How Teslas and terriers are helping cash-strapped Aussies make ends meet
Exclusive: The cost-of-living crisis is stinging millions of Australians as rate hikes, rent increases, and skyrocketing grocery and utility prices force many into financial dire straits.
Now more Aussies than ever are turning to creative side hustles to make ends meet.
Jacob O’Neill (left) found a creative way to make cash on the side after falling on hard times. Jacob O’Neill
Jacob O’Neill makes $1000 a month renting his car out to strangers, and Giselle Whiteaker does her side hustle while she’s on the clock at her main job.
And when side hustles like ride-share driving and selling second-hand clothes have become oversaturated, trying something new can be lucrative.
Gold Coast cybersecurity worker O’Neill, 44, fell on hard times about three years ago and needed a way to supplement his income.
He considered driving for Uber but didn’t want to spend hours in the car driving strangers around – so he cut out the middle man.
O’Neill started renting out his new Tesla directly to other Aussies through car rental marketplace Turo.
The bookings started piling up quickly.
“Now my minimum target is $1000 a month in profit,” O’Neill told nine.com.au.
“Sometimes it can be over $2000.”
Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Skipper at mleach@nine.com.au
Most of his clients are out-of-towners who book his car to drive around the Gold Coast while visiting.
They like that it’s electric, meaning they don’t have to worry about high fuel prices.
Aside from a few accidental dings, clients treat the car well and money O’Neill earns from renting it out goes towards paying it off.
The only downside (depending on who you ask) is that he has to get around on a pushbike while other people drive his car.
He does have an older 4WD as a backup but with a 180-litre diesel tank, he’s not keen on filling it up too often.
New research from Afterpay revealed more than one in three Aussies now earn income from multiple sources.
More than one in 10 specifically want to start a side hustle or business in the next 12 months, according to data from the ING Australia 2026 Sense of Us report.
Young people are leading the pack, with nearly 20 per cent of Millennials and 15 per cent of Gen Z respondents aiming to start one.
About 10 per cent of Gen X also had plans for a side hustle or business.
“People are adapting to uncertainty rather than relying on a single income stream,” Matt Bowen, head of consumer insights at ING Australia, told nine.com.au.
“In a volatile economic climate, Aussies are actively building their own financial safety nets.”
About 45 per cent of respondents in the ING report said saving money is a top priority for them in 2026.
That’s certainly the case for Giselle Whiteaker, 54, who started a side hustle so she could save up for a Europe holiday.
At 54, Giselle Whiteaker has found a way to do her side hustle while she's on the clock for her main job. Giselle Whiteaker
She chose dog-sitting, which is already pretty popular, but found a creative way to make it even more lucrative by doing it while she’s on the clock at her main job.
A self-employed writer, Whiteaker threw in her corporate job last year and has been working from home ever since.
It means she can dictate when and where she works, and she’s used that to her advantage by dog-sitting during her normal working hours.
“Not everyone has that flexibility,” Whiteaker told nine.com.au, but it’s allowed her to make thousands off the side-hustle in a matter of month.
Whiteaker dog-sits at her home or clients’ homes and works on her laptop while she’s there, effectively earning two incomes at the same time.
Walking and playing with the dogs is also a nice distraction from sitting bent over her laptop while working from home all day.
“I started off with the idea that I’d just do it occasionally when I need a little dog fix and maybe a little bit of extra pocket money,” she said.
“Now I’m almost fully booked.”
Who wouldn't want to get paid to hang out with man's best friend? Giselle Whiteaker
Whiteaker gets bookings through Madpaws, an online pet-sitting marketplace, and directly from dog-owners she bumps into at her local Melbourne parks.
She’s currently putting very dollar she earns into savings for a Europe trip.
“I don’t charge that much, partly because I want to spend time with dogs,” she said.
“This is just a little bit of extra cash in the pocket which, with the way the economy is going, I think we all need.”
Bowen predicts side hustles will continue to be popular in the years ahead as social media and digital income routes provide even more opportunities for Aussies to make extra cash.
Whiteaker plans to keep up her side hustle even after the Europe trip she’s been saving for, and O’Niell has even started a second side gig as a DJ.
He encourages any other Aussies considering picking up extra work on the side to dive in.
“There’s lots of people just looking for how they can make money [and] I’d encourage anyone else to do it.”
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