Making extra income while working full time can be a challenge.
As someone who’s been there, done that I’m not going to lie – finding time to earn more money while staying on top of life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. It takes hard work.
Another thing I can promise you though, is that extra income can change your financial situation and ultimately, your life!
I started trying to earn extra income on top of my day job salary in 2012. At the time I was earning less than $30k per year and barely scraping by. I used my time wisely to increase my earning potential with side hustles. This led me down an entirely different career path. Because of this I was able to earn $85k+ in 2016! A far cry from my previous day job salary.
If you badly need to earn extra income here’s how to get started.
Determine What Days and What Hours You’ll Be able to Work
Making extra income while working full time AND taking care of kids can be a challenge. That’s why it’s important that you set realistic expectations from the get-go. Failure to do so will lead to disappointment which will ultimately result in your giving up.
So, first things first. How much time do you have to commit to earning extra income? And more specifically, what days and hours do you have available?
When I was working on earning extra income outside of a day job I had to use my nights after my kids went to bed. I normally worked at least two hours every night and then would also work on the weekends my kids went to visit their Dad.
This might look different for you. If you’re currently working part time maybe you can carve out a few hours during the day. Maybe you’re fully booked and can only commit to weekends.
Be realistic about when you can work – this will help you narrow down your options. (For instance you’re not going to be offering cleaning services if you can only work after 9 pm!)
Take a Look at All of Your Options (There are four main ones!)
Whether you have ten hours per week or forty, there will be something you can do.
There are four main options when it comes to how to make extra income while working full time. They are:
Get a Second Day Job – Pretty obvious but still worth stating. Option number is to simply find a second, part-time job.
Get an Online Job – Option number two is to get an online job. These jobs are generally flexible but the pay will vary greatly. Some of the most popular online jobs are data entry, transcription, and search engine evaluation.
Freelance – Another popular option to earn extra income on the side is to freelance.
To freelance simply means to find your own clients rather than being employed by only one company. For example if you are a landscaper at your day job you could find clients on the side as a freelancer.
As a freelancer you’ll have many bosses rather than just one but you get to set your own hours. You can turn almost any skill you have into a freelance service. Some of the popular ones to offer online are writing and virtual assisting.
Start a Side Business – If you’re the entrepreneurial type being a freelancer or starting a side business is the way to go. (I personally prefer online businesses which is why I like blogging.) However, just know that some side businesses will take much long to make profitable than others so choose carefully.
If you need some ideas here are more than 50 profitable business ideas.
Don’t Forget to Supplement
You can also easily earn a little on the side with these supplementary ways:
Surveys Panels to Sign Up With:
- Harris Poll
- Springboard America
- Opinion Outpost
- My SoapBox
- Digital Reflection Panel
- Points Club
- NiceQuest
- My Survey
- Global Test Market
- Swagbucks
- Inbox Dollars
Earn Money Testing Websites ($10-$15 for a 20 min. test)
Sign up with NCP to Earn Rewards for Scanning Purchases
Find the Options that Fit
From looking at the options it should be clear what you can do with the time and resources you have.
For me this was freelance writing and virtual assisting while I worked on my blog. (You can read about it here.) This was all done on top of a regular 9-5. Again, I used my free time at night to work.
You need to comb through the options and find something that interests you that fits with your schedule. If something doesn’t work then scrap it and move on to the next idea. (It took me about five times to find the thing that worked!)
Don’t give up and you’ll be able to earn extra income while working full time – helping you to meet your financial goals faster and potentially changing your life forever.
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Great article Alexa! This post is packed with goodies.
Thanks to technology and the internet, there are a plethora of ways to make money today than ever before. And as individuals, we all know about something that could be invaluable to someone else. And that’s a space I encourage young people to start from. “Take what you know, package it, put a price on it and offer it on your space on the net. The right people – the ones who need it and are looking specifically for what you are offering, will be right there to gobble it up.”
Exactly!
Getting an online job is a good option. you can become a freelancer very easily on upwork and fivver.