The cost-of-living crisis has hit a lot of people hard, and unfortunately, making your wages last throughout the month has become somewhat of a challenge in recent months; with rising bills, this is likely to only get harder too. As a result, finding ways to subsidise your income has become increasingly important. Luckily, there are several options; however, you need to find something that is going to fit around your other responsibilities – whatever they may be. In order to avoid burnout, you should also try to find something that you find enjoyable, at least in part. Check out the list that we have put together.
Market Your Skills to Work Freelance
Skills are learnt over time, and it does take time in order to become good at something. Skills don’t always have to pertain to a professional setting like the skills listed on your CV; they can be other skills that you have learnt from hobbies like crocheting, knitting, sewing, painting or other artistic pursuits. Conversely, if you have sought-after skills in the professional sphere, you can also use them too.
Think about how you can market those skills. The specific skill will largely dictate how and where you can market them. For professional skills, you need to be advertising on places like LinkedIn or Fiverr. For other skills, you can use your personal social media accounts or create new ones focussed solely on the skill. The benefit to this is obviously that you can work whenever you want to so you know that it will fit nicely into your life because you are dictating the hours. You also get to set the price too.
Gaming & Gambling
If you have more of an interest in gaming and gambling, then you are likely to already know how you can use these hobbies to make money. Gambling is fairly self-explanatory as to how you can make money from it. If you have the time to, you could go to a traditional brick-and-mortar casino, or you could gamble online. Either way, you need to dedicate some time to learning more about the games themselves, like the rules and statistics. You can also use online resources to find out more about the casino games that pay real money.
On the other hand, you can also earn money gaming. It is worth pointing out that this is perhaps not the most reliable way to boost your income. Recently, a new genre of game has emerged online, and these games utilise blockchain technology that allows players to earn money through gameplay. These games are known as play-as-you-earn games. They can be found online. Although, before committing, you need to do a little research on the games themselves to ensure that you have chosen the right one.
Decluttering & Selling Secondhand
It might be a bit of a stretch to suggest that you get into cleaning and decluttering as a hobby, but it can be weirdly satisfying. It is also borne out of necessity, you need to clean your home, and it makes sense to get rid of items that you no longer have space for or don’t want anymore. You can then sell these items on to make a little money. There are several online marketplaces or sites dedicated to selling secondhand, like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree or Vinted, depending on what you have to sell, of course.
You could take this a little bit further and head out to car boot sales or charity shops in the search for cool or vintage clothes, shoes and antiquities that you can then sell on, again through any of the secondhand sites. A lot of people also like to find clothes that maybe aren’t as nice or unlikely to be sold or worn again and do a ‘thrift flip’ on them. You need sewing skills for this. The clothes are transformed into something else that is far more desirable to the public. Again, you can set the price, although, for the most part, people expect to pay very little, so make sure that you are being realistic when setting the prices.
Investing
Finally, investing is not often seen as a hobby, but it can be. In order to be a successful investor, you need to take the time to learn the financial principles at play and how to best invest your money. It is also worth pointing out that this is not a particularly quick way to boost your income, but with the right approach, it can be incredibly lucrative. There are multiple options when it comes to investing. There are stocks, bonds, assets, property and more. Obviously, the option that you choose will largely depend on the amount of money that you have to spare. The basic principle of investing is to buy low and sell high, but this is oversimplified, and it does take some financial acumen to ensure that you have made the right choice.
Things to Remember
There are several hobbies that can be transformed into money-making ventures, but there are lots of caveats. Firstly, there are no guarantees that you will be successful, the amount that you make will vary, and it can take a while for you to turn a profit too. You really need to think about your approach because the way in which you market yourself will also dictate how much you can make too. If you want to eventually make enough to overtake your primary form of income, then this will likely take time. Your pricing points also matter; some people will always be unwilling to pay for your products regardless of whether you have priced them fairly or not. Think about the materials that you have or are going to use to ensure that you are going to make a profit as opposed to a loss. Remember to include your time in that equation too.
To Sum Up
Making a living is becoming harder and harder as costs rise, but wages continue to stagnate, which has presented numerous challenges to a lot of people. Luckily, there are a few hobbies that can, if marketed properly, be quite lucrative. Although, as soon as you start to make money from something, or it becomes an obligation rather than a choice, it can lose some of the fun, which is something that you should be aware of too.
Disclaimer: This content does not necessarily represent the views of IWB.