Over the past two years or so, I’ve earned a little over $30,000 doing a bunch of interesting side hustles. The question I often get is how I find the time to do all of these things. For most people, the ability to earn extra money comes down to time – most people work all day, and when combined with other obligations, there are pretty much no hours left in the day to keep working.
However, that hasn’t been the case for me. Even though I work a full-time job, I’ve still found a way to consistently earn extra income every month by incorporating my side hustles into my everyday life. It’s a strategy I call monetizing your life.
The idea behind monetizing your life is pretty simple – take the things you’re already doing and figure out how you can make money doing them. By doing this, you earn extra money without having to use up a lot of your time. In theory, the money you earn from monetizing your life can be used to subsidize your living expenses. It also provides a nice cushion – if I needed to live lean, I could probably survive just from the stuff I’m already doing.
Monetizing your life might seem pretty abstract, so let’s take a look at some of the things I do to get a clearer picture of how it works.
Monetizing My Home – House Hacking
One of the more obvious ways to monetize your life is to monetize your largest and most expensive asset – your house. Rent and mortgage payments form the bulk of most people’s living expenses, but with a little bit of house hacking, it’s possible to subsidize those expenses (and even make some profit too).
The important thing to know is that house hacking doesn’t require you to have any sort of special property. These days, all you really need is some extra space in your house and a willingness to let people into your home.
The absolute easiest way to get started house hacking is to do what my wife and I do – rent out a spare room in your house on Airbnb. I’d wager a guess that a lot of you have a fully furnished guest room that sits empty most of the year. You can use that room to subsidize some or all of your housing expenses.
Indeed, over the past two years, our guest room has generated us over $15,000 (with another $5,000 worth of bookings already made for this year). Since the principle and interest on our mortgage is a little over $800 per month, this means we’re essentially able to live for free just from monetizing a single room in our house.
House hacking in this way benefits from the fact that it’s the least expensive and lowest risk way to start earning some real estate income. We already had a furnished guest room in our house, so it cost us absolutely nothing to get started hosting. Even if we had to buy furniture, it’s something that we would have done anyway. And if we found out that hosting on Airbnb wasn’t for us, we could have just deactivated our listing and been in the same position as we were before.
Where monetizing your home really shines is that it can help you get paid for a household task that we all hate – cleaning your house. Even before I was hosting on Airbnb, I still had to take the time to keep my house clean. These days, I still keep my house clean, which benefits my guests, but also benefits me as well. In a way, it’s like I’m paying myself to keep my own house clean.
Monetizing Dog Ownership – Dog Sitting
It might sound weird to say that you can make money from owning a dog, but it’s true. When you think about it, the real impact of having a dog isn’t the cost – it’s how much they change up your daily routine. Those of you that are dogless can do anything you want, whenever you want. Not so for us dog owners. Every day, without fail, I have to feed my dog, take her out for walks, and do all of the other dog care tasks that come with owning a dog.
If you already have to take care of your dog, starting up a dogsitting business is an easy way to make money off the dog care tasks that you’re already doing. That’s because if you already have one dog, taking care of a second dog doesn’t really add much additional work to your plate.
For the past five years, I’ve been doing just that by dogsitting pups using Rover (think of it like an Airbnb for dogs). This little dog sitting business of mine adds up to a few thousand dollars of extra income per year – more than enough to cover any expenses that Financial Pup might incur. And again, since I’m already taking care of my dog, it doesn’t add any more work to my plate to take care of a second dog too.
Take one of my recent dog-sitting clients I had as an example of how this works (the tiny, miniature pinscher seen below in the pile of blankets). I made about $125 to watch this pup for 6 days. It didn’t require very much extra work on my end since I’m already taking care of my dog, and as a bonus, Financial Pup had a friend to hang out with for the week.
Obviously, whether you can monetize your dog care tasks will depend on your specific circumstances. Not everyone will have a pup with the temperament for this, but if you have a pup that gets along with other pups, dogsitting is an easy way to monetize the dog care tasks that you’re already doing anyway.
Exercise Hacking And Monetizing My Commute – Delivering Food
Another monetizing hack that I’ve been doing for the past several years is something you could call “exercise hacking.” No matter who you are, being active and exercising is something you have to do. If you already have to exercise and stay active, why not figure out a way to get paid to do it too?
That’s where bike deliveries come into play. Anyone who’s into financial independence knows that biking is one of the best things you can do to get around and stay active. For the past several years, I’ve been delivering food on my bike using apps like Postmates, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.
What’s so great about doing food deliveries is that you basically monetize your exercise. Instead of biking randomly, you can instead go off on a little mission, explore your city, and get paid while you do it. And, if you’re delivering food on your bike, you’re taking one more car off the road, which means you’re creating a net gain for society. Someone was going to order their food anyway. If you’re the one delivering their food on your bike, you’re saving the earth and getting some exercise in too.
I also use food deliveries as a way to “monetize my commute.” Like any good personal finance blogger, I bike to work. At the end of most days, I’ll typically turn on my delivery apps and try to find a delivery heading towards my house. This allows me to basically get paid to bike home.
The money you can earn delivering food on your bike adds up over time. I generally pull in between $100 and $300 every month from food deliveries. When you consider that I’m getting exercise and improving my health, the return I’m getting is much more than that.
Monetizing My Lunch Break – Walking Dogs
One last monetizing hack of mine is walking dogs during my lunch break through Wag. When I first signed up for Wag, I didn’t see it as a thing I’d do very often – walking dogs is typically done during the weekday when I’m at work, so it’s not something that I thought would fit into my life very well.
However, I’ve discovered that if you work in a dense area with residential buildings nearby, walking dogs using Wag is a perfect way to essentially monetize your lunch break. Most people need their dogs walked during the noon hour and my office happens to be near a bunch of large apartment buildings. If you’re like most people, you probably tend to go for a walk or stretch your legs during lunch. If you’re going to do that, you might as well get paid while you do it!
For the past six months or so, I’ve been able to regularly walk dogs during my lunch break by using Wag. I typically make between $15 and $20 for a half-hour walk – enough to pay for lunch that day if I wanted to. My dog walking earnings usually add up to an extra $100 or $200 every month – not a ridiculous amount of money, but more than pocket change too. You won’t be able to walk dogs during every lunch break, but it’s not crazy to do it once or twice a week.
That’s extra money going into your pocket, for something that you’re probably already doing anyway.
Monetizing Your Neighborhood – Charging Electric Scooters
If you live in an area with scooters, it might be possible for you to make extra money just by stepping out your front door. In large cities, you’ll often find shared electric scooters from companies like Bird and Lime. These are scooters that anyone can rent by the minute. To keep these scooters charged, many companies rely on independent contractors to collect scooters that are low on battery, charge them up, then put them back out on the street.
I used to be able to do this back when I lived in a neighborhood that had a lot of Bird and Lime scooters. All I did was walk out the front door, grab a few scooters, and bring them back into my house. The next morning, I dropped off these scooters.
On a recent trip to Austin, I did this from the Airbnb I was staying at. There were scooters everywhere, so all I had to do was step outside, collect a few scooters, and charge them up in the apartment I was staying in. I ended up making $200 that week, just by collecting scooters that were sitting outside of the building.
If you’re curious about how scooter charging works, check out this post I wrote about what it’s like being a Bird Charger.
Is Monetizing Your Life For Everyone?
To be fair, monetizing your life really does depend on your life circumstances and where you live. For someone like me – living in a big city, relatively young, and with no kids – doing this works out perfectly. I bring in an extra $1,000 or $2,000 every month just doing the things I’m already doing.
It might not seem like all that much, but remember just how valuable this extra money can be. Earning an extra $1,000 a month is significant. If you wanted to generate that much from your investments, you’d need to have $300,000 saved up. It’s really eye-opening just how valuable monetizing your life can be when you think of it in this way.
It’s up to you to decide if this is a strategy that you want to do. For me, financial independence is something I’m striving for, and the strategy of monetizing my life gets me closer to reaching that goal. Plus, I find it fun, and it adds some adventure into my daily life.
For sure, these aren’t the only ways to monetize your life – I’m just working from my own personal examples. My challenge to you is to take a look at your own life and see if there are things you’re already doing that you can monetize. You might just surprise yourself at what you can do.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the sharing 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 sharing 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 $15 welcome bonus if you open an account.
- Lili Account. Lili is a free online business checking account geared towards freelancers and sole proprietors. Lili is currently offering new users a $100 bonus if you open a free Lili account using a referral link.
- 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 $30 for opening an account.
- Albert. A great free app I use to track my finances and save more money. You can also earn a $75 signup bonus if you open a free Albert cash account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Might as well do it if you enjoy it, and you still have the time. At some point in all of our lives we start running short on time, whether it’s family obligations, job obligations, or simply needing downtime.
It’s definitely fun. Admittedly, monetizing your life is best for young singles or couples with no kids – although I do plan to, at minimum, keep up my dogsitting business even when I have kids. Dogsitting works out really well since it’s not trading time for money at all – especially if you already have a dog.
I like the idea of “monetising” activities that you do anyway. If you enjoy it, why not get paid to do it.
Great article!
Thanks Leon! It’s something I’ve been doing for a while now and its interesting how much it adds up for the things I’m already doing.
Awesome post-Kevin! We always talk about saving money all the time but this time you simply took saving money to the next level. This is income for life!
I’m crazy like this. But most people can do a lot of this stuff – get paid for what you’re doing already!
“Monetize your life.” What a brilliant idea. I hope to go the AirBnB route once we complete Groovy Ranch. What I’d like to do is build and shipping container home and rent it out so people who are interested in tiny living can give it a try. We’ll see. I don’t know if you Mrs. G will go for this idea. Cheers, my friend.
A tiny home on Groovy Ranch would be a great thing to try out – you basically get the best of all worlds. Monetize your space and still keep your privacy too!
I do think that it is entirely possible to side hustle too much. However, when you incorporate it into things you are essentially already doing, that’s just optimizing your day! You’re really inspirational.
I’d like to say we are all over that AirBnB idea, but I’m not sure how pleased anyone would be renting a room next to an infant who doesn’t sleep 😉
Yeah, I know you’ve got a love-hate relationship with the side hustle :). But yeah, one of the reasons I don’t do things like driving for Uber or Lyft (besides the fact that I don’t have a car that I can use), is that it gives me no benefit – it’s literally doing something I wouldn’t otherwise do, in order to make money. If anything, it’s a negative impact, since I’m not only losing time, but also hurting the environment by driving, and hurting my health by sitting in a car. But bike deliveries, that’s me exercising, with no pollution!
Airbnb is something I admit that not everyone can do. It’s best for singles or couples with no kid, and I wonder whether I’ll keep doing Airbnb when I have kids eventually.
This is truly impressive. Such a simple and smart concept.
I’m definitely curious about the logistics of some of your side hustles (e.g. when you walk the dogs at lunch where do you pick them up? Are they all located close to your office?)
I am going to start to think about how I can monetize my life so thank you for the inspiration. I just had a baby so some of your side hustle choices wont work for me but I’m thinking maybe teaching a fitness class or something as this is an activity I already enjoy and engage in.
A fitness class or something is great if that’s something you’re already doing anyway. For dog walking, I only accept walks that are at apartment buildings near my office. So for example, one regular walk I get is for a dog that lives in the apartment building across the street from my office. At lunch, I just walk over there, the owner buzzes me in, and then I use the lockbox to get into their apartment. I walk the dog for half-an-hour, then bring the dog back and replace the key. Easy as pie! I’m a bit worried my dog walking is going to dry up a little because my regular client just moved away to a house that’s too far for me to go walk them.
Once Gwen is here, we might hire you to be our AirBnB consultant 🙂
Great post
Your house is made for Airbnb. You don’t even have to share any space with them since they’ll have their own bathroom.
These are great ideas. We have two extra bedrooms that are unused. Renting at least one would bring in some nice extra money. We also walk our dog a few times per day. It might be a good idea to make a sales pitch to the neighbors about walking their dogs.
Two extra bedrooms!? That’s money sitting unused – at least try renting it out once and see if it’s as weird as you think. If you hate it, then you’re in the exact same position as you are now. Rover also sounds like something you could do as well if you’re already taking care of your own pup.
Airbnb has been nothing but a lifesaver for us. We don’t live for free (well, almost) but it does help knowing that we have other people helping to pay down our mortgage 🙂
Mystery shopping is something I’ve also been doing after work And during lunch. It doesn’t pay the bills but the little pocket money I get is enough to pay for food and a little bit of gas/maintenance money
I’ve done a little mystery shopping too, but might try to add more of it to at least try to get free food. I used ISecretShop recently to go to a restaurant with my wife. I haven’t gotten paid for it yet though, but it says payouts are 30-45 days after completion.
Kevin-
This is awesome. I knew some but not nearly all of these options. We already house hack on AirBnB. My only regret is that we didn’t start sooner. We purchased our apartment 2.5 years ago and were renovating (DIY slowly over time), so we didn’t think our place was up to snuff. So happy that we dove into AirBnB last fall, even without our private guest bathroom being completely renovated. We’ve already made $4000 in just over 5 months!
That’s awesome! 4k in 5 months is some good income from your house!
Love this mindset Kevin! Many people won’t do this for various reasons/excuses, but it’s such a powerful way of thinking to find money making opportunities in every day life. My wife does dog-walking with Rover sometimes, easy money and exercise all in one.
Awesome! I haven’t had any luck with Rover dog walking, but Wag is working out well for me.
Awesome ideas! I do a lot of yard work for people. I enjoy it and get exercise. It is a nice side hustle!
When you add in the cost-benefit of exercising while you’re working, whatever you’re getting paid is worth much more than that.
We make very good money in Rover and as you say it is good for our dog to have friends.
Wag is something I’ll give a try. Sounds like fun.
The delivery on bikes may be worth it too. I did not like driving Uber/Lyft back in the day but exercising and flying by everyone stuck in traffic and getting paid to do it sounds kind fun.
Best thing you wrote is that it would take $300k to generate that much passive income. That is really eye opening that those $100s really add up.
Right – driving for Uber/Lyft is the worst of all worlds. You work all day during the day, then go and sit in your car as a side hustle? The cost of driving, plus the negative impact on your health, in my opinion, makes uber and lyft a negative impact on your wealth (seriously, compare the physical fitness of a bike messenger vs a cab driver). Biking and delivering food is fun – I might be crazy, but if you like biking, this is made for you.
I’ve written in the past about the impact of a small side hustle like these. Figure out a way to make 500 or 1000 in a month, and that’s hundreds of thousands you’d need in your portfolio to do the same. Makes these stupid side hustles I do seem a lot less stupid!
Love the idea behind “monetizing your life”, it’s just a matter of how you view certain activities that you’ll have or want to do anyways, so why not getting paid for it!? Great!!! Thanks for posting this. Matt
Thanks Matt! Glad you liked it!
Love the dog walking strategy. I’ll have to try that one out!
Thanks Kyle! Yeah, it’s been working out for me. Totally never expected this to work out well for someone who works during the day, but it surprisingly fits in with my life.
I have to say the angle you took with this post is super creative. It elevates the topic tenfold. Now, if only I could monetize nap time. I’d be balling!
You monetize nap time with passive income! Save and invest your money, and that’s monetizing your nap time!
Amazing concept to round up your side hustles with.
Shared.
Thank you!
Not sure if bike deliveries are saving the planet. You need to eat extra food for that energy you’re using to power your bike, and growing and transporting that food has an environmental cost. Also not sure if renting a room in your house is risk free, since you could see thieves and axe murders, and I’m not sure if want strangers in the home when I have a young kids. Still, these are some interesting ideas and makes one think of things one could do to add income. Great post.
This response is so ridiculous, I can’t tell if you are being satirical or serious, haha
Lols! Is it true petting dogs can be a source monetization? Well, yup you say it. Was just kidding. It is really interesting to know about the side hustles. I mean, no matter I can make use of them or not, I find them truly interesting.
The 300k statistic really resonated with me. My schedule is pretty full, and I’ve turned down an opportunity like that before. Not sure I would have made the decision so easily if I had considered the cost that way.
Great post!
I think what’s clear is that working on side hustles takes effort. Most people want the money but probably don’t have it in them to actually use their time more efficiently.
That’s definitely true. Most people will spend 5 hours every day watching TV after work. Or, if they took 1 hour a day and made $20 every day, that would come out to $600 per month or $7,200 over the course of a year – all for 1 hour of work per day. Your median income earner in the US is making $50k a year, so just by adding figuring out how to make $20 extra each day, that person could increase their income by 14%. Save that 1 extra hour of work (instead of watching TV or doing something unproductive) for 30 years and you’re looking at $727,000 at the end. For ONE HOUR of work per day…
Thanks for sharing your life hack! This is very inspiring! Surely, my house doesn’t have a guest room that I could rent out to AirBnB, so I might have to think of other side hustles. I have high hopes that I could have one soon…
I just started following your blog for the past few weeks. I have to admit, I was wondering how you’re able to pull off your side hustle. One of my guess is that you live in the big city. Your side hustle earnings are impressive! Keep up the good work!
Thanks! Yes, I live in Minneapolis, which is a big city. Admittedly, I don’t really have a lot of ideas for suburban or rural areas.
Thank you Kevin. I found some good ideas on your blog and have already started using them.
Kevin, I discovered your blog several weeks ago. For higher income earners, the biggest benefit of monetizing their life are the tax deductions. Any chance you’d write a future blog post on the tax benefits of having your own business?
Hey Eric,
Yeah, I can put something together. I’ll put it on my list for the future!
I just discovered your blog. I love it. I graduated law school 20 years ago and want to aggressively save for my child’s college fund. Side gigs fit the bill since I have a 8-6 M-F job. I prefer to find remote work from my home vs driving my car so much. Thanks for your great ideas !!
Hey Lisa! Welcome to the blog! Glad you find it helpful.
I like the idea of walking dogs on my lunch break!
I never thought of that. When I was working from the office, I used to take a walk on pretty much every lunch break anyway. Might as well walk someone else’s dog at the same time… Brilliant!
How do you manage the schedule though? You mention that you can’t do that every day, so how do that work out for the dog owners? Don’t they need someone who can walk their dogs reliably every day, or at least always on specific days of the week? Would love more details on this one.
Cheers!
Wag is an on-demand app, so you’re not on the hook to do it every day. You just grab them when they come up and you can do them. Otherwise someone else grabs it.