second income | Finding delight.

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If you consider yourself even the slightest bit interested in personal finance, you’ve heard it before — diversify your income streams. Whether you have a traditional 9-5 or work for yourself/freelance, new sources of income that can be made from home are often the goal. Especially if you don’t wanna tack on extra commutes (*raises hand*). ESPECIALLY if you’re introverted (*raises both hands*). In our super online world, there are all kinds of ways to make money without leaving your house, but finding the options that bring you joy can sometimes be tricky.

Read on for some ideas that could help you boost your income without feeling like too much work…

Turn a Hobby Into a Side Hustle

If you have a hobby that you love and want to hone, consider how you might make money by turning this hobby into a side hustle, or even a full time gig. This is a great way to pull in a bit of extra cash along side a full time job. After-all, you’re already taking part in whatever this hobby is in your free time, right? Like to make cakes? Start a baking blog. Into scouting for vintage jewelry? Start an Etsy store. Painting savant? Start teaching an art class once a week. Even if you’re brand new to a hobby there are so many resources online to help you grow a side hustle. For instance, here’s how to become a microgreens farmer, a certified pet sitter, and an extra in tv and movies. Pay close attention to what makes you happy — whether that’s growing plants or hanging out with kittens or standing in front of a camera — and do more of it. Then, consider whether this could be a lucrative business option for you.

Use Your Expert Knowledge To Help Others

If you have substantial knowledge in a subject, you could use this knowledge to help others. How? Become an online consultant or even a tutor. There are lots of sites out there for you to market your expertise and look for clients. If you’re willing to do a bit more work upfront, consider creating online courses on your favorite subject matter. If you already have an online following or email list, you can easily send out info about your new class. Without an embedded audience, there are great websites like Teachable and CreativeLive to consider. Sharing your knowledge and expertise can feel great when you’re talking to people who really want to learn!

Create Content Others Can Enjoy

Many of us enjoy creating content for ourselves. You have full control over the message and you’re able to feel involved with the larger community of whatever your niche may be. Some people enjoy writing Ebooks, others like writing blogs, some enjoy making videos, the list goes on. It’s now easier than ever with sites like Upwork and Fiverr, to put yourself out there and use the skills you’ve acquired making content for yourself and do it for others. This could be as simple as writing a blog post or two for a website you love or designing cool slides for an influencer’s Instagram stories. If there’s an aspect of content creation you love, there’s definitely a way to monetize that!

Take Pictures

If you love taking pictures and consider yourself skilled with a camera, you could sell your photography to stock image sites. It can be a little bit trial and error to figure out what sort of images are accepted and do well on these sites. However, I’ve seen lots of folks make a killing once they hit a nice little rhythm. Even if you’re waiting to get accepted by the bigger sites, smaller, free stock image sites often offer incentives to photographers, like being able to link to a PayPal or Ko-fi account. That way, if someone really loves your image they can thank you for letting them use it. If you’re already walking around with a camera all day practicing photography, keep these stock image sites in mind.

Clear Out and Sell Your Unwanted Stuff

There’s no feeling quite like clearing out all of your unwanted stuff and then enjoying the free space of a decluttered home. Once you have everything that you no longer want, you can use online platforms to list and sell these items. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure!

What am I missing Do you have any ideas for making money from home that you think could spark joy?

Y’all know I love ballin’ on a budget, right? Well, one of my favorite tips to give fellow budget ballers is, “DIVERSIFY YOUR INCOME STREAMS!” Luckily, there are lots of ways to achieve this. Read on to discover some of my favorite suggestions on how to earn extra money…

Freelance – There are so many options for freelancers today. All you need to do is a quick search online and you will find tons of websites designed for freelancers. Many of them work like this: Someone looking for a job to be completed will post a listing, and interested parties will make an application. If your application is accepted, you submit your work and the money will hit your bank or PayPal account. If you have skills that can be put to use over the web — such as writing, photography, or web design–this could be a great fit!

Start a blog – A blog won’t make you money overnight, but if you have something you are passionate about (a niche!), starting a blog is a great step towards generating income in the future. Once your blog is going, and you’ve built up an audience, there are a number of ways to make money — from sponsored posts to affiliate marketing.

Invest – Another way to make money is by investing. However, this is not something you should dive straight into. Take the time to read feedback, such as these thinkorswim reviews, which enlighten you to various brokers and investment products so that you are informed on the pros and cons. Before you can invest, you need to make sure you are aware of your attitude to risk and that you only invest within your means and your comfort levels.

Share economy – The share economy is booming…and for good reason! You could drive for Lyft, deliver Instacart orders, or rent out your spare room on Airbnb. But if these aren’t for you, there are other ways to earn a bit of cash while also helping out others. Evaluate what you have and consider if sharing might be of value to someone. For example, if you live in an area that is close to a lot of businesses, you could look into renting out your driveway.

Sell your belongings – Last but not least, it is likely that you have some stuff in your house that you aren’t particularly fond of anymore, nor do you need. You can sell these items online to make a little easy money. Need some inspiration? Check out this video —

Looking for a second income source but not sure what would be a good fit? Let’s bounce around ideas in the comments! Or feel free to shoot me an email.

Do any of you have any “wins” when it comes to diversifying income streams that you’d like to share? If you do, drop ’em below!