More Australians are adopting creative side hustles like upcycling furniture and mystery shopping on top of their full-time jobs as a way of combating mounting cost-of-living pressures.
The 2026 budget was delivered on Tuesday, with tax cuts and new housing development funds being allocated to help ease the pressures people are facing in their daily lives.
However, for some, the current economic state of Australia has meant they have had to find new ways to save money.
One Sydney resident, Kirsty Nauth, has adopted a variety of methods, like renting out her car space and participating in clinical trials, as a way to save money for bigger expenses in the future.
“I have quite a lot of side hustles that I do as well as having a full-time job,” she said.
“I definitely think it makes me think more strategically about how and when I purchase things, and also stretching the budget.”
Ms Nauth, a health care worker from Randwick, moved to Randwick in 2020 and said that the rent for her two-bedroom apartment has increased by almost $200 a week in the last six years.
“I made a conscientious choice in Covid to put myself in a financial lockdown,” she said.
”Just to see as an experiment how much I can save.”
She now uses her downtime as a way of saving money, including babysitting and providing support to NDIS patients after her normal nine-to-five.
“Any cash I get from these sorts of things pretty much goes towards paying for groceries,” she said.
“Anything else I get is kind of a bonus.”
Some other strategies she has implemented include donating blood, completing online surveys and participating in clinical trials and market research groups.
She discussed how many of these strategies are helping contribute to her long-term saving goals, but also admitted they were inconsistent and don’t provide a regular flow of income.
“I’d like to buy a place at some point, and also have a nice amount of money in my savings for when I retire,” she said.
“I don’t see it as I’m missing out on things, more that I’m investing in my future.”
Ms Nauth has also made changes to her purchase habits to align with growing expenses, choosing to opt for cheaper and non-perishable products with a high shelf life.
“I make conscious decisions of buying things like pulses, beans and legumes that will give fibre and protein, but also are more cost-effective than things like meat.”
She also works as mystery shopper in supermarkets to earn extra income, and encourages her friends to get involved as a way of providing a low-cost way to socialise during a busy week.
“It’s that sense of dopamine of feeling good that you’re helping give back as well, but encouraging friends to do it with you,” she said.
Kirsty said that her recent side hustle, upcycling used items to sell on online marketplaces, has shown that community projects are helping ease pressures in unexpected ways.
“Sydney’s got a very big kerb culture. If I find decent furniture on the curb, I tend to take it home and up cycle it,” she said.
“I think since Covid, it’s kind of brought the community together in a way of ‘what can we offer with our services. What can we barter and trade to support each other in this economy?”
Kirsty also hopes to use her savings to one day buy a home of her own and to visit her family overseas, which she says is worth the sacrifice she experiences to save at extreme lengths.
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