No Debt Side Hustles 

Low or $0 Down Side Hustles

Invest, Budget and Save, and when you have done these it's healthy to look into working on a side hustle. Find something you're good at, and something you find interesting. 

This can be buying and reselling on Ebay. Starting a YouTube channel, lawn maintenance, blogging, etc. Anything that you can start with little or no money. There should be no reason you need to take out a loan to make extra side income.

Start small, make your first sale, and grow from here. Many successful businesses start from a side hustle out of a garage. This is organic growth and definitely less stressful than getting into something big right away like a franchise.

A side hustle may over time even turn into a passive investment for you! It will not have to be something you need to put in your time day to day.  

For example, you may receive income on YouTube from your older videos even though you are no longer investing as much time to produce new content. Or learn to generate royalties from a book you published!

I have found a handful of noteworthy side hustles that I believe almost anyone can start. They don't require any specialized skills or knowledge but of course they require your effort to start and keep running.

Churn Account Bonuses 

What is churning account bonuses? Churning is the practice of opening new savings, checking, or brokerage accounts to earn a few extra dollars. You won't become rich doing this, but you might be able to earn a couple hundred dollars per month.

Do a simple google search to get a list of available savings or checking accounts that offer bonuses for new account members. Or find a website that specializes in providing information about current bank promotions.

These can range from $100-$500. The hardest part about receiving the bonus is meeting the eligibility requirements.

Pay attention to the fine print, such as maintaining a minimum balance, direct deposit requirements, minimum number of transactions per month, monthly account fees, etc. After a few new accounts you will probably get a hang of what it takes to meet all the requirements.

It is helpful to have an online spreadsheet so that you are organized. Keep track of things like when you opened the account, your login information, account and routing numbers, and especially the terms of the bonus.

Often savings accounts will give higher bonuses for larger opening deposits. For example, just opening an account may give you a bonus of $200 but opening an account and funding it with $20,000 may give you a bonus of $500.

To turn you need to open multiple accounts that offer good bonuses. This takes work because you will need to keep track of the account you are using as your main account to pay your bills, and you will need to keep track of any other requirements to receive the bonus.

This is much easier to accomplish if your employer has an online website that allows you to easily change your direct deposit information, since most of these bonuses require at least an initial direct deposit. When you have met all the terms and received the bonus remember to withdraw/transfer your funds and close out the account. 

But overall this is a fairly easy way to earn extra income, you don't need to resell products and it does not require a high level of skill. The best part is it can be done from your home which means you are keeping your operating costs low!

I have personally been doing this since the beginning of this year and have been paid approximately $1,000, with another $700 that I am waiting to be paid (I have already met the terms).

Become a Blogger

Writing either for your own blog or for someone else can be a $0 investment start up. Putting in time and writing a couple of articles a week on a topic you are knowledgeable in probably won't make you rich but will help financially.

AdSense revenue as well as Affiliate marketing are the two well-known paths to make an income from traffic on your page and from your audience. Usually over time, the bigger audience you build, the more income you generate.

Writing can also be a good way to improve your own understanding of a topic since it can motivate you to do more research on a topic you are interested in. 

And teaching others is one of the best-known methods of reinforcing your skills in a specific subject area. It's tough to forget something you know if you are constantly thinking and analyzing about your subject matter!

Become a YouTuber 

Creating video-based content can also be very lucrative. And many Youtubers are even known to show their income to their listening community. The numbers can help you get a better understanding of what you are getting yourself into.

The key is to keep putting out content that you find yourself well versed in as well as personally interested in. If you find the subject interesting, there is probably a large enough market/audience that has similar interests as yours and would like to either learn more or be entertained.  You don't have to be very entertaining or loud to do well. Informative and educational content is also in high demand. 

But it is important to understand that neither accuracy or facts are necessary to building a large audience. Sadly, in this day and age people take too much advice from the wrong channels. Staying honest and not promoting services/products that you know are not beneficial can help build a more mature and self-aware audience that is there to learn for the long run.

Neither fancy camera nor equipment is necessary to do well. Many of the top Youtubers do well with simple videos and no fancy editing and no crews helping out.

Self-Publish a Book

Writing to inform or entertain can also be a path to building multiple streams of income. Even if you don't think you are the biggest expert on a topic, this shouldn't stop you from pursuing things.

Practice makes perfect as they say, so start small, maybe with publishing something more concise. Getting your work out in the market by self-publishing on Amazon can be a good start when building your career.

Don't forget that there is a good chance your first book might not be a complete success. Keep writing and publishing to improve your speed and quality. Consistency will help improve your understanding of what makes good writing.

Over time by building a portfolio of books you will be able to keep your readers coming back to you if you bring value either through entertainment or educational content. And instead of 1 book you will have a portfolio generating income.

Tutor

When thinking about Tutoring, think about your audience. Do you want to teach middle school, high school or college level courses?

Also, it's best to specialize. You are probably not an expert in all subjects, so stick to what you are good at. If you are good at Math, and that is what you can help others learn, advertise that your specialty is for example high school level Math courses.

Stay organized by preparing ahead of each appointment and make your students comfortable with you and the environment. Find a quiet place like a library that is suitable for learning and teaching.

It's important to learn each student's unique needs. Figure out where the student is struggling based on questions you ask them and past scores.Ask to see past exams and assignments they completed. You need to understand where the student fell behind so that you can figure out what to teach.

Remember that you are probably not a volunteer. You are here to make a living, so charge according to your skills. The more complex and in demand the subject is, the more you can ask for. Your rate will ultimately depend on how well you can sell your services and how much of a help you are. Remember not everyone that is good at a subject is also a good teacher.

Your goal should be to provide the best customer service you can, the proof is higher grades. When your students improve their performance, you are well positioned to have return customers and to get your name out there in the community.

Airbnb/VRBO 

Thinking about getting into real estate? Why not start small and use what you already have. If you have a finished basement or room that you don't need and want to get into the rental space, it's fairly straightforward to get started.

Platforms like Airbnb and VRBO allow for short term rentals, and these have the potential to generate more than from a long-term tenant. A standard apartment may have a difficult time creating the same income.  

However, there is no guarantee that short term rentals are more lucrative. They can in fact be less profitable than long term rentals, and there are of course many factors at play when it comes to how profitable any business is.

Just remember that managing a space through Airbnb is usually more work than being a regular landlord. The space also needs to be cleaned all the time, and this line of work is more customer service based. 

Also, don't forget about location If you want your work to be worthwhile. Unless you are renting out a cabin on the lake, make sure your property is located close or inside the city or near other major attractions. 

Also, it's important to keep in mind that your monthly income may be more cyclical than traditional renting. This is especially true in tourist hot spots where vacation rentals are common.

Remember that your property also needs to be remodeled and with good amenities. It's best not to rent out an outdated space as your guests usually are looking for a comfortable space instead of the cheapest place. To get a good idea of what works in your market look at other listings.

This is not a hands-off business, but it's possible to automate it by letting a co-host help you manage the property. However, there is no free cake, and this is going to cost you. 

In my opinion, paying a property manager when you are just starting out may not be worth it. It can be beneficial to learn all or most aspects of the business yourself first. This will help you in improving your business skills, and if you manage things well you will reduce your operating expenses.

Take Action and Focus

The most important thing is not knowledge but action, knowledge is only maybe 20% of success, the other 80% is being active in your trade.

Start with whatever side hustle you think you have an advantage in. The advantage can be because of experiences you have had, your educational background, family background, financial position, etc.

Stay consistent and expect gradual growth. Don't expect to make a small fortune in the first few months or even years of operation. It takes time to establish a successful side hustle. You can personally define what success means to you.

But it takes even more time to scale a part time into a full-time business. Though even a small income stream that brings in a few hundred extra per month can be very rewarding and it will affirm your ability to be productive.

Let's take a look at some very basic financial figures so that we can better understand what we can achieve from a financial perspective. For example, an extra $300 monthly profit generates an extra $3600 in one year. 

That's an extra $36,000 of cash in 10 years! Another way to look at it is getting approximately a $2 raise per hour from your regular W2 job! 

Income in addition to your hourly or salaried pay is even more significant when you consider that this extra money can be invested to generate even larger returns!If you were to invest the $300 profit every month for 10 years at a 10% before tax/inflation return that equates to approximately a $60,000 balance in 10 years! 

As we can see a small side hustle can generate a very large account balance in the long run. It's important to not just spend all of the extra income. Spend some if you want to reward yourself but save and invest the rest! Good Luck in your journey!