Today’s post I will talk about the different side hustles I did to make extra Php 5000 a month.

 

Side hustle changed my life for the better.

 

It helped me accomplish the following:

• Boost my savings Increase my investments
• Have enough capital for a possible business venture or passion project
• Pay-off debt (credit card)
• Extra money for shopping, paying bills or vacation

 

Truly, I am thankful God gave me a heart to serve using the talents He has blessed me with.

 

We all have gifts and expertise as human beings. Have you ever thought of your own gift? Of your own expertise? At the end of this post may you able to use your own gift and start a side hustle that can help you make extra Php 5000 (or even more) a month.

   

 

 

What is a side hustle?

 

A side hustle is any activity you do outside of your typical 9 to 5 job that helps you earn money.

 

It mostly involve something you are greatly passionate about. It could be a talent of yours or something you are just born to be good for.

 

Side hustles offer freedom to decide how much time you will be working and when or what you will be working about.

 

There are plenty of side hustle ideas out there. You can start a blog, a podcast or a YouTube Channel. You can sell a product or service to others. You can buy and sell almost anything online whether through Facebook, Instagram or your own e-commerce website.

 

We are now in a season where a lot more opportunities are opening thanks to technology.

 

The question is, will you let technology rule your time and money?

 

Or are you ready to rule technology in exchange of financial freedom one day?

 

Why side hustles matter?

 

At this very time when one source of income isn’t always enough, there are plenty of reasons to start a side hustle today.

 

Side hustles enable you to earn extra income outside of what you are already earning.

 

Because let’s face it, there is a limit on how much money we can save but not with how much we can earn.

 

If you want to save more, it is only fitting that you widen the gap between what you earn and what you need to spend. Again, you can only save so much from your income.

 

And so much will be leftover after paying for bills, grocery, transportation, etc. But imagine having an additional source of income to depend on. Another source of income that can provide for you.

 

Now that’s leverage.

 

Side hustles are also a good means to pursue what you really want in life.

 

I know people who feel suddenly stuck in their day job and want to just escape. Having a passion project could be helpful to destress for a while and do something you love.

 

Side hustles are also a good way to make use of your leisure time.

 

Instead of spending so much of your time browsing social media apps or binge watching Netfilx shows, why not work on the side?

 

It only takes an 2-3 hours a day to write, edit and publish a blog post. This is how I blog.

 

An hour a day to market your online shop on Instagram and Facebook. Even a day to create a batch of DIY perfume for sale.

 

Carlo Ople, one of the biggest name in the field of digital marketing in the Philippines, once talked about the concept of The 7pm to 1am Principle.

 

According to him, Why is 7PM-1AM the most important time of our day? Because not all of us are lucky to have day jobs or businesses that we truly love and we’re passionate about. 8AM-5PM we build our careers and we get the money to pay our bills. 7PM-1AM we hustle and build our dreams.

 

 

 

He is firm to say how advantageous 7pm to 1am is especially in the digital age where creators are more rewarded more than the consumers.

 

Use your 7PM-1AM to build your dream business, start-up, or career. Which mostly start with a side hustle in place.

 

Side hustles improve your skills.

 

One of best reason to start a side hustle is to improve your skills.

 

Unlike a 9-to-5 job where everything is predictable, a side hustle provides surprise factor!

 

This surprise factor can be any of the following:

• A new idea A better solution
• A difficult client
• A sales or ad proposal
• A failed attempt

 

Thus, a side hustle gives you a whole different experience than a normal day job which in turn makes you better and smarter in general.

 

Seriously, I wouldn’t be who I am today without side hustling.

 

At a young age of 17, I was already hosting weddings and events in different parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces. Meeting different kind of people, exchanging ideas and improving my skills as a wedding and event emcee.

 

I am blessed not just financially but in wisdom, experience and connection as well. And no amount of money can suffice that.

 

Side hustles enable you to reach your goals faster.

 

There is a big chance that your side hustle today can be a your main job tomorrow! I, for example, would like to one day blog full-time and work for myself instead.

 

Here’s a list of my financial goals you can read.

 

As I mentioned in the beginning, we can only save as much from our current income.

 

Thus, if your goals is to become a millionaire in the next five years, mere saving 20% of your income won’t do it. You need more means to save and invest and a side hustle or two can easily transform your finances.

 

Side hustles can support your short-term goal expenses. 

 

Now here’s the deal:

 

We all have that “wants” in life that could cost us a lot if we don’t save for it.

 

It could be a new phone, a dream vacation, a new bag or as for me a new makeup.

 

These short-term expenses exists a lot and if you are someone who’s living from paycheck to paycheck, you will never have enough money to afford anything.

 

Your salary can pay but if you’ve always wanted to spend money without feeling guilty then start a side hustle.

 

This is the same concept as J Money of Budgets are Sexy’s Gig for Goals mindset. Have your 9 to 5pm cover all your bills and needs.

 

Use your side hustle income to pay for your vacation, your car, your first luxury bag, etc.

 

Just two weeks ago I purchased a MacBook Air using my extra income fund! May last year, I went to South Korea also using my extra income fund! Then to Penang, Malaysia in November, again using my extra income fund!

 

Isn’t that wonderful?

 

Being able to purchase your “wants” without the guilt factor. Through side hustling yes, you can!

Me at Petite France Seoul, South Korea

 

Side hustles can help you pay off debt. 

 

Being debt-free is the best financial decision you can ever make today.

 

Picture the peace you’ll have knowing you don’t owe anyone, anything!

 

There are three easy solutions for this debt problem, 1) Decrease expenses, 2) Increase income and 3) Do both.

 

Decreasing your expenses is hard to do because it takes 99% discipline!

 

Fortunately, increasing your income is something doable and if you do it right, you can definitely get rid of debt without sacrificing any of your expenses.

 

Related read: How To Get Rid of Debt and Reclaim Your Finances

 

Side hustles allow you to start investing now

 

The most common reason why people have reservations when it comes to investing is not having enough money to invest.

 

But did you know that you can invest in the stock market for as low as Php 5000?!

 

If you can save and invest 2000pesos a month on an investment vehicle that can give you 6% per month compound interest your money will grow like this:

 

After 3 months – 6,060.20pesos

After 6 months – 13,211pesos

After a year – 24,794.50pesos

 

You’ve gained 794.50pesos return of investment instead of just having 24,000 parked on a local bank.

 

And where can you find that extra P 2000 a month? Start a side hustle.

 

 

 

How much money can you make in side hustles?

 

The potential money you can make with your side hustle is limitless.

 

Unlike a day job wherein you get a fixed amount of money, side hustles can earn you different amount depending on what you do and how much time you spend on the activity.

 

Making videos on YouTube can likely bring you five-digit income every single month!

 

I know an on-call gym trainer who earns Php 250 per hour, per student. Imagine a group of five signing up for a two-hour class. That’s Php 2500 for just two hours of work.

 

What’s important for you to realize is that in side hustles there is always a time and money trade off. The time you spend doing what you do will definitely earn you more in the future.

 

I have seen this happen in SavingsPinay. Your perseverance will be rewarded soon.

 

Now that we’ve covered all the basics, I am now ready to share to you the side hustles I did to make more money, save and invest for the future. Each of these extra income income idea helped me earn at least Php 5000 a month.

 

Let’s begin.

 

 

 

1. Wedding and Event Emcee

I have been selling my service as a host for all occasion ever since 2011. It is a side hustle I discovered during my sophomore year in college and enabled me to go to different places and earn on the side.

 

As an emcee, my primary duty is to make a customized program for my client, suggest inclusions for entertainment and execute the said program well on the day.

 

I specialize in hosting weddings and corporate events but also ventured to debuts and milestone birthdays except children’s party. I started for only Php 750 per hosting gig back then. I was mere creating my portfolio and getting my name out there for other event suppliers to tie up with me.

 

Now, I am earning at least Php 6500 per event and even more if it is in Antipolo, Tagaytay, Batangas, etc. Wedding and event emcee is a good side hustle because you don’t need any capital to get started.

 

As long as you have the talent and confidence to speak in crowds, you can actually host. My biggest tip is to market your service to friends and family first.

 

If you know anyone in the family getting married, volunteer to become their host for free. Treat this as your mock exam. If the guests love you and you are really gifted in this field then create your own Facebook Page or Instagram account.

 

Use these top social media sites to sell your service. If you get even just one client a month for Php 5000 then you’ll have Php 60,000 income from side hustle in a year. See?

2. Wedding and Event Coordination

 

Witnessing almost a hundred weddings and events, I started widening my offerings and put up an on-the-day coordination team for hire.

 

I gathered people whom I personally know to be good in admin tasks and event management then formed the IzzaGevents Team. We’ve already been to some of the biggest and fanciest wedding and event venues in the Philippines.

 

Last March, we had an event a Bella Garden Tagaytay and the client trusted me to not only coordinate but host their wedding as well. When it comes to coordination you can attend a seminar to know the basics first before marketing your service.

 

Unlike hosting, becoming a wedding planner involves more responsibility. You are there to ensure the entirety of the wedding from preparation to receptions goes smoothly.

 

If you don’t know anything about weddings and themed events then you’ll surely have a hard time coordinating an event. The amount you can earn as wedding planner starts at Php 5,000 to Php 10,000. If you have a team with you, then this amount doubles (even triples) because you need to pay for the members of your coordination team.

 

At IzzaGevents, I charge depending on the service needed and location. For Metro Manila on-the-day I go as low as Php 19,000 for a team of five including a lead coordinator. For nearby provinces and top venue locations like Tagaytay and Antipolo, I charge as high as Php 25,000.

 

If you have an event happening soon, you can simply email me at izzaglinofull@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to schedule you for an initial phone call meeting.

 

3. Start a blog

Five years ago, I didn’t know I can make money blogging in the Philippines. I felt like no one was reading my blog. I don’t have any traffic more so any income earned.

 

My blog soon became a money making machine for passive income. I started reaching Google Adsense’ $100 threshold faster and faster.

 

In January 2019 alone, I earned $59 blogging! And that’s a lot considering it took me four long years to actually earn my first $100 blogging.

 

I have to mention first that I didn’t start SavingsPinay with the intent to make money. Back then, I see this blog as a platform to share my personal finance journey.

 

As someone who enjoys writing, blogging quickly became my jam. Soon I find this same platform as an avenue to fulfill a mission and that is to help Filipinos bridge the financial literacy one content at a time.

 

This is more than just me, myself and I now. I really see SavingsPinay as a brand made for a purpose. The money I get from blogging on my spare time is simply a by-product of my true passion for writing.

 

If you don’t enjoy writing, blogging is not a good side hustle to begin. Content means everything in the blogging community.

 

People want to learn and if you put articles that doesn’t educate or mere entertain, your blog will never succeed. Make sure you do enjoy writing.

 

To learn more about how to get massive traffic for your blog check out this post.

 

 

 

4. Do YouTube Videos

YouTube has quickly became a new way to make money online.

 

How it work is simple. You create a YouTube account, start a channel and upload a video.

 

This video can be of any topic you want. From beauty and makeup tutorials to cooking show. Others produce daily vlogs that people watch.

 

At the start or in the middle of each uploaded video there are ads enabled where you earn a portion for every watchtime your video generated.

 

If you are comfortable in talking in front of a camera then why not start your own YouTube channel? Currently the rule for YouTube Channel is to have 1000 subscribers and at least 4000 minutes of watch time before they will enable your account for monetization.

 

Once you get approved you are earning a dollar for every 1000 views.

 

   

5. Freelance Writing

With my degree in Journalism I decided to try doing some freelance content writing work online.

 

This enabled me to earn extra money on my Paypal account. I typically get clients through Craigslist and Upwork.

 

What I do is send a template cover letter with links to some of my best articles posted and other credentials. After a couple of days I usually get a reply asking for an interview or exam. Then, the writing project begins.

 

Upwork cut this process in almost half though. You simply create an account and find a project you can apply for.

 

The only problem about Upwork is the pricing. You are competing against those priced really low so it is way harder to get noticed.

 

Because of this I recommend to create your own website instead and market your own freelance writing service on your own. The advantages of doing this is you get to name your own price, you are able to find quality projects and you have more freedom as a freelancer.

 

Here’s a post all about how to be a freelance content writer in the Philippines.

 

6. SEO and Digital Marketing Consultant

Growing SavingsPinay from zero to what it is now gave me confidence that I can share what I know about search engine optimization and digital marketing to other small to medium businesses.

 

Fortunately, there are those who trusted me even though I was still young.

 

Good SEO help a website be on top of the search engine. And if you are a business and want to get noticed, the first page of search results is where you want to find your website.

 

What I do is get to know the business and it's vision for the campaign. From then, I generate possible keywords. If they have a dedicated person or group to implement, I simply feed all the details based on what’s prevailing and what’s working.

 

In case the business is new and I have time to spare, I offer my service to execute the suggestions. This means writing, editing and posting the article myself. But this rarely happens since I have a day job to attend to.

 

For digital consultancy I focus more on creating social media content that converts. I do a brand audit and provide insights on what kind of posts to do together with smart caption.

 

This side hustle requires time but seeing your clients get the traffic they want, humbles me so much.

 

7. Online selling

Another way you can make extra money is through selling items online.

 

It’s so easy nowadays to create a shop on Instagram. There are a lot of things you can sell online from clothing items, accessories, phone cases, baked goods etc.

 

I used to resell Marikina made sandals online. I get the stock for only Php 75 per pair and I was able to sell them for Php 100 to even Php 150 online. The buyer usually pays for the shipping so there is literally no added cost on your end.

 

Try selling your preloved stuff first and find out how people are reacting. If your items are sold faster than you expected then this could be the avenue you are waiting for.

Final Notes from SavingsPinay

Side hustles offer so much benefits for a person.

 

If you’re living on one income, you are definitely doing it wrong. Everyone needs a hobby, a side hustle or a passion for profit project to do to be able to stay balanced.

 

Depending on just one source of income, like a typical 9-5 job, will make you insane. You will get bored, uninterested and stressed easily. Soon that one source of income, even though pays the bill, will not make you happy.

 

Working for four years and counting, I’ve met and worked with colleagues who after years of living on one income decided to finally pursue their passion. Now they are working as freelance web designer, graphic artist, content writer, etc. and they seem to be a lot happier.

 

They say in life we either do what we love or learned to love what we do. Sadly, most of us (including me) fall on the latter instead, when it comes to employment. And so that’s how this post idea came about.

 

I wanted to encourage you to stop being controlled by your desk work. At the end of this post I hope you will finally do more of what makes you happy.