Bessie Hassan | Money Expert at finder.com.au
Whether it’s promoting your skills on Airtasker, renting out a spare property on Airbnb or signing up to become an Uber driver, there are plenty of ways that you can grow your savings via the sharing economy.
The sharing economy is a useful way to make some extra income with minimal effort. If you’re looking to purchase your first home and you’re hard-pressed to come up with a deposit or if you’re a current mortgage holder looking for a financial reprieve, consider using the sharing economy to raise some extra funds.
Doing so will help you fast-track your savings plan and potentially help you to get into the property market sooner. However, if you are thinking of leveraging the sharing economy, make sure you speak to a tax accountant so that you fully understand how the extra work will affect your taxable income once the end of the financial year rolls around.
Read on to find out three ways that you can use the sharing economy to boost your savings.
Rent out a spare bedroom
A new finder.com.au survey revealed that renting out a spare room in your house could add an extra $808 to your monthly income. This extra income could go a long way in helping you pay off your mortgage. For instance, if you have a home loan of $450,000 with a 5.5% interest rate and a term of 30 years, making additional monthly repayments of $808 from year 5 onwards would save you over $150,000 in interest.
It would also shrink your loan term by 9 years and 9 months, leaving you with an updated loan term of 20 years and 3 months. That’s nearly 10 extra mortgage-free years! The numbers speak for themselves.
So whether you have a whole granny flat or even just a spare guest bedroom, why not consider renting it out? You can create an account on Airbnb or Stayz to get started and if space isn’t being used anyway, it’s a no-brainer.
Promote your skills on sites like Airtasker
Airtasker is an online service that allows you to promote your skills to potential candidates who need to outsource a job. Whether you’re a graphic designer, a writer, a business strategist or a handyman, consider promoting your skills on Airtasker to make some extra cash. Even an additional $200 per month could go towards a home deposit or extra loan repayments. Other sites such as Upwork, Oneflare and Fiverr also provide a similar service.
Become an Uber driver
More people are cottoning on to the fact that becoming an Uber driver is a pretty good way to make some extra cash. In Australia, Uber drivers make 75% of their weekly fare and have an average income of $35-$40 per hour (before Uber takes its cut). Not bad for driving people from A to B while listening to the radio! Use finder.com.au’s nifty calculator to estimate how much you could earn as an Uber driver. The sharing economy allows people to generate income by utilising what they have, so if you have some spare time and some skills to leverage, why not consider using it to help grow your savings?
Whether your goal is to create some extra income to help manage the costs of homeownership or to come up with a 20% deposit for a property purchase, the sharing economy is an innovative way that you can improve your financial position with minimal effort.
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