The Side Hustle for Extra Money
By: Kevin Doyle
Tags: Saving Money, How To, Money

The Side Hustle for Extra Money

There is one cry in the prepping community that sounds above the rest. In this world of manic convenience, we spend our money, mostly, before it even arrives in our bank account. This leads many people to the strange conclusion that they do not have the money to prep.

In most cases these people are holding onto some paid convenience that could be cut away to free up some funding for preps.

Now, that is not the answer for everyone. There is another way.

It’s a way that you can have the best of both worlds but, you are going to have to work for it. Yes, I am talking about a side hustle. However, this is not so you can go out to eat at nice restaurants. This side hustle is so you can afford to stay on the prepared path.

The beautiful thing about all this is that you only need a little extra money to make a big difference in the world of preparedness.

The Simple Side Hustle

Most people are already making money. They have some sort of profession and means to take advantage of that profession and make a, somewhat, livable income. In other words, they have a skill that holds some value.

No matter how meager that value, you can use that skill to pick up a side hustle. Even a simple cashier can make extra money by picking up more shifts or part time work as a cashier at another location.

While you are considering your side hustle, I want you to remember that there is no shame in a hard day’s work and the pay that comes with it. In other words, you might sell insurance during the day and make a good living but picking up a couple nights a week washing dishes or waiting tables is no reason to feel bad.

Many people don’t pursue a small, simple side hustle because their ego is too big. They cannot imagine leaving their high paying job for the day and doing menial job 16 hours a week to make extra cash for prepping. Again, no shame in making extra cash, if it’s legal.

Here are some examples of simple side hustles that anyone can take on.

Retail

Food Service Jobs

Sales

Dog Walking

Tradesman Help

Personal Assistance

Customer Services

All these jobs have tremendous turnover and employers are almost always looking for reliable people who can get the job done. If you are already that kind of worker, you should be able to swoop down into one of these positions part time.

You might even improve the work environment in the location.

Hyper Efficient Prepper Side Hustles

While having a simple side hustle is good and it will produce money for your preps, there are ways to optimize that. Let’s talk about a simple example. I guess you could call it force multiplication.

You can make a lot of money selling small, handmade, blacksmith metal pieces and decorations. You can even make things like knives from simple railroad spikes. Something as simple as a hook that can be hung on a wall can go for between $5–10. Hand forged and with a high quality design you can get top dollar for these items.

Now blacksmithing is a unique side hustle that allows you to practice a skill that is pertinent to self-reliance and prepping while making money doing it!

Many women take advantage of a similar confluence through knitting and crocheting.

You should investigate your own life and find what types of side hustles you could engage in that would both help you make a little extra money and improve your preparedness skills. Here are some other examples of hyper efficient prepper side hustles.

Firewood Cutting

Home Repairman

Pest Removal

Farming

Livestock and Meat Production

Small Survival Group Instruction

Refurbishing Things

How to Spend Your Extra Money

After having earned money from your side hustle you come to the point where you have to decide on how to use it. It might be exciting to use that stowed away money to buy an expensive piece of gear. Maybe you are eying up a Leopold scope for your firearm.

Maybe you think about a new high speed backpack that looks tactiCOOL and has more storage space than your current one.

It might be worth considering the boring basics first.

Food is a universal preparedness item. Naturally, it can be used to feed yourself and your family. It can be used to feed others. It can be used to barter with, and it can be used to negotiate positions of power. If you have the food, you make the rules.

A 50lb bag of rice is going to run you $20 at Sam’s Club. If you can bucket that up with mylar bags and oxygen absorbers, you are going to be creating your own long term food storage and saving money off pre packaged versions.

Another great item to spend that side hustle money on is skill training. You can attend some great classes for a couple hundred dollars and get real, hands on prepping and survival experience. That can go a long way. You will quickly find that hands on survival is much different compared to YouTube survival.

Conclusion

The reality is that most preppers are not as hard up for cash as they might think. Most of the time some simple lifestyle changes can make a huge difference.

Even if that’s not the case, you can add extra money to the coffers if you are willing to go and get it. If you can work hard you will always have money. If you don’t wanna work than you will likely never have money.

Get your ego in check and hop into a side hustle to take your prepping to the next level!