There’s a reason side hustles have grown increasingly popular in recent years. Now that many jobs have gotten more flexible in the wake of the pandemic, more people are able to work from home or set their own hours, thereby making it possible to take on a second gig.
If you’ve been thinking about getting a side hustle, it pays to explore your options. That second gig could make your bills more manageable at a time when living costs are so high (thanks, inflation). A side gig could also be your ticket to meeting different financial goals, whether it’s buying a home, paying off your credit card balances, or saving for a new car.
Meanwhile, fall is right around the corner. You might have even more options for side work at your disposal once school is back in session. Here are a few worth looking into.
1. Tutoring
Some children might have a hard time with certain academic subjects, or simply struggle to get back into the swing of things once school starts back up. If you’re a patient person with reasonably strong skills in different subjects, you might manage to score a nice stream of income tutoring children after school and on weekends.
Furthermore, some children simply don’t respond well to their own parents when it comes to sitting and working through assignments like math problems or science materials. So you don’t necessarily need to be an expert in those topics to work as a tutor — you just need to be willing to put in the time.
2. Offering college prep help
Fall is when high school seniors need to get serious about college. If you have experience in that area (say, from your own college application days or by having just gone through the process with your own child), then you can offer your services in all things college prep–related. That could mean assisting people with college applications, helping edit admissions essays, and running through SAT skills.
3. Coaching or refereeing sports
Many towns run recreational sports leagues in the fall, and yours might need outside help with things like coaching and refereeing. If you like being outdoors, running around, and working with kids, this could be a great fall gig for you. Granted, many of these leagues operate on a shoestring budget, so this may not be a huge money-maker. But it’s also the sort of gig you might not actually consider work, so even if the pay isn’t substantial, it could still be worth going after.
A side hustle could easily change your financial picture for the better. It pays to explore these and other options if you’re looking for more leeway in paying your bills and meeting different financial objectives. And while some of these gigs may be seasonal in nature (such as college prep and helping with sports leagues), if you have a good experience, you can always plan to pick up the same work again the following year.
