Side Hustle Suggestions That Could Help Your Finances
Sometimes in life, plan A doesn’t work out quite how we expected. Careers can stall, family responsibilities change, and the job market can get tougher, making our current income unsatisfactory. Luckily, there is a way of improving your finances without getting a second job, and it’s creating a side hustle in addition to your full-time employment to boost your income. Read on to find out more about some suggestions that could help your finances.
Watch videos
OK so I know it sounds crazy that you could earn money from watching videos but it’s true you can. There are two ways of doing this.
The first is to sign up for online survey sites like Swagbucks that offer payment for amongst other things, watching video playlists that they have put together. Yes, they are going to be mostly adverts or may be on things you wouldn’t necessarily choose to watch otherwise. However, it is something that is pretty easy to put on in the background when you are doing the cleaning or even doing the less concentration-heavy tasks on the computer that will earn you some extra income.
The second way to make money from watching videos sounds even crazier. It all about signing up to sites like Emotion Miner that pay you to watch videos and click and label whenever you see emotion being expressed.
You may ask what possible use could someone have for this? Well, it’s being put to use for the super high tech purpose of helping artificial intelligence learn to recognize a range of human emotions. Something that means not only are you only getting paid to watch something pretty untaxing, but you are also helping to forward science! Just remember that you need to go through the induction videos before you can sign up for the long views that will earn you the big bucks.
Invest
Another way that you can earn some money without having to change your day job is to invest in the stock market. Taking that little nest egg you’ve saved and is only earning a pittance and putting it into something returning more can prove a great idea. Of course, you have heard all the warnings about high-risk and non-guaranteed returns before, and this is something you would do well to be aware of before putting your money out there. However, there are some ways that you can minimize the risk of investing and maximize the income you receive from it.
One such strategy is to make sure that you learn the basics of portfolio management before you start making investments. Then you will be better equipped to decide whether to choose a fund manager to control your assets or go it alone with an online investment platform where you are responsible for making all of your own buying and selling decisions.
It is also worth remembering that while you may not see an immediate return, long-term investments are often a more sensible choice. This because they tend to pay back a higher rate of interest than a saving account but have less risk associated with them than something like day trading.
Monetize your hobby
If you are someone that is lucky enough to have an activity in life that you love to do, you can score a double win by then using that activity to earn extra money. It really can be anything as well, as long as there’s someone out there that is willing to pay you to learn what you know, or that will pay for the end product you create.
Some of the more common hobbies to monetize include teaching or coaching a sport that you excel at, giving music lessons, and running art classes.
Some less standard and more niche areas that we have seen people successfully monetize include making mods for computer games, creating 3D scenery for animations, and making custom crochet patterns to sell online.
Just remember that if you love it, there is probably a significant number of other people that do too. Luckily, the internet can put you in direct contact with these people, allowing you an easy access route to sell them your products or services.
Create a passive income
A particularly effective form of side hustle is to create a passive income stream. This is all about coming up with a product once and then being able to sell it over, and over again. The value here is in repeat sales, so you normally will price the product you do make fairly low to encourage this.
Potential products that can work very well for this include eBooks and guides, downloadable materials such as planning charts and records sheets, and even video tutorials. Something that you can offer for sale on sites like Craftsy and Udemy, or display on your own website.
Just remember that quality here counts, and you can expect a lot of feedback from past users. That means it is worth investing some extra effort and time into the product you are creating, rather than having to deal with complaints and fixes once someone has made their purchase.
Freelance during your commute
Lastly, if you currently find yourself in the midst of a financial fix, why not consider offering some of your skill on a freelance basis in your spare time? In fact, this can be a fantastic way of earning some additional money and developing skills for your career at the same time.
For most people, it is finding the time to do this that can be the biggest problem. For those that take the bus or train to work, consider using this time to work each day. Whereas those folks driving, walking, or riding their bike may choose their lunch hour, or set aside an hour or two after work or at the weekend in which to complete their freelance projects.
In summary, there are a number of possible side hustles that can be used to get yourself out of a financial fix. You’re really only limited by your own creativity!