Last weekend marked the official beginning of summer in many jurisdictions. Here in Jamaica, it’s thought that our unofficial summer season begins with the beginning of June, also known as the beginning of hurricane season. If you don’t have plans to take an overseas vacation, don’t worry; a staycation can be just as much fun. Especially when staying put brings opportunities to make extra money that can bring you even closer to your #moneygoals.

A side hustle is a legitimate job that brings in additional income beyond the salary earned from your regular or full-time job. People, notably children, have been doing it for years without using the term ‘side hustle’: babysitting, dog walking, or doing chores for your parents.

With the central bank’s Financial Stability Report 2018 indicating that consumer loans have grown three times as fast as income each year, it’s not a leap to say that Jamaicans are becoming increasingly indebted. Today, more than ever, a side hustle is one of the best ways to solve money problems, not just for children but for adults as well. Maybe you’ve never had one before and you can’t imagine what you’d do, here are three ideas you might not even have considered that will get you thinking creatively and exploring the wide range of possibilities that exist.

Flipping cars

Pastimes and pet passions make the best side hustles. Let’s say your 9 to 5 is in the customer service sector, but your passion is really motor cars. You love car shows, you read car magazines. Heck, you dream about cars. Lewis Hamilton can do no wrong. Consider using some of your savings to buy a second-hand vehicle at, say, auction or from the classifieds. And in the same way that people flip houses, you could flip that car and, after some minor work on it, sell it back at a profit. With the funds you earned you could then buy another one and flip it too, again for a profit. If you do this for a while you just might end up with a tidy little sum you did not start off with no loan interest rates to bog you down.

Social media management services for SME

Statistics state there are 4.2 billion active social media users worldwide or roughly half the people on earth. And Jamaica is part of that figure with a Digital 2021: Jamaica report suggesting there were 1.5 million users alone in 2021, ostensibly half of the population. If you’re endlessly fascinated by social media, which has shown consistent growth over the past 10 years, and know all there is to be known about it, why not leverage your knowledge in the increasingly critical area of marketing? As we’ve already discussed, more people are interested in starting their own business as the effects of the Great Resignation start showing up here. Small and medium-sized enterprises seem poised to have their moment, and if the owners aren’t social media-savvy and don’t quite understand, for example, how social media ad spend is critical to the marketing of their business, this can present the perfect opportunity for you to offer your services.

Online tutoring

One of the negative side effects of the pandemic is the disruption it wreaked on the education system, with many children — not only the ones without tablets — falling behind in their studies. Do you have at least a bachelor’s degree? This job will require you to possess a specialised skill or talent if you’re thinking about tutoring a subject like maths, or even English. Maybe you know a foreign language. You can tutor a variety of subjects, and not just to children. Adults are a captive market, as well, and you can help people with topics they are interested in, with a huge plus being you are able to set your own schedule. And who knows? In addition to this being a flexible way to earn more money, there’s also the potential for it to develop into a full-time business.

The bottom line

The thing to remember about side hustles is that they usually begin with a problem. It’s for you to intuit the problem people might face for which you can provide a solution after work hours and get paid for it. Someone needs to move, and you have a van. Offer your services. Someone needs some errands done but don’t have time. Recently I encountered a gentleman who was volunteering his services at the tax office to people who did not have time to wait in line.

Many of these side jobs require little to no specialised skill sets to do them. You can do them while paying down debt, building an emergency savings or retirement fund, or even splurging on something fun you’ve always wanted but have never been able to afford.