Summary
A woman claims to rake in an average of £2,000 every month through her various lucrative side hustles, which include cat sitting, filling in online surveys, and mystery shopping
Many people will take on a 'side hustle' alongside their regular work for a bit of extra cash, and for one woman this has proven very lucrative indeed.
A woman claims to rake in an average of £2,000 every month through her various lucrative side hustles, which include cat sitting, filling in online surveys, and mystery shopping
Many people will take on a 'side hustle' alongside their regular work for a bit of extra cash, and for one woman this has proven very lucrative indeed.
Gemma, 33, claims to bring in average earnings of £2,000 per month from her side hustles alone, which include taking online surveys, mystery shopping, and cat sitting.
Having always worked minimum wage jobs, Gemma, who lives in York, has always been frugal. In 2014, she decided she wanted to be her own boss, and so started up her own crafts business, Gembobs Crafts.
In order to supplement her salary, Gemma started thinking up ways to get additional sources of income, kicking things off by doing mystery shopping excursions and online surveys for a small fee each time.
With the help of other money-saving bloggers, Gemma went on to build up an established network of various 'side hustles' which she says help top up what she makes from selling handmade crafts.
Image: Jam Press/@helpsavemoney) Jam Press/@helpsavemoney) Image: Jam Press/@helpsavemoney) Jam Press/@helpsavemoney)
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Gemma said: “My crafts don't make me much money – I have been doing this as a hobby and job for years and have come to realise it's not going to make me lots of money.
“I started looking at different ways to make a side income and I taught myself whatever I could. My normal income is way, way less than my side hustles.
"[I spend] most of my time on them – applying for things such as market research, doing surveys, out and about mystery shopping, and listing things on eBay."
Image: Jam Press/@helpsavemoney) Jam Press/@helpsavemoney)
She continued: “I live alone and what makes me feel good is being productive and active. Doing these things really helps me mentally as I have struggled massively with this in the past. Full-time work and being restricted doesn’t work for me so I have created something that does.
“It allows me to be flexible and I learn so much from the variation. I have grown in confidence as I am regularly doing things out of my comfort zone – especially mystery shopping – and I do things you normally wouldn’t do.
“I get lots of exciting freebies and talk to people from all over the word via Zoom. I get far too bored in normal jobs.”
Nowadays, savvy Gemma also now partakes in focus groups and cat sitting, with estimated combined monthly earnings of £1,000.
This cash is in addition to her £400 per month mystery shopping takings, and online surveys, which make her an extra £100 a month, plus other online-based hustles.
Altogether, her combined side endeavours add up to a total of £2,000, rising to £2,5000 some months, all on top of profits from Gembobs Crafts.
Gemma, who shares advice and tips via her Instagram account, @helpsavemoney, said: “Instagram has helped massively and I keep learning new ways to make money – such as testing websites, referrals, animal sitting, survey apps, mystery shopping, estate agency, focus groups, market research, blogging, selling digital products and more.”
Have you found yourself a lucrative side hustle? We pay for stories. Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
