How to Make Extra Money in Your Spare Time
Find the Best Way to Supplement Your Income
With the third highest cost of living in the world¹, it can be difficult to make ends meet in Switzerland, even if you have a full-time job.
The good news is that there are several ways to supplement your income by making some extra cash in your spare time.
Take on a Part-time Job
If you need a consistent, second income that you can rely on each month, a part-time job is your best option.
If you work regular hours in your full-time job, you should be able to take on a part-time job, either in the evening or at the weekend.
Examples of part-time jobs that usually fit in well with full-time work are:
- Saturday jobs in shops, cafés, restaurants or bars
- Delivering takeaways or pizzas in the evenings
- Delivering newspapers or magazines in the early mornings and/or evenings.
When looking for a part-time job, search these and other Swiss job websites:
Also, look out for advertisements in local newspapers and shop windows. Ask your neighbors and friends if they know of any local businesses that need part-time help.
Do Odd Jobs
If you’re handy with a hammer or great at gardening, why not do odd jobs for neighbors, friends, acquaintances and other people living in your neighborhood?
This is a particularly good idea if you don’t need a regular second income but could do with some extra cash regularly or occasionally.
Decide which odd jobs you’re willing and able to do. If you’re not sure which services to offer, ask around and see what local people need help with.
Some examples of odd jobs are:
- DIY, including assembling flat-pack furniture
- Home repairs
- Dog walking
- Looking after people’s homes and/or pets while they’re away
- Grass cutting and/or gardening
- Cooking or baking (for events, parties and special occasions)
- Cleaning or ironing
- Shopping for elderly or disabled people.
Start by telling everyone you know about the services you’re offering. If necessary, have a leaflet printed and distribute it in your neighborhood.
Some odd jobs, such as grass cutting, are seasonal, but demand may be so high that you’ll make enough extra money during that season. If not, consider offering a different service during the other months.
Work as a Freelancer
Freelance work enables you to use your skills to help private clients (often small businesses) with specific projects. You may, for example, build a website for a construction company, design a logo for a hair stylist, or give private tuition to children studying for exams.
Although freelance work won’t provide you with a regular income, you can earn a good, irregular income from freelancing in your spare time.
However, it may take some time to secure enough freelance work to provide a reasonable part-time income, so it might not be a good option if you need to earn extra cash quickly.
Attract clients by advertising your services and looking for suitable projects on these and similar websites:
If you have a flair for writing, check out Constant Content, which is an online marketplace that allows you to sell your original articles, blog posts and tutorials.
Sign up with Crowd Content to view a wide range of writing and editing projects and select those that appeal to you.
Spread the word about your freelance business by:
- Telling everyone you know in person and on social media
- Handing out business cards
- Printing leaflets and distributing them to businesses that may benefit from your services
- Contacting those businesses to find out what their exact needs are.
Over time, you’ll build up a profitable part-time business. It may even grow into a full-time business.
Online Work
Online work is the ideal solution if you don’t have much spare time and/or if you’d like to earn a certain amount of extra money to help pay for Christmas, holidays and other expenses.
There are many ways of making extra money online, including:
- Completing surveys — check out Prolific, Survey Police and other survey websites
- Selling hand-crafted items on Etsy and other online marketplaces
- Selling new and/or second-hand goods on eBay and other websites and apps
- Doing micro-tasks on Amazon Mechanical Turk, Clickworker and other websites.
Check the method(s) of payment before signing up. To receive your earnings, you’ll need a PayPal account for some websites, including Clickworker.
Other websites, such as Amazon Mechanical Turk and some survey websites, pay in the form of gift cards, vouchers and other rewards, rather than cash.
You could earn anything from US$0.01 for a small task on Amazon Mechanical Turk to several hundred francs per month, especially if you do a variety of online work, such as surveys combined with eBay selling and some micro-tasks.
If you make high quality, hand-crafted items, you could make more money that this by selling them worldwide on Etsy or similar sites. Selling large quantities of high value items on auction or selling sites may also lead to a higher income. However, it’ll probably take some time to build up such an income.
Points to Consider before Starting Extra Work in Your Spare Time
Find out if your extra income will move you into a higher tax bracket. If so, will it be worth the time and effort?
Try to find extra work you enjoy. This may mean doing something completely different from your full-time job. Or, you might prefer to use one or more of your skills, especially if they are under-used in your full-time job.
Consider working in a completely different environment or industry. If you work in an office during the week, an outdoor job at the weekend could provide a refreshing change and help you get some exercise.
Take some time to decide which way(s) of earning extra money would be best for you and start looking for suitable opportunities. It won’t be long before your bank balance is boosted by your extra earnings.