 per scooter you charge. So if you go out for an hour and collect 20 scooters at $3.75, you could earn $75. It probably then takes another hour to charge and drop back off in the morning.
Being a Lime Juicer is definitely a way to get some quick cash. In most cities, it would be hard to get a substantial income. Some of the success stories really relate to the level of effort required. For instance, if you can pick up a few on the way home from work and drop them off before work, then $15 a day would be a win.
4. Rent your car on Turo
Your car can earn extra money by renting it out on Turo. Turo is a platform like Airbnb but for cars. You essentially become the rental company.
There are some concerns about insurance and damage to your vehicle with this strategy. So it is something to research before making a move. Certain vehicles are more popular. From my research, Jeeps that are a few years old get the most bookings compared to their book value.
5. Rent a room on Airbnb
You could list a room on Airbnb as opposed to getting a roommate. A roommate is more of a cost-splitting tactic. Listing your room on Airbnb is a profit-generating move.
Many leases would prohibit this subletting, but a few landlords may be ok with it. Of course, if you own your own place, then all the better.
6. Online Surveys
Getting paid for your opinion is the dream of some people. There are sites online that have various surveys you can take and get paid for your opinion.
You will not be making huge hourly money from this. Probably $1 to $3 per hour. However, it is potentially something you could do on a bus or train ride into work. While waiting, otherwise idle.
7. Taking Care of Dogs on Rover
If you love dogs and would love to earn some extra money taking care of them, then Rover could be for you. Rover is a service for:
- Boarding
- House Sitting
- Drop-in Visits
- Doggy Daycare
- Dog Walking
If you would like to hang out with dogs and get paid for it, pet-sitting could be a great option for you.
Radical Fire has a guide to getting a dog walking side hustle that will get you started if you are interested in taking care of dogs for cash.
8. Upwork
Upwork is an exchange for hourly freelance work. If you have specific marketable skills, people are looking to hire experts for projects they are working on.
Here is a list of Upwork’s main categories:
- Development
- Design & Creative
- Sales & Marketing
- Writing & Translation
- Admin & Customer Support
- Finance & Accounting
As you can see, these are pretty broad fields. Customers are looking for work with a wide variety of tasks and looking for different skillsets.
One major benefit of Upwork is that you have the ability to work from home. The great thing about it being a global platform is a much higher chance of finding a client that values your specific niche skillset.
9. Instacart
Delivering groceries for people is filling a critical need. This part-time side hustle can generate a consistent side income. The hours of Instacart are more robust than some of the other side hustles.
With this gig, you can make some extra money in one of three ways. You can fill orders in-store, deliver orders, or be a full-service shopper that does the whole process.
10. English Tutoring
There are many opportunities where you can tutor English via webcam to make money at home. One great thing about English tutoring online is that you can do it from anywhere. However, there is less flexibility with time compared to other gigs. Once you set your tutoring schedule, you are expected to be there for each class.
11. Proofreading
I feel like by reading the title of this section. You probably knew whether this would be a good fit for you or not. For me, not so much. Even when intentionally proofreading, I get too sucked into the storyline. However, if you are detail-oriented and skilled with the English language, proofreading can be for you.
12. Start a Blog
Starting a blog is one way to make money online. The problem with being a blogger is that it is easy to set up the blog but much more challenging to grow the business to make a lot of money. That being said, many people make a go at it.
13. Music lessons
If you are a talented musician, patient, and looking to earn extra income, teaching music lessons could be for you. It is a lot more structured than some of the other side hustles you could take up. However, it has the potential to be super fulfilling.
14. Wholesaling Real Estate
Wholesaling real estate provides a great opportunity for amazing returns. Essentially, real estate wholesalers either buy a property for immediate resale to an investor or directly assign their contract to an investor for a fee.
This side hustle is a very involved business. It requires knowledge of many facets of real estate investing. However, the payoffs can be huge; there have been several transactions we have bought from wholesalers to flip where the assignment fee was $20,000+ on a single home.
15. Medical Surveys
Taking medical surveys is an option to make some extra money online. There are several sites you can sign up for
- Curizon
- InCrowd
- MD For Lives
- M3 Global Research
- ZoomRx
- GLG
16. Woodworking from Garage
If you are handy, there is an opportunity to make money woodworking from your garage. This does require some space and specialized tools but can be quite fulfilling.
There are multiple ways you can sell your work: selling locally and online with sites like Etsy.
17. Flipping Books
It is possible to flip books for profit. This can be a fun side hustle that involves going to yard sales, Facebook marketplace, and more to find used books that have the potential to sell for more online.
18. Selling Printables on Etsy
John & Sam at How to Fire have experience selling printables on Etsy. This is a side hustle that can turn into passive income. If you have a talent for graphic design, there is an opportunity to build a following on Etsy.
19. Become a Transcriber
Many industries need transcription services. One great thing about making money on the side is that it is easy to do from home. You can become a Transcriber and make money as your side hustle.
20. Flipping Products
There are lots of opportunities to flip products or essentially arbitrage them from one market to another. For instance, you could buy things at flea markets, garage sales, or on a local Facebook marketplace. Then you turn around and sell them on eBay or Amazon for a profit.
21. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is where you contract a company to ship a product on your behalf as a Whitelabel. That way, you can set up a storefront, eBay shop, or sell stuff on Shopify. Then when the order comes in, you order it through your drop shipping company, and they send it to the customer.
Many companies offer to dropship, and it is important to work with vetted sources. That is why companies like Salehoo offer dropshipping directories.
22. Become a Youtuber
I am sure you have heard stories about youtubers that make crazy amounts of money from their channels. You might be wondering, how much do youtubers make?
To me, the exciting thing about youtube isn’t the breakaway successes making millions. It is the people putting out content about things they are passionate about on a regular basis and earning some decent money by doing it.
Wrapping it Up
There are many ways to earn extra cash on the side of your main job. Some opportunities you can earn extra money fast, while others will take some time to build into them but have income replacing potential.
Didn’t find an idea that seemed like a good fit? Here are 300+ side hustle ideas that should get you going. If you cannot find an idea on that list, maybe a side hustle isn’t for you!
It really comes down to your personality and what you can fit into your schedule. Luckily you can test out a few of these side hustles and if it is not a good match, move on quickly.
