Here on Making Sense of Cents, I talk a lot about how to earn extra income. I believe that earning extra income can completely change your life too. You can stop living paycheck to paycheck, you can pay off your debt, and more- all by learning about the many different ways to make money.
However, not many people have side jobs, and some don’t see the point in finding ways to make extra income. Some think that it’s impossible.
Well, I’m here to tell you that it is possible, and learning how to make extra money can change your life!
Sure, it may be hard at first, but once you reach your goal you’ll know that it was well worth it.
Learning how to make extra money is how I was able to pay off my student loans in just 7 months, plus it gave me the freedom to leave my day job in order to pursue my passion, travel full-time, and more!
Finding ways to earn extra income completely changed my life for the better, and this is why I think more people need to learn how to make more money in new ways.
Earning extra income will improve your life as you:
Pay off your debt.
Save for big purchases, such as a vacation.
Stop living paycheck to paycheck.
Help you reach retirement sooner.
Figure out a business idea.
Become more diversified with your income streams.
While cutting your budget is great and all, making more money is great too.
It allows you to save more money because you can only cut your budget by so much. Your income, on the other hand, can grow by an endless amount.
Whether you have just one free hour each day or if you are willing to work 40 to 50 hours a week on top of your full-time job, there are many options when it comes to learning how to earn extra income.
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Here are the reasons you need to earn extra income.
You probably have the time.
We all have extra time that we don’t use well.
Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. And, if you don’t think you have the time to earn extra income, then you may want to think about how you are using your time. What you do with it is up to you, but you may be wasting time each day, and that can hold you back from reaching your goals.
Now, not everyone wants to earn extra income. However, if you are in a bad financial situation or you are just not happy with the financial situation that you are in, then I highly recommend evaluating your time and finding ways to earn extra income.
Did you know that the average person watches over 30 hours of TV a week? Even if you used just half of those hours finding things to do instead of watching TV, you could probably accomplish something great!
Or, you may be wasting time because you are unorganized, procrastinating, and so on.
Just think about it: What do you think you could do with an extra 5-10 hours, or even more, each week?
This is all time that could be used towards finding ways to earn extra income!
You can pay your debt off faster.
Learning how to earn extra income can help you pay off your debt much more quickly than if you didn’t earn extra income.
For me, I found ways to earn extra income so that I could pay off my debt as quickly as possible. Earning extra income meant I was able to pay off my $40,000 in student loans in just 7 months.
While you may not be able to pay off your debt this quickly (or maybe you’ll pay it off in even less time!), finding ways to make money can help pretty much everyone pay off their debt faster.
And, while it may take a lot of hard work and dedication, you need to remember that you won’t have to work such long hours forever. That small bit of pain means that you can enjoy a debt free life later.
Debt motivated me to find ways to earn extra income. While I made a good salary at my day job, it wasn’t enough to let me live the life I wanted while paying off my debt.
I didn’t want to be buried in debt forever, so paying it off soon was a big goal of mine.
I realized the only way I could pay off my debt quickly was to build up my extra income streams. Earning extra income definitely helped with my debt goal. My side income streams allowed me to pay thousands of dollars extra each month.
While that may seem impossible to you, I promise it isn’t. I have gotten many emails from people saying they too thought it was impossible, until they worked hard towards their side hustles. These are people who have paid off their debt fast due to finding ways to earn extra income. They all thought it was impossible but then they realized that they could do it too!
Remember, even making just an extra $100 a month is $100 more than you originally had, and while this may seem like a small amount, it will make reaching financial freedom happen that much faster.
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You can reach your financial goals.
Whatever your financial goal is, learning how to earn extra income can help you reach it sooner.
Some of the financial goals that you may want to work towards include:
Saving for a vacation.
Stop living paycheck to paycheck.
Building an emergency fund.
Adding to a house down payment fund.
Reaching retirement sooner.
By looking for ways to earn extra income, you may be able to reach your financial goals, such as the ones listed above, months or even years earlier.
Related: 80+ Ways To Earn Extra Money
You can test out a business idea when making extra money.
Are you wanting to build a side business so that you can eventually escape the 9-5? Or, perhaps you just want to make some extra income with a side business?
If you are interested in starting a business, you might want to think about first starting it as a side business.
This can be a great idea, because you can test the waters of your new business on the side while still having the stability and income from your full-time day job.
You can see whether you like your business idea, whether it will truly work out, if you can make an income from it, test out different business ideas, and more.
And, I know all about testing out a business idea on the side first. My side hustle (this blog) eventually turned into my full-time business. While I didn’t start my side jobs thinking that they would eventually turn into a business, it was a great way to start because I was able to keep my day job income and benefits while seeing if it would work. It took a lot of stress away by first having my blog as a side job instead of relying on it from the very beginning.
Learn more at The Ultimate Guide To Starting A Side Business.
Earning extra income can help you diversify your income streams.
Do you ever feel too reliant on one source of income?
Maybe you are afraid that one day you will lose your job or that something will happen to your main source of income.
The beauty of finding ways to make extra money is that it allows you to diversify your income. This means you won’t have to worry as much about one of your income streams having a bad month or completely disappearing because you’ll be prepared for it.
By diversifying your income with multiple income streams, you will have a backup plan, you may be able to retire easier, and so on.
There are tons of different ways to diversify your income, including:
Start a blog to earn extra income. The top thing I recommend doing to make money is to start a blog! Blogging is how I make a living, and just a few years ago I never thought it would be possible. In fact, before I started my blog, I didn’t even know that blogs existed! I currently earn around $100,000 a month with my blog. I also have a Free How To Start and Launch A Money-Making Blog Course that you can join, and it will help you start and launch a successful blog.
Here are 12 ways to earn money online.
Sell on Amazon. If you want to find a good use of your time, then you may want to start an Amazon FBA business! Jessica Larrew, of The Selling Family, explains how selling on Amazon may be a possibility for you. She is a friend of mine, and I am blown away by her success! The first year that Jessica’s family ran their Amazon FBA business together, working less than 20 hours a week total, they made over 6 figures profit! If you are looking for a new job, or even just a side hustle, this may be something that you want to look into. Learn more at How To Work From Home Selling On Amazon FBA.
Walk dogs and/or pet sit for extra money. If you love animals, then you may want to look into walking dogs or pet sitting. Rover is a great company to sign up with in order to become a dog walker and pet sitter. Learn more about this at Rover – A Great Way To Make Money And Play With Animals.
Become a proofreader. In 2014, Caitlin made slightly over $43,000 as a freelance proofreader, while also going on several fun vacations. If you are looking for things to do instead of watching TV, this may be something to look into. Learn more at Make Money Proofreading By Becoming A Freelance Proofreader.
Edit content to earn extra income. Websites, books, courses, and more all need editors! No matter how many times a person reads a piece of content, something usually slips through. If you’re a grammar-nut, then this can be a great way to make money.
Become a photographer. Do you love photography? You might be able to earn extra income as a wedding photographer, portrait photographer, event photographer, and more. Learn more at How To Make $25,000 – $45,000 A Year As A New Photographer.
Host a garage sale. A garage sale can be a great use of your time, because you can finally get rid of the extra stuff laying around your home as well as make some money!
Answer surveys to earn extra income. Survey companies I recommend include Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Clear Voice Surveys, VIP Voice, Product Report Card, Survey Club, ProOpinion, Pinecone Research, Opinion Outpost, Survey Spot, and Harris Poll Online. These survey companies are free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can, as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money.
Become a bookkeeper. Ben, founder of Bookkeeper Business Academy, explains how becoming a bookkeeper may be a possibility for you. Ben helps people start and grow their own bookkeeping business with his online bookkeeping course. And, guess what? You don’t have to be an accountant or have any previous experience! This can be a great way to find something to do instead of watching TV. Learn how to earn extra income as a bookkeeper at Make Money At Home By Becoming A Bookkeeper.
Become an Uber driver-partner or Lyft driver. Spending your spare time driving others around can be a great way to earn extra money. Read more about this in my post How To Become An Uber Driver-Partner Or Lyft Driver. Click here to sign up to drive with Uber and start making money.
Mystery shop. If you’re looking for a fun way to earn extra income, then you may want to try mystery shopping. Yes, you can actually get paid to shop at stores and eat at restaurants! A few years ago, I mystery shopped a lot to earn extra income. I made anywhere from $150 to $200 a month mystery shopping and received free meals, makeup, and more. I only used Bestmark for mystery shopping, so I know that they are a 100% legitimate company. There are other legitimate mystery shopping companies that exist, but you do want to do your research.
Are you interested in learning how to earn extra income? How could doing so change your life?
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