A side income can offer you financial stability, a way to pay for things such as music lessons for the kids and your sports class that you can’t afford on your regular income, and a way to pay extra on your debt and get out of debt faster.  If you lose your main income source, a side income can help float you along until you get another job.

If you are looking for financial stability through a steady side income, chances are you may not have to look any further than what you enjoy doing.  Your hobbies can be an excellent springboard to making money on the side.

Consider some of these ways:

1.  Make money golfing.  Yes, it sounds too good to be true, but some mystery shopping companies pay individuals $10 to $30 to go golfing and then fill out a report rating their experience.  If you are lucky, you can get a mystery shop not just for golfing, but also for having dinner and drinks at the club afterwards.  Best of all, you are reimbursed for your expenses and paid the $10 to $30 on top of that.  Sign me up!

2.  Teach what you know.  CBS News reported on a site, eduFire, where you can make money teaching what you know.  You don’t have to be a teacher; you don’t have to have any certification.  You just need to know how to do something well and be willing to teach others.  If you are an HTML expert, you can offer a course explaining basic HTML to novices.  You can teach key business phrases in your native language (assuming it is not English).  eduFire says that the top earning instructors make $100 or more per hour.  The more popular your class is, the more eduFire markets it for you, and the more you can make.

3.  Sell your photos.  If you are an amateur photographer, you can sell your photos on a site like shutterstock.com and make anywhere from .25 cents to a few dollars every time your photos are used.  The more photos you upload, the more you can potentially sell.

4.  Sell your crafts.  If you like to sit at night and crochet, or if you are a painter or another artist or crafter, you can sell your goods on Etsy.  One woman created her own cash based envelope system because she and her husband were following Dave Ramsey to get out of debt.  Friends liked the envelope system, so she began selling them on Ebay.  Now a few years later, she and her husband are working full-time on their Etsy business, Timeless Treasures.

5. Invest in Peer Lending. Lending to your peers online is a growing trend in the financial world. People use theses loans for home repair, to pay credit card bills and as short-term alternative payday loans. Try both Prosper.com and LendingClub.com to get started.

A second stream of income can be important to meeting your financial goals.  Even better, your side business may one day turn into your full-time job.

If you are looking to make extra money, look no further than your hobbies.  The Internet is filled with possible ways to make money.  You just need to decide which way works best for you.  Don’t be afraid to experiment.

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