There are literally an unlimited number of ways to make side income. When I talk about side income, I’m talking about income that is in addition to working your full-time job. There are plenty of reasons why people do not pursue side income. It takes time. It takes effort. Some side income sources could actually result in lost money (or at least a huge loss of time). Nevertheless, if you are committed enough you will be able to make side income.
1) Writing
Freelance writing can be a good source of side income. A great site to browse if you are interested in freelance writing is Freelance Writing Gigs. This site posts freelance writing jobs daily. Some jobs require more time than others, and as you might expect, some pay more than others. In the time I’ve spent browsing the job listings the past couple years, I’ve seen jobs that are both location-dependent and location-independent; freelance writing can truly be done from anywhere that there is internet access.
As with most things, freelance writing is about momentum. Once you have some articles published, you gain referrals and credibility. A lot of people will recommend starting a blog if you want to make money writing. In reality, blogging is a lot more work than freelance writing and I wouldn’t necessarily advocate starting a blog unless you are in it for the long haul and have a lot of time to commit to it.
2) Photography
I have a number of friends who have built successful photography businesses from the ground up. A couple of examples are Dana J Photography (our wedding photographer who I highly recommend) and Ri Photography (another one of our friends who did our save-the-date photos). What I’ve seen many photographers do is charge little or nothing for their work in the beginning. Once demand increases, they start increasing their prices. Some photographers I know are charging double what they charged a year or two ago.
In my opinion, photography is one of the best side incomes out there for young adults. A lot of it is referral-based, you can increase your fees a lot faster than other side pursuits, and it has the potential to become a full-time income. There is constantly demand for weddings, engagement sessions, and event photographers. It is highly competitive, though, because the barriers to entry are relatively low.
3) Music Lessons
I had a friend in college who made close to $40/hour giving guitar lessons. Not everyone will make quite that much, but $10-$20/hour can be expected, even for teachers just starting out. The best part about lessons is you can take on as few or as many students as you can handle, making it a pretty flexible side income source.
There will always be parents willing to pay for their kid’s lessons, and if you like music, why not make some money at it? Again, it doesn’t have to be a full-time job (though it certainly can become one if you want it to be) and with a few referrals and students who are on a consistent schedule, you can make a decent side income.
4) Deliver Pizzas
Ever heard of the blog Deliver Away Debt? This site was started by Jeff Kosola, whose message is: do anything to get out of debt. Delivering pizzas is something that you can do in addition to a full-time job. It’s not something that will make you rich and you can’t build a business around it, but it is extra income, and it could really help pad your bank account if you are living paycheck-to-paycheck and cutting it close. I worked at two different pizza places in high school and I can tell you that delivery drivers have it pretty nice compared to some of the other workers. $100-$200 in tips isn’t unheard of for a busy Friday or Saturday night.
Delivering pizzas is just one example. A part-time job at a coffee shop, sports stadium, heck bouncer at a night club could all fall within the “flexible part-time job” category and all will help your bank account.
5) Programming
The top paying tech job without a degree for 2013 is a Ruby on Rails Programmer, with a pay rate of $120,000. I’m not saying you will ever make six-figures as a programmer, especially if only pursue it on the side, but there is demand for programmers.
I have taken this approach and it is working out well. I am able to develop my skills that will help me at my full-time job while also making a bit of side cash. I am also building a contacts that will refer me if I ever decide to take on more work to pay down debt or meet savings goals. It may not be the easiest job to start on the side, but if you find a small business that will contract work out for you, it can have just as much (or more) potential than any other side income source I’ve listed out.
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Do you pursue side income? If yes, what do you do? If you don’t, would you consider pursuing it?
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Photo by Mike Baird
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I would love to make a full time living from photography *sigh*.
If you ever need help with a programming job shoot me an email. I have developed MANY different applications in many different languages and I am always up for earning a little bit of side income.
@MonsterPiggyBank I will definitely reach out to you if I come across anything! Would be interested in collaborating on some projects if the right ones come along.
Gotta love side income! Obviously we do the writing thing, but we also own rental houses. It provides a tiny bit of side income, but it is more of an investment than a side gig. A few people I know coach sports, referee, and tutor.
@GregatClubThrifty Nice! I am interested in the rental property investment. Just gotta save enough for a second property, already trying to rent the basement of this one!
We’re currently not pursuing side income, but then again we’re running our own business so stuff like that’s bound to happen from time to time. We get opportunities from time to time and writing certainly I an option and one I should probably look into more.
@FrugalRules I’m looking forward to hearing more about your small biz on your site! I might do a little freelance writing if spreadsheet work doesn’t take up too much of my time next year.
I’ve been wanting to start a side hustle for some time. Unfortunately it’s really difficult to find the time with a young family, job, and a blog :)
@MoneyMasterMom Haha yeah I think you are a little busy ;)
I definitely want to get into photography, always a dream of mine!
@SenseofCents It’s not bad money and seems like it can be a lot of fun if you are into it!
Side income was crucial for me when paying off my credit cards. It wasn’t much, but every little bit helped. I still make some money on the side, but I am more focused on getting ready for my son to be born. That is like a full time job right now.
@DebtRoundUp Side money feels like more than regular income haha. I don’t know why, but it does! Congrats on the son! I can’t imagine all the work it would take to get ready for a kid…that’s still a ways off for me : )
@DC @ Young Adult Money Thanks, I appreciate it. It has been hard work, but it will be rewarding very soon!
@DebtRoundUp I’m excited for you!
Making side income is something I’ve been working hard at for the last 4-5 years. My side income has done quite well, and I think it’s because I’ve focused on making money by doing things I’m already doing as a hobby, things I enjoy, or that I’ve done as part of my full time job – in other words – things I’m good at.
Find something you do for fun on the side, and think about ways you can turn it into a money making endeavor!
@moneymatters I am the same way. I am good at spreadsheet-related work and that’s what I do on the side.
Thanks for the link about the writing gigs. That could come in handy!
@Beachbudget I LOVE that site! they post stuff almost every day, it’s great.
Oh, what an honor to be linked to here! Did you look more into it? I’m contemplating how to make the best of my time right now to make room for programming time.
@Veronica @ Pelican on Money I looked into it a bit, I have WAY too much on my plate to take on a new language right now though…so unfortunately it would be sometime next year I think.
Great post DC!! You know I am always talking about stuff like this. I have to admit when I worked full-time I looked into some side hustle income such as rental properties, but never followed through. Like you I have met photographers that have done quite well working on their own.
Are you looking at becoming a RoR programmer? My husband is a programmer and loves it!
@TacklingOurDebt I am not sure I am ambitious enough for RoR, but I would consider learning it for sure! Just have to decide what I want to pursue as far as programming goes.
I’m off to check deliver away debt! I will do any job to get rid of debt if it becomes too much of a burden. I catered at weddings for a while, it was fun and paid well because of long hours.
@RFIndependence That’s cool! I am definitely enjoying my side income pursuits. It takes up a lot of time but it feels good at the end of the day.
When it comes to delivering pizzas I’d say you have to be careful if you want to make money. Car depreciation and maintenance can add up quick and isn’t covered by the pizza places. Now if they let you drive a company car I say go for it!
@Money Life and More The car depreciation and maintenance is supposed to be offset by the delivery charge.
@DC @ Young Adult Money Haha… yah… delivery drivers don’t get the delivery charge. I used to work at a Pizza Hut, the restaurant keeps it and gives the driver some stupidly low amount normally. At least that’s my experience.
@DC @ Young Adult Money Haha… yah… the driver doesn’t get the delivery charge. I used to work at a pizza place and the driver just got some stupid small amount and the pizza place kept the charge.
@Money Life and More I’ve worked at Pizza Hut and Davanni’s and both places the drivers got the delivery charge.
@DC @ Young Adult Money Weird, I guess it depends on the individual store then. Our drivers didn’t get it. The delivery charge was 2 bucks and our drivers got 75 cents.
My side income this year came from contract optometry jobs, which was essentially moonligting, but it paid off lots of debt and made the down payment on our rental. I’m not good at much else. I’d have to buy GPS to deliver pizza so that would eat my profits. I have made a tiny bit from writing before I started my blog, and I have faith that it will make money sometime!
@Eyesonthedollar There is nothing wrong with specialization! Especially if you can use that to create side income streams (like your rental!).
Blog writing takes so much more work than I had originally thought, it’s crazy.
My father is big time into photography. He does a lot of the weddings at his church and is good at it. I’m sad that he never pursued it more because he has a passion for it. His side jobs pay for his expensive photography hobby, cameras, props, and books. So I suppose it’s not all bad.
@JustinatTheFrugalPath Photography can be a REALLY expensive hobby if you don’t make money with it…at least I’ve noticed that with a few friends of mine.
wow, I do or want to do 4/5 on your list. I program for a main income, write on a blog. If I retire early, I would definitely consider teaching guitar, or selling some photos on the side. I guess the pizza delivery thing is the only one I wouldn’t be interest in doing. Nice list.
@FI_Fighter The main thing I enjoy about the programming is that I can do it from home or at a coffee shop if I want a change of pace. I haven’t really tried to build a big side biz out of it, but I definitely would like to.
I have a friend who teaches piano and he gets paid $60 for 45 minutes! I was really jealous when I heard. :)
I sometimes do freelance writing, but a lot of the writing you might find on the internet is underpaid compared to traditional freelancer rates. I have a few contracts with trade magazines that I maintain, but I haven’t really been seeking more.
@OutlierModel Holy cow….$60 for 45 minutes isn’t bad at all!
Very interesting about the low rates online. I suppose there is so many people trying to do it that there is a squeeze on the rate, pushing it lower and lower. While I wouldn’t mind freelance writing, I’d rather continue develop my programming skills and try to build a side biz out of that.
Copywriting is a great money maker in addition to freelancing. you can take a potential customer and re-write their advertising and website content and just give it to the customer charging them a grand easy! Photography and Videography is a good method too especially with an increasing number of libraries renting video and standard cameras.
When I was 18 I needed money real bad. I had thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and needed to deliver ASAP. I didn’t even have a bank account at that time. I heard on the radio that marketing and web design was the most profitable industry of that quarter in Chicago. I had no experience in design but I researched it and found unconventional ways to market and design websites. Within 2 days I could crank out top notch sites within hours. So I hit the streets and handed out index cards with my phone number and name. (I didn’t even have enough money to print business cards) within 3 hours I found a customer and designed his site for $3,000. He was so happy he recommended me to others and before I knew it I was making 8k a week ( at age 18!). I had my lawyer fees payed that first week (with almost $500 left over) Now I make sites, apps, phone systems, text and email marketing and other stuff. I agree especialy with the writing and photography part
I just founded a Marketing School to help other young people learn what I learned and profit with nothing down, no investors, even no bank account. Some of my students make $10k a week within the first month of enrolling. I love it because they can have college payed for before even starting. http://charismasolutions.org/school