Ultra flexible side hustle?

[Sunny]

So the recent Uber thread gave me a thought...anyone do a flexible side hustle part time work for a bit of earning fun money / something to do?

• No special skill set required
• Super flexible, make your own hours and no weekly deadlines
• Preferably gets ya out of the house, but not a requirement
• Hopefully interesting, or interacting with people

If you try to google for stuff like flex jobs you end up being led to so many fraudulent jobs, or positions requiring set schedules or deadlines.

I think it’d be fun to have something you do 0 hours some weeks or 25 hours other weeks when you want to...and pays a bit of money.

I actually did search engine optimization for awhile, but they had 20 hours minimum per week and I didn’t want to sit in front of the computer all that time, every week, on something that became repetitive.

Mystery shopping, when you have good gigs that paid well, was nice. But it became more of a chore finding decent work where I am. And keeping track of it for tax purposes wasn’t fun. But maybe I’ll try this again to get us out into the grey, cold weather.

Don’t NEED the money, but I can see it being interesting to do something for frivolous spending.

 

[audreyh1]

Never occurred to me - doesn’t appeal. Couldn’t care less about earning fun money.

If I did need a bit extra “fun money” to help finance a beloved hobby, I’d put in the effort to get the hobby to earn some.

 

[broadway]

Mystery shopping, when you have good gigs that paid well, was nice. But it became more of a chore finding decent work where I am. And keeping track of it for tax purposes wasn’t fun. But maybe I’ll try this again to get us out into the grey, cold weather.

How do I find mystery shopping gigs that are not scams?

 

[Sunny]

If I did need a bit extra “fun money” to help finance a beloved hobby, I’d put in the effort to get the hobby to earn some.

If it were a "need" then it'd be a job. I mean truly frivolous spending, we don't really want for anything other than maybe a warm weather house or three for winter months, lol. Our hobbies are funded, we eat out way too often (for health reasons, not $ reasons), etc.

It is more of a desire to do something I guess. Even fun volunteer work would be nice. Any volunteer work I've done in the past has turned into they rely on you, set schedules, etc. and I want something totally whenever I want.

How do I find mystery shopping gigs that are not scams?

Don't bother going to any conferences (we did, but mostly for the trip en route to vacationing) or joining any professional trade associations you don't need to spend money to make money in MS. The companies you find on MSPA's search https://mspa-americas.org/what-is-mspa/search or listed on the MS forums at https://www.mysteryshopforum.com/companies/ are legitimate companies. The forums are good to search on to see if a certain company may have problem areas (unduly long reports or pay schedules).

It will really depend on your area which companies you can do work for..not all are national. If you live in a bigger city or more populated state you will have more opportunities. Some have long reports requiring verbose answers, others are quick 5 minute reports. You can make more money doing video or audio shops, but they also require a lot of up-front planning, sometimes equipment, and having disposable phone numbers / personas to use that you have to create yourself (although sometimes these are provided). We enjoyed the shops more that were retail in nature, taking photos of stock, or even checking up on if salespeople are doing the pitch correctly. Restaurants are fun but generally ended up you were working for your meal making notes, timing service, etc. so I didn't do many of those.

It can be hard finding out what companies are in your area and which ones you enjoy working for, but once you figure that out you'll be fine. They will all want your SSN or tax number, and send you a 1099, although some require you to make more than $750 with them before sending you the 1099. I've enjoyed doing some high end luxury shops where I am a fish out of water a few times (ex: a non-fashion conscious male going after a high-end purse company's unisex bags, or having to go ask about a boat slip when the lake was frozen over ) but also shops where it paid well, was fun, and even provided a great service (literally, mystery shopped church services)!

And I've broken a bit of a rule in admitting I've shopped, but we don't do it much anymore. Though maybe I'll give it another whirl.

 

[marko]

Mystery shopping, when you have good gigs that paid well, was nice. .

I actually did this. It was bar/restaurant and ski resort reviews. A lot of fun and what you did was go to the place and rate the service, food, atmosphere, cleanliness etc etc. Had to write a 10-15 page report afterwards.

In return I'd get a free meal($100 max)/lift ticket for 2 people and $50 (or $150 for local ski areas).

It was run by a local guy (who was a FA in real life) I found one day while casually surfing Craig's; met him for coffee and after that, he'd email me with opportunities which I could accept or decline.

 

[iloveyoga]

It is not for everyone, but I have really enjoyed selling stuff on eBay. I have cleaned out my own house and helped a few friends declutter their lives too. I consider the cash I make to be "fun money".

 

[COcheesehead]

EBay for us. We have things up for sale almost every week. This past week we sold some old tools, my wife’s old shoes. I sold some sweaters, pants and hats. We’ve sold over $83,000 on eBay in our tenure. As they say “ do it for fun and profit!”

 

[COcheesehead]

Another one is paid research. I get called for a study or two every year. They pay $100 to $300 per study. I’ve worked with USA Today, American Express, Schwab, American Funds. Sign up here. Engage In Depth — Personalized Market Research Strategies
The more unique your situation, the more likely you’ll get called.

 

[audreyh1]

If it were a "need" then it'd be a job. I mean truly frivolous spending, we don't really want for anything other than maybe a warm weather house or three for winter months, lol. Our hobbies are funded, we eat out way too often (for health reasons, not $ reasons), etc.

We have friends who probably could not afford their high end camera equipment if they didn’t make some money at it, so I totally get what they do. They retire with good pensions, but probably doesn’t stretch to extensive photographic travel if they don’t lead some tours, or top of the line camera bodies and big lenses without selling some of their work. These can’t be classified as needs - they are wants.

It also makes sense, because they want to spend their time doing the hobby, so they would want any time earning extra cash to be as closely related as possible.

Otherwise, if you can already afford some “frivolous spending”, what is the point?

I guess I don’t see your distinction.

You want enough to finance a second home? Rentals are always an option, and I would never consider renting a warm winter place to be frivolous spending. All our travel would be considered frivolous spending. I don’t see it that way, because that was a major reason for retiring for us.

 

[Moemg]

After I retired I also needed a fun hobby so I started selling on ebay . I first sold things around the house and then I lucked into a source for women's cocktail dresses . I sold them for eight years on a part time basis . I made a lot of fun money from home in my pj's . I even became a top seller on ebay . One day I just decided to stop doing it but it was fun .

 

[Sunny]

...These can’t be classified as needs - they are wants.
...
I guess I don’t see your distinction.

You want enough to finance a second home?

The home quote was a poor attempt at humor on my part.

The distinction may be in the word frivolous. Defined as "not having any serious purpose or value" in this case...we are not in the habit of spending money with no purpose or on value. However that is at times fun to do, and if it is with money you made doing something fun to get out of the house, great...it is almost like it isn't your money.

If it were me in your photography friends shoes, having to perform their hobby to finance photographic travel, that'd feel like a need over a want as the jobs are something they have to do to get something of value (the travel).

 

[Aerides]

I think it’d be fun to have something you do 0 hours some weeks or 25 hours other weeks when you want to...and pays a bit of money.

I do this by selling handmade jewelry online, mostly on amazon, but it took me several years to get to where I'm truly operating this way. Most of those years were a side hustle while I was still working, and when the effort was probably more consistent (very hard to do zero hours when you're trying to grow).

But now that I've established myself, it really is like that for me.

 

[Sunny]

A lot of ebay suggestions!!!

Another one is paid research.

Interesting. I've signed up with a consumer research group firm that has called a few times, but I've never met the specific requirement. Must not be interesting enough.

 

[Sojourner]

• No special skill set required
• Super flexible, make your own hours and no weekly deadlines
• Preferably gets ya out of the house, but not a requirement
• Hopefully interesting, or interacting with people

Can't think of anything you'd get paid for that meets all these conditions. Driving for Uber or Lyft would be the closest match, probably, but it does require that you know how to drive and own a car that you're willing to open up to the public. Personally, I don't think the small amounts of money I'd earn would be worth the hassle of driving all manner of strangers around town in my personal vehicle.

I do freelance I.T. consulting to earn some fun money. It does require a special skill set, of course, but it checks all the other boxes you listed. The best thing about it is not the money; it's the interaction with new and different people, and the challenge of figuring out how to do (or fix) various things. I imagine that you also have some specialized skills that you could use in a similar fashion, if you were so inclined. What kinds of things did you learn throughout your career that people are in need of and might pay you to do for them?

 

[broadway]

Don't bother going to any conferences (we did, but mostly for the trip en route to vacationing) or joining any professional trade associations you don't need to spend money to make money in MS. The companies you find on MSPA's search https://mspa-americas.org/what-is-mspa/search or listed on the MS forums at https://www.mysteryshopforum.com/companies/ are legitimate companies. The forums are good to search on to see if a certain company may have problem areas (unduly long reports or pay schedules).

It will really depend on your area which companies you can do work for..not all are national. If you live in a bigger city or more populated state you will have more opportunities. Some have long reports requiring verbose answers, others are quick 5 minute reports. You can make more money doing video or audio shops, but they also require a lot of up-front planning, sometimes equipment, and having disposable phone numbers / personas to use that you have to create yourself (although sometimes these are provided). We enjoyed the shops more that were retail in nature, taking photos of stock, or even checking up on if salespeople are doing the pitch correctly. Restaurants are fun but generally ended up you were working for your meal making notes, timing service, etc. so I didn't do many of those.

It can be hard finding out what companies are in your area and which ones you enjoy working for, but once you figure that out you'll be fine. They will all want your SSN or tax number, and send you a 1099, although some require you to make more than $750 with them before sending you the 1099. I've enjoyed doing some high end luxury shops where I am a fish out of water a few times (ex: a non-fashion conscious male going after a high-end purse company's unisex bags, or having to go ask about a boat slip when the lake was frozen over ) but also shops where it paid well, was fun, and even provided a great service (literally, mystery shopped church services)!

And I've broken a bit of a rule in admitting I've shopped, but we don't do it much anymore. Though maybe I'll give it another whirl.

Thank you for the links. Will definitely pay them a visit.

.

 

[RunningBum]

I would say blogging, if you can find a topic interesting enough to get views, and figure out how to get advertisers for it. The topic can easily be something that gets you out of the house and/or talking to people. If it's not a time-sensitive topic you can bank some articles so you can keep a fairly steady stream but be able to take breaks. I have a blog for my running but I haven't been motivated to try to monetize it.

 

[ocean view]

Here is a list a friend shared on FB. He is ALWAYS looking for a quick, easy way to supplement his FT income. A couple are Bay Area specific, but there may be similar opportunities in other cities.

1) Amazon Flex is my favorite. Delivering Amazon packages for a couple hours a week is a great way to see different neighborhoods and houses. https://flex.amazon.com
2) Job Spotter - My wife is hooked. Download the app and take pics of help wanted signs. My wife made $60 last week. https://jobspotter.indeed.com
3) Taste testing- I used to work in Livermore a lot and I found this taste testing place
I would make about $50 for an hour or two each month tasting Spaghetti Oh's or whatever was on the menu that day.
4) Google Tester - This is a new one for me. I have my first one next week. Instead of tasting food in Livermore I test stuff at Google in Mountain View. Pays the same as taste testing. https://userresearch.google.com
Google also has the Google rewards app. Doesn't pay much but it's easy.
5) Scooter Charging - I just signed up to try to charge scooters. They pay $5 to $10 per scooter. Fremont doesn't have a lot of scooters but Oakland and SF do. https://cityformillennials.com/electric-scooter-share-lime-s/

 

[ocean view]

I forgot to add Task Rabbit. IKEA uses this company to assemble furniture for those who don’t/can’t do it themselves.

 

[sengsational]

Clark Howard has a guide on legit work from home deals. He always says you're not going to make much money, and if you find one that claims to pay more than peanuts, it's certainly a scam or at least much harder than it seems