Side hustles

[grenfell]

Side hustles , not actually a term I'd heard until really quite recently. Just in case the term is unknown to anyone it refers to additional ways to raise income outside of one's regular job. In the building industry and at least local to me we used the term foreigner for a normally cash in hand job done often over a weekend although I have no idea where that term comes from.
We know that times are hard and we've talked about how to respond as preppers. We've discussed with meritorious the reducing consumption , buying in bulk , paying off debt , all sensible ideas to reduce our out goings but perhaps we should also look at ways to increase our actual income. I've long held the view that money is a prep in it's own right. A garden full of potatoes and a full pantry give food security but are frankly bugger all use to pay bills.
One obvious way to get more income is to work more overtime or get a better paid job although it's equally obvious that's not always possible. The other way is work on the side or the so called side hustle and perhaps we could discuss ideas for that.
Here's a website that gives some ideas,
https://skintdad.co.uk/side-hustles/
To be honest we've actually done some of these. My daughter for instance being a bit more tech savvy than me has sold school work /revision type of stuff. She has been contacted and writes a couple of blog type things although some of the earnings are paid in dodgy south american river named vouchers.
The link mentions some ideas I'm less than sure about , delivery driving , uber and takeaway delivery don't seem worth it to me for the return and hassle. Gardening ,window cleaning and dog walking could easily turn into full time jobs. It mentions extra work for film and tv , I've done that and while it is interesting it is sporadic , can involve a lot of travelling and can also mean being available during weekdays.
It doesn't mention skip diving. I've done this for many years now . It's surprising how much decent stuff has been thrown away over the years. Some of it required cleaning , a new fuse or a small repair but there was quite a bit of stuff that was literally take it out of the skip and sell it. Car boots are a good way to sell for cash although I find sites like ebay get better prices and a wider audience. Scrap metal from skips was another thing I'd look for. That used to be brought for cash although now you need an account.
I'm aware that there are ideas that are definitely on the wrong side of the law , things like drug dealing and prostitution and we should steer clear of them but I'd be interested in more legal ideas of increasing income by working on the side.

[Frnc]

Mine is lodgers. I've had two for years. In the past I had a much higher turnover. These are older. I did have some that were bad news. Eventually I realised that the law is different for lodgers, and there is no rule on how much notice you need to give them. I got one, and after a month when his rent was due, instead of an apology he was very casual and said I'd get it in a few days. Also he'd been noisy, so I gave him 2 days notice.

[GeeGee]

Car boot sales..anyone who is having a clear out drops it all off at mine everyone knows i do them and saves them a top trip
I've had some right stuff
Had a massive accordian still boxed a month or so ago left on doorstep ..a guitar ..150 tins of dog food and the bed and toys etc ..little dog had gone on from this world ( man over road bought the lot )
And the best a 6 foot moving dalek that yelled exterminate and you could sit in it and move it with controls
Fortunately the childminder at the end of the road bought that one so I didn't have to drive it to the boots
They carry on indoor from November but its hammering down today here so I had the morning off and did swimming and abs instead

[grenfell]

Never tried lodgers although our house doesn't really lend itself to that. We have been renting out my parents house but have de ided to try and sell it now. A couple of private landlords I work for are also looking at selling too , certainly not buying at the moment.

[grenfell]

Funny GeeGee mentions people dropping stuff off. Happens to me at time. At my last job the storeman gave me a piano because "i take all sorts of stuff" . Bit of a bugger to sell though.

[jansman]

I try to work less now. Our way of life means our expenditures are less now. I suppose my hustles are about not spending money,if that makes sense? So if we have food from the garden,it’s food we don’t buy, firewood I acquire on the way home ,then it’s heating for free. ( picking stuff up is ALWAYS on the way back from somewhere- never a trip of its own.) After a lifetime of physical graft,I do as little as possible now.

For those making money on the side,then good luck and we’ll done!

[GillyBee]

There seem to be two sorts of side hustles. The ones that almost anyone can do which seem to be more trouble than they are worth - delivery driver, Uber etc and the ones where you are using a spcialist skill or resource which allows you to either earn more or see value where others see junk.

T'other half is a guitar maker. he is effectively medically retired with no pension for a few more years yet. His side hustle is checking in with all the local junk shops for musical instruments & amplifiers, pedals etc that have been classed as junk but just need some skilled tlc. He then uses his specialist skills (& workshop) to recondition these to sell on.

Meanwhile other famly members had atypical Saturday jobs as a result of their music training. One took up piano tuning and one taught piano lessons. The piano teacher had to keep quiet when her mates swapped the rates of pay for their Saturday jobs as she was getting about 5 times the rate they everyone else did.

So think about what skills you have that are a bit less common and you may find a good hustle. For example, Jansman could teach butchery or trade surplus game. His wife could teach sewing skills or do repairs/custom makes & the like. Grenfell clearly already has building skills available to use as a side hustle.

Me. I am better sticking to the day job for now. My skillset earns good money there and the side hustles I am capable of would pay less than doing some overtime. (But may be useful ifthe job fails)

[Zedsdead]

I sell fishing rigs, been doing it for years. A very small income but it covers my own fishing expenses. A proper 2nd income would be nice but I’d rather have the time to myself

[Arzosah]

I've done lots of bits of things over the years:
- rented out my East London flat when I went to live with a boyfriend
- rented out rooms to lodgers when I bought a house. I wouldn't do it now, I'd release equity or downsize to a flat rather than have lodgers again.
- took an admin job at Amex while I was retraining, then a cleaning job as I started getting the work I was aiming for (less hours, more social hours).

Later on:
- mystery shopping (the pay per hour was dreadful, but I had a lot of energy in those days, and I made over £100 a month about 15 years ago.
- online surveys - as I got more fatigued, this was all I could manage. Between everything, maybe £20 a month? At one stage, that really mattered.
- matched betting, which isn't really betting - its manipulating free offers from betting companies to extract about 80% of the dosh they're offering. It's technical (there are instructions to follow, but its still tricky), and too challenging for anyone who actually likes to gamble.
- sold stuff on Amazon and ebay - I wish I'd never bothered buying the stuff in the first place, of course

[Frnc]

I've sold quite a bit on ebay. Still got a few things I've not got round to putting on, and a couple of things I should, but can't bring myself to. One is a superb waterproof jacket I never wear. And a Rab fleece hoody.
Sold one item this month anyway. Something that was new but too big after I lost weight.