麻豆传媒

I鈥檓 the master of the side-hustle.

While I was in graduate school I, in the same semester, held down a three-days-a-week unpaid internship, marked papers for a post-existentialist philosophy course, tutored English to high school students and poured beer at sporting events on the weekends.

The only time I didn鈥檛 have multiple streams of income was when I worked a 9-5 communications job. I foolishly thought I had a high-enough salary that I didn鈥檛 鈥渘eed鈥� to work that many jobs anymore. I started organizing my nail polish alphabetically and taking two-a-day yoga sessions because I was so bored.

But besides the boredom, relying on only one source of income eventually became just too nerve-wracking. Like many milennials, I鈥檝e never enjoyed a permanent full-time job -- they鈥檝e always been part-time, temporary or contract. So I started writing freelance articles, both for my own pleasure, and also to gain a second cashflow to tide me over any bumpy career gaps.

Now that I write full-time, I still spend several nights a week cracking open cans of tall boys and serving tequila shots to Toronto鈥檚 nightcrawlers.

The extra money, while not strictly necessary to make ends meet, helps me pad my savings account and eliminates any guilt I may have with buying

Other millennials with better-than-average money management skills generally feel the same compulsion to seek out more than one job.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to think of a time when I wasn鈥檛 working at least two jobs,鈥� says Bridget Casey, a 29-year old in Alberta. 鈥淏ut they鈥檙e essential to any financial success that I鈥檝e enjoyed.鈥�

Besides working full-time at a start-up and running a website, she鈥檚 also worked as a chemistry tutor, waited tables and babysat, among other positions.

Initially, it may seem like you don鈥檛 have time for an extra gig, but the best ones are flexible -- you can schedule them on your own time, and there are many you can take on from home. Having a packed schedule also forces you to be more productive.

鈥淚 think people don鈥檛 know how much they can do until they start doing it,鈥� Casey says. 鈥淎nd once it鈥檚 part of your routine, you stay in the energy to do it.鈥�

She gets up early to work an hour on her website before her 8-5 finance job, and then spends another hour or two on it in the evening.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice that I鈥檝e always had side-income from things that I鈥檝e enjoyed doing,鈥� Casey says. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 made it easier to balance because they鈥檙e essentially profitable hobbies.鈥�

It鈥檚 true that a second job can be so much more than just slogging away at a part-time position at the mall or restaurant. An ideal side-hustle can help you develop your skill-set in a way that relates to your primary job, and can also serve as a a creative outlet.

Casey鈥檚 friend, for example, set up an Etsy store where she would sell custom-painted shoes.

鈥淪he would paint Toms, the shoes, with whatever people wanted, like Blue Jays logos or characters from video games,鈥� Casey says. 鈥淭hey would just send in a request, she鈥檇 go buy the Toms for $50, she鈥檇 spend a day drawing whatever character design on them, and just sell them for $100. And it was the easiest business ever.鈥�

It helps that finding extra streams of income isn鈥檛 particularly hard, especially not in these days of online classifieds, and they鈥檙e much easier to find than full-time positions.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 something that you鈥檙e good at, that鈥檚 what you should capitalize,鈥� Casey says. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 always a way to do that.鈥�

Check out these easy side-hustles with maximum flexibility:

• Take part in the sharing economy: become an driver if you own a car, rent out your couch on or offer your carpentry skills on .
   
• If you have design skills consider creating business cards for .
   
• If you live in Toronto or Vancouver, check out . This is great for students since there鈥檚 so much waiting around on sets, you鈥檒l get a chance to study.
   
• Put that English degree to good use and romance novels.
   
• If you have typing and computer skills, join a to get receptionist work. I did this on Bay Street and spent the entire day on Facebook.
   
• Troll Craigslist and Kijijii for companies that randomly need extra hands, like inventory scanning or companies.
   
• Use your youth and social media skills to your advantage and run the Twitter feeds and Facebook pages for businesses.
   
• Give music lessons; the more obscure the instrument, the better the pay.
   
• Sell garage sale finds on eBay, Craigslist or Kijijii.
   
• If you took an in-demand major like science, math or French, you can charge the big bucks for tutoring -- up to $75/ hour.