Work as a freelancer and turn your creativity into cash

Money. No matter how much of it we have, it never seems to be enough. Especially in this day and age where the cost of raising a child is about as much as buying a nice house (and you have a lot less than 30 years to pay for it). In an age of wage repression where it seems like the cost of our wages is never quite equal to the cost of living many households around the country are still struggling to make ends meet. Whoever said the age of austerity was over? But fear not. You can make extra money without the tedium of taking on overtime at work or the exhausting pursuit of getting a second job. In fact, you can even make money in a way that’s creatively fulfilling and (dare I say it?) even fun.

If you’ve always had a creative streak, you might just find that your creativity can be turned into cash with the right side hustle. Whether you’re saving up for a holiday or simply want to be able to put more away in your savings for a rainy day here are some creative pursuits that could be lucrative side hustles…

Art and design

If you’ve always had a talent for the visual arts there are a lot of ways in which you can make money in your free time. Putting your drawings, photos or paintings in stunning picture frames and selling them on Etsy can be surprisingly profitable if you learn how to get around the platform’s search algorithms and make yourself more visible to buyers. If you have a talent for graphic design, this skill is always in high demand. Companies will pay good money for the work you sell on websites like Fiverr, Upwork and People Per Hour.

Cooking

Those who create symphonies of taste with their cooking and baking can whip up a batch of whichever of their favourite treats is most renowned and sell them at local makers and farmer’s markets. From jams, jellies and marmalades to pies and cakes, artisanal food is in increasingly high demand in an age where people don’t trust a lot of the food that comes from supermarkets.

Acting and extra work

If you’ve ever trodden the boards, this can be a highly monetisable skill as well as being a great way to express yourself, meet new people and make new friends. Join a local acting class, ask who the best talent agents are in your area and wait for the offers to roll in. Spending your off days on film and TV sets as a Supporting Artist or extra can also be a surprisingly well-paid hobby… and you might even get to meet a few celebs.

Writing

There are all sorts of ways to make decent money from writing. If you already have a blog, the easiest way to monetise it is by joining an affiliate program and using advertising to make money from your following. Alternatively, there are all kinds of marketing agencies that are always on the lookout for freelance copywriting talent.

Make 2020 the year when you start making good money from your creative talents.

This is a collaborative post