Retirement Planning For Dummies. Matthew Krantz

31 percent of adults were engaged in some type of side gig, which accounted for 10 percent or less of family income for three-quarters of them.

      Next up, advice on finding a side gig.

      Freelance pairing sites

For temporary work, dedicated sites that match people with skills are booming. Upwork.com (www.upwork.com), shown in Figure 2-7, and Fiverr.com (www.fiverr.com) are two leading sites that help you find a way to make some extra money.

      FIGURE 2-7: Upwork will help you find a side hustle.

The more specialized the work, the more you’ll get paid. For example, rather than offering your services as a consultant, concentrate on an industry such as healthcare or finance. Your pool of customers will shrink, but those interested will pay more.

      Side gig blogs

      Given the rising interest in earning a little extra cash, blogs are cropping up to separate the good side gig opportunities from the bad. One notable source is Sidehusl (https://sidehusl.com/), run by former Kiplinger’s columnist Kathy Kristof. This site helps you find work based on your skill set, ranging from accounting to tutoring. The site also ranks the opportunities based on pay and how well contributors are treated.

      The usual places

      Companies such as driving services Uber and Lyft, delivery services such as Shipt, and food courier DoorDash rely on side hustlers to get the job done. If you want something fast, these might work. But if you have specialized skills or interests, you can do better.