(This article was originally published on the 22nd December 2017 and updated on the 24th March 2020).
With increasing living costs, there is now a need to supplement the family income to maintain our standards of living. With this in mind, let’s explore the 7 different ways of making some extra income instead, using safe and wholesome ways.
The options to generate a side income may have been more limited many years ago, before the days of technology and the Internet, but no longer so!
1. Are you bi-lingual and comfortable communicating in writing via online platforms? Sign up for freelance micro-tasks on platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer or Fiverr. After establishing yourself as a freelance writer, if you have the passion for writing try considering to be a full time writer. Utilise your skills and monetise it through affiliate marketing. For instance, you can start blogging, an online course, publish books, etc. The possibilities are endless!
2. Do you have a creative flair? Regardless of whether your expertise in graphic design is from an accredited college or self taught, graphic designing pays well. Many start ups especially outsource graphic design work because it requires time and skill. Build your online portfolio on popular sites like Behance, Wix, Squarespace, and more. For creative job listings, check out DesignCrowd, Upwork, Fiverr, Contently and 99Designs.
3. Pride yourself on being somewhat brainy? Check out Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Worker and take on HITs. HIT stands for Human Intelligence Tasks. Example of individual tasks range from participating in usability tests of websites, testing video games to transcribing video to insert text anchors or reviewing transcriptions for accuracy. Some tasks even require a Master’s degree qualification. Definitely a clear indicator that freelancing is also being done by the braniacs!
4. Do you enjoy being on your mobile phone all the time? Learn how to share content online. 8Coin, a reward platform which is acquired by Media Prima pays you when you share content on your social media accounts. As long as someone clicks on your link, you will get paid. In return you get paid in the form of cash, e-wallet credits, gadgets and vouchers. Earning money can be as easy as a few clicks away!
With these options available, you could work from home, online and within the flexibility of your own time. The beauty of these options is that you could take on jobs from overseas and get paid in US$ or Euros. Given the tanking MYR, this definitely works in our favour to maximise our side income! When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?
Not keen on sitting behind a computer during your free time? Fret not. More suggestions below:
5. You know about being a driver for Grab or MyCar. Heard of goget.my? Sign up there to become a personal runner or be a set of arms and legs and get paid to run someone else’s errands for a fee. Collect their laundry or pick up lunch and get it delivered.
6. Is your family nagging you to get rid of old stuff you no longer want, but is still usable? Declutter your home and sell anything from second hand pre-loved babies or kids stuff to mobile phones, clothes, books and many others. Snap a picture of these items and post them using your smartphones on Carousell, Lelong or eBay Malaysia.
7. Have hobbies that you would like to monetise? There are several communities made for women to put their skillsets to good use. For example, the Women of Will organisation launched a community kitchen to encourage the B40 category women to pick up some baking skills and make a living out of it. This initiative pays women on an hourly wage, earning up to RM1,500 monthly.
Besides that, there are also communities on Facebook such as ‘Jobs for Caring MOMS Malaysia’ ‘Persatuan Kelab Tukang Jahit Seluruh Malaysia’ that might be of interest. These are mostly women’s network based on common interests, which also allows for opportunities to generate a side income by pursuing your passion for baking, sewing, tutoring, baby sitting… you name it!
All the suggestions above are still active income generation. What would be ideal is to have income coming in passively with little or minimal effort. Consider setting aside a portion of the active income generation to fund investments to create passive income streams. Foundations are laid one brick at a time. ‘Sedikit-Sedikit, Lama-Lama Jadi Bukit’. Have you got your financial goals in check? If not, read up our article as we share ‘7 Ways to Achieve your Financial Goals in 2020’.
This article is prepared by Direct Lending, an online personal lending platform with the mission to provide simple, safe and affordable financing to all hardworking adults. We help borrowers to find, apply and receive financing that most suit them. Our service is 100% free.
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