5 Ways To Supplement Your Income

Everyone likes to have a little extra cash from time to time, leading many to pick up extra work where they can. Unfortunately, social distancing measures have limited these opportunities, particularly in the hospitality industry.

We’ve partnered with Bankwest to put together a list of banking no-brainers that could help you earn some extra cash.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make some extra cash, even with these restrictions in mind. Here are 5 banking no-brainers to supplement your income.

Sell unwanted goods

One of the easiest ways to make extra money is by selling items you no longer want or need. Vintage clothing, electronics, some kitchen appliances and audio gear like speakers, record players and amplifiers are items that tend to hold their value more than others, so they’re good places to start.

Use an online platform like Facebook Marketplace to list your items, just be sure to practice social distancing when potential buyers come to look at or pick them up. Try and disinfect the items if you can, as well.

As an added bonus, you’ll also be decluttering your home, which is always a win.

Pick up some gig economy work

For those with extra time on their hands, the gig economy is a flexible way to earn money on the side, with most platforms allowing you to choose when and where you’d like to work.

You can choose to drive for Uber, deliver food for UberEats, Deliveroo or other delivery services, or do odd jobs via Airtasker. There’s plenty of variety out there to cater to your skills and needs.

Food delivery is also a good way to get fit if you own a bicycle.

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2020/02/how-to-reduce-your-food-delivery-and-takeout-waste/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/chv91pvtzhjoiqgnvjmj.jpg” title=”How To Reduce Your Food Delivery And Takeout Waste” excerpt=”According to Grubhub’s annual “Year in Food” report, the food delivery platform averages more than 450,000 orders a day. Inexplicably, cauliflower pizza was also the single most ordered dish in 2019.”]

Get paid to surf the web

If you’re reading this, you’re already browsing the web, so why not get paid to do just that?

Tonnes of companies outsource website testing to platforms like User Testing, which will give you a website or app to view along with a set of tasks to complete. You record your thoughts out loud and send the results back to get paid.

User Testing pays $10 USD (roughly $15 AUD) for every 20-minute test, with most taking around that time to complete. Of course, you won’t get to choose the site or app, but it’s a pretty low-effort way to earn some extra cash.

With anything web-based, always be sure to watch out for scams by sticking to reputable operators.

Take some paid surveys

Like giving your thoughts on various websites and apps, you can also participate in market research for plenty of other things. Some will even send you products to test out.

Depending on the company, platform and length of the interview or survey, you can earn anywhere from $50 to hundreds of dollars. Most of these are conducted online or over the phone, so you can get them done without leaving your home.

To get involved, you’ll need to sign up to a service like Paid Focus Groups, Askable or Respondent. They’ll generally ask some questions about you when you sign up and offer surveys based on your answers.

Again, watch out for dodgy players in this space.

Make money out of your hobby

You’d be surprised at how something you love to do in your free time can earn you money.

For example, if you can sing or play an instrument, you could teach lessons or even join a wedding band. While the number of weddings happening right now is pretty low, they’ll probably be booming when restrictions eventually ease, putting bands that can perform at weddings in high demand. Have a look at platforms like Gumtree for ads looking for performers.

You can even set up courses for people who are keen to learn your skills on platforms like Udemy or Skillshare.

When you start bringing in all that extra cash, consider tracking it differently to your main source of income to ensure you’re putting it to good use. Bankwest, for example, makes it easy to track your money by providing different accounts or “buckets”. By bucketing your new sources of income into different accounts, it’ll make tracking and utilising it far easier.

On top of that, you can also set up Easy Alerts so you’ll know exactly when that extra income hits your account. It’s a banking no-brainer.

Of course, all these tips don’t take your objectives or financial situation into account and you should seek relevant professional advice. Terms of use apply.