As inflation drives prices ever higher, individuals worldwide are eagerly seeking ways to boost their income.

Whether it’s through dog walking or delivering for DoorDash, side hustles have never been more in vogue. But how can you determine which gig suits you best?

Luckily, Tom Blake, a 29-year-old from Canada, has dabbled in numerous side hustles and shared his insights on which ones offer the greatest financial return with minimal effort.

Blake recounted in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail that his journey into side hustles began in 2014. At the time, he was a college student juggling classes and a job at a campus Starbucks.

His earnings were just enough to cover his basic expenses, and like many students, he was accumulating debt.

Motivated to increase his income and pay down his tuition, he ventured into various side gigs, including reselling textbooks and freelance writing.

‘I tried so many ideas early on. Some of them worked out alright, but some of the ideas were complete flops,’ he admitted. 

‘I tried one passive income idea called phone farming that I heard about on Reddit, which promised I’d make hundreds of dollars a month. I barely made $30 a month and was very disappointed.’

Tom Blake, 29, from Canada, has tried dozens of different side hustles, and he has revealed which ones will make you the most money and don’t require too much work

Blake realized that with so many different side hustles out there, it was overwhelming and difficult to try to figure out which would actually be lucrative and which would be a waste of time. 

So in 2018, he started a blog called This Online World and started documenting every side hustle he tried out.

At the time, he had just finished school and landed a job at a digital marketing agency. 

In his free time, he tried every side hustle he could find and wrote detailed reviews on his blog, and it took off immediately.

‘I kept at it, publishing detailed income reports, side hustle tests and reviews. My audience slowly grew, coming largely from Google searches and also from social media platforms like Pinterest and Reddit,’ Blake explained.

By its fourth year, Blake was earning close to $100,000 from ads on the blog, so he decided to quit his job and make that his focus full-time. 

So, which side hustles did he find were the most successful? He told the Daily Mail that doing paid surveys is a great place to start.

‘This side hustle doesn’t pay much, but it’s super beginner friendly,’ he explained. 

With inflation causing prices to continuously rise, people all across the globe are looking for any way to make some extra cash (stock image)

‘All kinds of companies out there pay people to answer questions about various topics like entertainment, food, music, politics and other areas that market researchers are interested in. 

‘You earn for every survey you complete, and you can often cash out via PayPal or for gift cards to companies like Amazon.

‘My favorite survey sites in this space are Branded Surveys, Prolific, and Survey Junkie.’

He also found that doing ‘odd jobs’ for people through Craigslist is a great money-maker for him.

‘People will pay you to help them move, clean, do landscaping, shovel snow and all kinds of things,’ he said.

‘You can also post services like this on [the app] Taskrabbit. Sometimes people even post on Facebook Groups that they need help with something, or you can advertise a service you offer here.’

He also revealed that there are tons of lesser-known apps out there that offer to pay people for various jobs.

‘Everyone knows about delivering food for DoorDash or driving for Uber. But there’s tons of niche apps out there with better pay that aren’t oversaturated yet,’ he said. 

‘For example, companies like Oppizi pay people to deliver flyers to people in their neighborhood. 

‘You can also try out companies like Sharetown, which pays you to pick up bulky returns from people like furniture and mattresses and then resell them on the Facebook Marketplace.’

Another side hustle that Blake found to be extremely lucrative was using reward apps, which he said make him a few hundred dollars per month.

Blake recommended doing paid surveys, doing ‘odd jobs’ for people through Craigslist and using reward apps

‘There are so many apps and websites these days that pay you for doing things like downloading apps, playing games or even opening a free checking account,’ he shared.

‘In some cases, rewards can be in the hundreds of dollars. One of the largest companies in this space is Freecash, which has millions of members around the world. 

‘I also like using Scrambly, another popular rewards platform, as well as Kashkick.’

Last but not least, he suggested that people use cashback apps or ‘free apps out there that let you earn cashback rewards on certain purchases.’

‘For example, [the app] Upside lets you earn cashback on gas as well as at restaurants and the grocery store,’ he added. 

‘I use Fetch as well to earn cashback from groceries. And new apps out there like Franki even pay you to explore your city and try out new restaurants and bars. There are tons of apps in this space, and they’re so beginner friendly.’

As for what side hustles he advises against, he said you should never try something that ‘requires significant investments.’

‘For example, starting a dropshipping business and spending thousands of dollars in paid ads to test out the products you’re selling,’ he said. 

‘Or, something like Amazon FBA, where you’re investing into inventory upfront. These business models can work. But it puts immense pressure on yourself to succeed if you start out in debt or with draining your savings to start a side hustle.’

In the end, he said his most important piece of advice is to ‘start out small and stay consistent.’

‘Once you get some practice, you can branch out into higher-potential ideas,’ he added.

‘Setting an overall income goal is also important so you pick side hustles that are in the right ballpark.

‘Finally, accurately track all your extra income and any expenses. This is important at tax time so you report your income accurately and can also potentially claim deductions on your side hustle expenses.’