Is Thrift-Flipping Your Next Side Hustle?
You want to boost your income and do it fast. Other than asking for a raise or upgrading your job, your best bet to accomplish this is to start a side hustle. A side hustle is a flexible job that you can commit to outside of the boundaries of your primary full-time job. After you clock out from work, you can dive into your side hustle and put more money into your pockets.
So, what should you do as a side hustle? One option that might interest you is thrift flipping.
Thrift Flipping
Thrift flipping is when you buy second-hand items from a thrift store, improve them and then resell them at a higher price. It’s a similar idea to house flipping, where someone purchases a fixer-upper home, renovates it and then resells it at a higher price. However, thrift flipping is an activity that’s much more accessible for the average person. Buying and renovating a house is out of the financial range for many Americans. But, buying something at the thrift store? That’s easy!
The second-hand items don’t have to come from thrift stores. They can come from estate sales, consignment stores, yard sales, flea markets and online marketplaces. You might even stumble by second-hand items sitting on the road free of charge!
What Can You Thrift Flip?
Clothes
If you have some sewing skills, you should consider thrifting clothes and reselling them at higher prices. You can pick up pieces that need just a little extra care to become a part of someone’s favorite outfit.
These are some things you can do to “flip” the item:
- Clean the item properly. You have no idea how much dust, grime and smoke it has absorbed before you got your hands on it. Follow the washing instructions on the tag to get the best results.
- Make repairs. Does the item have missing buttons? Torn seams? Stuck zippers? Fix these problems to get the item back in good condition.
- Punch up the color. If the item has a dull, flat color, use a clothing dye to transform it.
- Make it trendy. Modify the item to meet the current fashion trends. For instance, you can trim a lengthy t-shirt into a crop top.
Wood Furniture
You can restore old wooden furniture that’s suffered through a little wear and tear — or even, that needs to be updated to a more modern style. Start by cleaning off the wood and repairing any major issues. Then strip off the paint. Sand it to smooth over the surface and create a clean slate to paint over. Once that’s done, add coats of new stain or paint. The furniture will look brand-new.
Bicycles
You can restore old bicycles that you get from yard sales and online marketplaces. While bicycles can take a lot of elbow grease to repair, they can also come with a lot of profit. You can resell a restored bike at a much higher price than what you got it for.
The Benefit of a Side Hustle
A successful side hustle will boost your income and improve your personal finances over the course of a year. For instance, you can use your extra savings to increase your financial stability and put together an emergency fund.
Without an emergency fund, you will be vulnerable to any urgent, unplanned expense that comes your way. You might not have enough savings to pay for it out of pocket at that moment. In that case, you could use your credit card or try to apply for an online loan as a solution. As long as you meet the online loan qualifications, you can apply. You just might get approved — which means, you could use the loan to pay off the expense and focus on a repayment plan afterward.
An emergency fund will be much easier to use. Your savings will be instantly accessible, and you won’t have to worry about repayments.
So, get extra savings with this budget-friendly side hustle. Start thrift-flipping!
