5 Side Hustles I Use to Bring in Extra Income

 5 Side Hustles I've Used And a Review of Each

You're working on your budget, but the math just isn't mathing. You've got an income problem. It would be lovely if your boss would just give you a raise, but that's not likely. Time to find a side gig to supplement your income. Which one do you choose?

Trust me when I say I have tried most of them. Some are better than others. Here's the low down!

1. Driving Gigs

Honestly, I could write an entire post just on delivery gigs. This is one of my main moneymakers, but also one of my biggest sources of frustration. Here are the apps I use now or have used in the past.

Walmart Spark

This app is mostly delivering for Walmart, but also Home Depot, Sally Beauty, Game Stop, Advanced Auto Parts, and a few other stores. The vast majority of  my deliveries come from Walmart. Let's focus on those. There are three types of assignments you can get. These are shopping, delivery, and batch orders.

My preference is shopping orders. Those pay the best. Delivery is often low pay and you are left at the mercy of Walmart's own shoppers who might leave you sitting in your car for an hour - no hate for them though. They do a hard job and don't have control over their workflow. Finally, batch orders involve loading your car up with packages and driving a route to deliver them. On a positive note, you know just how much you'll make on batch orders. The downside is that they can take longer than the app predicts, and returns are a PITA.

The Good Things: On a busy day, I can make quite a bit of money. It's also nice to be able to listen to music and enjoy the solitude.

The Downside: Two things! First, Walmart tends hire gig drivers in batches. Areas get oversaturated and it's difficult to find work. Second, tip jacking! Customers will place orders with large tips to ensure fast delivery, and then delete those tips once you've delivered their groceries.

Instacart

Instacart is probably one of the biggest players in grocery delivery. They serve Aldi, Kroger, Petco, CVS, Costco, HEB, Giant, Meijer, BJs, and many more. There's a good chance that your local grocery chains also use Instacart. With Instacart you have shop and delivery orders which can be single orders or in batches up to four. They also have pick up and delivery orders that are shopped for you and left for you to pick up.

The Good Things: This is my highest earner. Also, deliveries are local, and customers can't take tips from you.

The Downside: There's a lot of competition for the good orders.

Amazon Flex

Amazon Flex drivers are subcontractors who use their own vehicles to make deliveries for Amazon. Drivers pick up orders from Amazon fulfillment centers or hubs. Those are retail locations that use Amazon to deliver their products. I have delivered products from GNC and OfficeMax. However, I mostly deliver from fulfillment centers.

The Good Things: You know what you are going to make before you start. I also appreciate being able to schedule delivery blocks ahead of time.

The Downside: You don't know where you will be delivering until you get your route. I have been sent well over 50 miles away on several occasions. Still a money maker, but beware of the wear and tear on your car.

GoPuff

GoPuff operates small fulfillment warehouses out of major cities. They offer mostly convenience items like snacks, eggs, milk, grocery items, vape pens and cartridges, and booze for fast delivery. Drivers can schedule delivery blocks, in which case they receive guaranteed pay even if they don't have deliveries. They can also turn on the app anytime they are near a warehouse to pick up any available work.

The Good Things: When the warehouses are busy, particularly Friday and Saturday nights, there's potential to make good money. Tips are very generous.

The Downside: Because people are allowed to work at any time you deal with a lot of competition. Uber Eats drivers also do GoPuff deliveries which can make it difficult to earn in certain markets.

Success Tips For Gig Driving

There are several other apps. I just haven't used them personally. If anyone has insights on those, I'd love to hear. I have a few side hustles, but delivery driving is probably at the top of my list. Yes, there are negative aspects to this. Sometimes the weather isn't great. You also put wear and tear on your car. I have a few financial goals that I'm working towards. Once I reach those, I will probably retire this side hustle.

Meanwhile, here are some things I do to make this a little easier.

• Get an app like Upside to save on gas
• Find a navigation app that works for you - I adore Waze
• Keep your car well-maintained
• Track your mileage - I love this mileage tracker for all my apps

2. Freelance Writing

I only recently started writing content for myself, but I've been ghost writing content for other people for more than a decade. How did I get started? Honestly, my first jobs were through online content mills where I made one or two cents per word. The pay was terrible. But, I learned things about SEO, keywords, backlinks, and what makes content work.

Later, I posted on Reddit, cold pitched digital agencies, and asked friends in the business for word of mouth referrals. I'm including freelance writing here because there's potential to make money as a side hustle. For me, it's more of a main gig.

How should you get started? Start writing! Blog about something you know and love. Publish to Medium. Publish to BlogSpot. If you have friends who have their own websites or blogs, ask if you can create some content for them too!

Learn the ins and outs of content marketing. Google offers a certificate in Digital Marketing. So does Hubspot. You are worth investing in your skillset.

I know some writers use platforms like Freelancer or Fiverr. I've just never had much luck with those. I have gotten some lucrative work simply keeping an eye out for remote freelancing jobs on Indeed.

3. Mystery Shopping

This is an exceptionally broad category of money making opportunities. One one end of the spectrum you have apps like Mobee, Observa, and Field Agent. With these, you may be asked to go into local stores, find and photograph products, have brief interactions with staff, and verify prices. Pay for these jobs tends to be painfully low, and the work is tedious. Worse, you're often working for competitors, and are expected to perform tasks on the sly. That's always given me an icky feeling.

Then there are the more standard mystery shopping app. These include Ipsos, Intellishop, Secret Shopper, and MarketForce. These pay slightly better and just have a more legitimate feel about them. Here, you are generally observing the stores that have hired the mystery shopping companies. So, you still have to be discrete, but you don't feel as though you are sneaking around. Even better, you may receive reimbursement in addition to your pay. I recently enjoyed a free lunch along with a bit of cash, and all I had to do was answer a simple survey about my experience.

No car? That's okay! There are companies that offer virtual shopping opportunities. I have been paid to call storage companies about renting units, and to take video tours of apartments.

It's easy to get started. I just went into the Play Store and searched mystery shopping, and was able to find several apps to try. 

4. Merchandising

This is similar to mystery shopping. The difference is that you are working for stores, vendors, or third party contractors to ensure that merchandise is displayed appropriately and kept in stock Merchandise by Survey.com is one of the most popular apps for this. You can also search online for merchandising jobs.

This work pays quite well, but it can be involved. You may spend time moving stock from the backroom at a store and facing it in the aisle, building displays, and disposing of stale-dated items. If you don't want to work independently, look online for merchandising jobs. Many people enjoy the flexible hours and plenty of time off.

5. Surveys And MicroTasks

This is another big category. It includes survey sites, microtasking sites, and GPT sites.

Surveys

I make between $100 and $400 dollars each month taking surveys. I do this by focusing only on a couple of reputable survey sites that have proven to be lucrative. These are, MTURK, Prolific, and Survey Junkie. Other people have decent luck on other platforms. I think that between to low pay and disqualifications, they aren't worth the time.

Full Disclosure: I was fortunate enough to get in on MTURK when the site was still busy. I have completed a lot of hits and have a very high ranking. I don't know if someone could do that today. I know that I make about 75% less from MTURK today than I did five years ago. Prolific is a definite money maker, but there is almost always a waiting list. If you are patient, it is worthwhile. Just keep your profile up to date, and answer surveys accurately and honestly. They will ban your account if they believe you are cheating answers or rushing through surveys. 

Microtasks

Microtasks are small jobs you perform in exchange for pay. You can find this work on sites like Neevo, Clickworker, or Appen. You might verify search engine results, transcribe text from audio files, or train AI bots. I've tried some of these jobs, but I'm honestly not very good at them. That said, I know people who do this work full time, and are able to earn enough money to survive.

GPT Sites

GPT stands for Get Paid To. You are paid money or "points" to take surveys, watch videos, download and use apps, sign up for trials, and more. I have used Swagbucks, GrindaBuck, FreeCash, Mistplay, Inbox Dollars, and several other apps. Many have come and gone since I started earning money online. 

I don't spend a lot of time on these apps anymore. Swagbucks has been around forever and is reputable. I recommend using the Swag Button and doing the shopping offers. The cashback is worthwhile.. If you enjoy gaming, and are good at it, give Mistplay and Freecash.com a try. No, you shouldn't believe commercials that tell you that you can make hundreds daily playing games. You can earn 50 or so dollars per week in gift cards though!

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