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Most of us are looking for a way to give our savings a quick boost, but often we’re looking in the wrong places. Taking on a few more hours at work or cutting back on our morning coffee are certainly ways to make small but meaningful changes, but there could be a more satisfying way to do it.
Taking a look at the things that we love can be a great starting point. Whether you’re a virtuoso violinist, a brilliant baker, or a sensational seamstress, all of these hobbies can be monetized.
Making money doing the thing that you love most might seem too good to be true, but it’s often this idea that prevents us from trying. If you’ve got a hobby that you’re passionate about, then some of these tips might be able to help you to turn that hobby into a sneaky side hustle.
Taking Gaming Seriously
Back in the 90s, gaming was certainly not viewed as a hobby where you could make money, but since the advent of online casinos, play-to-earn games, and eSports, it’s now more possible than ever to make a little cash playing the games that you love. Of course, if you actually want to make some money then there are a few things that you need to consider first. The type of game that you’re playing is going to affect how you can monetize this hobby.
Play-to-earn games make this transition appear the simplest, but as the saying goes, you’ll need to speculate to accumulate. Getting started with a crypto game can cost as little as $50 but can be into the thousands, so pick a game that you like and stick to it. Sometimes playing a free version can be a good way of deciding which play-to-earn game is for you before you commit any cash to it.
If you’re into ‘traditional’ video games, then getting into eSports gaming is arguably the most difficult road to take. The competition is fierce in these games and whilst the top prizes look tantalizing, the people who win them almost always play eSports as a full-time job.
With that said, there are smaller tournaments that hobby gamers have success in, so that’s worth looking into. The final category is casino gaming, and this category depends a great deal on your skill as both a gamer and a money manager.
Looking for real money online casino games with the lowest house edge is necessary for proper bankroll management. Games such as blackjack, when played with the correct strategy, can have a house edge of just below 2%. Plus, if you get good at searching out promotions and bonuses, you can bolster that bankroll even further.
Making Your Hobby a Hustle
One of the most direct ways of using your hobby to benefit your savings is by turning it into a side hustle. There are some hobbies that lend themselves to this better than others.
Those who enjoy crafts have an obvious way to make money, they can continue making their crafts, and sell them at maker’s markets, or online marketplaces like Etsy. However, for some hobbies, the link to money-making is harder to find. It would be lengthy and honestly, fairly dull, to get into how each and every hobby can be turned into a hustle, but we can split most hobbies into a couple of groups and look at those.
Hobbies where you make something have the market link that we’ve discussed. You might make cakes and cookies, scarves and hats, or paintings and prints. All of these can be sold directly to the customer, making you a little bit of money, or at least enough to save some on the cost of your hobby. The next group are hobbies where you do something, these are often sports-based, or more pastoral hobbies like bird watching, or beekeeping.
This is the group where you have to be a little more creative to find the money-making link, but sports people could become a trainer in their chosen sport, they could learn to fix equipment, such as bike mechanics, or they could buy and sell secondhand sporting equipment if they have an eye for a bargain and a good knowledge base.
Those who enjoy the more pastoral hobbies likely have a huge knowledge base. They could use this to create a YouTube channel, full of information for people who want to get involved with that hobby, or they could turn their hand to writing and self-publish a book. The options are limitless if you just take the time to look for them.
A Final Note
Hobbies are meant to be fun. They’re a way for us to relax, to meet people with similar interests, and to unwind from the stresses of work. If you want to continue enjoying your hobby for what it is, then there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’re interested in taking it to a semi-professional level, then that’s a great thing to explore too.
Hopefully, these tips have shown you that most hobbies can be monetized, if you’re willing to devote some time to making that change.
Lyle Solomon has considerable litigation experience as well as substantial hands-on knowledge and expertise in legal analysis and writing. Since 2003, he has been a member of the State Bar of California. In 1998, he graduated from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, and now serves as a principal attorney for the Oak View Law Group in California. He has contributed to publications such as Entrepreneur, All Business, US Chamber, Finance Magnates, Next Avenue, and many more.
