Rachel Cruze: 22 Fun Side Hustles To Speed Up Debt Payoff

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Those with outstanding debt, like credit cards or student loans, know they can speed up paying it off by working a side hustle. When we think of side hustles, we tend to think of the tried and true roles like driving a rideshare, delivering food, petsitting or babysitting.

Are there any side gigs you can work that allow you to be creative? Absolutely.

In an episode of “The Rachel Cruze Show,” money expert Rachel Cruze shared not one, not 10, but 22 side hustles crowdsourced from the Ramsey Solutions community. These side gigs can boost your income and allow you to reach your financial goals. 

Speed up debt payoff by working one (or more) of these 22 fun side hustles.

Jewelry Cleaning Workshop

Cruze said someone from the Ramsey Solutions community engaged in this side hustle, which leaves your favorite jewelry sparkling.

Cruze said, “She charged $15 to clean one ring. That’s $15 in five minutes. You do three rings, that’s $45 in 15 minutes.”

Do IT Work on the Side

You’re not expected to do anything too complicated in this side hustle. Rather, Cruze is referring to simple, paid work that can help older individuals to better understand technology such as syncing up Wi-Fi and understanding how to use Google Docs.

Sell Baked Goods

Cruze said a member of the Ramsey Solutions office baked 50 pumpkin rolls and sold them for $25 each. Minus the cost of supplies, Cruze said this person made $1,250. 

Get Your Car Wrapped

For $100 to $300 a month, many companies will pay you to wrap your car with advertisements for their businesses. The only major requirement for working this side hustle is having a car.

Sell Watercolor Portraits or Do Hand Lettering

If you’re artistic, Cruze recommends creating beautiful art you can sell. Some popular ideas for hand lettering include favorite quotes and watercolor portraits of pets. Depending on the size or the difficulty of the piece, Cruze said you can price your items accordingly. 

Resell Overstock Items on Facebook

Here’s how this side hustle works. Cruze said you can dig through bins at overstock stores and resell the items on Facebook Marketplace. 

“It’s amazing how when you resell stuff, you can make extra money,” Cruze said in the video.

Referee Kids’ Sports

Most kids’ sports, including soccer and baseball, need referees. In this side hustle, Cruze said you can make anywhere from $14 to $50 an hour. 

Teach Music Lessons

Are you musically talented? You can start a side hustle where you teach singing or playing an instrument and make a lot of money doing it.

Work at Trader Joe’s

“If you work at Trader Joe’s, you get a discount on groceries,” said Cruze, adding that the pay is higher on the weekends. 

Teach CPR Classes

The primary requirement for this side hustle is to first become CPR certified. Then, you can use your skill to earn some extra money.

Work for a Catering Company

Cruze used the example of someone from the Ramsey Solutions community who worked for a catering company on the side during big events and was able to make some money because of it.

Start an Alterations Business

If you’re good at sewing, Cruze said you may consider an alterations side hustle. This can mean everything to stitching buttons back onto clothes to sewing curtains. 

Work for the US Census Bureau

According to Cruze, someone in the Ramsey Solutions office worked a door-to-door side hustle with the U.S. Census Bureau. Cruze said you can make anywhere from $13 to $26 an hour.

Create a Mobile Detailing Business

This side hustle is specific to those who love car detailing. Cruze recommends starting a mobile detailing business because you’ll be able to use your lunch break to clean and detail your co-workers’ cars. (Provided they are paying clients, of course.)

Sell Military Surplus Goods

For this side hustle, Cruze recommends selling these items at flea markets.

Try Book Editing

If you’re skilled at grammar and consider yourself a wordsmith, consider book editing as a solid side hustle for earning extra money.

Go to Yard Sales and Flip Items on eBay

Spend the weekends hitting up various yard sales around your neighborhood and then flip the items on eBay. If you don’t use eBay, Cruze said you can try Facebook Marketplace.

Clean Headlights During Lunch

If you and all of your co-workers drive to work, Cruze said one side hustle idea could be cleaning their car headlights during your lunch hour. Much like the side hustle idea on mobile car detailing, remember to make sure your co-workers agree to having their headlights cleaned and will pay you for your services.

Do Some Freelance Graphic Design Work

Much like the IT side hustle mentioned earlier, this side hustle can be as simple as you’d like or a little more intermediate if you have the skillset. You may even be able to offer your services to businesses in the area and set your pricing to receive good pay.

Make Shirts and Sell Them on Etsy

The more customized you can make these shirts to fit your audience’s style, the more sales you’re likely to receive.

Try Acting or Modeling

According to Cruze, you can average up to $400 a month by acting or modeling as a side hustle.

Make Beef Jerky Bouquets

Cruze said someone who works at Ramsey Solutions created beef jerky bouquets. These were made for women to buy for their husbands as Valentine’s Day gifts or birthdays. 

Cruze said this creative side hustle not only makes for fun gifts, but it really helped the creator pay off some of her debt.

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