My 2020 Side Hustle Income Report: How I Earned $13,937 During an Uncertain Year

This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more in my full disclosurehere.

I’ve talked about 2020 as a whole on the blog a few times, but when it comes to extra income, it was easily one of my best years.

In 2020, I made $13,937.39 from my business and side hustles. I’ll take that number any year, but in a year where so many people lost their jobs (myself included), this felt especially meaningful.

In 2019, I earned $12,405.11. In 2020, I increased that by $1,532. This was the most money I’ve ever made from my side ventures, and I’m honestly ecstatic. I’m already motivated to push even harder this year.

If you’re trying to build extra income now, here are some side hustle ideas that are still working today.

I published these yearly income reports to track progress. I like seeing which categories grew, which ones stalled, and which ones no longer make sense for me. Over the years, some side hustles have disappeared completely, not because they failed, but because I moved on to better opportunities. I’m sharing this report to show how my side hustles worked at the time and how those strategies evolved

Compared to the 2019 side hustle income report, most of my income streams trended in the right direction in 2020. Let’s break it all down.

2020 Side Hustle Income Report

eBay — $7,437.22

For the second year in a row, eBay was my top side hustle, and that’s no surprise. I love flipping items.

I made over $760 more on eBay than in 2019, mainly because I focused on sourcing higher-quality items and listing more consistently. That strategy paid off.

Here are five of my top eBay sales from 2020:

• Bought a HeroQuest board game for $6 → sold for $210

• Got a Tiffany watch for free → sold for $199

• Paid $18.03 for a NASCAR jacket → sold for $145

• Bought a Dale of Norway sweater for $6.50 → sold for $100

• Paid $5.50 for a SpookyTown Fire Department set → sold for $100

If you’re interested in learning more about eBay, check out my webinar, eBay for Starters, or join my eBay group, My Money Chronicles Inner Circle.

Other Selling Platforms — $3,558.63

This category saw huge growth in 2020.

Besides eBay, I sold items on:
Bonanza, Poshmark, Mercari, Craigslist, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, and Nextdoor.

Yeah, that’s a lot of platforms.

I’m a huge believer in cross-posting, and because I leaned into that strategy, I made over $2,000 more in this category than I did in 2019. If you’re only selling on one platform, you’re leaving money on the table. Many of these are also among the best apps to make extra money if you stay consistent.

Sponsored Content — $1,029.43

Sponsored content dropped again this year, and that was intentional.

A lot of low-quality companies reached out wanting casino links or irrelevant articles that didn’t align with my brand. I care deeply about the content on this site, so I turned most of those offers down.

I’m no longer accepting just any sponsored post, and I’m okay with that.

Other — $541.47

This category includes events, Uber Eats, and other random income sources that don’t fit neatly elsewhere.

Ads — $541.21

I made just $3 less in ad income compared to 2019, even though I had 12,000 fewer pageviews. That’s a win in my book.

Both traffic and ad income should increase this year.

Affiliate Income — $427.65

Affiliate income improved from 2019, when I only made about $130 — but I’m still not satisfied.

After auditing my site, I realized I didn’t have enough posts that naturally featured products or services my audience could actually use. That’s something I’m actively fixing. My goal is to earn at least $1,000 in affiliate income this year.

Products — $401.78

The final category is products.

I made some sales, but not nearly as many as I wanted. The truth is, I didn’t promote my course or merchandise consistently because I was heavily focused on growing my eBay store.

This year, I plan to put much more energy into promoting my course, t-shirts, and future products.

Final Thoughts on 2020

I’m happy with how I performed in 2020, but I wasn’t content.

I wanted every single category to grow. More growth means less debt, more reinvestment, and more freedom. I know I’m capable of doing better, and I’m committed to making it happen.

More success is on the way.