Use these easy side hustle ideas to turn your downtime into income

An extended version of this Sorted story appears in the Autumn 2025 issue of Fashion Quarterly.

Taking on a side hustle makes a lot of sense for your finances while the high cost of living continues. If you have some time and energy to spend on a second gig, the extra money you make can fast-track your savings to reach a goal or dial down debt. Diversifying your income stream also helps reduce the risk of relying on a single employer and can be a way to get paid for something you like doing anyway.

A side hustle might be for you if you like the sound of that and this:  

Profitable side hustles may be available within your network

It’s surprising how energy (and money) flows where attention goes – you’ll probably find one thing leads to another. You’re already part of a network with big opportunity energy, so get the ball rolling by: 

• Telling your friends and family that you’re looking for extra work so they can put their feelers out for one-off or local gigs.
• Sussing out what help might be needed in your area, searching for work-from-home roles on job-seeking sites, or selling your skills further afield via an online freelance platform like Fiverr and Upwork that connects you with international employers.

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland communications manager Moumita Das Roy’s creative side hustle came about through her LinkedIn network. “When I moved to New Zealand five years ago, all I heard when was looking for work was that I didn’t have any Kiwi experience. Barely anyone wanted to give me a chance, even though I had international brands on my CV, so I started sharing my previous experiences, travels and ‘new Kiwi’ experiences on LinkedIn.

“The journey of creating my Kiwi identity started resonating with people; first it was ‘Thank you for saying what we wanted to but couldn’t’, then it became ‘Help us tell our stories too’. Now, outside my day job, I’m a LinkedIn Top Voice, and help senior corporate executives, professionals and entrepreneurs build their narratives and share their professional and personal stories with confidence on LinkedIn.”  

She finds word of mouth works well for her. “When we share our stories, we connect better and it brings us closer to people who organically want to work with us – that’s what happened to me. I’ve never really ‘advertised’ – no business profile, no freelance apps.”  

It doesn’t need to you cost much – or anything at all

For a low-investment revenue stream, consider these easy side hustle ideas:

• Filling out surveys with reliable companies such as iSay and Opinion World
• Becoming a mystery shopper
• Driving for Uber Eats (as a bonus, you could use your drive time to increase your financial knowledge by listening to reputable podcasts).

Your kind of enterprising might be to identify a gap in the market for something there’s a demand for that you could sell, or a service you could offer; brainstorm things that others dislike doing and charge to do it for them. Then you could harness the relatively inexpensive power of social media to market your new business, increasing your income without the level of risk you’d take on if it was your main source.    

You could get paid for your existing skills or hobbies

Are you a designer who could make extra money as a content creator, a teacher who could tutor, or an exceptionally organised person with a penchant for decluttering you could cash in on? A side hustle is an excellent way to monetise your talents or develop new ones, and can foster a fresh mindset about money and being entrepreneurial.  

Marissa Holder, a Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-based administrator and actor, loves their side hustle work as a personal trainer. “I wanted to do something physical and different from admin work after my admin job was replaced by a computer program, however by the end of my Exercise Science PT certification, I realised the job is mainly like cold calling in person for clients on the gym floor – an absolute nightmare when you have an anxiety disorder! – so mobile personal training as a side hustle away from the gym is great.”  

You can take on work when it suits you  

Obviously, you can’t work every hour of the week and need to build sufficient rest into your life as well, but if you’ve got that covered and end up maximising time you’d otherwise ‘waste’ or be spending money in, it’s a win-win.

Marissa has one or two clients per week who book time slots via a calendar everyone can view, and advises: “Making sure at the start that you both can commit to each other’s schedules with a bit of wiggle room is important. For me, it’s usually Saturday or Sunday afternoons.”    

For Moumita, “Being on my own in New Zealand gives me the time to do something on the side. I call it my ‘beyond 9 to 5’ and use my evenings and sometimes weekends.”  

Don’t worry, the tax isn’t that complicated

Work more than one job and you’ll:

• Simply pay tax based on the gradual tax rates and the total amount you earn over the financial year
• Need to use the correct tax code for your second job to prevent getting the wrong tax applied, but if you do find you’ve paid more throughout the year than you needed to, you’ll get a refund you could consider enforced savings. (Inland Revenue explains in this handy video.) 

Marissa’s developed a system with that in mind. “It was a bit of headache at first to work out how the whole IRD tax bracket thing worked and a system to keep track of receipts and expenses, but once you’re on a roll, you’re away. I have no idea how much I’ll earn, so I put away the amount required for the higher bracket just in case, and if I do earn under the cut-off, I can keep the remainder of whatever I've set aside as some fun-times spare cash.”  

It is worth it to get a bit more in your pocket

A few dollars is more than just a few dollars, especially if you set clear goals for how you plan to use it. Thanks to the power of compound interest, you can make every cent count by investing some of your side hustle income, or use Sorted’s budget and goal planners, and savings, debt, KiwiSaver and mortgage calculators to see how far the extra money could stretch your everyday budget or take you towards other targets.  

Moumita’s side-hustle income goes straight onto her mortgage. “I want to be debt free or at least reduce the monthly outgoing, so I can travel more,” she says.  

Marissa uses their side-hustle earnings to support the other things they love. “I do six-week package deals for my clients, so at the start of a new package, the payment is great for buying flights for the national martial arts events I complete in and music gear for my band.”  

The profit is more than financial 

“I enjoy doing this,” says Moumita, “it’s the seasoning on top of my bread and butter. I love sharing my learning with others who have always wanted to put themselves out there.”   

“I have to ensure my day job covers all my vital expenses, but this side hustle sweetens life a bit,” says Marissa. “I also I just love the job itself. Seeing people succeed is super rewarding.”