Brits set up side hustles - from selling old clothes online to blogging

01 March 2023 , 15:49

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More than one in five earn money through social media 'influencing' (Image: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

Are you financially comfortable, or considering a side hustle to make ends meet? Take this quiz to find out if you should be considering a second job – or donating a bit of your spare cash to others.

It comes as research of 2,000 adults found 55% feel they need another job in order to feel comfortable with their funds.

The second-job culture seems to be on the rise due to the current economic climate – with 51% admitting they are considering finding additional work to make ends meet.

And 46% already have some sort of side hustle, with 20% doing so to cash in on a hobby or skill.

A spokesman for research agency OnePoll.com, which commissioned the study and quiz, said: “Everyone could do with having a bit more money in their pocket.

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“If you already have a talent you can parlay into something which will make money, that’s great – but many people struggle to find what that might be.

“On the other hand, it’s not unusual to stumble into a lucrative side hustle – you may walk someone’s dog as a favour one day, and then end up turning it into a small business.”

The study also found 36% of those who have started a side hustle did so because they were worried about rising energy prices.

But one in four (26%) like to have extra cash they can put aside as “fun money”, separate from their usual salary.

Another 13% are feeling a lack of security in their current day job, and want to have a backup in case the worst happens.

And 44% also believe if they didn’t have this extra income on a regular basis, they would have issues paying their bills.

Side hustlers’ top gigs include selling old clothes on sites like Vinted (34%), making money through “influencing” on social media (22%) – and drawing pictures of people’s pets (14%).

More than one in ten (12%) have put their handy skills to use doing DIY for other people, and the same amount are even being paid for putting together flat-pack furniture.

Brits set up side hustles - from selling old clothes online to blogging

And a third sell old clothes online, through sites like Vinted (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

It also emerged four in ten respondents with a side hustle think their little earner could one day turn into their full-time occupation.

But at present, the average take-home from a side hustle each month comes to just £289 – although 4% claim to earn more than £1,000.

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This comes from, on average, 10 hours and 39 minutes spent on these endeavours each month – just over two-and-a-half hours a week.

And the financial tipping point a side hustle needs to reach, to realistically become a full-time monthly wage, was deemed to be £1,955.

Online survey agency OnePoll.com’s spokesman added: “Sadly, for many, it seems a side hustle isn’t just something they do on the side anymore.

“It’s something they need to keep up, in order to stay the pace of rapidly increasing costs of living, from energy to food costs.

“When something becomes a job you need to do, rather than something you love, is when the magic can disappear – but if it’s what you have to do to keep a roof over your head, that’s what will happen.”

TOP 30 UK SIDE HUSTLES: