I've had this idea hibernating at the back of my brain-thing for a few years now, but never got around to really making the effort to wake it up...
Can I come up with 100 easy Side Hustles each of which bring in a certain amount of money a month to cover X% of my expenditure...
I'm a bit reticent to put figures on this as a goal, but here's an ambitious and modest couple of scenarios...
| Optimism | Ave income per month | Total Hustle Income | Expenses covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | £20 | £2000 | 100% |
| Low | 4 | £400 | 20% |
So my approximate monthly outgoings are around £2000 a month, which means if I can find 100 Side Hustles paying an average of £20 a month each then they'd cover 100% of my income.
I don't think that's very realistic!
However the 'low optimism' scenario I think is VERY achievable... an average of just £4 a month.
And that's a nice minimum meaningful level as that's 1 day of paid-work! So worth it!
A range is inevitable....
When I start exploring side-hustle options more broadly it's inevitable I'll discover a range of incomes from different hustles... ranging from maybe several hundred pounds a month to £1 or £2 a month.
What is a side hustle...?
It's basically an initiative, project, or work you do besides your main job through which you earn extra income on the side.
Starting examples...
Some of the ones I've come across which I'll be writing more about later...
- Matched betting
- doing online surveys
- writing and selling ebooks
- the dreaded YouTube channel.
- LOTs of crypto type yielding and writing projects
- making and selling crafty type materials (can you tell I don't do this!)
Jury's out on whether to include working a second or third job... too easy?
Most definitions online refer to a side hustle as a job or occupation besides your main job as being a side hustle - which would mean doing 8 hours work in a bar or cleaning would be a side hustle, but I'm discounting these as there's no real 'hustle' involved, they just mean working for someone else!
If I included these, getting to 100 would maybe be too easy, but I'm keeping the option open, I mean doing some cash in hand cleaning for your neighbour kind of feels hustle-like, doing it for a company doesn't!
Why not stick to just many fewer higher paying hustles...?
Obvious question: two answers...
- Resilience in diversity.... you never know when one top quality high paying side hustle could go bust, having more to call on an upscale can help mitigate this.
- Just the fun and interest of it - I'm fascinated by side-hustle culture and part of this challenge is to find out what people are up to!
Side hustles final thoughts...
I'm looking forward to getting research, if you have any ideas of what works for you, drop me a comment!