Side hustles: how to calculate what your skills can earn you

Australians are beating the cost of living crunch by taking up flexible second jobs. Here’s what they can pay.

Washing cars can deliver an impressive side hustle income, Airtasker says.

People struggling with Australia’s cost of living surge have two main ways to get extra money – borrow more or earn more.

Option B is a far better option financially, and as loans become more expensive amid rising interest rates, more Australians are boosting their income by using their skills for profit.

This trend has prompted outsourcing marketplace Airtasker to launch a new side hustle calculator to help people understand their earning potential.

Airtasker CEO Tim Fung says one of the company’s “taskers” earned $10,000 in one month assembling trampolines, while another made $17,000 “in just one month assembling sheds in Melbourne backyards”.

A gardening side hustle can potentially deliver an income boost. Picture: iStock

“You can do as many or as little tasks as you like, and scale this up and down based on what your expenses may be that week that you need to cover,” he says.

The Airtasker marketplace has almost 5.2 million members nationally, with an average 22,900 monthly active taskers. Its new calculator provides estimates across 40 industries and shows someone can earn almost $600 a month doing one gardening task a week or $385 a month doing one courier job a week.

Borrowing more money to plug budget gaps can be dangerous.

“Taking out a loan – albeit short-term – means people will have another debt weighing over their shoulders, and with the cost of borrowing money continuing to rise, it’s probably not the added financial pressure Aussies want during this time,” Fung says.

Canstar’s group executive financial services, Steve Mickenbecker, says for some people, belt tightening is not enough to balance the household budget.

“Community groups that deliver emergency food hampers report a dramatic increase in demand, confirming how prevalent the problem is becoming,” he says.

“The temptation for people is to take on debt to cover living essentials. Debt may deal with a short-term problem, but if borrowers can’t cover living expenses nor can they cover the repayments, they are effectively funding the repayments from borrowings not income.

Airtasker CEO Tim Fung said extra work can be scaled up or down. Picture: Supplied

“Unfortunately debt used this way just digs a deeper financial hole.”

Mickenbecker says extra debt should be an “absolute last resort”, and a second job is unlikely to have the same adverse outcome.

“If household income can’t cover the essential costs of living, there is no way it can be stretched to also cover a loan repayment,” he says.

Mickenbecker says people starting side hustles should understand the costs involved and check that their insurance are not affected by any extra work they do or items they share or lend.

Originally published as Side hustles: how to calculate what your skills can earn you