There is no fixed rate for how much an hour of your time should cost. Someone might earn $12 an hour, while those 60 minutes might bring in $40 in a higher-paying job. Regardless of whether you make $12 o $40 an hour, your monthly income might not be enough for you, depending on your financial goals. So, how can you create opportunities for extra income? Here are some ideas.

1. Know and monetize your skills

There are people out there wanting to learn a skill you already have. The first thing you can do to brainstorm ideas for new income is to evaluate your market value. What do I have that others will value? The biggest misconception when measuring your skills and what you can offer is that you need to be the best at what you do so others will want to learn from you. That is not true at all. Even if you have not yet mastered a skill, there is someone who knows even less and can learn from you.

Once you’ve identified your skill set, you can choose many routes to make them profitable:

• Tutoring – Maybe you are good at math. Do you play an instrument very well? Give classes or tutor kids in your neighborhood.
• Pet or house sitting – You can find apps where you can offer your services to people who need someone to walk their dog or check up on their home while away. You can also offer your services around your neighborhood.
• Are you excellent at bookkeeping? - Sign up as an online accountant. Again, you can find websites or apps that pay for bookkeeping or you can work for small businesses near you.
• Set up workshops – Are you really good at cooking home meals on a budget? Offer a short workshop or course so others can learn from you.

2. Create content that can become a source of passive income

If you are good at something, share it with others for a fee. You can choose to do podcasts, videos, online workshops, pdfs, templates, e-books, and make content available for others. Research how to monetize content in these formats and pick the one that fits you best. This option is ideal for people who already create content for other purposes. For instance, teachers work on worksheets, unit planners, interactive activities, and attractive presentations for their classes. Why not double up on earnings by selling these teaching resources? If you do not create content, you might have to weigh whether the initial investment in time and work makes it profitable. Word of caution: be mindful that content needs to reach potential customers, so it might take a while to start seeing money coming in. Once you’ve created content and have found a means to reach customers, content can give you a small but steady income for a long time. For example, a popular YouTube video with advertisements can still yield profit years after it was first uploaded.

3. Put your money to work

If you have any extra money and are reaching your saving goals, put your money to work. There are plenty of options to invest your money and increase your earnings. However, returns on investments vary widely and depend on many factors that should be aligned with your financial goals and the prospects you have for maintaining or increasing your income. The most important factor to consider is that investments do entail risk. Based on criteria like prospects, debt, age, and so on, you need to find an investment option that makes you comfortable. Be mindful that investing does not give you a liquid earning monthly unless you invest in dividend-paying stocks where you will see cash flowing in.

Not long ago, boosting your income meant you had to take a second job or take up any extra hours to make ends meet. Today connectivity allows you to think outside the box.