Ten Legitimate Side Hustles You Can Start Now
The year 2020 has turned out to be nothing like what we imagined or hoped for. A global pandemic, civil unrest, and a divisive election cycle are some of the major contributing factors. To make matters worse, hundreds of thousands of businesses have closed due to the pandemic and will not be opening back up. That translates to millions of Americans furloughed, unemployed, and underemployed. In the months since the initial lockdown, there have been some improvements in the labor market but as of September 2020, the unemployment rate was sitting at 7.9%. This does not include people who have given up looking for work altogether. When you factor that in, the real unemployment rate is probably closer 11%. The government was fairly quick to respond earlier this year passing several major spending bills to help people, businesses, and the economy to stay afloat. The Fed even cut interest rates back down to zero in a bid to make money cheap and keep the dollar flowing. While those things helped on a macro level, everyday Americans saw relief in the form of a $1200 stimulus payment and an additional $500 per dependent aged 16 and younger. That provided some much-needed oxygen for struggling families that were lining up at food banks and facing foreclosure or eviction. While there was a moratorium on foreclosures and evections those protections for evictions have since expired on the federal level. Since the initial stimulus checks were sent out there was immediate talk of another bill to give Americans another shot of economic adrenaline. Both houses of government have passed their own bills in the House and Senate, but they were trillions apart in terms of the amount of stimulus they would provide. People have been hanging on to every update, every meeting between the leaders in the hopes of some real action. There has been an entire subsection of YouTube created with people who literally make daily and sometimes multiday updates about a possible stimulus.
Don’t Hold Your Breath
While it is true that families struggling out there; it is also true that one $1200 check is not going to solve the very real problems we are all facing. Both political parties are playing games with American livelihoods in order to curry favor with their base or worse, their donors. It would not be hard for them to pass a simple clean bill and get help to those people who need it most. In the meantime, you still need to eat, pay your rent or mortgage, and the light bill. Instead, it’s the Cheap-O Dad’s view that instead of waiting for a one-time payment that may or may not come; you should go out there and MAKE YOUR OWN STIMULUS! I read an article this morning about a woman who made $100,000 delivering groceries for Walmart!
All You Need Is Time and Effort
As always with anything the Cheap-O Dad brings to you, there will require effort on your part! Despite what some people may think, people who are willing to get creative and put in the work can still accomplish amazing things in this country! We often feel like we do not have any extra time. I am one of the people guilty of this. In truth, on average, we spend five hours a day watching tv which makes a total of 35 hours a week! That is almost equal to a full-time job! Those numbers are pre-pandemic! If you are willing to put in the time, you’d be surprised at the things you can get done. Below are 10 things side hustle ideas you can start right now to bring in some extra money and, in some cases, full-time money.
Gig work-The first and most obvious gig work. I am not going to spend a whole lot of time on this as it is pretty well known. Think Uber, Postmates, Shipt, Grubhub. For most of these you will need a car but not always. The main thing you need is a smartphone and a willingness to drive around. While you need to factor in fuel and vehicle wear and tear if you are in a bad spot these options provide you a way to get started in a matter of days. The previously mentioned woman who made $100,000 works for a company called Spark which is owned by Walmart. Links to Spark below if you would like to check it out:
https://www.drive4spark.com/
Donate Plasma-This is one I personally did 16 years ago to make some extra money. I have the scars to prove it! Many plasma donation companies offer a bonus to new donors which can be up to $700 in some cases. After that, if you donate twice a week you can make a few hundred dollars a month for laying down while you donate for a few hours a week. A simple Google search for Plasma donations centers near you will let you know who is in the area and what kind of bonuses you offer. Below is a link to the company I use to donate for if you need a place to start. I am not sponsored by them and do not get any kind of kickback.
Sell Stuff– This is one I have personally done during the pandemic and with very little effort made hundreds of dollars. We often have things around our house that we don’t use but may be valuable to someone else. Heck, you may even have an old gift you did not want that is brand new and not even opened. Go around the house, check the closet and anywhere else you may store things, and see what you can rustle up! Then put them for sale on MULTIPLE online marketplaces. Just throwing it up on eBay is not going to do it. Take a few pictures with your smartphone and put ads on Craigslist, Facebook Market Place, Offerup/Letgo, Marci, and any other place you can think of. Many of these places offer shipping as an option so you have a wider audience. If you want to get crazy go to Ross or TJ Max, or the clearance section at your local store to see if you can find a good deal. Then search online to see what the item is selling for. If there is a good profit margin, then snatch it up! This is otherwise known as retail arbitrage. As an example, I found a chin guard at Ross for $5 and sold it online for $20! This is one you can make full-time money from if you’re willing to put in the work.
Rent Out Your Car on Turo– Think Air BNB for cars. The premise is fairly simple. You rent out your car to people through the Turo app and make extra money. Obviously, this one requires you to have a car that you don’t need to use but according to Turo, the average host makes $545 a month renting out their cars! You need to do some research and look over the fine print as there are some grey areas and be ok with renting your car out to a stranger but if you are willing to do that you can make some serious money. Below is a link to Turo’s “Carculator” you put in the area you live, the year, make and model of your car and they give you an estimate of what you could make per month renting out your car.
Teach English Online-This one does require you to have a bachelor’s degree in most cases but there are dozens of companies out there that will pay you to teach English to foreign students. You sign up for time slots and have one on one teaching sessions with individual students. The negative is the students are in other countries and there is often a large time difference so it may require you to work either very early in the morning or very late at night. This is another one where people can make a full-time income. Many of the companies pay $20 an hour or more. See a list of some of those below:
Skooli https://www.skooli.com/for_tutors
VIPKid https://www.teachaway.com/schools/vipkid
DaDa https://www.teachaway.com/schools/dada
QKids https://www.teachaway.com/schools/qkids
iTutorGroup https://www.teachaway.com/schools/itutorgroup
Gogokid https://teacher.gogokid.com/
Whales English https://www.teachaway.com/schools/whales-english
English Hunt https://www.englishuntusa.com/
Work As Support Staff At A Local School– Years ago I had to make the difficult decision to close my restaurant. It was devastating for me at the time but I decided I would finally complete my college degree. In the meantime, I still needed an income to support myself and my family. I ended up working as a school bus driver and I loved it! School bus drivers work a split shift which was perfect for my situation. I would get up early in the morning, drive my route then go home and study for a few hours, then go back and run my afternoon route then go to school in the evenings. It allowed me to work and complete the remainder of my degree in only one year. Driving a school bus is not the only option, however! Schools need crossing guards, playground aides, coaches for sports, lunch aides, and more! Look up the local school districts in your area to see what positions may be available.
Rent Out Your Couch– You did not read that wrong. You can literally rent out your couch on Airbnb to make extra money. Most people rent out an extra room or their entire house but that is not an option for everyone. Some people get creative and even rent out their car (Albeit more exotic cars) for the evening and allow people to sleep in it, not even drive it! Some people rent out their whole home for a night or a weekend and get a hotel and pocket the difference! You would need to be comfortable with having a stranger in your home and there are local ordinances you would need to check into. If that is something you can handle it can be a great way to make some extra cash!
If You’re Crafty Sell on Etsy– Etsy is an online marketplace where you can sell crafts, vintage items, services, and more! I personally know someone who makes over $20,000 a year part-time selling on Etsy! One of the most amazing things is she drop ships the majority of her products, so she does not need to hold any physical inventory in her home.
Secret Shopping/Focus Groups/Take Surveys– This is one of my favorites. The area of the country that you live in will have a great influence on how many opportunities you have. I have personally done secret shopping on an off for years. You can do everything from getting a free meal, to get paid to share your opinion! Many of the restaurant secret shopping assignments only pay to reimburse the cost of the meal. I have done this a few times but generally speaking, I will only do a shop if there is compensation in addition to any purchase it requires me to make. Focus groups pay to share your opinion. There are also a lot of companies that will pay you to do surveys online. A word of caution on those as sometimes they take more time to complete and it breaks down to getting paid $1 for an hour survey! I have made hundreds of dollars using this particular method! See links below for where to go for secret shopping, focus groups, and online surveys.
Freelance with Fiverr– I absolutely love Fiverr! It is a huge online freelance marketplace where people go to get literally ANYTHING done. You can go there to find someone to build you a website, translate something for you, model a product, or even have some be your friend! I am not kidding! You can search for “Friend” or “Talk to Someone” and you will find people willing to do that for as low as $5! I don’t care who you are or where you live. If you have a smartphone or an internet connection, you can get paid on Fiverr to do almost anything! Use my link below and we both get up to $100!