With busy schedules and little free time, finding room to make a little extra money is really challenging. Here are some ways we make some extra cash outside of our full-time jobs.
Nanny
This is definitely an Emily thing. I’ve been doing this for years and got started when I moved to Des Moines by using Sittercity and Care.com to meet families. After a few good experiences and letting other people in the community know I’m open to more opportunities, I have a few consistent families I’ll stay with during the weeks while their parents travel for work/pleasure. I’ve gotten to know the kids really well and it’s always such a treat to spend time playing Monopoly, watching Jurassic Park, and talking about things only 6th-grade-Emily remembers.
Teach Yoga
I didn’t go into my 200-hour teacher training hoping to make the big bucks and become a full-time yoga instructor. I really wanted to understand alignment and the benefits and after five short (intense) weeks, I got the courage to audition at the yoga studio I had been a student at for over a year in Des Moines. I teach about 2-3 times a week, mostly on the weekends and subbing as often as I can since so many people have helped me out in the past!
Beer Sampling
Zach is sampling beer at our local grocery store, which is a great opportunity for him since he is such a beer lover. He has the flexibility to choose his hours and days of the week, so long as the traffic in the store is reasonable. He’s only done it for a few short weeks, but has enjoyed meeting tons of different people (and doesn’t have to “sell” the product because who doesn’t want free beer?!).
Beautycounter Consulting
I started selling Beautycounter almost three months ago after I fell in love with the products and their commitment to using safe ingredients that make my skin feel nourished and healthy! I host socials, meet one-on-one with women, pass around samples of the products, and simply educate people on using healthy skincare products.
Consigning & Selling Unused Items
This isn’t a recurring thing, but I have been good about cleaning out the closet (the other closet, the drawers, under the bed) after a really intense weekend read of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It took an entire afternoon in the bedroom alone, with some of my most valuable possessions, so I made sure to take them in to potentially consign. Taking the extra step to do this instead of just dropping them off at Goodwill was a great decision based on this trip, although I definitely see the value of bringing items to places like Goodwill since it goes into job training programs.