Generally, a side hustle is a side job. Most people have full-time jobs but may need a little more than their salary allows. This is where the side hustles come into play.

If you Google side hustles or side jobs, or something to that effect, you will find a plethora of opportunities. A lot of them require an investment. The ones that I researched or have actually tried were ones that did not call for an investment.

But back to the beginning…

Picture it…1989…a young college graduate looking to start her elementary teaching career tries to get a full-time teaching job. But alas, she does not.

There are 600 applicants for every single teaching job, and she has no contacts in education. But still the bills need to be paid.

It is not too much at this point…rent, electricity, car insurance, food and gas. So, what is a young, single woman to do? Work, work, work!

Fast forward to 2019. The same college graduate that also has a Master’s degree now finds herself unemployed.  There is also a child to take care of and a house. The bills are higher now so what is she to do? Side hustle, side hustle, side hustle!

In both scenarios, which unfortunately are true, I did what I had to do; figure out ways to pay the bills. Luckily, I had a little cushion of savings this time to use to help me.

The first time around, I was younger with nobody else to consider so I could work at nights and on weekends without infringing on another’s schedule.

This time around I have a child to take into consideration so I cannot work at night and on weekends without having to hire babysitters, which would defeat the purpose of a side hustle.

I started off researching ideas for working from home. The wonders of the internet give lots of information on these ideas and with the advancement of Facebook, there are many FB groups on these topics. I joined a few of these to get information from people who were already making money this way.

There are many side hustles that require an initial investment and/or selling products to your friends and family. I did not want to go that route. I did not feel that I would be successful at that. There are many people who are successful at that, and more power to them. You have to know your strengths and that is not one of mine.

Side Hustles I have used to make money.

Substitute Teaching:

Being a certified teacher, I am able to substitute in school districts. The schedule goes along with my child’s schedule so that is a definite plus and the money is good. You can pick if you want to work, so it is very flexible in that way. If you have an appointment or other commitment, you can adjust your availability, which is a good bonus.

Unfortunately, you have to wait to be called unless you are known in the schools, so it is not always predictable income. Also, depending on the state, you may have to be a certified teacher. Some states allow you to substitute if you have a four-year degree, even if it is in another field.

Tutoring Online:

You sign up and the company sends you prospective students. You indicate whether you want to tutor them or not. Then you schedule them. There is an online interface where you see the student and conduct the tutoring. You invoice the company and they pay you.

Personally, I think the pay should have been higher for certified teachers. There are different companies so it would depend on which company you use.

Selling items online:

There are many places online to sell items. I use Ebay and Facebook marketplace. After decades of teaching full-time and in different grade levels and being a bit of a book-a-holic, I had probably 1,000 books in my basement. Once I started organizing them by grade, subjects and genres, I looked online for places to sell them. I found Facebook groups for teachers and local people looking for books.

My friend suggested looking around my house for things I did not use anymore. Using Ebay, I sold my old 35 mm camera that I had since I was 18 years old and a DVD/VCR combo player that was gathering dust in a closet. There are other sites for selling items online too, like Let Go, and for selling clothes there is Poshmark. These are just a few examples.

Reselling Items: “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

A friend of mine has been successful at this to a moderate extent. She has a good eye for what she can resell and goes to thrift shops in her area to find items. It is called “thrifting” and if you know the value of things, you may find success. This also can be done at garage sales, estate sales, and even storage auctions (yes, just like the show on tv, people buy the contents of storage units and hope to find treasure). For example, my friend found a Monet print picture at a thrift store for $4.99 and resold it for $135.00. She also found a water pitcher at a garage sale for $12.00 and sold it for $185.00.

I have not been as successful as she has but I had found a toy on clearance that was selling for double the price online. I bought one of them to try and resell. When I sold that one quickly, I went back and bought the other four that were left and sold them locally too. On a $12.00 toy, I sold them for $25.00. They were selling on Amazon and Ebay for $39.99 so it was a win-win for myself and the buyers. You can use Ebay, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to sell items.

*If selling locally, meet people in crowded parking lots with lots of people around. Some police departments have set up meeting places with cameras also for safety.

Mystery Shopper:

This idea I saw in a FB group and looked online for a company. I signed up and when they have “shops”, you can click that you would like to do it. They give you all the information and what you need to look for. You go to the place you are shopping at and use the scenario they give you. Afterwards, you fill out the survey online. The company I use has set dates for payments.

It will not pay your rent, but it is a little extra spending money that does not involve a lot of effort. They also have phone call “shops” where you call a business and talk to an associate. That only pays a few dollars, but it can add up if you do them enough.

Surveys:

When I first started researching ideas for extra money, taking surveys came up a lot. I did not know about them much, so I signed up for one. I found it disappointing. You were supposed to get points that add up to gift cards. Some people online recommend it, say it is so easy and you can make $200 a month. If you look on Pinterest, there are many pins touting this. I found that the surveys were long and then they would say you did not qualify after you had been answering questions for five minutes. Then, they would give you 3 points for trying it. Basically, you needed 1,000 points to trade them in for a $10.00 amount. It took me a while to try and garner points but when I got to that 1,000-point mark, I traded it out and received a gift card. I never went back to it after that. Way too much time and effort for not enough reward!

What I Have Learned

There is no such thing as a free lunch!

There are many self-proclaimed gurus out there who will feed your wild desires to make money without effort and they will sell you their programs while trying to convince you that you can make $1,000 a day. I wish that were true but for the average person, it is not. There may be people who have gotten lucky and been successful but for most, it has taken effort and blood, sweat and tears!

Every time I sell my books (which by the way, is much lower than what I paid for them originally), or tutor online, or do a mystery shop, I make some money. And every dollar I make with these side hustles, is money that I do not have to take out of my bank account. I use it for gas, groceries, or eating out. This way I do not have to deplete my savings.

When I find an item and resell it for higher and make $10.00 or $20.00, it is like found money. If I did it enough times, it can add up. For me, I am working on getting by without having to give up my freedom.

I know people probably thing that I am crazy to be trying all these side hustles to get by, but for me they represent being able to spend more time with my child and be present in her life.

I ran (in the rat race) for so many years not getting any further than when I started and in a way, I have come full circle, substitute teaching and making money on the side, just like I started out thirty years ago when I first graduated college.

Those years flew by and I do not want to get back in there, rushing around, and in ten more years wondering how I could have missed my child growing into an adult, because at that point in time, she will be an adult.

So, I will continue to try and find side hustles that will pay my bills. Maybe I will get lucky and find the “Golden Ticket”, a lucrative program. You never know! That is a part of it too. You never know!

How about you? Have you tried any side hustles and found success? I am not talking about MLMs (multi-level marketing) where you have to put out a big investment to join or sell things. There are many out there. Again, for some people they have found success and made money with them. I wish them all the success they can get. For me, and others, there are other side hustles. Let me know if you participate in any.