Yahoo Finance Mum writing eulogies and a miner organising photos: ‘Obscure’ side hustles netting $4k/month
Looking to earn some extra cash? Here’s how three Aussies from across the country are boosting their incomes.
From organising photos to writing eulogies, there are a ton of interesting and “obscure” side hustles that Aussies are picking up to help supplement their income.
To give you an idea of the wide range of money-making tasks on offer, Yahoo Finance spoke to three Aussies about how they are earning extra cash.
All three Aussies were winners in this year’s Airtasker annual Top Tasker Awards, which are based on user ratings and reviews.
Alison: Photo organiser
Perth mum Alison Hedley has a side hustle organising people’s photos and says this helps supplement her part-time job in mining.
Alison earns an extra $1,000 a month through the gigs and says the cash is helping her cope with increased everyday costs.
Along with organising photos, Alison helps people create photo books, digitise their photos and organise their digital photo folders.
“People take so many more photos now and, without backing up correctly and organising, they could easily be lost forever,” she told Yahoo Finance.
“I feel that people are either time-poor, overwhelmed or do not know where to start … I love assisting people to create memories to preserve their photos for future generations.”
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Brittany: Writing eulogies
Single mum Brittany Davidson is providing for her son by doing everything from writing eulogies and proofreading documents, through to cleaning and grocery shopping for people.
The 27-year-old joined Airtasker shortly after the birth of her son in 2018 and said the flexibility of the work meant she was also able to be a carer for her grandmother, who has a disability.
“I tailor my work around all of my other commitments as a single parent, a carer and somebody who likes to volunteer,” Brittany told Yahoo Finance.
The Canberra mum tries to do at least two jobs per week, but is able to work much more when she wants and can earn more than $1,000 per week. She uses the cash for her everyday expenses and savings.
Kim: Seamstress
Full-time safety administrator Kim Wilson has a side hustle as a seamstress, helping people with clothes alterations, along with making and hemming curtains and making cushions.
“I have been a home sewer since I was a kid and, over the years, [I’ve] made clothes, did some quilting and also made bags for a market stall,” Kim told Yahoo Finance. “So, when I started seeing the sewing jobs pop up, I realised that I was capable of taking on those kinds of jobs.”
The Hobart resident is earning about $300 a month through the side hustle and does about half a dozen jobs each month. She says the extra cash is helping to cover her mortgage repayments, which have gone up by about $500 per month.
“Last year, I had a massive vet bill from a sick cat,” Kim said. “By earning additional income, I was able to pay [it] off. Now, the goal is to try and save some money as well as pay down my mortgage.”
Aussies making money in ‘obscure ways’
Airtasker founder and CEO Tim Fung said the Australian labour force had become “more fragmented and flexible than ever before”.
“[This is] enabling people to use their passion and skills to earn a steady income that wasn’t thought possible in the past,” Fung said.
“People are making money in obscure ways, as we witnessed during the rental crisis as people paid others to carry out rental inspections on their behalf to increase their chances of securing a property to lease.”
The unemployment rate rose to 4.1 per cent in January, with 600,600 people unemployed. And the labour market is expected to deteriorate further in the next year, with the Reserve Bank forecasting a peak of 4.4 per cent.
More than 955,000 Aussies - or about 6.6 per cent of all workers - currently have multiple jobs on the go, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Nearly 8 per cent of employed women hold multiple jobs, compared to 5.6 per cent of employed men.
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