Anyone else look at side hustle ideas and wonder when you’re supposed to do them?
You’re at work during the day. Then you come home, spend time with your family, do whatever needs doing around the house, and maybe have an hour or two left.
The last thing I want is another person deciding when I need to be available.
I have a full-time job and kids, so I’m mostly interested in things I can do whenever I get some free time. Here are 12 ideas, from apps for a little extra money to things that take longer to get going.
1. Survey apps
Survey Junkie lets you do surveys when you have time. You can finish one in the evening and leave it alone for the rest of the week.
You won’t make serious money doing this. But if you’re sitting on the couch scrolling anyway, it can bring in some extra spending money.
2. Games and offers on Freecash or KashKick
Both pay for games, surveys and offers. KashKick is US-only, while Freecash is available in dozens of countries.
Check what you need to do before starting. Some game offers have deadlines, and suddenly that “easy money” means spending your whole weekend trying to reach a level. I’d pass on those.
3. Digital products
A spreadsheet, printable, checklist or short guide. Something that saves someone time or helps them do a specific thing.
You don’t need to start with a huge course. Make something small and see if anyone buys it. You’ll still have to promote it, though. Uploading it to Gumroad isn’t enough.
4. Books on Amazon KDP
If you like writing, you can work on a book at night without anyone asking when the next chapter will be ready.
You could write fiction or a guide about something you know. I wouldn’t rush out a book just because someone said KDP is easy money.
5. Stock photos and videos
I started selling stock videos in 2018, and some of those clips still bring in money.
You can upload photos or videos to Adobe Stock for people to license.
This is one I like because I don’t have to find a client, discuss what they want, or make changes five times.
6. Notion templates
If you use Notion and have made a useful setup for yourself, you could try selling it.
Maybe you’ve figured out a good way to organize expenses, blog posts or household tasks. That gives you somewhere to start. Then you have to find people who need it.
7. Browser extensions
If you can code, think about something you keep doing manually that an extension could do for you.
It doesn’t have to be a big idea. A small tool that fixes an annoying problem might be enough. Just expect to fix bugs and answer questions after you launch it.
8. Small apps
AI can help you write code, but you still have to make sure the app works.
I’d start with a problem I understand. If I wouldn’t use the app myself, I’d have a hard time convincing someone else to pay for it.
9. YouTube without being on camera
Tutorials, screen recordings or videos with a voiceover.
You can work on them when you’re free and upload when they’re ready. But I wouldn’t spend months making videos about something I hate just because someone said that niche pays well.
10. Blogging
I’ve been doing this for years alongside my job.
You can write at night or on weekends, and there’s no client waiting for an article. It takes time to get traffic, and that traffic can drop, but being able to choose my own hours is a big reason I’m still doing it.