9 side hustles and how to fill the benefits gap

Are you looking to earn additional income? Whether you need to supplement your income due to rising costs, want to boost your savings or have recently lost a full-time job, side hustles have become an increasingly common option.

Here are nine side hustles that can pay well plus ways you can fill the benefits gap typically met by full-time employment.

• Participate in consumer focus groups or paid research studies. Giving your feedback about products and services, as well as sharing your experiences, can pay off. Various industries need participants for market research and data, from entertainment-based focus groups to medical studies. Services like Find Focus Groups and User Interviews can help.
• Create a blog or newsletter or write website content for others. Have a passion for niche topics and a knack for writing? You can make money blogging through affiliate links to partner sites and ads, or even through subscription platforms like Medium or Substack, while content writing for businesses can also help you earn money.
• Consider freelancing or tutoring. Have skill sets that others can benefit from? Whether you excel in marketing, coding or other specialties, look for ways you can freelance your talent and get paid. If you love teaching, you can even help others learn those same skills through tutoring platforms like TutorOcean, Learn To Be and more.
• Resell used or vintage goods. Retail platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and eBay offer a means to make money by selling unique finds, from furniture and books to vintage records and novelty gifts.
• Get paid to translate or transcribe audio/video content into text. Can you speak Spanish, French or another language? Translation agencies, along with freelance platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr, regularly post jobs for translating documents and audio/video content. Rates may vary based on your experience and fluency.
• Sign up for online surveys and website or app testing. From Google Opinion Rewards surveys to UserTesting, your time and opinion can get you paid in the form of credits, gift cards and more. You’ll want to keep an eye on the type of personal data that is being asked for, however, and stay away from sites that ask for your Social Security, bank account or driver’s license information.
• Become a rideshare driver or deliver packages and groceries. If you have a safe driving record, reliable transportation and a GPS, you can navigate your way into becoming a rideshare driver for services like Uber and Lyft or even delivering groceries for Instacart and packages for Amazon Flex.
• Host your living space through a vacation marketplace. Hosting your living space for travelers through sites like Airbnb, Vrbo and Agoda offer plenty of opportunities to grow your passive income. You’ll want to set aside funds for keeping up with cleaning, maintenance and home goods, however, in addition to service fees.
• Join a freelance labor marketplace as a gig worker. From furniture assembly, moving and cleaning services to dog walking, labor marketplaces like Taskrabbit and Angi can help you help others and get paid in the process.

Filling the benefits gap

Now that you’ve identified potential side hustles, how can you fill the benefits gap? Below are options that can help you save toward retirement and invest in your well-being:

• Retirement — If you don’t have an employer-sponsored 401(k), you can explore opening and contributing to an IRA, including a traditional, Roth or SEP IRA, or an owner-only 401(k).
• Health insurance — If you have a spouse or partner, you may be able to join their health insurance plan if you don’t have your own. Alternatively, you can explore extending recently lost employer health insurance through COBRA, enrolling in a health insurance Marketplace plan if you qualify for a special enrollment period or determining if you’re eligible for Medicaid.
• Life insurance — If you find yourself without employer life insurance, you can apply for an affordable life insurance policy.

How Edward Jones can help

As you explore additional income opportunities and benefits, now may be the right time to evaluate your retirement and savings strategy with an  Edward Jones financial advisor.