Nearly half of Americans report having to side hustle to make ends meet, according to a survey from LendingTree. Jane Oates, president of WorkingNation, joined Cheddar News to discuss the state of play as families are having a difficult time with inflation and high-interest rates.

Closing Bell

Stretching Your Dollar: Survey Shows Half of Americans Have Side Job

It's time for stretching your dollar. Nearly half of Americans report having a side hustle to help make ends meet. That's according to a survey by Lending Tree. This as a recent report from Lending Club finds that 62% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. So joining me now is Jane Oates, president of Working nation, a nonprofit organization meant to raise awareness for the country's labor crisis and seek solutions. Jane, thank you for coming on the show. Explain to me the state of play as you see it. Well, look, I think families are having a really hard time with these high inflation numbers, even as we see inflation coming down, you know, the eggs are less expensive but then gas is going back up. So I think they're really struggling. I mean, there's still a lot of great jobs out there, but there's, there seems to be a real slowdown in how people can get placed in those jobs. We talked about a skills mix, mix, mismatch, you know, for the last year, but it seems to be getting worse as the economy is slowing down a little bit. Yeah. How has inflation contributed to this. We've seen persistently high price gains, especially now in that sticky services sector. Yeah, I think that's exactly a problem. You know, when you put food and rent and gasoline all up at the same time, it creates a tsunami for so many families. And I think the statistic that you quoted that 61% of families are living paycheck to paycheck. Frightening. Right. One, right. One hike in your rent could put you in real trouble. So, I, I think the, the good news is that people are finding different ways to make money in addition to their primary job and sometimes putting together some of these side hustles uh to create a real full time job. They're doing two or 34 different things. What are some common side? Hustles? Uh Jane that you see Americans pursuing in these times? Well, the bad news with your lifts segment before a lot of people did the ride, share stuff, whether it was with Uber or Lyft or a third party. Uh That was a great way for people to have great flexibility to work odd hours and to make extra money. But some of the interesting things that I'm finding lots of people have gotten into tutoring online. I mean, they're making about $16 an hour uh doing something that they feel really good at whether it's math or whether it's English, whether it's tutoring people and history, getting them ready for an exam or finishing a course. And the one I love is the growth in, you know, as more people are going back to work, uh, even if they're hybrid, they're going back to work several days. They don't like leaving their pets alone after being at home 24 7 with them during COVID. So, things like rover and wag, you know, people will, that will come and walk your dog while you're, uh, at, physically, at work or uh they'll come and house, sit for you if you're gonna take a vacation, I think those are really interesting. Plus, I think the entrepreneurial things that I find amazing are people have really found their passion in crafting or cooking or baking and they're selling things, selling things on Etsy, you know, starting small businesses. It'll be really interesting to see if they want to go down that route as their full profession. If they really want to go and start a business, uh how they can get access to capital. So that'll be another, another problem that we'll be looking at in the months to come, Jane. What do people need to know if they are interested in pursuing a side hustle? Of course, it can mean more income, it's going to impact your taxes, other factors as well. What's the 11 on a side hustle? So I think pick something that you enjoy doing. If you hate driving, don't go for a ride share. You know, I mean, it because a side hustle should be rewarding in one way or another. It's why I brought up the tutoring and the dog walking. People might really like to do that. But if you're choosing voluntarily to do a side hustle as your main form of employment, always remember that you might want to go back to full time, more traditional employment. So keep thinking about how your side hustle is adding to your transferrable skills. So that will not only make you the money you need today, but maybe give you skills that will give you an even better job in the future. All right, Jane Oates, President of working Nation. Uh Jane, we appreciate it. Thank you.