According to the Federal Reserve’s 2018 report on the economic well-being of US households 40% of American adults wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 emergency. Maybe your emergency fund is fully funded but you want more money to save or spend. One option to make money fast is to start a side hustle.
Who Has a Side Hustle
Based on a survey from Bankrate, it’s estimated that more than 44 million Americans have a side hustle. Of those that had a side hustle, over 30% are using the disposable income for spending. However, side hustles do provide an excellent opportunity to make money to save or invest! This survey also found that millenials were more likely than older Americans to say they had a side hustle because they wanted to save more money (31% verse 16% of Gen Xers and 18% of baby boomers).
How Much Money Can You Make from a Side Hustle
The Bankrate survey found that about 28% of younger millennials between the ages of 18-26 have a side hustle. They are most likely to have a side hustle yet they are less likely to earn big bucks from it. Less than 20% of younger millennials earn more than $500 from their side hustles compared to 50% of people who are older.
How much you make from a side hustle depends. It depends on the amount you make per hour and the number of hours spent. This Time article that talks about how the average Uber driver makes $364 per month (and websites touting Uber as a side hustle boosts similar stats). The article then explains that per hour it’s closer to $15.68 per hour and that’s before factoring in expenses. If you take a recent college grad salary of $52K and factor what that averages out to assuming no vacation / holidays and 40 hours a week it averages out to $25/ hour. In this situation, it is best to find a higher paying side hustle if you don’t need the money immediately.
Which Side Hustle Is Right for You
So, how can you tell if it’s the right side hustle for you? Consider two things:
- Know what you love to do
- Identify where you’ll get a good return
If it’s something you love to do, you’ll have a lower opportunity cost. The amount of money it brings in doesn’t matter. If you’re looking to make money, you’ll need to identify what activities you’ll get the best return for the time you’ve invested.
Different Types of Side Hustles
The best place to start is investing if you are limited on time. Investing is a passive income stream. When you invest, your money generates more money and requires little effort. This includes utilizing high yield savings accounts and dividend stocks. However, this requires money to get started and patience. You build wealth and cash slowly, not quickly, through investing.
For quick cash, the best option is to start a side hustle.
Best Side Hustles for Quick Cash
The best way to learn about different types of side hustles is to learn from people that have done them! Below a few personal finance bloggers share their experiences with side hustles and provide additional ideas.
Your Money Geek discusses how to make quick cash and what to expect through side hustles like selling photos and becoming a flipper and selling items on eBay.
Financial Pilgrimage goes into detail about how they made money flipping from items at garage sales, and how to be successful getting a great deal at a garage sale so you can sell the item for a profit.
Just Start Investing provides a list of potential side hustle ideas and found creative ideas like Pay Your Selfie. Yes, although the amount isn’t high, apparently you can be paid for your selfie!
Best Side Hustles for Teenagers
JoeHxBlog discusses the best ways to make money as a teenager including shoveling snow. These side hustles aren’t limited to teenagers either. If you’re looking for side hustles that require little to no upfront investment this is a great list of ideas.
Additional Side Hustle Ideas That Require A Bit More Effort
Savvy New Canadians created a list of passive income ideas and side hustle ideas that include things like writing an ebook and creating an online course. While these take more upfront investment in terms of both time and money once it’s launched it’ll turn into more of a passive income stream.
What side hustles have you found are worth the effort you put into them to make more money?