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If you’re looking to make a bit of money on the side, you might be looking into side hustles and other forms of passive income that could give you a bit more spending money. However, some people prefer to merge their leisure and their personal finances, turning their hobbies into side gigs. Could this approach work for your hobbies?
You’d be surprised at how lucrative your creative hobby could become. If you’re an amateur painter, you might find a fortune selling your paintings to collectors and speculators. The more specific your hobby’s focus is, the more likely you are to find a prospective buyer for your creative output. This is especially true if there aren’t a lot of people offering services within your field of expertise.
Of course, you shouldn’t let financial considerations drive your hobbies. The ideal scenario is one in which you can make money by doing the things you already love, not by warping your interests around the things you can get paid to do. If you let money drive your decision-making around your hobby, you’re likely to get burned out and start treating the thing you love like work.
Maybe you’re the kind of person who prefers to enter hobbies for the social interaction they provide. This is especially true of smaller-scale hobbies like painting miniatures or playing competitive card games. In these smaller communities, you can find some passive income by offering your expertise to newcomers.
Consider writing articles for specialist sites or offering coaching services to newcomers. These endeavors might seem daunting, but if you’re an expert in your field, you can reach your smaller audience and make a tidy sum on the side.
Once you’ve got income coming in from your side gig, you could choose to just treat it as spending money. After all, your hobby is paying for itself now! However, if you want to make some money in the future, too, you could consider investing the money you get from your side hustle. Once you’re invested, your money could accrue interest over time.
Consider consulting a financial advisor if you’re not sure where to start. Many newcomers to the world of investing prefer to follow professional-managed indexes that track high-performing stocks. This could be a lucrative investment opportunity that you can set up once and then leave alone for years, and come back to it when you need a bit of extra money for a large purchase.
