shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Jun 25, 2019 16:03:45 GMT -5
I recently started a side hustle writing book reviews for an online book review site (OnlineBookClub.org). This is not a high paying gig. Mostly, it's a way to get free books, and to work on my writing skills.
The first book you review, you review for free. After that, you start to get access to books to review that will pay you $5, maybe even $10. So far, I have completed 4 reviews and earned $15, though it hasn't been paid out yet. I'm going to be rich.
As you do more reviews, get more views and comments on your reviews, and become an active member in the community, you earn points that take you up to higher level tiers that give you access to more books to review, and those reviews pay more. I am on my 5th book now, and when I chose it, I was still at Level 1. I am now at Level 2, so we'll see how much more reviews pay when I get to pick my next book. I am still not expecting much.
But my financial goal for this is pretty much to pay for my Audible subscription ($16/month) and, maybe, enough to get myself a Kindle Unlimited subscription. (I dream big.) If you want to help me reach these goals, please feel free to go to my blog, and click on the individual reviews for Online Book Club. If you comment, that's even better.
But, all this has me wondering, who else has a side hustle? What are you hoping to accomplish with it? Do you want it to eventually become your main hustle (as many bloggers do)? Or is it short term to help meet a specific financial goal? Are you making enough at it to make it worth while?
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MN-Investor
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Post by MN-Investor on Jun 25, 2019 17:16:24 GMT -5
That reminds me of a person I used to work with. Bill did PC support in our IT department. He was ok at it, but not a standout in our group. However, Bill was a real hustler. In a good way. He had quite a history and could always make a buck. Bill was great at computer graphics. He put together the programs for high school football games. He designed them and hired someone to call up businesses to put their ads in them. Bill was making more, net, with those programs than the director of our IT department was making.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Jun 25, 2019 17:53:11 GMT -5
I signed up for dog walking, but limited my radius and time way too much. I really need to reset my availability and offer some actual pet sitting to try to bring in clients. My passive income is down which is what is supposed to be paying for me to go back to school, so I was hoping to bring in at least $500 a month to cover school costs.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jun 25, 2019 18:52:39 GMT -5
Teaching accounts for about 10% our gross income. It used to be more as a percentage, but I don't teach as much now, and my dayjob gross has increased. At one point it was 20% of our gross. I do need to advertise on next door to find a few more kiddos.
When things were really thin, I escorted a child from Daycare to afternoon preschool on top of teaching. That was a good gig. I could do it during my lunch hour (the only time I ever routinely took any lunch time in my 19 years at my job), plus I could work/study to and from the escorting job. It paid $15 a day, almost $1/minute of my time. I've been working multiple jobs for almost 20 years now. I'm over it.
I'm actually pretty worried about getting back to formal classes after taking this summer off. I've been living like a normal person for two months now...I don't want to go back to the grind.
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stillmovingforward
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Post by stillmovingforward on Jun 25, 2019 19:47:07 GMT -5
Binding quilts. I can make a few thousand a year doing that. But I've cut back to hand quilt a quilt this year.
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finnime
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Post by finnime on Jun 26, 2019 5:53:29 GMT -5
Baking to order. I make (net) a few hundred a month doing this. I do quiches, stromboli, cakes, pies, cookies, rolls, breads and some catering. It's more of an outlet than anything else for me, but the spare change is nice.
I'm also participating in a clinical trial of a medication to relieve arthritis pain in the knees. Stage 3 trial. Participants are paid for 'travel time' to the doctor's office for monthly treatment. The really great thing is that the med works. I'm sure I'm not on placebo because it works that well, and I was having real trouble before I started this. If I weren't getting the pain relief I'm not sure I would have continued.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Jun 26, 2019 6:02:21 GMT -5
As most know our side is rentals, in Texas was paying well. Here have to finish the last house and hope the economy doesn't crash for our renters. We are making good positive cash flow but dumping it in the last house. We hope to have it finished this year. We got the AC done and got the washer/dryer, that was $4k. We have flooring to buy and need to put a new roof on the garage, that's our last major expenses, most of it is hubs labor and mine I hope if I can do it. Things like countertops, a kitchen sink. Hubs has all the new bath fixtures purchased too. Also 2 exterior doors, but hundreds of dollars, instead of thousands upon thousands, thankfully. It will pay us well, will pay all of our taxes and insurance both personal and business, and give us $1k to $1500 extra per month. probably will all go for health insurance over time, hope not.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jun 26, 2019 6:53:51 GMT -5
Binding quilts. I can make a few thousand a year doing that. But I've cut back to hand quilt a quilt this year. Totally jealous. In another life I'll be able to do this.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Jun 26, 2019 7:03:35 GMT -5
I have one rental, which is more of a side income than a side hustle. I hired a property manager to do all the hustling, and I just have to make a few decisions a year via email. It is netting around $8k per year after all the expenses are paid. The house has also been appreciating about 12k per year. I could be making more with it if I brought the rent up to current market, but the same family has been living there 10 years and I haven't wanted to push them out.
My husband does woodworking and he takes occasional side jobs. His employer offers unlimited overtime and he makes more working overtime than he does on side projects, so he is very selective and only takes side projects that he finds interesting or to be neighborly. He is currently working on restoring an antique room divider. It is from Egypt and made of teak, and is composed of hundreds of ornate turnings. Some of the turnings were broken off so he is matching up the teak and making new turnings for it. Last year he made around 3k on side projects and maybe 20k in overtime.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Jun 26, 2019 7:42:09 GMT -5
I have rentals but I know have a property manager. Prior to the property manager I was clearing about $40k a year, plus the tenants pay the mortgage payments of about $29k a year. Now I'm only clearing about $25k a year and I did just have a $6k repair so the cash flow is definitely not as good this year. I don't rely on the money from that for anything at this point as I am still in the building phase. Eventually I would like to retire and rely on the passive income from my rentals. I need two more and then to pay off the debt on the remaining Once I can clear $100k a year and have a good cash reserve, I am so done working.
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Jun 26, 2019 7:44:10 GMT -5
I do freelancing writing as my side hustle. How much I make depends on how much my clients need done that month. I have months where I make $2k but then I have months where I make $200. Most of the money goes to paying off DH's student loan (we'll be done next month!) or paying for the HELOC on our land. I really need to branch out and look for more writing and editing side gigs and build up a business, but I'm really lazy.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Jun 26, 2019 8:00:05 GMT -5
I have one rental, which is more of a side income than a side hustle. I hired a property manager to do all the hustling, and I just have to make a few decisions a year via email. It is netting around $8k per year after all the expenses are paid. The house has also been appreciating about 12k per year. I could be making more with it if I brought the rent up to current market, but the same family has been living there 10 years and I haven't wanted to push them out. My husband does woodworking and he takes occasional side jobs. His employer offers unlimited overtime and he makes more working overtime than he does on side projects, so he is very selective and only takes side projects that he finds interesting or to be neighborly. He is currently working on restoring an antique room divider. It is from Egypt and made of teak, and is composed of hundreds of ornate turnings. Some of the turnings were broken off so he is matching up the teak and making new turnings for it. Last year he made around 3k on side projects and maybe 20k in overtime. That sounds really interesting. Is there a way to post a photo for us to see?
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jun 26, 2019 9:33:35 GMT -5
I'm a council person. I get $117/month for my time. My husband is a graphic designer and will some side jobs here and there. Most of the time he gets paid in actual money, sometimes he gets paid in spin class credits, which is actually pretty damn nice.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2019 10:35:52 GMT -5
I started my art/jewelry business. It pays for itself at this point. (mountainshadowart.com) I also sell rocks/lapidary slabs when I am rockhounding.
I still write blogs for a living for one of the higher paying content mills. I used to write for them as a side gig when I had a job. It's now my full-time job and comparable in pay to a local job I would have to commute to.
I also have 3 books I wrote selling on Amazon. I haven't done any work on those for years and every month they pay me. I'd love to have the time to build a much bigger offering there for the passive income.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Jun 26, 2019 12:04:10 GMT -5
I have one rental, which is more of a side income than a side hustle. I hired a property manager to do all the hustling, and I just have to make a few decisions a year via email. It is netting around $8k per year after all the expenses are paid. The house has also been appreciating about 12k per year. I could be making more with it if I brought the rent up to current market, but the same family has been living there 10 years and I haven't wanted to push them out. My husband does woodworking and he takes occasional side jobs. His employer offers unlimited overtime and he makes more working overtime than he does on side projects, so he is very selective and only takes side projects that he finds interesting or to be neighborly. He is currently working on restoring an antique room divider. It is from Egypt and made of teak, and is composed of hundreds of ornate turnings. Some of the turnings were broken off so he is matching up the teak and making new turnings for it. Last year he made around 3k on side projects and maybe 20k in overtime. That sounds really interesting. Is there a way to post a photo for us to see? Here are a couple of pics. It is three panels that connect and fold to form a room screen. 2
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Jun 26, 2019 12:09:10 GMT -5
I started my art/jewelry business. It pays for itself at this point. (mountainshadowart.com) I also sell rocks/lapidary slabs when I am rockhounding. I still write blogs for a living for one of the higher paying content mills. I used to write for them as a side gig when I had a job. It's now my full-time job and comparable in pay to a local job I would have to commute to. I also have 3 books I wrote selling on Amazon. I haven't done any work on those for years and every month they pay me. I'd love to have the time to build a much bigger offering there for the passive income. Your jewelry looks beautiful.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2019 12:40:13 GMT -5
I started my art/jewelry business. It pays for itself at this point. (mountainshadowart.com) I also sell rocks/lapidary slabs when I am rockhounding. I still write blogs for a living for one of the higher paying content mills. I used to write for them as a side gig when I had a job. It's now my full-time job and comparable in pay to a local job I would have to commute to. I also have 3 books I wrote selling on Amazon. I haven't done any work on those for years and every month they pay me. I'd love to have the time to build a much bigger offering there for the passive income. Your jewelry looks beautiful. Thank you. It's like getting paid for therapy.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jun 26, 2019 14:57:04 GMT -5
I started my art/jewelry business. It pays for itself at this point. (mountainshadowart.com) I also sell rocks/lapidary slabs when I am rockhounding. I still write blogs for a living for one of the higher paying content mills. I used to write for them as a side gig when I had a job. It's now my full-time job and comparable in pay to a local job I would have to commute to. I also have 3 books I wrote selling on Amazon. I haven't done any work on those for years and every month they pay me. I'd love to have the time to build a much bigger offering there for the passive income. Your jewelry looks beautiful. but underpriced if you ask me.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Jun 26, 2019 15:11:47 GMT -5
File under "The Things We Do", or at least that I do... I now have a somewhat active Pinterest page related to the side hustle.
I am only 8 points away from their Level 3 status. I can get 4 of those points just by having the Pinterest page and sharing their book of the day. I can get the other 4 by making a few more comments on their forums. I won't have all 4 Pinterest points until Sunday. However, I don't expect to finish my current book until Friday. I will likely submit a review either Friday night or sometime Saturday. I can then look and see if there's any book at the Level 2 status that really appeals to me, but otherwise, it won't be hard to wait until Sunday to pick the new book, especially since I won't likely start reading it until my Monday morning commute.
But yeah, I will now have a couple Pinterest boards, both dedicated solely to books. I wonder how quickly book covers will overtake all the pictures of haircuts (which is the only thing I've used Pinterest for before)?
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Jul 1, 2019 12:37:49 GMT -5
Your jewelry looks beautiful. but underpriced if you ask me. I agree. You could bump the earrings and pendants up another $5-$10 easily. I've bought similar things off Etsy for about $20 each, @rockhounder.
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hopetoberich
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Post by hopetoberich on Jul 3, 2019 9:56:34 GMT -5
I have a rental too. Its small and the family has been there 9 years. Like resolution. Same income too. I think they are leaving this year. I will go and spend time there, visit family. It's in England.
I pet sit too. I just did a week live in. Charge $50a night. Loved doing a live in. Yes I travel. Use my flyer rewards.
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Artemis Windsong
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Jul 3, 2019 17:41:48 GMT -5
Can I have the money I'm supposed to be making in my side hustle that does not exist? My real one. Doing survey's for Pinecone research. The surveys are e-mailed and pay $3 when completed. It is not a steady stream. edit corrected typo.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 3, 2019 17:58:00 GMT -5
hopetoberich I don't know where in England your place is. Hotels are so expensive in England. You may do well putting it on AirBnB. Pro, it would be available when you want to use it. Con, you'd need someone to do the turnover when you're not there. This said, if you own property in the UK, I'm sure you already know this LOL.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Aug 8, 2019 16:50:37 GMT -5
I am updating this thread because starting a new one seems silly. As of today, I finally made it to the tier in my side hustle where I can do the actual paid reviews and get $20-30 per book review. And there are actually some books that seem interesting.
Of course, I have to finish the $5 review book I just started this week first. But I'll probably be picking out the next book I want to read today or tomorrow.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2019 12:05:00 GMT -5
For years I used to remotely monitor servers for about 3K/year. That ended about a year or two ago. Now all I do is farm sit occasionally, mostly for my aunt. But since she's undergoing cancer treatment this year she's not traveling, so that's pretty much dried up too. In fact, I'm negative on that income maybe since I paid another neighbor to farm sit for me while I was gone.
The most lucrative use of my time these days is to just work OT at my full-time job. They don't seem to be cracking down on extra hours but I don't want to push it either by working a whole lot at time and a half. I've been aiming for an extra 10 hours on each check at $29/hour.
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flutterby
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Post by flutterby on Aug 10, 2019 7:44:20 GMT -5
My side hustle dried up. I did proofreading of medical results studies for Yale, and damn them, they decided to move that task in-house. I've thought about trying to find another proofreading side income stream, but meh.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Aug 10, 2019 18:57:43 GMT -5
I do freelancing writing as my side hustle. How much I make depends on how much my clients need done that month. I have months where I make $2k but then I have months where I make $200. Most of the money goes to paying off DH's student loan (we'll be done next month!) or paying for the HELOC on our land. I really need to branch out and look for more writing and editing side gigs and build up a business, but I'm really lazy. Same as Steph08. I also freelance write. Several hundred a month, mostly to feed my running/swimming/cycling/triathlon competitive needs. I do really enjoy it, and plan to increase it and do it full time upon retirement.
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princessleia
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Post by princessleia on Aug 11, 2019 8:20:37 GMT -5
I work for the school district and they would have athletic, orchestra or whatever that comes up (like homecoming, prom, graduation) events where they need additional personnel. It pays pretty good (averaging $20 per hour). So, I am always 'putting my hands up' - Me! Me! for these events. Last school year, I earned about $2200 from such work. What I hope to do with it Well, the last few years was for college costs for my children and I hope to continue to add more for my retirement after I am done with my kids' college.
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LlamaLlamaDuck
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Post by LlamaLlamaDuck on Aug 11, 2019 10:57:41 GMT -5
I saved up my first house down payment with music gig money - funerals, weddings, regular Sunday services, High Holy Days, etc. A couple of thou per year.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Aug 11, 2019 14:54:56 GMT -5
I am a precinct worker for elections. Does that count?
It pays a pittance for long hours. Works out to less than $10 an hour for a minimum 16 hour day.
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