So many people live paycheck to paycheck. They seem to have no hope of ever achieving any of their personal dreams. They have small incomes. Money is always tight. Things like travel, paying for a child’s education, a nice vacation, or retiring are out of reach. I discovered easy to start side gigs could provide enough money to transform my dreams into a reality.
How about you? I’m sure you have your own dreams and goals. I’m guessing you have budget, but it’s tight. It funds your current expenses (which may or may not include paying off debt)—but only just. Are you finding it difficult to make headway past your needs, towards your aspirations? Is your income (as is) just too little? Is it possible it can’t provide what you want out of life? If so, your question has to be, “What can I do?”
10 side gigs to earn money
Earn money on the side
Whatever you do, don’t throw in the proverbial towel or even throw up you hands in disgust. You’re even—or almost so. (That’s more than a lot of people can say.) But, being even isn’t enough, you want to get ahead. You want LIFE, not just a living, and it will take more money than you’re making now to get it, right? Well, that’s not that hard to resolve…
It really is a matter of the old “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” There are all kinds of things a person can do to make money—all kinds of things other people will pay you to do for them. You need to determine what you have to offer. I’ll help you think about that.
First, I’m going to address the idea of achieving more LIFE while living on a small income. Then, I’ll give you links to 10 posts that may inspire you to think beyond your job. Yes: They are easy to start side gigs.
Your Job
I’m sure you’re counting on the money you earn from your (real) job to cover your bills. So, formal or not, you have a budget. Make it formal…Use a spending journal to track every penny you spend: Find any waste. Although it may not be immediately achievable, your goal is to discover a way to spend less than you earn. Your spending journal is essential to developing a working budget. It’s important that your budget be reasonable, that you
can live within it and really pay your bills. It’s also important to save some money, especially for emergencies emergency account.
Trying to get all that out of your paycheck can be challenging. It might call for some radical changes.
Some of my other posts
You know…in many of my posts, I talk about wasteful or extravagant habits that eat away at our money. I talk about making small sacrifices that over time can help stabilize financial security. I also bring up some bigger issues like our housing and the cars we drive. Usually, I promote a house as a financial plus, something that increases in value and can be used for gain or to lower the cost of living in the future. As for cars, their value decreases
You depend on your job to provide money to pay your day to day living
fairly quickly so I endorse buying a good used one. Many people are OK with driving a decent used car.
Housing presents a problem. Too often when we seek a place to live—whether to rent and, especially, to purchase—we “fall in love” with something
that strains our financial limits. We understand the principle of building equity and how it can enhance our future, but too many people find that they can’t actually afford both their “dream” house and all the other aspects of current life…and they lose the house. Using a series of houses as stepping stones from good to increasingly better is a frugal and successful approach to housing. Would it become easier to fund your other dreams if your housing costs were less at this point in time? In a past post I talked about a couple who moved out of their (nice) house into something much less pricey for several years. They rented out the house to cover its costs. Eventually (when their finances improved) they moved back in. Other people have sold their houses. They downsized and began to plan for a step by step move back up. (Does that sound a little tough? –It sure beats foreclosure.) Maybe you should consider a similar plan? You can look at moving into a less expensive place as a way to reduce your cost of living.
Meanwhile there are other ways to get extra money…
Part-time Job or easy to start side gigs
In some of my other posts I’ve talked about using part-time (second) jobs and and easy to start side gigs as a means to eliminate debt. For the
Part time jobs and side hustle or gigs are a good
purposes of this post, I assume serious debt is nonexistent. Your cost of living is covered by your regular paycheck. The money for your dreams will be
financed by your part-time job or easy to start side gig. To that end, I’m listing 10 ways to put yourself and resources you already have to work
bringing in extra money. The key to achieving your important goals is to never rely on the money you earn from your part-time job or easy to start side gig to pay household bills. Save and apply this money to specific, designated purposes beyond daily living. (This last statement certainly does not mean you can’t delegate funds from your regular paycheck towards these projects. Of course you can—and should—but meet your obligations first.) Here are the 10 links I promised earlier. 10 side gigs to make money.
Easy to start side gigs
Earn Extra Money Being a Copy Editor
If you are a good writer you can make good money being a copy editor.
Part-Time Jobs
Even though a part time job isn’t a side gig you can earn money with a part time job.
Detailing Cars
You need an eye for details, but detailing cars can be a lucrative business. Learn more about detailing cars.
Hauling Junk
One mans junk is another mans gold. Learn more about hauling junk.
Drive for Uber
We have all heard of Uber lean more about driving for Uber.
How to become a consultant
If you are an expert on a specific subject you could be a consultant.
Pet sitting
If you love animals this could be a dream come true. There is a real demand for pet setters.
House sitting
No one wants to leave their property unattended when they are gone for long periods of time. Watching over other peoples property is very lucrative. Learn more about being a professional house sitter.
Running Errands for seniors
Many seniors can’t get out to do their shopping, paying bills, and other things. You can earn good money earn money running errands.
Earn Extra Money Rent Your Truck
This company will rent your truck to local people needing to use your truck for a few hours or days or what ever amount of time that is acceptable to you. Rent your truck
Any of the above may be a good easy to start side gig for you. If so, great! Even if none of them are quite make the cut, they can function as a takeoff points for your inspiration. Just today I heard of someone who uses their artistic talents to bring in extra money. He has a “day job,” but makes himself available to do sketches of children, pets, houses, etc. on weekends. Occasionally, he advertises, but he’s been doing this so long that a lot of his gigs come by word of mouth. You can do something to make more money. Coupling that “something” with a frugal lifestyle can pave the way to achieving more of your life goals.
