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Aussie who doubled income with side hustles shares secret: ‘$90,000 combined’

Amy Coulston works full-time in administration but has doubled her income through various side hustles.

Tamika Seeto
·Finance Reporter
Updated ·3-min read
Amy Coulston and cans
Amy Coulston shares her side hustles online and said collecting cans was the latest way she was making a bit of extra money. (Source: Supplied/TikTok)

A young Aussie who doubled her income and made $90,000 purely through side hustles has shared the latest way she is making a bit of extra cash. Almost every state and territory in Australia has a scheme that allows you to get a 10 cent refund for every eligible container you return.

Amy Coulston has detailed how she makes money through side hustles online and revealed she recently started collecting cans while on her daily afternoon walk. The 24-year-old found eight containers on a recent five-kilometre walk - cashing in 80 cents.

“I’ve been collecting cans for years and we collected them at my family’s house so it was normal for me to continue that once I moved out,” Coulston told Yahoo Finance.

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This might not seem like much to some, but Coulston said she has made “hundreds of dollars” over the years through the Queensland Containers for Change scheme, which is just one of her many side hustles.

“Since July 2023 I've managed to make over $90,000 with all of my side hustles combined,” she said.

While collecting cans isn’t the most lucrative side hustle the Sunshine Coast resident does, it can be an easy way to earn a bit of extra cash for something you’re already doing.

The average Queensland resident received $200 in refunds last year through the scheme. Since it launched in 2018, 7.4 billion containers have been returned and $740 million has been paid out in the state.

One Aussie called the can collecting idea “brilliant”, while another said it was a “great idea” but encouraged people to wear gloves if they pick up containers from the street.

“We do bottles!! We collect from a few family members as well as my work and my sister's work and we average roughly $100 a month,” one person said.

“We cashed in our cans this week and got $150,” another said, sharing they had been collecting since December last year.

“I was thinking to do this yesterday on my walk... I would of made 80 cents to if I had of picked up from gutter,” another said.

Coulston works full-time in administration and has been able to match her income through working multiple side hustles. She said market research was one of her favourite and most lucrative side hustles.

“Market research is probably one of my favourite ones just because they are the best amount of money that you can get for the time you put in,” she told Yahoo Finance.

“It’s usually $60 an hour just for a video call and telling [businesses] what you think of their website or what you think of their product.

“Mystery shopping is another fun one I've been getting into. Getting paid to go shopping or go and have lunch somewhere is great."

Coulston shared she uses sites like Askable, User Testing, Intellizoom and User Interviews, while for mystery shopping she uses sites like Field Agent, Smart Spotter and Snooper. She also likes doing online surveys and uses sites like Pure Profile, Prime Opinion and Octopus.

“I started doing those first back in uni and are always good to do while I'm sitting around watching TV,” she said.

Almost every state and territory in Australia has container return schemes with refunds of 10 cents for every eligible container.

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