Updated: April 18, 2021
Imagine making more money than you’re currently making. Would that relieve some pressure? Having a military side hustles can be a quick and easy way to earn extra cash to reach your personal and financial goals.
Military side hustles are additional jobs you perform to make extra money while serving in the military or as a military spouse. There are a variety of side hustles you can choose from. Often, side hustles are freelance work or as needed jobs.
It’s possible to make good money with a side hustle. According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC®) 2019 Military Financial Readiness Survey, 54% of service members and 48% of military spouses say they’ve been able to use the gig economy to earn extra income. Here’s how to get started side hustling.
What is A Military Side Hustles
A military side hustle is a way to make additional money beyond your basic pay. Or for a military spouse, a side hustle is a job you can perform around your schedule and location. It’s a second income stream that’s flexible enough to allow you to make money outside your typical duty day. Unlike a part-time job, you can work the hours you want with a side gig when you want.
Can You Have a Side Hustle on Active Duty?
Yes, you’re allowed to have a side job in the military, but you have to get it approved by your command first. It’s not difficult but still something you need to go through before starting up a side gig. The process is going to depend on your branch of service and your command. So the best place to begin the process of getting approved is with your leadership.
Why Start a Military Side Hustle?
The main reason you might want a side hustle is to make extra money. Your reasons for needing or wanting more cash on hand will have something to do with your personal or financial goals. You might want a side hustle to:
- Get out of debt
- Build an emergency fund
- Travel more
- Buy something you want or need
- Save more for retirement
- Build wealth
- Try out a new career
- Increase charitable giving
- Have more cash on hand
- Save Christmas and holiday money
- Worry less about money
- Get divorced
How Can I Make Extra Money in the Military?
Here are the simple steps for military members and spouses to make extra money.
- Set an additional income goal – How much do you want to earn from your side job?
- Budget your time – What hours of the day do you have to perform your side gig? Is it 4 hours in the evenings or on weekends? Know when you can work.
- Research side hustles – Don’t throw a dart at the board to pick a side hustle. Do your homework to select a side hustle that has the potential to reach your income goals and works with your duty schedule.
- Start hustling – Find ways to make the most money with the side hustles you’re doing. If you’re an Uber driver, try to work nights of big events. If you’re walking babysitting, try to work during the holiday party season.
- Adapt as needed – If you’re not making enough money with your additional job or you don’t like it, get another side hustle. Don’t be afraid to pivot if a side hustle isn’t working. Being able to stop and start another one is a perk of using a side gig. You don’t have to worry as much about cutting your losses early.
Side Hustles for Veterans and Military
Making money in addition to your active-duty pay is a great feeling. The frustrating part is finding ways to stack up extra benjamins once you’ve decided to make more. I have some ideas to help you find a side hustle that works for you and your schedule. And the good part about these ideas is they are also ways you can make money after the military.
Bagging Groceries
A side hustle close to my heart is bagging groceries. Besides babysitting, bagging groceries at the commissary was one of my first jobs. You can work weekends or evenings bagging up food for commissary customers. Baggers are not government employees, so you can work when you want. To start as a bagger, you must contact the “head bagger” at your local commissary.
Baby Sitting
The military community always needs help with babysitting. Because most everyone is away from family and friends and many events, people need child care to attend like military balls, Hail and Farwells, and doctor’s appointments. I’d start by registering with services like Care.com or SitterCity.com to help find babysitting jobs. Both companies offer military discounts, so it’s a go-to resource for the community’s babysitting needs.
House and Pet Sitting
I made a lot of extra money on active duty as a house and pet sitter. Since I was single, it was easy for me to pick up and crash at someone else’s house for a week or two while they were on leave or temporary duty. It was a simple way to make some extra dough doing something I was already doing, like eating, watching tv, and sleeping. Care.com is an excellent place to start finding house sitting jobs. You can also check out Rover to start pet sitting.
Make Money Printables
You can make a ton of money creating and selling your printables for Etsy or Spouse-ly. Do you have a fun scavenger hunt for toddlers or a checklist for PCSing? Whatever your idea is, you can develop and sell that printable for extra money. Printables are a fantastic way to make money around your schedule. There are courses to learn how to create and sell printables.
More on printables: How to Make Money with Etsy Printables
Running Errands Military Side Hustles
If you have extra time, you can help others that need help running errands or completing tasks. Services like Task Rabbit allow you to see listed tasks. You can review and decide which tasks you want to complete for extra money.
Donate Plasma
If needles aren’t your thing, you may want to skip this one. But if you meet the requirements, you can make up to $50-60 per week donating plasma. Check out Donatingplasma.org to find a place you can give plasma.
Deliver Stuff
There is always a demand for delivery drivers, which comes in handy when you want more money each month. You can earn anywhere between $10-$25 per hour delivering food. There are plenty of services you can sign up to start making money delivering. Here are some:
Freelance
You have a skillset others will pay for. Are you a great proofreader? Do you have an announcer’s voice? Are you good at graphic design? Whatever your skill, you can make money as a freelancer helping others with projects. Companies like Fiverr provide a marketplace for people to hire freelancers for projects like voiceover work, writing, and logos.
Get more side hustles resources and ideas.
Here’s the Bottom Line
Military side hustles are a good way to reach your financial goals and, in many cases, reach them faster than if you were chipping away at them with your military pay. Use the ideas here to start trying out a side hustle to find one you like and can make money at. The sooner you start a side hustle, the sooner you’ll be making extra money and reaching your goals.
If you want to “kickstart” your finances in the military, you can get access to my free Financial Kickstart Kit here.
