With inflation at its highest levels in over four decades, many Americans are looking for new alternatives to reclaim their purchasing power and avoid making painful spending cuts.
While the consumer price index is showing a consistent slowdown , November’s annual rate of inflation of 7.1% can still be too much to handle for many American homes.
Although a likely recession has been roaming newspaper headlines for most of 2022, unemployment is still low . After the pandemic winded down, a strong job market was one of the main fuels behind a process called “The Great Resignation,” which led millions of Americans to quit their jobs in search of better paid positions and more rewarding tasks.
Related: Wage Growth Is ‘Well Above’ Pre-Pandemic Levels, But A Slowdown Is Coming: What To Watch
These days, recession fears and an alarm for higher unemployment rates are leading workers to seek other alternatives to increase their bottom line while maintaining job security.
Enter side hustles: jobs you can do on the side, at your own pace, that can help add extra dollars to your monthly income and help improve your quality of life, add on extra savings or reach that elusive purchase you’ve been dreaming of for years. Choosing A Side Hustle, Side Gig Or Extra Job
As long as you have some extra hours every month to invest in making some extra cash, there’s a side job out there for you.
Choosing a side gig can feel like a hard task, but it can actually be an exciting process, and the internet is here to help.
Purely remote side jobs are ideal for some people as they offer the opportunity to work from anywhere with an internet connection, adapting to the worker’s own schedule.
Hybrid side hustles use the internet as a way to get clients and gigs, but rely on spending some work-time in the real world, away from the computer or the phone.
One hundred percent offline side hustles do exist, but are more rare these days, as the internet has become a ubiquitous tool for communicating and advertising products and services.
To choose your ideal side hustle, we propose a quick exercise that can help you get a clear picture. First, figure out how many hours a day, week or month you’d be able to invest in your side job. This will help you understand what kind of gig will best fit your schedule.
Second, list your skills and ambitions. What can you do? These don’t need to be professional skills. In many cases, side hustles require basic abilities like driving or cleaning. Still, having a knowledge or skill that most people don’t have can help you get more specialized in your side job.
Third, what time horizon are you willing to invest to start making extra money? Side hustles can vary in nature, with some offering the opportunity to start making extra dollars in the first week, while others require a period of a few months or a year to build a business and start seeing returns.
What Are The Best Side Hustles To Start In 2023?
Become an active investor: If you have some money on the side, becoming an active investor can be a way to improve your income and get larger returns. Investing carries financial risk, so educating oneself is key before jumping into the investor game.
Benzinga offers hundreds of resources for investors who want to learn how to invest in different assets (from stocks to real estate, bonds, NFTs and crypto), or up their game as experienced investors.
Handiwork and housework services: Are you good with taking care of daily household tasks? Are you the family’s designated handyman?
Platforms like Taskrabbit and Handy give users the opportunity to sell their services to nearby folks in need of help around the house. Everything from furniture assembly to paintjobs, home repairs, help moving and cleaning services can be offered on the sites. Freelance gigs: Many people have an extra skill that can be offered on a freelance basis. Whether you have coding knowledge, know how to design a logo or edit a video, platforms like Fiverr FVRR and Upwork UPWK allow users to create new profiles and start offering their services right away.The opportunities are limitless. They also include writing services, music composition, digital marketing, architecture work and legal consulting. Join the ridesharing economy: Riding an Uber UBER or a Lyft LYFT has become a daily part of 21st century life. Yet many riders can forget they too can become drivers and make an […]