Photo credit

Side hustles come in a whole array of shapes and sizes, whether they’re built into your normal routines and habits, more of a side project or hobby, or even your main or sole income. Here are a few tips to help you save up some extra cash.

If you live in a major city, you might want to consider getting your place on AirBnB as a means of making additional income. If you intend on being out of the city for a few weeks, try posting your apartment online and offering it as accommodation for tourists. If you live in a busy area or are close to public transport you can likely make a tidy profit while you travel.

Travel plans immediately call up visions of a dwindling account balance, but with the proper planning you will find that it is not nearly so expensive and you can still manage to fit in some travel while sticking to a budget. It’s worth looking into the transport networks in the countries you’re travelling through, because there are differences between countries. In Germany for example, the train system may be world-renowned for its incredible efficiency, but bus travel is actually significantly cheaper and with travel search site GoEuro, optimised for this market, there is a possibility to find good transport options.

This sort of planning can also extend to other aspects of your life. When you book a hotel room, you may make sure to check all of the different price points offered by websites like Booking.com but it’s sometimes easy to forget that these sorts of things exist for everyday purchases as well. Shopping in bulk and shopping online will certainly help stretch your dollar, so be sure to look into the possibility of buying certain items in large quantities.

Look into your local flea markets and secondhand shops to see if you can purchase any of your needs used. Flea markets aren’t only for old books and clothing (though these can be great bargains), many people are looking to get rid of old appliances and furniture as well. Furnishing a new apartment? The second hand shop is the best place to start. Pick up a 20$ couch and look into a few Do-It-Yourself blogs for ways to fix it up. DIY blogs are another great means of saving money in the home. Why buy something new at full price when you can make it at home for half the cost?

Elance is a website that advertizes freelancing opportunities. It allows you to create a profile showing your qualifications, as well as submit a job-specific work sample for each posting. Are you really into web design? Has writing always been a hobby of yours? Build a profile and you may find that you can make that hobby into a full-time career.