£10k Side Hustle Challenge: Month 9 Update

3/4 of the way through my 10k side hustle challenge and I’m still committed to making a whopping ten thousand pounds from side hustles! With the way the numbers are currently looking, I might even finish the challenge early… but more on that later!

Month 9 of my side hustle challenge was a pretty good one! Things were slowly picking back up again after a crazy summer and I found myself having more time to dedicate to hustling.

Before I breakdown all incoming payments in September, let’s me explain exactly what my 10k side hustle challenge is…

The Rules

This year I will have two main sources of income, my summer job and my winter job. And as this is a side hustle challenge I won’t be counting any earnings from these two sources towards my total. But everything else is up for grabs! Including any freelance income outside of these two jobs and my passive income streams like bank interest.

I went back and forth but have decided to count both cash income and voucher income towards the total. I only counted cash in my £5k hustle challenge as the goal was to match my gap year spending pot. But the goal for this challenge is to push myself and test the earning capacity of various side hustles. So I will be counting both cash and vouchers when I have received them.

The minute they hit my bank account/inbox they will be counted towards my total. Before then they exist in limbo and my daily hustle tracker. If you fancy seeing how much I earned in the month of September, check this post out.

Ok, so now we’re clear on what the challenge is and the rules, let’s get into where the money came from in month 9…

Sharing Data = £2

I use an app called Amazon Shopper Panel which rewards me for sharing my ad data. This added £2 a month to my Amazon balance but the rules have recently changed. From October onwards, you now have to answer surveys on the app to get rewards instead of them being added automatically. Gutted!

Cashback = £12.13

All the cashback paid out in month 9 of the challenge came directly from the Chase app. I use this card whenever I’m travelling as it doesn’t have any foreign transaction fees and you get 1% back on most purchases.

Interest = £13.56

I love earning passive income on my savings!! I keep all my sinking funds in high yield savings accounts paying around 4% interest.

Referrals = £40

Referrals is one of the ways I’ve monetised my blog. In month 9 of the challenge, I had two Zing referrals clear from the month before!

The Zing offer is still live and has been increased! If you sign up before 3rd December 2024 & spend £5+ within the first 30 days, you’ll get a £30 welcome bonus 💸 Claim the offer here!

LISA Bonus = £108

I got paid £108 from the LISA bonus scheme in month 9. I’m using my Lifetime ISA to save for retirement so my entire bonus gets reinvested into the stock market. 60-year old Jess is going to be thrilled that I’m putting the effort in now when she’s sat on a beach somewhere drinking a margarita!

Freelancing = £231.75

I got paid £231.75 from working as a freelance VA in month 9 of my challenge. This is currently my main side hustle so my priority each month.

Month 9 Total = £407.44

Challenge Total = £8197.25/£10,000

82% there! Even with taking a break over the summer, I’m still ahead of schedule. I’m on track currently to smash my £10k goal by the end of October which is actually insane!!

I think it might be time to start brainstorming my next challenge!

Now like I explained in the intro, I’m only counting income that has physically hit my bank account towards my challenge total. Which means I have a bunch of income either pending or in balances which I can’t cash out yet. If you want an idea of how much I actually made in September (not necessarily paid) then check out this side hustle update next.

Are you doing a money challenge in 2024? I’d love to hear all about it!