3 Skills That Can Earn You An Extra S$1,000 Per Month

With a bit of effort, your skills can help you earn an extra S$1,000 each month in Singapore.

We know that increasing your income is a reliable way to secure your financial future, yet the thought of taking on a part-time job after a 45 hour week can be daunting. You may also not have the time or money to pick up extra skills required by some side gigs.

Thankfully, earning a side income doesn’t always require us to bend over backwards. You probably have skills that could be parlayed into a respectable income stream.

Here are 3 examples.

Love The Gym? Be A Personal Trainer (S$75 to S$150 Per Hour)

Do you love going to the gym? Do you love talking about going to the gym? Do you love finding out the right and wrong way to work out, and then talking about it? You’ll probably succeed as a personal trainer.

Look, personal training is an industry that exists because human beings are inherently lazy. How many of us can be bothered to look up how to properly do a deadlift, or read enough essays to figure out the perfect diet for bodybuilding?

Being a successful personal trainer isn’t really about chiseled jaws, bulging biceps and washboard abs. Sure, looking (somewhat) the part helps, but more than anything, it’s your passion to share what you’ve learnt that will cause clients to gravitate to you.

As someone who repeatedly goes to the gym for hours of hard work and sweat, you probably aren’t doing it out of boredom or vanity. (If you were, you’d have given up long ago.) You’re doing it because you love finding enjoyable ways to lift heavy objects. Along the way, you’d have discovered 10 ways how not to do a deadlift.

And it is this experience - how to make going to the gym enjoyable - that other people are willing to pay for.

Market Rates And Qualifications

Being a personal trainer can fetch you anywhere from S$75 to S$150 (or more) an hour.

You will need to get a Certified Personal Trainer qualification if you’re looking to work at a proper gym, but you could start off by training a buddy or two casually first.

Do be aware that several gyms have rules against personal training on their premises, as they wish to reserve the clientele for their own trainers. But what’s to stop you from guiding your gym buddy through a proper landmine press as you work out together?

Love Public Speaking? Be An Event Emcee (From S$100 Per Hour)

Have you been leading the on-stage ‘yum sengs’ for the last 5 wedding banquets you attended? Perhaps you were always ‘volunteered’ to give those group presentations while in school. Maybe you’ve become the unofficial spokesperson of the office, the first person the boss calls upon whenever public speaking is required.

If so, you might as well be an event emcee.

Most of us think that nobody in their right minds would deliberately set out to be an emcee. To actually get on stage and talk into a microphone while complete strangers ignore you, silently judging you all the way? No, thank you!

But what most of us don’t know is that successful emcees can quite easily bring in five-figure salaries.

You don’t even have to aim that high. With even community events paying a couple of hundreds per gig, just 3 or 4 bookings a month can quickly build up your coffers.

Market Rates And Qualifications

You may have to accept lower rates at the start, but even simple gigs can pay a decent 3 figures for a couple of hours’ work. But stick with it, because the more you put yourself out there, the more opportunities are likely to come your way.

Pro-tip: make it a point to build good relationships with the people who hired you and any VIP guests among the participants. They're likely to book you for future events if you make a good enough impression.

As you’d expect, being an emcee doesn’t require any qualifications. However, good knowledge of current affairs, rapport-building skills and sharp wit will stand you in good stead. It also helps if you develop your own personal style.

Love Showing People Around Singapore? Be A Tour Guide (S$80 - S$150 Per Hour)

Singapore’s unique mix of cultures and colourful heritage means there are ample opportunities to delight visitors with an interesting taste of our vibrant local culture. The things we take for granted (HDB living for example, or Chinatown, Little India and Geylang Serai) may very well turn out to be a novel experience for foreigners.

If you like showing your foreign friends around each time they come visiting, you probably agree. That’s why you might as well try being a freelance tour guide.

Think about it: from planning where to go, how to get there, what to see and what to eat, showing your friends around is practically the same thing as being a tour guide. Only, with it being a paying gig, taking on a freelance tour is more financially rewarding.

And if you’re somewhat of a history or culture buff, then even better. You’ll have fun researching and investigating every nook and cranny of Singapore, while putting together your own unique itinerary to offer to visitors.

Market Rates And Qualifications

Apparently, there is at least one company offering a partnership model where freelance tour guides can charge their own fees. Don’t get too excited by the eye-popping rates on that website though; you’ll have to factor in the company’s cut, as well as other costs such as transportation.

Still, it seems like a pretty lucrative gig.

As for qualifications, we reckon having extensive knowledge of Singapore is required. Beyond that, an entertaining personality, along with planning and problem-solving skills would be handy.

Read This Next:

5 Side Income Jobs (Almost) Any Singaporean Can Do

How to Make Extra Money From Your Flat (Besides Finding Tenants)

By Alevin Chan

A Certified Financial Planner with a curiosity about what makes people tick, Alevin's mission is to help readers understand the psychology of money. He's also on an ongoing quest to optimize happiness and enjoyment in his life.