These side hustles can help people earn money and beat inflation

When struggling to make ends meet and cover the cost of living, people generally have two choices: spend less or work extra to earn more.

Today, with high inflation beating wage growth and expiring federal pandemic relief programs, many Americans are looking to stretch their dollar as much as possible. This can mean reducing household costs by eliminating streaming subscriptions and extending the useful life of certain foods, for example. But when you’ve already cut costs to the bone and feel like you can’t cut your spending any further without giving up the basics, it might be time for a second job or side hustle.

Three-quarters of middle-income Americans say so you don’t earn enough to pay the cost of living, according to a recent survey. At the same time, more people than ever have two full-time jobs, which add up to more than 70 hours of work per week. In June, 426,000 people worked in two full-time positions, compared with 308,000 in February 2020, according to federal labor data.

For workers with enough free time and energy looking to earn extra cash, these side hustles (flexible part-time jobs) can help bridge the gap between your income and your regular expenses.

How to earn cash on the side

People can make money doing tasks ranging from website design to less specialized activities like walking dogs or even just keeping a stranger company.

“There are so many alternatives right now,” said Kathy Kristof, founder of Side Husl, a site that reviews gig economy apps and platforms. “There are all these platforms online that invite you to sign up and make money with them, and you can do almost anything by connecting with the right platform.”

For example, Wizedemy allows users to set their own fees for tutoring students in a range of subjects, allowing them to keep 100% of what they earn. Tutors typically charge between $30 and $100 an hour.

“The tutoring options are great. You can tutor anything, music, maths, English, a foreign language, drama, athletics – for any subject there is a tutoring site that will help you market that skill or service to others Kristof said.

An app called Rover is another popular platform, especially among dog lovers. Users can sign up to walk dogs, have pets, or provide other animal care services. You set your own rate and earn around 25% of the fee. According to SideHusl, some of the top earners on the app earn more than $1,000 per month.

Who faces side rushes?

While workers of all ages are eager to pick up extra cash, Americans in the early or late stages of their careers tend to be more interested in side hustles.

“They’re very popular with younger workers and older workers. We see a lot of people solving their financial problems on both sides. With young people trying to pay off student debt and start saving, a side hustle is a great way to earn that extra money to make ends meet and pay off debt,” said Kristof. “Then we see it on the side of retirees or near retirees, from people who haven’t saved enough or are afraid they haven’t saved enough.”

Alex Atwood, founder and CEO of GravyWork, a site that helps people find flexible and part-time jobs in the travel, hospitality, retail and other industries, said he has seen a huge increase in candidates who register on the site.

“We’re doing phenomenally well because of inflation,” he told CBS MoneyWatch. “For our users, the money they make from the app is spending money. A lot of times their nine-to-five goes into a savings account and that way they can go out to dinner, buy their kids a game console games or update them. your iPhone.”

Other side problems involve making money with the things you have. For example, several resale platforms allow you to sell used clothing and items online, but they tend to be unprofitable. ThredUp, an online thrift store, allows users to sell and buy second-hand clothing.

For items purchased for less than $20, the seller earns 3% to 15% of the sale price. Sell ​​a shirt for $20 and you’ll make just $3. But for clothing items that sell for $200 or more, you earn 80%.

If you have a car, pool or house

If you have more valuable assets, like a tennis court or a swimming pool, you can rent them by the hour for a pretty penny. an app called Swimply. Fees charged to users range from $30 to $100 per hour, with owners pocketing 85% of the fee.

“It’s something that helps people earn extra income in financially confusing times,” Swimply co-founder Bunim Laskin told CBS MoneyWatch.

People who own cars can also charge their vehicles wrapping them in ads and get paid just for driving to and from work as they normally would.

Carvetise and Wrapify are the two main players in the traveling billboard market. Drivers can expect to earn between $250 and $1,300 per month from a given ad campaign — passive income that can go toward paying for fuel, making rides free.

You can even rent out your apartment or house by the hour for filming and photo shoots. And no, it doesn’t have to be fancy.

“They’re looking for a style and an era, something that fits their history. So you could have an empty lot or an old, ugly, broken house and it could be very popular because it fits that theme,” he said Kristof. .

Other ways to win

There are dozens of other side issues that can help people earn cash, including:

• Teach cooking classes via Cozymeal. Set your own rate and earn 20% to 30% commission. Cooking experience required!
• Use your tech skills to design websites or emails for small businesses, or troubleshoot or code for people who need help. Earn $30-$100 an hour. Market your skills on Fiverr or SMA Inc.
• transcribe court hearings, police calls or company quarterly reports and earnings calls via Ditto Transcripts. Earn up to $1.10 per minute, depending on experience and recording difficulty.
• Serve as a mock jury by online verdict or jury trial and earn about $50 per trial.
• Thoroughly clean houses or offer almost any kind of service, from carpentry to furniture assembly, on TaskRabbit. Set your own rates.

In:
• inflation