You don’t need to create any goals when it comes to figuring out ways to earn more money. If you want to earn extra income and can do so in a way that you enjoy, then that’s great! Any amount – no matter how big or small – can help you with whatever financial goals you might have.Â
That being said, it can be helpful to create targets for yourself. For years, I’ve had sort of an unofficial goal of earning at least $1,000 per month from my various side hustles.
It’s an admittedly arbitrary number, but there’s some rationale to it too. Most obviously, it’s a nice round number that’s easy to wrap your head around. But I think it’s also a good target because it’s both a fairly audacious goal, yet also a completely realistic one that many people can achieve.
Here’s what I mean by it.
An Audacious GoalÂ
Depending on your situation, making an extra $1,000 per month can seem like an audacious goal. After all, when you’re busy with other life obligations – work, family, etc – it can often be difficult to create time to earn extra income, let alone create what amounts to fairly significant extra income.Â
Indeed, $1,000 per month is a pretty big sum. That’s $12,000 per year of extra income – enough to fully fund two Roth IRAs. It’s even more when you think about what an extra $1,000 per month can mean to many people. The median household income in the US is currently around $68,000 per year. If you can add another $12,000 per year of extra income, you’ve now increased your annual income by over 17%. Most people aren’t getting 17% raises in a year, so it’s significant when you can add another $1,000 per month to your bottom line.
And an extra $1,000 per month has value even if you’re earning an above-average income. Take the example of someone earning $100,000 per year. A person earning that much that can figure out a way to earn an extra $1,000 per month can increase their yearly income by 12%. Even a person earning $200,000 per year can increase their income by 6% just by figuring out ways to reach this $1,000 per month goal.
The value of earning an extra $1,000 per month over the long term is significant as well. If you’re able to invest all of the extra income you make in low-cost, index funds, this is what you’ll have if you assume a reasonable 7% average annual rate of return:
- $177,000 after 10 years
- $526,000 after 20 years
- $1,212,000 after 30 yearsÂ
That’s pretty extraordinary. If you start early enough, you can literally become a millionaire solely from the extra income you earn every month.
Of course, it’s a lot to ask someone to figure out a way to make an extra $1,000 per month out of thin air, let alone do it for years or decades. But here’s the interesting thing. It’s totally achievable for most people.
Completely AchievableÂ
To many people, figuring out a way to earn an extra $1,000 per month might seem unrealistic. Whenever I think about bigger numbers, I always think it helps to break these numbers down into smaller chunks. So, instead of thinking in terms of making an extra $1,000 per month, you can instead think of it in terms of what you need to earn per day to hit this goal.
Here’s how it breaks down:Â
- $1,000 per month = $12,000 per year
- $12,000 per year = $32.87 per day
Making $32 or $33 per day seems much more realistic and achievable compared to a larger number like $1,000 per month or $12,000 per year. Imagine what it would take you to do that. If you can earn $32 or $33 per hour doing anything, then all you have to do is work 1 hour per day to hit that $1,000 per month goal. As busy as most of us are, I can almost guarantee that you have an hour that you can spare each day.Â
Spending an hour per day earning some sort of extra income is the way I tend to approach my day-to-day life. Most days, I can easily earn $30 or $40 in an hour by taking advantage of gig economy apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats. When you combine that with the more passive things I do to earn extra income, such as taking advantage of bank bonuses or using 5% interest savings accounts to get a better return on my cash, you can see just how easy it can be to earn an extra $1,000 in a month.Â
Maybe all of this gig economy stuff isn’t for you or the other schemes that I talk about don’t fit into the way you want to live. That’s totally fine too. What else can you do? It’s a huge world out there. With our phones and the internet, I can promise you that there are ways for you to make that extra $32 or $33 in a day. You just have to figure out what works best for you.Â
Final ThoughtsÂ
Making an extra $1,000 per month is a good goal for most people. It’s just out there enough to be slightly crazy – or audacious, as I’ve put it. But at the same time, it’s realistic enough that most people really can do this.Â
I’ve figured out my system to pull this off. For me, it comes down to integrating different gig economy apps into my day-to-day life to earn extra income. By doing this, I’m usually able to combine two things at once – getting paid while I’m off completing some other task too.
There are a million ways out there for you to make your extra $32 or $33 per day. Do what works for you. You may be surprised at how achievable an extra $1,000 per month can be. And it may surprise you just how valuable that extra money can be too.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- GO2Bank ($100) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $100 referral bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($750) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fifth Third Bank ($225) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $750 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Great point. It probably doesn’t even matter what the goal is, what matters is just having the goal in the first place. Without it, it’s just easier to spend an extra hour a day watching TV or perusing social media, especially if the alternative is “only” $30 or so. But it’s powerful to see how it can add up!
The way I see it, if you find something you enjoy doing and it makes you some extra income, you’re already in a great position!