There are many reasons why you may want to increase your current income. Maybe you struggle to save anything on your normal salary, or perhaps you’re saving for something special, like a holiday or wedding for example.
Whatever your particular reason is, there are plenty of ways you can make extra money while still holding down your existing job. It’s important that whatever you decide to do, doesn’t impact your day job, because that’s the most important source of income you currently have. So let’s look at a few ways you can make more money in the quickest time.
What are Your Skills?
The first thing to consider is what skills you have that you can use right now. You don’t want to spend any time or money training yourself to do something new, so start with what you have and work out from there. Your day job could provide you with a big hint about what you can do to make more money.
Consider what you do for a job and ask yourself if you could run side gigs doing exactly the same. Maybe you’re a bookkeeper, an admin assistant, or perhaps a social media manager. Jobs like these are common on freelancer websites like Upwork, so think about whether your job is transferable to this kind of situation.
Without doubt, this is the fastest way to increase your income, because you would be doing the exact same job you normally do, just not for your employer. It’s important to understand what you can and can’t do as an employee with your current firm. You don’t want to fall foul of a clause in your employment contract that forbids you to work outside of your employment. Better to know without doubt, than face disciplinary action in the future!
Find a Place for Your Skills
If you are clear to freelance, go to a site like Upwork and search for the skill that you have. You’ll quickly be able to see if there are jobs doing what you do and if they pay the kind of money you want to earn. It’s definitely worth figuring out the least amount you expect to be paid for your efforts before you decide to make the jump to side gigs and remember that Upwork will take fees from every job you do.
Let’s say that you have skills, but they’re more real world and aren’t something you can do online, there are still plenty of opportunities to work outside of your normal day-to-day job. If you’re a mechanic, for example, you would probably be able to find many customers who are looking to save money on big dealership fees when it comes to maintaining their vehicles.
The same can be said for any people in the construction trades. If you can offer any kind of savings or added value that people do not get when dealing with larger companies, you’ll find a willing market of people happy to line your pockets with extra income.
That’s all well and good for those people who have recognised skills and qualifications, but what if you’re a low-skilled worker? You could argue that it’s these people who need the resources to create extra revenue schemes, because they’re often paid a minimum wage and find it hard to make ends meet.
Going Beyond What You’ve Done Before
Side gigs such as child-minding or dog walking are always in demand and can be a lucrative way of earning more money. People will always pay that little bit extra to keep a good childminder, as they can be like gold dust in some areas. In a similar way, dog owners want to know that their beloved pets are in good hands, so trustworthy people are generally looked after.
Even domestic cleaners, etc. can find lucrative opportunities outside of their regular work. Once again, it’s about trust, so if you can demonstrate a high standard of work and honesty to match, you shouldn’t have a problem. Consider advertising in local shops, etc. with a tear-off number, as this form of marketing is very cheap indeed and often gets great results.
Putting it All Together
Start with what you know, or what you can do and then consider whether there’s a definite market for those services. There has to be a stack of people waiting to hand over money for this to work as a short-term plan, because you don’t have time to convince people that what you do is worth money.
Consider where your market is (online versus real-world) and how you can get yourself in front of them in the cheapest (and fastest!) way possible. You do not want to spend months and a small fortune getting extra work, because that’s the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
As a footnote, if you really want to make a difference to your long-term future (especially if you’re under 35 and have time on your side), there are many ways to make huge sums of money by investing small amounts of money over long periods of time. Famed investor Warren Buffet, is quoted as saying “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes”.
Short-term strategies are a great way to fix problems in the here and now, or earn extra income for specific goals. In order to realise much larger returns for your longer term future, you’ll need to have income to invest that you can completely forget about for as long as possible. A strategy that encompasses short, medium and long-term investments, is the magic formula.
If you’re looking for specific ways to make money on the side, here are 38 ideas.