Real Talk on 8 Realistic Side Hustles

Disclaimer: We used AI to sift through Reddit threads related to side hustles. Posts are anonymous, so we can’t verify the validity of user statements, but we found the collective practical insight to be helpful.

Do rising prices have you feeling like you need to donate plasma? We get it. But there are less intrusive ways to make extra money.

We’ve tried some. We’ve interviewed people. And we’ve scoured Reddit for real talk on how to work the gig economy. Let’s go.

Sign up, get approved, and you’re a modern-day taxi driver.

Factor in gas and maintenance costs, which can be significant. You need an eligible car in good condition and must agree to a background check and a review of your driving history before you can start.

I did Uber for a week and found it feasible, even if not lucrative, in my small town.

Living in or near a large city is ideal, and it’s even better if you have quick access to an airport. I did not. My most profitable trip took me an hour away from my town (with a dude who talked on his phone the whole time). Then, I had to drive home without a fare.

I love my car and would be worried about the high miles I’d put on it as a more regular Uber driver.

I found that it’s less stressful to deliver food than drive people.

And a car isn’t always required — DoorDash lets you use a bike or scooter to make deliveries in some cities, for example. A background check is almost always part of the deal.

For drivers, expect to give your car a workout with a lot of short-burst driving. (At the time of writing, DoorDash is offering weekly fuel relief payments for drivers who exceed certain mileage thresholds.)

When I moonlighted as DoorDash Dasher, I found the sign-up process to be smoother and quicker than with Uber.

The problem is there are only so many restaurants in my town. I wasn’t flush with deliveries during my weeklong test of this gig, but did earn a little something every time I went on the app. I got paid quickly, too.

I wouldn’t rely on DoorDash for main income, but I would do it again if I ever get in a bind.

Meet MoneyNerd, your weekly news decoder

So much news. So little time. NerdWallet’s new weekly newsletter makes sense of the headlines that affect your wallet.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

Instacart is like DoorDash on steroids. Full-service shoppers do the grocery picking, packing, loading and delivering.

All that effort can lead to more pay per run than picking up a bag of burgers, though. All you need is a car, a moderately strong back, and a clear background check.

I rounded out my gig driving tests with a brief stint as an Instacart full-service shopper.

I worked a few weekdays during my test. My timing and location didn’t help me get a lot of orders, called “batches” in the app.

When I did get an order, I found myself scrambling around grocery stores, hardware stores, and even a mall once. It wasn’t easy work, but weirdly enough, I liked this gig better than the others I tried because of the effort required.

Watch me sweat through my batches in this video.

This one is a fave because the potential is real for those with specialized skills and the drive to succeed.

You can also get clients the old-fashioned way, through networking and cold calling/messaging.

Elizabeth Ayoola, lead producer and host of Nerdwallet’s “Smart Money” podcast, used freelancing to pad her income and broaden her writing portfolio. She started with profiles on Fiverr and Upwork, but didn’t have the patience to wait for work to come.

“I decided to find clients on my own. I made mental health my writing niche, and found a database of therapists.”

Then she reached out, cold pitching as many as she could to write for their sites.

“It wasn’t easy, but I got responses, and work,” she said. “Then, posting my work on social media helped me get in with larger publications. Some pubs even reach out to me. It’s been legit money!”

If you’re good at putting together Ikea furniture or hanging pictures, you can use Taskrabbit to find local odd jobs.

The online gig work marketplace connects workers with people who need help with things such as moving, cleaning, delivery and handyman services.

Las Vegas-based Tasker Nola Rodgers likes the people side of the work — and the money. She started tasking in 2021, after graduating high school in 2020, and has turned it into a full-time living.

“I love being able to help families and businesses,” she said in an email interview. “If you offer enough tasks in different categories, you could end up making livable money.”

Rodgers does TV mounting, packing, organizing and unpacking and even minor home repairs, for example. She also builds a lot of Ikea stuff.

Love animals? You can walk dogs or watch cats for pay.

Discussions suggest there’s potential to earn an extra $300 or more per month with a gig service like Rover. That is, if you have regular clientele.

Success can depend heavily on location and market. Make sure dogs are trending in your town before you sign up.

Turn your math, science, foreign-language or test-prep expertise into extra money as a private tutor.

You can tutor people in-person or online. List yourself on Craigslist, or sign up with a site like Tutor.com or Wyzant.

You can also advertise your services at local schools, community centers and coffee shops.

Threads suggest popular online platforms are becoming saturated with tutors, which has led to lower rates. Of the platforms, Wyzant is referenced more favorably among posters because tutors keep 75% of their earnings.

You can use word-of-mouth and get really specific with what you teach — say, algebra 2/trigonometry — to give yourself a better chance at success.

Posters say you can start on a platform like Wyzant to get your feet wet, then switch to Craigslist and Facebook groups to find clients on your own with no fees.

Etsy is still the go-to for crafters, makers and collectors who want to market and sell their artisan or vintage goods.

Have a penchant for woodworking, jewelry-making, embroidery or pottery? According to Etsy, the company has more than 31.7 million active buyers.

There is cautious optimism among Redditors about selling on Etsy. Some warn against lower-effort product ideas, such as print-on-demand goods, because there are so many sellers.

Users suggest offering customizable physical goods (such as personalized jewelry) for more sales and higher profit margins.

Another theme? Paying for Etsy Ads to promote your products in search results has become more necessary to get noticed.

Meet MoneyNerd, your weekly news decoder

So much news. So little time. NerdWallet’s new weekly newsletter makes sense of the headlines that affect your wallet.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE