Hello all,
I, along with many of you, have sought out methods of earning extra cash in order to either pay off debts or to reach a financial goal that you had in mind. You must understand that there is no one size fits all. What works for one person or group of people may not work for you, and vice versa. It is entirely possible that one type of side gigs work in a small town, but do not work or does so poorly in Los Angeles. There is no right answer for everyone, there is no best answer. There is only what works for you and you alone. Feel free to share your experiences with others, but do not be surprised if other complete discount your thoughts or if they have disagreeing opinions of your methods.
Time Consuming
One thing you will find out is that there are different approaches to making extra money. One of these is that, unlike a salary, you will likely trade your time for money. For some that do not have children or do not have many obligations, this may be fine. However, for those that do have other obligations, the time consuming category of side gigs is going to be significantly more challenging. There are a few different types of side gigs that you should be aware of.
Food Delivery
Food delivery side gigs depend heavily upon your specific market. For instance, a city of 150,000 people is likely to have a much more difficult time with receiving orders through food delivery apps compared to a city that has over a million people. However, again, this depends on your specific city. Feel free to try out any of these services and see if they work for you!
- Grub Hub
- DoorDash
- UberEATS
- Postmates
- BiteSquad
- Favor
Grocery Delivery
Similar to the food delivery category, this one is mainly trading time for money. However, if you are someone who enjoys shopping, and spending other people’s money (for them) then this might be a good category for you. Alternatively, you can look at this category of side gigs as a way to help out others in your community. Through grocery delivery, you may eventually come by a customer who is not able to go out and shop for themselves. To me, this makes grocery delivery not only a great paying side gig, but also something that provides true value back to the community.
- Instacart
- DoorDash – Yes, DD started offering grocery pickup and delivery services in addition to regular food delivery services.
- Shipt
- Rappi – seems to target Latin America
- Burpy
- Good Eggs
Taxi Services
The Taxi Services category is a great category for many people. By offering your time and vehicle as a taxi, you are providing services to others that will enable them to be transported safely. An example for this is driving home a person or people that have been drinking. The bad: those passengers could end up throwing up in your car or destroying something in your car. The good: you get to talk with people and interact with them, being able to handle some meaningful conversations, healthy debates, or just shooting the shit. Just like the grocery delivery category, you will occasionally find those customers who are not able to drive themselves, whether it be a lack of a driver’s license, health-related issues, or something else. This category of side gigs further enables you to provide a valuable service to your community.
- Lyft
- Uber
Dog Walking
For those of you who like dogs, like getting some exercise, and like being outside, do I have the suggestions for you! Dog walking services are becoming more popular in today’s bustling world. You may find that dog walking services are especially popular in wealthier neighborhoods where people are more willing to pay someone to walk their dog rather than walk it themselves. However, people all over the city are willing to pay for this service. Dog walking services can usually be setup on a recurring schedule basis or on a one-off basis, offering you the ability to do what’s best for you.
- Rover
- The Tail Trail
- Wag Walking
Variety Side Gigs
The variety side gigs category is really meant to highlight a few better known options for signing up for different gigs or tasks that may vary from one gig/task to the next. There is no standard amount of income and you get to set your own hours.
- TaskRabbit
- Zaarly
- Handy
- NeedTo
- Porch
- Thumbtack
- Takl
- ShiftGig
- Nextdoor
- TalkLocal
- Field Agent
Other Task-based Side Gigs
This category is a bit different. I am pretty much combining everything else that does not fit into the upper categories into this one. I’ll expand a little bit on each one since they are different compared to having multiple, well-known options in the upper categories.
Amazon Flex – Flex is Amazon’s offering to use your vehicle as a delivery vehicle, delivering Amazon packages to customers who have ordered off their marketplace. Flex is not a bad gig, but you may have limited success with this depending on where you live. Additionally, feel free to look up reviews from those who participate in Flex already to see if this is something you are interested in. Amazon has not been known for having the best reputation to work for as a lower-level employee. Feel free to search for articles and posts about Amazon warehouse workers, their working conditions, their pay, and the stress they are put through on a daily basis. Flex may be significantly different since you are likely employed as a contractor, but keep in mind that there may be some challenges to it.
Passive Methods
These are a couple passive methods of earning some extra money. Be aware, these are NOT FAST CASH. These build over time. In my case, I was able to cash out HoneyGain in about a month when I tried it, and I was able to cash out PacketStream after about three months. So take that as you will. However, after setting them up, I just monitored the progress on a weekly basis to see what I was at.
PacketStream – Similar to a TOR exit node, or a VPN
HoneyGain – Similar to a TOR exit node, or a VPN
Those are my top suggestions on side gigs. I would love to know what side gigs you have chosen to take on. Jump in the comments and share your feedback! I look forward to seeing what success (or failures) you have experienced with your own side gig efforts.