A side hustle that brings in an extra $10,000 a year is helping to keep a roof over the head of Sydney’s Angie Shen.
The investment director for an advertising agency spends 40 hours a week in her corporate role before pulling on a pair of leggings and taking up to five classes a week as reformer Pilates instructor.
“Sometimes I’ll be leaving the house at four o’clock in the morning and to teach classes before work during the week and another one on weekends,” says Shen, 30.
Shen, who is a home owner, says she fixed her interest rate just before the rate hike. Despite this, she doesn’t believe she would be able to make ends meet without a side hustle. “My side hustle is what helps keep me afloat,” she says.
Overtime
Forced to roll up her sleeves and deal with the growing cost of living, Shen is one of the growing number of full-time workers picking up a side hustle to diversify her income to keep up with the costs of everyday life.
Shen, who lives with her partner, stumbled on the Pilates instructor idea when recovering from a back injury a few years ago, which gave her a chance to try it for the first time. “I knew I could teach what I had learned and could make some extra money on the side, which is how I got started.”
After signing up for an online course to learn the ropes, she was able to start charging as a qualified instructor. She also fills out surveys sent out by companies, which usually pay her around $50, usually paid in grocery vouchers. “I just count that as a bit of extra pocket money,” she says.
But it all adds up. As households deal with the recent cash rate increase and those with health insurance prepare to dig deep to pay an extra 4.14 per cent by April, many workers are trying to work out just how to grow their income.
The latest wage data shows pay levels lag inflation, meaning that real wages just aren’t keeping up with household costs. The wage price index was 3.4 per cent last year as the consumer price index rose to 3.8 per cent – well above the Reserve Bank’s 2-3 per cent inflation target.
Once the inflation adjustment is considered, this means that real wages went backwards by 0.4 per cent, marking the first cut to pay levels since the September quarter of 2023.
A new style
Vanessa Puli is another worker looking for some extra income, forging a successful career in corporate communications before deciding to pursue a side hustle as a personal stylist.
The 54-year-old is now straddling both jobs, working in her own communications business while also charging around $275 per hour to help corporates develop a better sense of style on the side. This means that she can work in her other business during quieter periods.
“It’s about doing something that I feel value in doing. I realised that at some level I had already been styling other people for years, and it’s taken off from there, and it’s been a whole different world,” Puli says.
Learning the craft has been a joy, giving her job new purpose. “It’s not about telling people what they should look like, it’s more about revealed preference, which means understanding their style aspirations,” she says.
According to Westpac, more than half of Australians (55 per cent) are either currently earning income from a side hustle or are actively considering starting one, embracing multiple income streams to ease financial pressures.
Usually started to pay off debt, save for something special or to prepare for the unexpected, side hustles also extend to renting out extra space at home, selling digital products or dogsitting services.
While extra income is the dominant motivation, about 30 per cent aspire to scale it to either part-time or full-time.
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