Make Money

8 Easy Side Hustle Ideas While You’re Still Studying

We could always use a little more money. But earning money can be difficult if you’re also studying full time. Whether it’s studying for an upcoming exam or finishing off your assignments, finding a dedicated five or six hour block in the day for part-time work can be really challenging. It’s even more difficult during exam periods, where every hour of study and revision can have a big outcome on the grade you receive. This is why some people choose to start a side hustle instead of getting a part-time job. With a side hustle, you get to set your own hours; choosing when to work and for how long. This way, you’ll be able to earn money without sacrificing your university grades. As a side hustler, you get the option to choose. You might choose to work 20 hours a week during the semester, 40 hours a week during the holidays, and none at all during the examination period to focus solely on your courses. But you probably want to have a side hustle that’s easy to do. After all, your courses are already stressing you out. You don’t need a side hustle that builds on that stress. So we’ve compiled a list of the easiest side hustles that you can do right now, with little to no skills involved: Blogging Secret Shopper Driving for UberEats/DoorDash Babysitting/Dog Sitting Tutoring Handyman Flipping goods Writing/Copywriting Side Hustles That Are So Easy That Anyone Can Do It      1. Blogging Blogging is simply creating and self-publishing content online. Writing is the most common form of blogging, although photography blogs and videography blogs (vlogs) are popular as well. You can blog about anything. You can write a blog about anything and everything, although most people blog about their hobbies and interests. If there’s a hobby or a topic that you know a lot about, you can write about it. To start a blog, you need a website. You can either create your own website or you can use a website builder like Squarespace. You make money blogging from ad revenue. Google AdSense is the go-to web monetization platform, although there are others out there as well. You can also make money blogging from affiliate marketing. In affiliate marketing, you earn a commission for marketing another company’s product.      2. Secret Shopper Secret shopper is one of the easiest ways to make some extra money. As a secret shopper, you are hired to shop in stores and collect information about your experience. You are essentially a ‘undercover customer’. You shop, and provide feedback on your experience. The questions are really simple and doesn’t take too long. Some mystery shopping assignments also pay a fairly good compensation. And hey, you get paid to shop!!      3. Driver for food delivery platforms If you’ve got a car, then you can definitely consider driving for food delivery platforms like Ubereats, Menulog, and Deliveroo. If you’ve got some free time, simply log in to the app and get started. And when you’ve had enough, simply log off and call it a day. While you can make good money during peak times, just remember you’re also including fuel expenses when working out your take-home pay. Additionally, you’re also adding additional wear and tear on your vehicle. We recommend driving for food delivery platforms instead of rideshare (Uber, Lyft, Didi, etc) as there are more restrictions when driving for rideshare and you won’t need to worry about customer interactions.      4. Babysitting/Dog Sitting Get paid to look after a child or dog. How hard can it be? Depending on the child, their age, and their requirements, it can either be the easiest job in the world or the hardest. But most likely it’s going to be somewhere in between. An advantage to baby/dog sitting is that you can also study whilst you’re babysitting. Essentially, you’re getting paid to study! Just make sure to have all rules and expectations set out with the parents beforehand. You should sort out beforehand stuff like: when the kids are expected to go to bed; how much screen time the kids are allowed; what time the parents are expected to be back; and if the kids have any allergies. Dog sitting is pretty much the same as babysitting, but just much easier. Easy Side Hustles With Some Skill Involved      5. Tutoring Tutoring is also a common method for students to make money. The pay can vary slightly, but if you’ve achieved the highest mark in the subject, you can often charge top dollar. This option isn’t limited to tutoring school subjects. You can also offer to teach other people skills that you have learnt. This includes teaching others how to play instruments, speak different languages, and private sports coaching. However, you also need to be an excellent communicator as well. Even if you achieve the highest mark, that doesn’t matter if you can’t effectively communicate to the student.      6. Handyman If you’re handy with your hands and tools, you can put it to use. From assembling furniture to fixing up curtain railings, there’s heaps of jobs around the home that other people would gladly pay you to do. Websites like Airtasker are the best place for you to earn some cash helping people with jobs around the home.      7. Repairing and reselling goods Are you good with your hands but also have some specialised knowledge? In that case, you can put that knowledge to good use by restoring old furniture, cars, or even renovating entire rooms. If you find antique furniture that looks like it has seen better days, why not take it home, give it a face lift, and resell it?      8. Writing/Copywriting Do you have a way with words? If the answer is yes, then you might want to consider working as a freelance writer. There is always a demand for good creative writers to generate ad copy, social media

8 Easy Side Hustle Ideas While You’re Still Studying Read More »

Different Paths To Build Wealth

Nothing in life is free. Getting ahead in life means also making sacrifices. So if you want to build up your wealth, you also need to make sacrifices. But there are a lot of different ways to get rich, but they all require some sort of sacrifice. Here are the most common ways of getting rich. Which of these paths would you pick?      1. Live on as little as possible. It’s not how much money you make, but how much you keep. You can earn a million dollars a year, but that wouldn’t matter if you’re paying a million dollars a year in interest. Most people choose this way to build their wealth, and it’s a pretty safe and reliable path. But you also sacrifice a lot of experiences. Instead of driving a near-new car, you’re driving a 20-year-old beater that was given to you by your parents. Rather than travelling to an exotic country, you explore the natural wonderlands around the city. Instead of buying new clothes every season, you thrift and wear the same clothes year after year. Living on as little as possible is a safe and reliable way to build your wealth, but you also miss out on a lot of experiences.      2. Marry into wealth You can also choose to marry someone for his or her money. It’s a popular way to get rich quickly and live a lavish lifestyle, but you’re also sacrificing a lot. You might not even like your spouse. Everything they do and stand for irritates you. You might hate their guts. You might wish that you were alone by yourself instead. But you can’t escape. You’ve already grown accustomed to the lavish lifestyle. The only way out is by getting a divorce, but that would also mean giving up most of your luxurious lifestyle.      3. Being a Crook You can also choose to become a crook. A con artist, a scammer, a scum of society. You can also get rich quickly using this method, but there’s obviously a lot of consequences. The biggest sacrifice you’ll make is your dignity. You’ll have to acknowledge the fact that you are of no value to society, and everyone hates you. But you’ll also sacrifice a peaceful life. You’ll spend your entire life looking over your shoulder. It might be someone you scammed that’s out to get their revenge, or the authorities putting you behind bars. You won’t have a comfortable life, but at least you’ll have money, right?      4. Improve yourself The last way most people become rich is by improving their financial knowledge. They hold themselves accountable for their life, their decisions, and their money. They never stop learning,They are continuous learners who strive for personal development, to become a better person. But you’ll have to work hard. You need patience and a willingness to accept that you don’t know anything. But you’ll also have to make sacrifices up front. Instead of going to concerts or out with friends, you’re attending classes and conferences. But soon, all of these sacrifices will pay off. So which one of these paths will you be taking? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to become wealthy?    

Different Paths To Build Wealth Read More »

Why You Should Have A Side Hustle

Thinking of starting a side hustle? What are you waiting for? Let me ask you one question. Do you think that your job is going to give you the dream life you desire or even deserve? Most people realise that going back to school is not the answer. Most people are wondering how they’ll be able to save enough money to buy a home or start a family. You might love your job. That’s awesome. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a side hustle. A side gig will provide you financial security. While your job might be safe and secure, at the end of the day, you’re trading your time for money. When there’s an economic downturn and the business downsizes, you’re going to be left out in the cold. And that’s why you should have a business on the side. As much as you love your job, no one will care about you as much as you. Which means you are the only one who will build your financial security for you. However, that doesn’t mean you should quit your job right now and become a full-time entrepreneur. Instead, you should still be working at the job you currently have. But spend an hour before or after work to build up your moat. The moat that will save you no matter how dire your financial situation becomes. A Side Hustle Is More Than Just Money A side hustle doesn’t just mean more money, it also gives you more confidence, a backup plan, and most important, opportunities that you might not have otherwise. By building something tangible and measurable, you’ll be more confident in yourself. Things you once thought were impossible, are now possible. By building up a side hustle with cash flow, you’ll have something to fall back on in case you lose your job. You won’t worry about what you’ll have to do in order to afford food or rent, because you still have another stream of income. By building up a side hustle, you’ll be exposed to opportunities that would have never otherwise encountered. You might be asked to present a TED talk on what you’ve built, or asked to be a keynote speaker at a conference in another part of the world, or even be presented with an award by the Prime Minister. The opportunities are endless. But obviously, a side hustle will generate extra cash flow for you. What will you do with the extra money? Pay off your education debt? More money in your retirement account so you can retire 10 years earlier than your colleagues? Travel more often and experience the world? Remember, the opportunities are endless. There are numerous benefits to starting a side business, and no downsides. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!

Why You Should Have A Side Hustle Read More »

Reserve Bank of Australia raised the official cash rate to 0.85%

How Interest Rates and Inflation Go Hand In Hand

Inflation in Australia has hit a sky high 5.1%, the highest it has been since 2008. The price of fuel, electricity, and even lettuce has all gone up by more than 50% in the past year. To counter the rising inflation, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has raised the official cash rate in consecutive months, the first time this has happened since May 2010. The cash rate is now at 0.85%, up from 0.1% just over six weeks ago. And more interest rate rises are still to come. It’s all part of the RBA’s plan to keep Australia’s inflation between its target of 2 to 3 percent. But how does this work? How does increasing the cash rate reduce inflation? Increasing Interest Rates Reduce Demand The Reserve Bank of Australia is responsible for setting the cash rate, which is the interest rate that banks use for overnight loans to each other. The cash rate helps determine the interest rate at which money is lent or borrowed by consumers and businesses. So when the RBA increases the cash rate, it raises the cost of borrowing for banks. And naturally, the banks pass on the higher cost of borrowing to consumers and businesses. This means that when the RBA raised its cash rate by 0.5% last week, consumers and businesses will have to pay more to borrow money. *However, it’s important to note that a 0.5% increase in the cash rate doesn’t mean that the interest rate quoted by the banks will also increase by 0.5%. This higher cost of borrowing will reduce the demand of products and services and reduce the overall economic activity. For example, if your weekly mortgage repayments go up, you have less money (discretionary income) to spend on other goods. For businesses, a higher loan repayment might mean that the business will be less likely to invest in new equipment or hire additional workers. This reduced demand for goods and services is exactly what slows down the rate of inflation. Basic economics says that the prices of goods and services increase when there is greater demand (law of demand). But when it costs more to borrow money, the overall demand for goods and services decrease. Whilst prices might not necessarily decline, the rate of inflation usually does. Real Life Example To better understand how the two are linked, let’s consider a typical household with two loans: a home loan and a car loan. Inflation has been sky high during the pandemic, and thus the price of everything has gone up. If the interest rate on your loans goes up, then you would need to spend more of your disposable income on those repayments. As your repayments on the loans increase, the household has less discretionary income to spend in other areas, such as going to the cinema. From the cinema’s perspective, there’s a drop in demand as most movie-goers can no longer afford that luxury. The cinema’s revenue decreases. If you’re a cinema owner, you might decide to reduce the price of the ticket in order to entice some of the movie- goers back. But because you decided to drop the prices, your profit margins decrease. The tighter profit margin means that you can no longer afford to hire all the staff, so you decide to lay some people off. As a result, less people have jobs. Thus less people will have the money to go to the cinemas, further reducing the demand for your goods. Now imagine it’s not just one cinema, or one business, but the entire country’s economy. Even small increases in cash rates can have ripple effects that significantly slows down the country’s economic activity. Thus, companies would no longer be able to raise prices. Thus, by increasing the cash rate, the Reserve Bank of Australia has reduced the ability of companies to raise prices for goods and services, thereby slowing inflation.

How Interest Rates and Inflation Go Hand In Hand Read More »

Build Your Business While Working or Studying Full Time!

Are you currently working or studying full time? For most people, they feel like they don’t have enough time to build their business if they also have a full time work/study load. However, let’s be honest for a minute here. Most successful companies were started by people who worked a full time job. These people developed their entrepreneurial skills on the side. After all, we all have to start somewhere. And most of these successful business owners built their business at home, or in their parents home, or even the garage. But these people also worked a full time job in order to pay the bills and keep the lights on. Most people want to start their own business. But most don’t. And the most common excuse is that they’re getting held back by their jobs. But here’s the thing. A job isn’t holding you back. I’ll say it again. A job isn’t holding you back. Thinking that a job is holding you back is the wrong mindset if you’re trying to build your business. Instead, a job is the fuel that will keep your dreams going when you start your business. Think about it this way. If you didn’t have a pay check, you would need to raise money to build your business. But if you have a paycheck, you can think about actually running your business, and focusing on the things that actually matter. Yes, your full time job will take up a lot of your time and effort. However, it’s there to help you transition from working for your employer to working for yourself. And let’s be honest, a full time job doesn’t actually take up that much of your time either. There’s Plenty Of Time For You To Build Your Business There are 24 hours in a day, or 168 hours a week. You’ll spend 40 hours a week at your job, and let’s assume you spend two hours a day on the commute. That’s 50 hours a week total. Let’s assume you sleep for 8 hours a day, or 56 hours a week. That’s only 106 hours in total. You still have 62 hours a week left over. Use it wisely. Every week, you have 62 hours you can use to work on your business. Even if that’s not possible, (after all, you’ll probably need to eat, go to the bathroom, and spend some time relaxing), surely you can spare 14 hours a week to work on your business? That’s only two hours a day. Even if you can’t spare two hours a day, what about an hour every day? What about 30 minutes a day? A full time job isn’t a valid reason to not start a business. Here’s your challenge for this year. Start your business. Start small. Think of your business name. Come up with your logo. Think of what products or services you can provide. Don’t let excuses run your life. Go on, take the first step. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

Build Your Business While Working or Studying Full Time! Read More »