The existence of a side hustle or "pin money" has been around as long as I can remember and that's a while. However, the NEED for extra income has just gone up big time.
Many factors have contributed to rising costs for fuel, heating, lights, food, clothes even water. The cost of wages however has not increased anywhere near enough to match. I don't know about you but i have seen many things I regularly buy increase from 30 to 300% in the past few weeks and that is without the 100% hike in the gas bill.
The choices of staying warm and eating have sadly just become a very stark reality for many and never has there been a time when people need to earn more income. A car boot sale once in a blue moon to cover the costs of a holiday or a special purchase are really no longer enough.
So what can people do to earn more? That largely depends on how much time they have to generate an extra income and what skills they have. Here are just a few ideas:
Become a Film or Ad extra - there are many more companies creating films, ads, shorts, and all need people in them. See what is happening in your area - try this site for more information.
Direct Sales, like VivaMK are low-cost entry and give you a FREE online store to send people to - takes effort listing locally, getting books, and creating a "round" for local customers or using your social skills to share the products and how good they are.
Dog Walking - you should really know and like animals for this one and insurance is around £6 a month if you are going to do this properly - you can create a website for free - see what this page is built with and halfway down it shows you how to do it.
eBay - you do need some capital to have products to get going, and you should do your research of what people need and want BEFORE you look at this - BUT more and more people look for bargains on here and you may have things you no longer need or use that you can get started with. Your clutter is someone else's treasure.
eBooks - people pay for knowledge... what are you great at that people need to know about or want to get started doing?? You may have a whole treasure trove of expertise you can create simple downloads of that people will pay for... how to stuff is great - and if people are looking at saving money things like how to create great pictures at an event - how to grow your own products - how to save on car costs by doing basics yourself... there are many more things - what are you good at?
Rent out a room - be careful and reference check who you let into your home - the rent a room scheme means you can earn up to £7,500 a year doing this and NOT have to pay any tax. See more here.
Rent out spare space - This site helps you rent your spare space and takes a cut for you looking after someone else's stuff.
Sell on Amazon - there are hurdles and only look at this IF you have the capital for products - although there is an online arbitrage model it is one of the riskiest ways to start and you do risk not being able to sell at all. Do your research on what sells and the sales rank for every product BEFORE you go for it.
Sell on Facebook - if you have items you no longer use or need Facebook Marketplace is FREE.
Sell on Vinted - if you have items you no longer need or use - VINTED is FREE to sell on.
Sell your stories - many magazines pay you for content and experience this site guarantees the best prices. This Facebook Group is also a great place to find out more about what people are looking for.
Set up an online business - like phone answering - virtual assistants - website admin - content creation - many businesses NEED the services you can offer - use the free website mentioned earlier to get yourself set up and put your skills to good use. People per hour have a great site with people already looking for what you have skills for take a look and see if they are a fit here.
Watch TV - seriously - they want opinions - if selected you could be paid to watch TV... Check it out here
Whatever you choose you will need to commit to it and treat it as seriously as your job - the more you do the more you get it is that simple.
You can always cut costs too... if you want a way to reduce your outgoings on Energy, Mobile, broadband and Insurance get in touch - energy@bizbar.co.uk you could also make money helping others do this too.