So I was just brainstorming a bit thinking of ways to earn a little extra without the responsibilities of actual employment, meaning you can do it when there’s time and put it on hold if you have to. Personally I like crafting so I could imagine having something like a little etsy store. I could carve beads from wood, antler or bone and turn them into jewelry. Something like that. That wouldn’t just be a way to make money but also sounds like a nice hobby. Not sure how financially feasible it would be though, maybe someone here already has some experience? But yeah I’d love to hear about your ideas/advice. Anything that’s legal and not exploitative, be it entirely independent or also freelancing stuff that doesn’t require special training.
Honestly if you got nice feet, sell pics of them
Be sure to not post any identifyable data with it, and no backgrounds of your location
If you find a few weirdos (no kink shaming from me) that buy feet pics take their money and be happy with a win win.
Probably only works if you are female.
Probably only works if you are female.
It’s all about a clean shave and the right angles
But seriously I don’t think anyone wants to see that 😅 And if they do I’m gonna have to protect them from their own recklessness. Maybe I can find a willing friend and take care of distribution for a share 😄
Scrap metal. Copper and aluminum, steel if you have space for bulk.
I’m a tax consultant, so I see a lot of people’s side hustles.
As other’s here have said, once you monetise a hobby it’s not a fun hobby anymore… just another responsibility.
Take the beads thing for example. Carving some beads to make some cool jewellery sounds like a great hobby, and you could make some really amazing unique gifts for family. However, if you want to make money from it then you need to compete with other etsy vendors - you’ll very quickly find the pieces that sell and then it becomes a question of how many of those pieces you can turn out per hour or per day.
Economically, making money requires time, or skill, or capital. The most appropriate will be a mix of all three that fits your circumstances. As a “side hustle” you kinda want a little of each rather than a lot of each. Good examples might be:
- window cleaning - for businesses or residences
- gutter cleaning - get one of those telescopic pole thingies with a camera so you don’t actually need to go on anyones roof
- lawn mowing - just a few customers in your street
These things aren’t “hobbies” but they will be a lot more satisfying, enjoyable, and profitable than carving beads.
Thanks, that’s quite insightful. I think I could see myself walking dogs actually.
Bee keeping. Sell the comb and honey on etsy.
Donate plasma. Easy $500/mo.
Donate for money?
Yep. $500/mo if you donate twice per week. For your first 5 donations you usually make like double that amount.
When I used to drive Uber I would start my driving day with a donation and that would be my gas money for my shift. I would turn that $500 into like $3500
If you like scarred veins, bone density problems, and assuming the financial risk of any infections this is a great idea.
They never really seem to mention that in the materials for some reason. There’s a reason Grifols is based in Spain but has to get most of their blood from Americans instead of Europe and it’s not because American health regulations care about poor people.
On the other hand, if it’s that or being homeless some decisions are easy.
Idk. I donated for years without any negative side effects ever. You lay in a bed and scroll on your phone. It’s really not a big deal. The phlebotomists are skilled at what they do and I’ve never seen anything that could be described as poor standards and practices.
Believe whatever article you read. Ive donated hundreds of times.
“I’ve smoked for years without any negative side effects ever”
Sure, you might be fine. Statistically there is a difference, though.
Removed by mod
Just started wiring houses on the side with an old friend. He works for himself with one apprentice. My electrical career is basically 100% industrial, other than random stuff like this
30/hr cash, I can work nights and weekends, make some extra cash and it helps him out. This is on top of my full time job, which usually requires overtime and traveling around the country to different industrial sites and steel mills.
I enjoy the work. I like being physically active and learning and using my brain.
Do you live in a place where cottage laws are a thing? You could bake or can and sell them, if you have good cottage laws. Depending on where, might need various certs before doing it though.
I live in Germany and to no one’s surprise there’s quite a bit of bureaucracy involved unless you’re selling raw produce. But it’s a good idea. I like cooking so maybe I can come up with something.
There’s a reason onlyfans got so popular. Get training or follow them
One of the risks around monetizing hobbies is that while you may enjoy that hobby now, doing it to make more adds level of stress and responsibility that can quickly make it into another job that you no longer love. Places like Etsy are competitive and reward consistency in listing and sales, so to have any real success you can’t really list just one or two items and wait for them to sell. You’ll drop far down in search rankings and suddenly your store dies because Etsy stops sending people to it.
This isn’t to say don’t try, but be aware it isn’t as easy as “hobby but get paid for it”.
Every time I start a hobby, I end up monetizing it, then all the fun goes out of it, and I eventually drop it.
I know my wife sells glass art but really only doesn’t it to make room and break even on materials. So it may be allot more work to make a profit at it.
Removed by mod
What can you do? Can you do anything? If not, learn to do something! Then sell that?
Donating plasma has been pretty good for me. $60 per donation and you can donate twice a week.
Prostitution works for me
I salute you. Despite society’s warped morality, it is a noble profession.
N/R/S#?
This is tough without special training or scummy morals
Like you can resell stuff but that’s gross
Crafting is cool but that’s a special skill. I know people that sell crochet, needlepoint, etc
I refurbish electronics but that’s also a special skill, it’s not terribly difficult to learn though and can actually be quite lucrative. Good for the environment too. Buy a switch that someone is just going to throw away, fix it, resell it as refurbished, that kind of thing. This is getting much harder though. Ebay was the primary way to go and they’ve been shifting away from refurbished and used sales a lot over the past few years
I have a friend that does custom artwork for people but that’s a special skill. I have another friend that sells music for people that wants beats but again special skills. Fivver type stuff
Basically a lot of these will be “monetize your hobby”
Like you can resell stuff but that’s gross
Buy a switch that someone is just going to throw away, fix it, resell it as refurbished, that kind of thing.
Huh? So are you for or against reselling?
Fair question, I should’ve expanded. To clarify I think it is helpful and good to divert something that was going to be trashed anyway and resell it for a fair price based on your labor to restore it. I actually think it is important. Most of what I do is stuff that people were literally going to trash and while I do earn a decent amount I sell the stuff for fair prices, usually at least 30-40% off of retail
I think it is scummy to merely act as a middle person that artificially buys up supply and then resells at artificially high values (eg consoles, Pokémon cards, sneakers, etc). Scalping, basically
Basically a lot of these will be “monetize your hobby”
Yeah that’s totally within the range of what I’m looking for. I meant special training more as in people want to see certificates. I’m fine with investing a little time to teach myself how to do something.
Well then the skies your limit, you just have to get good enough at something.
I could never get good enough at the creative stuff to justify that. I love music and write my own stuff but I’m not nearly good enough for that. It takes me like 2 weeks to write one song. My friend that writes beats will bust one out in like 40 minutes and can basically do whatever. You want reggaeton? Sure
But I buy up broken shit and resell it. You spilled a drink on your macbook? You broke the hdmi/usbc on your console? Your graphics card died? I will swoop in and lowball you since I know you’re gonna throw it away if I don’t buy it. I take on a lot of risk because a lot of things either can’t be fixed or aren’t economically viable to fix but at the same time I also often pay like $1-200 for a ps5 and resell it for $400 refurbished with like 2 hours of work and $10 of parts so it balances out. Graphics cards are the worst ones tbh, the risk:reward is too high. I get a ton that are just fucked and are parts boards but every once in a while I get a repairable one and then it’s a $5-600 profit or more. I won’t pay more than 2-300 for a dead 4090 because they’re often totally fucked
