Hello!

I recently joined TikTok and I keep seeing posts about side hustles. How do you know what is legitimate and what isn’t. I love the idea of earning a little extra cash but am always skeptical about these types of things. I have some debt I would love to fix and get back on track for 2026 and am looking for ways to help me achieve this. Does anyone do side hustles and if so how do you know what is real and what isn’t?


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  • Some of the replies to this are very interesting so I will enjoy the read. I would be very careful too in signing up for anything, you can get roped into pyramid selling plans and end up spending more than you earn. You may have friends avoiding your posts lol. I think you are much safer with the ones mentioned like a Trivia Host or surveys.


  • My hubby has a great one, if you have the confidence to do it. He is a trivia host! 2 nights a week he reads trivia for a trivia company at two local venues. He gets paid $100 per session for doing that. He doesn’t need to write his own questions (although he can and has done charity events as an extra). You really just need a good speaking voice, basic customer service skills and be tech savvy enough to run a program. The trivia company supplies all the gear.


  • The key word in your question is legitimate and it is very difficult to know when anything is legitimate online. It really does pay to be considered and sensible when viewing online information and then reflecting on it and then investigating it. Unfortunately; some people can have motives that are questionable.


  • It is always a good idea to do a lot of research before engaging in any form of extra work. It is important to ensure work is legitimate. I am not sure if these things are monitored and regulated and it might also be wise to find out about this too.


  • You’re absolutely right to be cautious — TikTok is full of flashy side hustle ideas, but not all of them are as easy or profitable as they seem. To spot what’s not legit, watch out for:
    Big promises with little detail (“Make $500/day with no effort!”)
    Upfront fees or expensive “starter kits”
    Lack of reviews or transparency
    I recommend checking out this guide to 50 side hustles in Australia or Forbes Australia’s list of best side hustles — both offer practical, vetted ideas.


  • My daughter does the university study of Bachelor of visual arts and sometimes tries to sell some of her work to cover the material costs of her study which can be quite dear. It’s quite hard to get a reasonable price for her work, but anything helps of course. Mostly she does it at local galleries, art fairs, and community events.


  • You’re not alone, I’ve been seeing so many of the same posts about side hustles but in the back of my mind I honestly can’t help but be very sceptical about most of them. I’m intrigued to see what ideas and side hustles others are doing. The only thing I do outside of my job, is online surveys through Octopus Group, as I was recommended it by a friend who was already doing them so I knew it wasn’t a scam and felt comfortable doing them. Depending on the time you have to complete the surveys you can make a couple of hundred dollars a year, which I save to cash out as gift cards at Christmas time.


  • For a lot of people, a legit side hustle is more or less a part time job. Many of them are creative type things – like making jewellery for sale. I believe some people use it as a way to test the market and decide whether to open their own business full time.


  • For me that most I do are surveys that earn some extra splash to treat myself. Its so hard to know what’s legit and what isn’t, phishing websites can look pretty sophisticated. I’d be curious to see what others may say here. I’ve known people who have done gold stocks, but that’s too advanced for me


  • Great question! Unfortunately it’s not easy to tell what’s safe and what’s not these days because there are so many ways for companies to get fake reviews etc. I think the safest ways are to sell at markets, eBay, gumtree, facebook marketplace. I also find it hand to pay off debt by setting an automatic repayment and not touching it. Then you HAVE to stick to your budget. It’s not easy but it’s worth it. Also buying in bulk saves money so try seeing if people want to go in on bulk supplies with you and you both can benefit.


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