You’re facing a pretty crappy situation. You have more month than money working your full-time day job. Credit cards helped at the beginning, but your debt has started to pile up. You can’t keep falling behind every month! So, you decide to take control and do something about it. Is a side hustle the right thing for you?
Perhaps you’re starting a new career, so your paycheck isn’t all that great. Or maybe you have specific bills to pay that your day job just doesn’t cover.
You know you could use extra cash. That isn’t the question. The question is if you can put something together outside your full-time job that will be worth your time. You don’t want to work every minute of your spare time. So, you need a good side hustle that makes enough money to be worth it.
What is a Side Hustle?
A side hustle is anything you do to make some extra money outside of your regular day job. Most day jobs don’t let you make more money by working harder or smarter. You might get a small annual bonus and maybe a raise every year. If you do get a yearly raise, it is probably just a Cost-of-Living Allowance (COLA). In 2022, Benefits Canada reports that you can expect a 3% raise.
Indeed Canada says the average 25 to 34-year-old Canadian makes $47,000/year. So, if you’re lucky enough to make that much, your 3% raise is $1,410/year or just a little over $100/month. Any good side hustle can do better than that and help you get out of debt.
10 Side Hustle Ideas for Extra Income
Here are some good side hustle ideas worth your time to put a dent in your debt and extra cash in your pocket. Every side hustle idea has different pros and cons, so read these through and see what resonates with you.
Make and Sell Handmade Goods
Etsy and Shopify are the places to sell your arts and crafts and other homemade items. Take your hobby and make extra money working from home.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing pays well over the longer term. There’s quite a learning curve before you start making much money. Check out being an affiliate marketer for eCommerce sites and look at drop shipping.
Be a Dog Walker
Every dog loves a good walk, and if you love dogs, this could be a good gig for you. Send out flyers and knock on a few doors to find dog walking clients in your neighbourhood. Let your neighbours pay you to get your daily exercise dog walking before and after work.
Freelance Bookkeeping
If you have some bookkeeping skills, offer part-time bookkeeping services to several companies. Bookkeeping is an ideal freelance or part-time side hustle because it’s steady work every month working from home.
Manage Social Media Accounts
Managing social media accounts takes time and expertise. Most small companies don’t have the staff to manage their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube accounts. If you know how – you could be working from home with this could be your new side hustle!
Freelance Writing
Companies need words. They need webpages, email funnels, blogs, white papers and more. Freelancer writers working from home are in high demand. Find clients starting a blog or who need other regular freelance writing work. Or consider starting a blog yourself. You might end up with a side gig freelance writing that could make you more than your day job.
Pick up an Hourly Side Hustle
Pick up part-time work evenings and weekends, online or in-person. Most offline hourly gigs make about minimum wage, but online opportunities may pay better. If you want steady, risk-free work, an hourly gig might be the right side hustle for you.
Be a Rideshare Driver
Skip the Dishes, Uber, Lyft, Door Dash – there are lots of opportunities as a driver. One of the best things is that you can choose your availability minute-by-minute. Turn on the app and make some money and turn it off when you’re done for the day.
Get Paid to Do Online Surveys
Paid online surveys don’t pay much, but you can do them in front of the TV.
Be a Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is a remote job, usually hourly and usually part-time. Get good at administration, record keeping, research, customer service, or answering emails, and you could make up to $35/hr from home.
What to Consider Before Starting a Side Hustle
What resonates with you? Does a side hustle fit in with your passions and interests? That’s the first thing to consider when thinking about a side gig. You’ll be doing this in your spare time, so make sure it is something you enjoy.
What about your schedule? If you have set hours in your day job, you need to work around those. And remember to add in some actual leisure time, family time, and time for exercise!
Is the side hustle financially viable? Is it worth your time? And remember, you have to claim this income. CRA has rules for the platform economy.
Choosing the Perfect Side Hustle to Help with your Debt
You may want to look at your debt and consider how much the perfect side hustle would pay to make a real difference. Do you need $200 a month? $1,000? More is always better in the big picture but think about how much you need to help with your debt.
If you need some help finding a good side hustle, check out Side Hustle Stack, a free resource for finding platform-based work.
A side hustle is a great way to bring in extra money every month. You can make a difference in your debt and move towards more financial independence. To really tackle your debt, be sure to check out other options too. Talking to a credit counsellor can be a really effective way to achieve your debt repayment goals.
