Let's have a look at my current side hustle options for 2023 and how much I have got from each one. You can then decide how practical this is for you to help top up on your main source of income.
My top 5 side hustles are:
Focus Group and Market Research
Marketplace and eBay
Part-time job
Premium Bonds
Bank Switch
Before we go into things let's define what I think of a side hustle.
I have my main 9 till 5 job that is my primary income. This is set and steady with no surprises. Any money I make outside of this I class as a side hustle. The effort of each side hustle is different, and the reward you get also differs so you need to weigh up what is best for you.
We'll go through each side hustle and I will give you my thoughts on it, including the pros and cons.
1/ Focus Group and Market Research
I use a company called Take Part in Research where you apply for different projects and they assess whether you would be suitable. I've been using them since the end of 2022 and since 2023 I have been on 5 projects. The payment for these projects have ranged for £5 all the way up to £120.
Generally the more effort needed the more you get paid. The £5 project involved a 15 minute survey, and the £120 project involved a 45 minute interview.
The best project was reviewing a new TV programme to be released, which meant I had to watch the pilots, and then join a focus group after. This was the most time commitment, but was really easy and if I am honest really fun. This paid £90.
The drawback to this side hustle is the time to apply for the projects with no guarantee you will be selected. The ability to juggle it alongside your main job as sometimes you are needed to attend focus groups during the day time, and finally the unpredictability of when the next project will be available.
This is probably one of my biggest side hustle earners and I tend to enjoy the projects I have been involved in. So a big win from me and a recommendation to check it out!
2/ Marketplace and eBay
Most people know what these are, but may have never used them. After reading Reset by David Sawyer it made me think about minimalism and how I have ultimately too much clutter in my house. Coupled that with a need for a little extra income I decided to start posting some unwanted items on Facebook and eBay.
It didn't generate a lot of income but did reduce clutter, and if I didn't sell it I would have thrown it away, so the effort made it even better I got something for it. I found eBay more successful but remember to put the right amount of postage so you aren't short changed and keep any old Amazon boxes so you have something to send stuff in, other wise your profit is eaten away buying this stuff.
Downside here is the amount of money for the time/effort is poor - just to be honest.
3/ Part-time Job
I appreciate this will raise a few eyebrows. Certainly not passive and may not fit with your lifestyle balance. For me my part-time second job is a weekend a month and the odd evening. Minimal brain power and with no intention to develop the career from it. I have to include it as it generates a good amount per month right now and is helping keep the cost of living crisis under wraps.
Perhaps you could do this short-term to get you over a sticky patch, or to help save for a specific item or event you need.
The negative to this is the time needed on top of your normal job - not ideal at all.
4/ Premium Bonds
This is even more ridiculous as an option than the last one. Premium Bonds are held with NS&I are ultimately a Bond held by the UK Government where no interest is paid, but you enter into a lottery instead. This is all down to luck and zero chance of predictability of what you will get. I have been very lucky recently and won between £25 - £100 on 5 occasions over the last 7 months. Ridiculous. Especially considering I only have £6k saved in them.
Any winnings I have gets automatically reinvested and my aim is to get to £10k for my Emergency Fund.
The maths on Premium Bonds is less and less favourable as the interest rates are high, this is a great video explaining why, but I still love them for the potential of winning big, I wrote a full post on them here.
5/ Bank Switch
This is an awesome side hustle option and more people should do it. I have an account I use for 2 direct debits, I sink fund a little in each month for holidays, but other than that I do not use it. Other than for switch offers.
Basically every so often banks will have offers on to switch over to them for an offer. I recently did this swap with Santander and got paid £200. Before that Nationwide for £175.
Money Saving Expert website has a section on this with current offers, but a simple Google search will show what else is available. There really isn't a lot of effort needed and the bank does it all for you. The banks aim is that you then stay with them, use more of their products, which they can charge you for.
Some on the list here will be really obvious but often the tried and tested methods work best.
I am currently updating my side hustle income for the 2nd quarter of 2023 and the only one thing on here that isn't on this list is the free stock I got when my friend signed up to Trading 212. I got £11.50 worth of free shares which was cool. I reckon if you have a bigger following you would get more of these, which is a super easy way to make even more income. These offers come and go, with the current offer period due to finish soon but the link where you get a free share is here.
Are there any side hustles you would add to the list?
Have you done any of these and had a better or worse experience?
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