$2K in 2 Months Side Hustle Challenge: Week 1 Update

It’s been a week since I started my $2k in 2 months side hustle challenge, so I thought I’d share a quick update.

I will say that focusing so much on side hustles and keeping up with everyday life has been a challenge in itself. I have my 3-year-old daughter at home with me, so I’m trying to find a balance with all of this, and it isn’t easy! But, I’ll keep pressing forward and doing what I can. I am having fun with it, though 🙂

So, in the first week, I earned $175.

Here’s what I’ve done, so far:

  • Signed up with a mystery shopping company (Bestmark)

The signup process was easy. I started applying to a few others, but they wanted me to enter my social security number, and I’m just not going to do that before I know that the company is legit. Bestmark seemed promising, but unfortunately, the only “shops” they have available at this time are for oil changes at random dealerships.

  • Created Gigs on Fiverr

Fiverr is actually turning out to be awesome. If you’ve never tried it, you simply sign up and create “gigs”. You say I will do _____ for $5. Fiverr takes $1 right off the top, so really you’re only earning $4. The beauty of it is that you can make up just about anything to offer. There are gigs for writing haikus, doing voice-overs, proofreading resumes, writing blog posts, etc. Anything you can think of, there’s probably someone offering it.

What makes it worthwhile is that you can specify that you will only do X amount of something for 1 gig, so you can actually get a customer to order as many $5 gigs as you want in order to reach an amount that you’re comfortable with. Make sense?  I’ll be writing a more detailed review of Fiverr soon 🙂

  • Kept up with Swagbucks

I’ve been going on Swagbucks (that’s my referral link) every day, usually when I’m working or when I have a few minutes to spare. I earn a couple of Swagbucks here and there, and it only takes 450 to get a $5 Amazon gift card. I just cashed out for one yesterday, and I’m already working on another!

So all of my earnings up to this point have come from various writing gigs and Swagbucks (I’m counting gift card values towards the total). I won’t do weekly updates, just because I don’t want to bore you if there’s nothing new to share. Although I’m feeling good about this so far, it has taken me away from the blog more than I’d like. I’ll continue to work on striking that elusive balance between it all.

 *I included my Swagbucks referral link above

28 thoughts on “$2K in 2 Months Side Hustle Challenge: Week 1 Update”

  1. Derek @ MoneyAhoy.com

    Fiverr sounds cool. I would bet if you can find a good niche to exploit you could make a ton of money. I will give it a second look 🙂

    Great start on your challenge!

    1. Thanks Derek! Definitely take a look around there and see if you can come up with something cool to offer.

  2. Great start on your goal, Lauren! You seem full of energy because you are so motivated. It’s contagious! I have heard of fiverr but it’s nice to have some personal views on it, so I’m looking forward to your post.

    1. Thanks Deb! I’m sure my energy is going to start winding down soon, haha! 2k is an aggressive goal, and I’m really not sure how it’s going to shake out.

  3. What service are you providing on Fiverr? I guess I have to wait for the update. I can’t think of anything I can do on Fiverr. Does Swagbucks also have surveys you can fill out to get more bucks?

    1. Right now I’m offering content, so just freelance writing, as usual 🙂 You can really get creative, though- there’s tons of odd stuff on there. Swagbucks does have surveys for bucks!

  4. Great job! I’m also looking forward to your review of Fiverr. I’ve read a few, but after looking at the site, it seems like there’s so much competition, so that kind of scared me off. I have to think about what I can offer for $5 ($4) that’s worth it, or find creative ways to market add-ons.

  5. I had heard of Fiverr in passing but thanks for mentioning it as I’ll check that out! Glad to know you’re having fun in the process of trying to meet your $2K challenge 🙂

  6. John @ Sprout Wealth

    Not a bad start at all Lauren! I’ve always wondered how Fiverr works in terms of maximizing the amount you can make. But, it sounds like with you figuring out how to put limitations on what you do that has helped a good bit. I’m looking forward to reading your review. 🙂

  7. Congrats on a good start! I haven’t done any of these things for side income so I’m definitely interested in learning more. Thanks for explaining this as it’s a big reason I haven’t even made my way over to Fiverr yet -> “What makes it worthwhile is that you can specify that you will only do X amount of something for 1 gig, so you can actually get a customer to order as many $5 gigs as you want in order to reach an amount that you’re comfortable with.”

    1. Thanks DC! Fiverr can definitely be worthwhile once you figure out how to set up your gigs to earn more.

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  9. Nice work Lauren! I’ve purchased a few gigs from Fiverr before. Mostly blog stuff. Do you offer writing gigs on Fiverr?

    1. I do have some writing gigs, and I’m going to add some other things, too. I love that you can offer just about anything creative on there.

  10. Pretty cool. I didn’t know about Fiverr, I’m going to check it out. Maybe there’s something I can offer.

  11. Debt Busting Chick

    Well done you’ve done a great job! I’ve heard many do well from fiverr. I earned £125 this week from side hustling. What I will say is that it’s exhausting and I want my Saturdays back 🙁

  12. Thanks for the update! $175 ain’t too shabby!

    Can’t wait for the Fiverr review! I just bought my first gig over there.

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