It can be challenging to find a side hustle that's worthwhile. The best side hustles allow you to make the most money, while also balancing your time and growth potential.

Side hustling can allow you to earn that little bit of extra money that can help you achieve your financial goals faster - whether it's paying off student loans or saving for retirement. But finding the best side hustle can be tough - you don't want to waste your time or money - you want to start earning!

There are a lot of side hustle ideas out there (here's our list of 50+ Side Hustle Ideas). I'm a huge fan of earning more money, and I think everyone should have a side hustle. My goal today is to show you the best side hustles you can start AND why. 

I have three main criteria for side hustles, which I talk about below.

1. Earning Potential
2. Scheduling
3. Growth

Each one of the ideas below strikes a good balance of these. Let's break it down. 

Our Picks Of The Best Side Hustles

Here's our list of the best side hustles that you can do today to start earning more money.

1. Deliver Food And Groceries

Right behind ridesharing is delivering food and groceries. This has become one of the fastest growing trends nationwide, and as such, it's also one of the best side hustles. If you don't like people in your car, but still want to make extra money on your own terms, this is a great way to do it.

The only drawbacks are you can't do it all the time (restaurants aren't usually open at 2am), and you may make less that traditional ridesharing. However, it's still a great way to earn extra cash!

How To Start:

• UberEats - The original food delivery platform still has one of the largest selections and is a great side hustle.
  
• DoorDash - Currently the fastest platform, expanding in many cities. Check out the DoorDash review here.

Earning Potential: $600 per month

Schedule: 8/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

2. Ridesharing

Yes, everyone talks about ridesharing - some people love it and some people despise it. However, it's our #2 pick for the best side hustle because it's one of the few side hustle jobs that you can literally do anytime, anywhere. Want to earn some extra money at 2am? You can do it? Don't want a set schedule? That's fine! 

With ridesharing, you can earn when you want, on your terms. It's one of the only side hustles that is truly anytime, anywhere. 

Harry Campbell is The Rideshare Guy, and he built his entire business around driving for rideshare. Now he helps drivers get started. Check out The Rideshare Guy here if you're interested in this side hustle.

How To Start:

• Uber - The first and largest ridesharing platform. Read our review on driving for Uber.
• Lyft - Check Lyft for specials they have for new drivers. Learn more insights on driving for Lyft here.

Earning Potential: $1,000 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

3. Start A Blog

This is my favorite side hustle (this blog was started as a side hustle), but it's not an immediately income-producing opportunity. Starting and growing a blog does take time, but I estimate you can start earning at least $1,000 per month at the 12 month mark - if you do it consistently (e.g. 3x per week). 

But, it does start slow, and it's a lot of work. However, the growth potential of a blog is nearly limitless! So, if you're looking for a long term side hustle, this could be it!

This was one of my earliest side hustles. I started several websites, some of which I still operate (like this one), and others which I've sold. Here's my story of how I built a blog and sold it for $11,000 in my spare time. Basically, if you commit the time to creating the content, you can create a lot of potential for yourself.

How To Start:

• Bluehost - Start your blog on Bluehost for just $2.95 per month
• Read This - How To Start A Personal Blog Or Website
• Become a Pro with this Course - Full-Time Blogger

Earning Potential: $1,000 per month with 12 months

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 10/10

4. Tutoring As A Side Hustle

If you're a teacher, or really anyone with a college degree, you can get paid to tutor kids online. One of the hottest growing areas of demand right now is teaching English as a second language online to children overseas. But you can also tutor students in almost any area imaginable! And the demand has never been higher - growing at a rate of 14% per year!

One of the benefits of this is time zone differences. Our nighttime here in the United States is typically the day in other counties - meaning that this is the perfect side hustle if you're looking for something you can do at home, on your computer, at night. 

These companies require you be a teacher or have at least a bachelor's degree. You should also be comfortable teaching over webcam at home - so lights, good camera and mic, and some technical computer skills. 

Remember, you can also tutor any subject offline by finding students in your area. This could be a great way to start a side hustle in an area you're strong at!

How To Start:

• Tutor.com - One of the largest platforms to connect tutors and students.
• Skooli - A fast upcoming platform that is growing and hiring teachers to tutor students.

Earning Potential: $400 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 4/10

5. Online Freelancing

There are so many ways to make money online freelancing. If you can read, write, program, make videos, or are open to learning a variety of skills, you can make money freelancing online. You could even do bookkeeping for other businesses online!

Some areas that are easy to start a side hustle with are online transcription work (think of all the podcasts that need thins), online virtual assistant services, bookkeeping for other businesses and even online social media management.

Adrian Brambila (pictured) has created over a dozen different side hustle income streams using tactics that he shares in his course below. Today, he's a 7-figure online business owner, but it all started with teaching people to dance online. 

The bottom line is that the potential is limitless if you are even a little tech savvy or have writing skills. 

How To Start:

• The Brambila Method - 8 days of online training, plus 4 online side hustle ideas you can launch right away, this is perhaps the best course in general online freelancing anywhere!
• Proofread Launchpad - Learn how to get paid to be a professional proofreader
• Transcribe Anywhere - Learn how to transcribe audio and get paid online
• Facebook Side Hustle Course - Learn how to dominate social media for small businesses
• $10k VA - Learn how to become a high paid virtual assistant
• Bookkeepers - Learn how to become a bookkeeper and help businesses with accounting online

Earning Potential: $5,000 per month within 12 months

Schedule: 7/10

Growth Potential: 8/10

6. Take Online Surveys

I had to include this on here because there are definitely places that you can make money online. And this is a really low paying opportunity, but one that you can do in your spare time - any time.

In fact, I used to take these surveys when I was in class in college - so I was getting an education and getting paid. Basically, if you can turn on your computer, you can be earning a little bit of money. 

But, the income potential with this is very low with this side hustle. Seriously - very low. But if you're looking to kill time while watching TV, filling out surveys can suddenly become very rewarding.

How To Start:

• Swagbucks Surveys - Swagbucks now has a dedicated survey section, and you can get $5 just for signing up. Sign up here.
• Survey Junkie - Earn cash and rewards for sharing your thoughts and opinions. Click here.
• FreeCash - Just like it sounds, you can earn cash for completing surveys!

Check out our full list of paid surveys here.

Earning Potential: $50 per month (sometimes paid via gift card)

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 1/10

7. Rent Your Car

One of the coolest new ways to build side hustle income is to rent out your car. If you have a car that you don't use often - maybe you're in school or work at home - you can rent it out to others! In fact, I have a friend who bought 3 cars just to rent via these services - and she makes back her payment and more each month!

Just read this story from my friends Heather and Joe. They make a great side hustle income from renting their cars.

These services allow you to list your car for rent on your terms. You set the price and availability - so if you want to drive it, you don't have to worry. Plus, they cover insurance as well! And if you're willing to offer upsells like airport delivery, you can earn even more!

How To Start:

• Turo - The original car rental service, and one of the largest platforms
• Getaround - A new competitor that also allows you to rent your car

Earning Potential: $600 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

8. Deliver For Amazon

Have you noticed those Amazon deliveries that come from people in their own cars? This is called Amazon Flex. With the huge need for delivery drivers to deliver packages, food, and more, Amazon Flex is more in demand than ever.

Unlike other delivery apps, Amazon pays an hourly rate of $18 to $25 per hour. Once you're accepted into the program, you can select two hour windows in which you'll be available - and then you'll start receiving tasks during that time.

Related: 10 Other Ways That You Can Get Paid For Driving

How To Start:

• Amazon Flex

Earning Potential: $600 per month

Schedule: 2/10

Growth Potential: 2/10

9. List Your House Or Room For Rent

Similar to listing your car, you can also list your house, or room, or garage, or any other space you might have where someone could stay. I've even seen people listing their backyard for camping locations! The possibilities are limitless.

It all depends on the property that you're renting how much you can make. I have a friend with a lake house in Michigan that can cover all their expenses and make a small profit in just three months every year. However, I have another friend who just sold their property in Indiana as it wasn't working financially. 

You just need to put in a little effort to make your house or space friendly for potential people to come over, but otherwise, everything can be handled online! Check out our comparison of the top two companies - Airbnb vs Booking.com. 

How To Start:

• Airbnb - The original space sharing platform, and one of the largest to let you list your space
• Booking.com - A huge travel site that allows individual listings

Earning Potential: $1,000 per month

Schedule: 6/10

Growth Potential: 4/10

10. Rent Out Space In Your House

Do you have empty space in your house or yard that you always wondered "could I do something with that?" Well, you can! Rent it out to others who could use it.

For example, do you have a side yard that could store an RV? You could easily rent that space out. Do you have a basement or shed that someone could store their stuff in? Rent that space out! Here's an example of our neighbor's property where they are renting our two RV spots!

There are companies out there that will allow you to rent your space, and you can profit! 

Side note: this is one of my favorite side hustle ideas!

How To Start:

• Neighbor

Earning Potential: $250 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

11. Buy And Resell Stuff

This was one of the first side hustles I ever did. I would go to garage and estate sales and then start selling the items on eBay or Amazon. And that was after I sold all of my own stuff (you can see my eBay seller account that I start way back in 2002).

Today, the technology has improved so much that there are a lot of people who make this their full time job. Search for flippers on Instagram and you'll see all kinds of people who are hustling and reselling stuff (or even doing online arbitrage). And even better deal - search Craigslist Free Stuff and go get free things to resell. It's possible!

Check out this list of Craigslist alternatives to sell your stuff as well.

How To Start:

• eBay
• Amazon

Earning Potential: $1,000 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 5/10

12. Create Stuff To Sell

Maybe you're not into scavenging for things to sell, but you have the skills to craft things to sell. If so, you can sell your own crafts and products online.

From creating stationary and unique gifts, to household items, to printables or downloadables, the potential for selling your own stuff is limitless. The amazing thing about printables is that you're simply creating a document and you get paid when people download it!

Julie Berninger sells Etsy printables to the tune of $1,000s of dollars per month - and she created an E-Printables course to show you how to do it as well!

How To Start:

• The E-Printables Selling Course - Learn how to create online items to sell on Fiverr and Etsy in your first day of this online course that's proven to work.
• Etsy Sellers Shop
• Amazon KDP

Earning Potential: $600 per month

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 8/10

13. Help People Move

If you have the ability to help people move, you can easily make money in your spare time. Maybe you have a truck, or are strong and can lift heavy furniture.

There are people all over that pay for help moving - from moving their own houses, to when they buy furniture and need someone to help get it home. 

If you're just the muscle, you won't earn as much, but if you have a truck too, you can really earn a lot. 

I've personally used the service to have people help me move, and it's great. You can hire one or two people, and request a vehicle if needed. You can also tip in the app (and if you're the mover, the tip is all yours).

How To Start:

• Dolly - An app that connects people looking for help moving. Read our full Dolly review here.

Earning Potential: $300 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

14. Be A Handyman

Are you handy around the house? Can you mount pictures or a TV? Can you assemble furniture, or setup a smart home device? If so, you can get paid for doing it for people near you.

If you have the skills, there are people out there looking for help. In fact, this is another service I've used to help me assemble massive amounts of Ikea furniture. The time saving on my end was well worth the cost - and the handyman was great.

If you have even basic handyman skills, this can be a great way to make money side hustling. 

How To Start:

• Handy - An app that connects to people looking for handy individuals. Read our full Handy review.
  

Earning Potential: $500 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

15. Babysitting

Do you love kids? Would you enjoy making some extra money babysitting in your spare time? But maybe you don't know anyone who would pay you?

Now there's apps that allow you to connect online with people looking for your services. This makes it easy to be found, and also has a trust factor involved. 

If you have the time and want to do these gigs, they are usually good pay for the work involved. 

How To Start:

• Sitter City - A platform and app for both babysitting and dog sitting.
• Care - A huge platform that connects caregivers and those seeking help
  

Earning Potential: $500 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

16. Dogsitting or Dogwalking 

Let's reverse the above - do you love dogs? Would you enjoy making some extra money dog sitting or dog walking in your spare time? But maybe you don't know anyone who would pay you? 

Now there's apps that allow you to connect online with people looking for your services.

In fact, my sister has used both of these apps to book a lot of services for her pup. From finding dog walkers, to dog trainers, to boarding. If you offer these services or have the potential to, they can be a great way to make extra money. 

How To Start:

• Rover - An app specific to dog sitting that lets you connect with people needing help. Read our full Rover review here.
• Wag - This app connect you specifically for dog walking. Read our full Wag review here.
• SniffSpot - This app allows you to rent your space for dog meetups and play. Read our SniffSpot review here.

Earning Potential: $500 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

17. Become A Mobile Notary

There is a huge market out there for people that need things notarized. From bank forms, to loan documents, people need things notarized - and they're willing to pay for you to come to them.

Becoming a mobile notary is a basic entry to getting paid for your time and signature. If you want to take it up a notch, you can become a loan signing agent - where you help people sign all those documents required by lenders.

The amazing thing is that you could get paid anywhere from $75 to $200 per hour doing this, once you're experienced.

How To Start:

• Loan Signing System Training

Earning Potential: $500 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 3/10

18. Start Streaming

Are you into online gaming? Do you like to play and chat with other players? Are you willing to consistently put in the time and effort to get online everyday at the same time?

If so, then starting a Twitch channel (and related YouTube and Discord) could be a great way to start side hustling this year.

Twitch has a $100 payout minimum to use the platform, and reports are that of those regularly earning from streaming on Twitch, they are making $25 to $130 per month. But if you build a following, there is huge growth potential. Plus, hopefully you love to play video games anyway!

How To Start:

• Twitch

Earning Potential: $150 per month

Schedule: 4/10

Growth Potential: 8/10

19. Work Odd Gigs

This is one of my favorite ways to make money if you really have no idea what you want to do. Have you ever noticed people doing odd gigs around town - maybe working an event, or helping at a fair, or something that's just a one-off.

Well, you can find these gigs online and get paid to do 1 or 2 day random events. If you go to Craigslist -> Gigs, there are a bunch of listing for people looking for help with a random event.

It's not consistent work, but it's quick and easy to get paid. 

How To Start:

• Craigslist Gigs

Earning Potential: $300 per month

Schedule: 3/10

Growth Potential: 1/10

20. Sign Up For Freebies

Here's another fun side hustle that doesn't have a huge amount of earnings potential, but definitely is a way to put extra money in your pocket. There's a huge list of companies that give away money just for signing up for their product or service!

Check out our full list of places to find free money, but here's a short version of the easiest options below. 

Once again, not an amazing long term side hustle, but if you want to make a little money right now, do it!

How To Start:

• Upromise - $25 bonus (read our full Upromise review)
• Acorns - $20 bonus (read our full Acorns review)
• Rakuten - $10 Bonus
• Swagbucks - $5 Bonus (read our full Swagbucks review)
• MyPoints - $5 Bonus (read our full MyPoints review)
• InboxDollars - $5 Bonus (read our full InboxDollars review)
• Robinhood - Free stock (read our full Robinhood review)
  
• Webull - Free stock (read our full Webull review)

Also, check out these lists of bonus offers:

• Best Bank Bonus Offers
• Best Investing Bonus Offers

Earning Potential: $50

Schedule: 10/10

Growth Potential: 1/10

What To Look For In Earning Potential

Whenever you're assessing the best side hustle, earning potential is probably going to be your number one priority. However, it will also likely be in relationship to scheduling.

For example, driving and delivering packages has a good earning potential with totally flexible scheduling. If you were going to compare this to working a second job, there is low earning potential and poor scheduling.

Earning potential also depends on your time horizon. If you have the time to invest in your side hustle, you can likely grow your earning potential over time. However, if you need immediate income today, you likely won't have huge growth potential.

For our rating, we share the dollar amount you can potentially earn each month.

Best Side Hustles: How Much Can You Really Make?

Let's be honest - how much can you really make side hustling? With the best side hustles we list above, the amount is truly limitless. 

I can tell you from my own personal experience, I've made thousands side hustling. Here's a couple of my own stories:

Selling on eBay: When I was buying and reselling collectables to sell online, I was able to net up to $2,000 per month after fees and expenses (like shipping, packing, etc.). It took about 20 hours per month to earn that. That time was spent going to garage sales, listing items online, and then packing and shipping.

Freelance Writing: When I was freelancing writing, I was able to earn about $10,000 per year working about 5-10 hours per month. The amazing thing about freelance writing was I could scale up as needed. While most months I would earn about $500 (writing 5 articles or so), some months I would ramp that up to $1,500 by writing more. It's more work, but more income as well.

How To Find Flexible Scheduling

A key factor in side hustles is flexibility. If flexibility didn't matter, you would just go get a job. But the reason most people are looking for a side hustle is because they are trying to easily accommodate extra income on the side of whatever they are doing during the day. 

Best Online Side Hustles

The most flexible jobs are all online based (or app based, like ride sharing and delivering). That's why the bulk of this list has online opportunities. By using your computer, the internet, or an app on your phone, you can unlock a lot of side income potential.

However, you can still do many of these jobs offline - especially tutoring. And there is good flexibility and earning potential there as well. But without access to a marketplace, it could be hard to find work (and get paid). 

For our rating, we use a 1 through 10 scale, with 1 being the least flexible, and 10 being the most flexible. To be a 10, this means you can do the side hustle at any time, 24 hours per day, whenever you want.

Related: 80 Ways To Make Money From Home

How To Assess Growth Potential

If you want your side hustle to grow over time, you need to think about growth potential as well. Some of these jobs have no growth potential. Others, like starting a blog, have huge growth potential.

This is really a personal question about where you want your side gig to go. Some people might just want some extra money for Christmas. Other people may want to try and scale their side hustle into their full time job. 

There is no right or wrong answer here, but you should realize the future potential when you get started. 

For our rating of growth potential, we use a 1 through 10 scale, with 1 being no growth potential, and 10 being unlimited growth potential. For example, we consider filling out surveys to be a 1, because no matter what, you're really not going to have any potential to earn more money here.

What About Taxes?

One of the biggest "what ifs" I hear about doing a side hustle is "what about paying taxes on your side hustle earnings". The short answer is yes - you will pay taxes on your earnings. But as a side hustle, your earnings are technically "self employment earnings". This means that you'll only pay taxes on your net earnings.

What are net earnings? This is your profit from side hustling after expenses. For example, if you drive for ridesharing, you'll have mileage you get to deduct. The 2024 mileage rate is $0.67 per mile, according to the IRS.

So, if you drive 100 miles, you might earn $95 for those rides. However, you get to deduct the mileage - $6.70. So, you'll only pay taxes on $88.30.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully these give you some good insights into what I think makes a good side hustle. Plus, this list of the best side hustles goes a long way to making things happen.

Remember, the key to the best side hustles are balancing both your earning ability with scheduling and growth potential.

If you're still on the fence and want other ideas, check out these articles:

A new federal lawsuit is trying to answer a question more than 1.5 million student loan borrowers have been asking: did the Department of Education actually cancel the loans it publicly promised to forgive?

The Project on Predatory Student Lending (PPSL) sued the Department (PDF File) on July 1, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, after the agency sat on fifteen Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests (some for more than two and a half years) seeking records on how it carried out its announced group discharges.

The College Investor team has previously filed similar FOIA requests for borrower defense data, the latest with a response in 2023, which took roughly 14 months to process.

The Key Points

Between April 2022 and January 2025, the Department announced ten group discharges for borrowers who attended schools it found had engaged in widespread misconduct: 

• Marinello Schools of Beauty
• Corinthian Colleges
• ITT Technical Institute
• Westwood College
• CollegeAmerica
• Rhe Art Institutes
• Ashford University
• Schools owned by the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE)
• Drake College of Business
• Certain Lincoln Technical Institute programs in Massachusetts.

Each announcement told approved borrowers their federal loans would be discharged automatically — no application, no further action needed. In total, the announcements covered more than 1.5 million borrowers and more than $23 billion in federal student loan debt, by the Department's own estimates.

According to the lawsuit, the Department has never publicly released data on its progress toward fulfilling those commitments. PPSL says it continues to hear from hundreds of borrowers who were approved for group discharge relief but whose loans remain outstanding.

Why It Matters

Group discharges were supposed to be the easy path towards student loan forgiveness. Instead of filing an individual borrower defense application, approved borrowers were told relief would arrive automatically, along with credit repair and, in some cases, refunds. 

If loans that should have been canceled are still sitting on borrowers' accounts (accruing interest, blocking mortgages, or landing in collections), borrowers may not even know they need to complain.

The lawsuit won't cancel anyone's loans directly. But the records it seeks (servicer guidance, compliance audits, and counts of how many approved borrowers still have outstanding loans) would show for the first time whether the Department of Education followed through on its public announcements.

The Details

PPSL filed five FOIA requests in November 2023 covering the CollegeAmerica, Corinthian, ITT, Marinello, and Westwood discharges, and ten more in April 2025 covering all ten schools.

The Department acknowledged every request, telling PPSL its average processing time was 185 business days — well beyond FOIA's 20-business-day deadline. As of the lawsuit filing date, all fifteen requests were still listed as "In Process" in the Department's FOIA portal.

"The Department made public promises to more than 1.5 million borrowers," said Eileen Connor, PPSL's president and executive director, in a statement. "It shouldn't take a lawsuit to learn whether those promises have been fulfilled."

How This Connects

Borrowers covered by these announcements can check whether their school qualifies on The College Investor's for-profit college student loan forgiveness list. The suit also lands amid broader processing breakdowns at the Department — hundreds of thousands of borrowers remain stuck in application backlogs, and the AFT's lawsuit has similarly pressed the agency to deliver forgiveness borrowers already earned.

The case, PPSL v. U.S. Department of Education, asks the court to declare the Department's inaction unlawful and order it to produce the records at no cost. FOIA cases often end in negotiated production schedules, so documents could emerge in stages.

Borrowers approved for a group discharge whose loans remain outstanding should contact their servicer and file a complaint with the FSA Ombudsman and keep records of both.

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Farther is a hybrid wealth management platform that combines dedicated human advisors with technology designed to make financial planning and investment management more efficient. Farther also offers advice for small business owners and provides institutional advisory services for nonprofits, foundations, and endowments. 

If you’re looking for a more streamlined wealth management experience, this review will help you decide whether Farther may be worth checking out. 

What Is Farther Finance?

Farther was founded by Brad Genser and Taylor Matthew to combine technology and human expertise to deliver the best possible financial planning at a fair price for consumers. In 2023, they announced a $31 million Series B investment round, continuing their growth.

In May 2026, Farther announced that it had raised $150 million in Series D funding, led by General Atlantic, with participation from existing investors. According to Farther, the move will enable the "continued expansion of its platform capabilities and further innovation to better support advisors and clients."

As of 2026, Farther has over 200+ wealth management professionals on its roster and serves over 19,000 clients. The company doesn't appear to disclose the amount of assets under management (AUM). Instead, it declares "recruited assets" of $23 billion. Recruited assets include those already transitioned to Farther, as well as those expected to come over from advisors joining the firm. 

What Does It Offer?

Farther bills itself as a wealth management firm that combines technology with seasoned financial advisors' experience. Here is a closer look at some of its key services: 

Dedicated Human Advisor

Unlike a robo-advisor, Farther assigns every client to a professional human financial advisor who can provide them with advice tailored to their situation, over time. Your advisor can help you with everything from investment management and retirement planning to tax strategies, estate planning, and more. In other words, they're not just managing your portfolio. The company's AI-powered technology comes in handy by handling many of the administrative and analytical tasks behind the scenes, allowing advisors to spend more time working with you. 

AI-powered Wealth Management 

Farther stands out from many traditional advisory firms, thanks to its proprietary Intelligent Wealth Platform. Instead of relying on third-party software, Farther has built its own technology to give advisors and clients a unified view of their finances. The platform can automate tasks such as portfolio monitoring, tax-loss harvesting, cash management, and financial planning, while identifying opportunities for your advisor to discuss with you.

I like that clients have a single dashboard to view their accounts and collaborate with their advisor. Unfortunately, Farther doesn't share many details about exactly how its technology works, so prospective clients will need to take some of its performance claims at face value. 

Tax-Optimized Investing

Farther places a lot of focus on tax optimization throughout its platform. Its technology can identify tax-loss harvesting opportunities, optimize your asset allocation across your taxable and retirement accounts, and help its advisors make decisions with tax-efficiency in mind. 

While its tools sound impressive, I couldn't find much detail about which tax strategies are available to every client and which ones are only available to larger or more complex portfolios. So if tax efficiency is a priority for you, its something I'd definitely ask about before you sign up. 

Customized Portfolios

Rather than place every client into a handful of model portfolios, Farther advisors build investment strategies around your goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, and tax situation. Depending on your needs, your advisor may recommend ETFs and mutual funds, direct indexing, private market investments, or other customized strategies. 

Are There Any Fees?

In most cases, Farther will charge an AUM fee (annual fee based on a percentage of assets under management). The fee is negotiable, but according to Farther, it will not exceed 2%. I should point out that 2% is incredibly high, and you should never, ever pay that much for investment advice. I would suspect that the average fee is closer to 1%. Other types of fees, such as hourly or annual flat fees, may be available but would need to be negotiated with Farther. 

It's fairly common for wealth management firms not to publicly disclose specific fees, because advisors often customize pricing based on assets and complexity. It just means you'll need to speak with an advisor to see whether the service is a good fit for your budget. For me, the lack of transparency is a drawback when compared to many automated investing apps.

How Does Farther Compare To Other Advisors?

Farther will be more expensive than robo-advisor platforms like Wealthfront, Betterment, and M1 Finance. But while they charge lower rates, they won't offer customized advice or the same level of advisor support as Farther. And that extra support costs money. 

Personal Capital, which also offers investors access to personalized financial advisors, charges 0.89% on the first million in assets under management. The XY Planning Network is a network of financial planners who focus on Generation X and Millennial investors. The Financial Gym is a membership-based financial company that provides education and support for people seeking financial health. And Facet Wealth is a financial planning service that charges flat annual advisory fees ranging from $1,200 to $6,000.

How Do I Open An Account?

To open a Farther account, click on the "Get Started" button on its website. You'll be asked what type of advice you are primarily looking for, such as financial planning, retirement planning, trust and estate planning, etc. From there, you'll provide your name and contact information, including phone number, email address, and Zip Code, and a Farther representative will reach out to you.

Is Farther Safe To Use? 

Yes, you can consider Farther safe to use. It employs industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information. This includes encryption and secure account access. Farther's advisors are fiduciaries, which means that they are legally required to put your interests ahead of their own when providing you with investment advice. 

Its advisors also have various accreditations, such as the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations. Of course, it's important to always remember that no investment firm or advisor can guarantee your returns or fully protect you from risk. 

How Do I Contact Farther? 

I couldn't locate a customer support email address or phone number for Farther, but you can reach out through the online contact form on its website. 

Is It Worth It?

While Farther states it doesn't have a minimum account balance for its investment management services, it has clearly moved upmarket, targeting high-income professionals, business owners, and anyone with more complex financial needs. As such, it's best suited for investors who want the dedicated support of a fiduciary advisor but also appreciate the convenience of modern technology. 

If you're just starting to invest, have a relatively small portfolio, or simply want a low-cost automated investing solution, you'll be better off dealing with a robo-advisor or a lower-cost digital wealth management platform.

The Department of Education's new income-driven Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) officially launched July 1, and nearly 46,000 borrowers submitted applications to enroll on day one, according to Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent.

Kent shared the figure in a post on X Wednesday: "@usedgov launched the new income-driven Repayment Assistance Plan today, and nearly 46,000 borrowers have already submitted an application to enroll! Visit StudentAid.gov to switch plans today!"

Why It Matters

July 1 marked the largest single-day change to federal student loans in decades: RAP and the new Tiered Standard Plan went live, new graduate and Parent PLUS borrowing caps took effect, and the 90-day transition clock started for SAVE borrowers.

A day-one count of 46,000 applications shows borrowers were eager for the launch, but it's a small fraction of the roughly 7 million borrowers who still need to leave the SAVE forbearance. Servicers are notifying those borrowers in tranches, and each group has 90 days from notification to choose a new plan.

The Details

RAP bases payments on adjusted gross income, scaling from a $10 monthly minimum up to 10% of AGI for those earning over $100,000, with a $50-per-month reduction for each dependent.

Two features separate it from older income-driven plans: unpaid interest doesn't grow the balance, and the government matches up to $50 per month toward principal, so on-time payments always reduce what you owe.

The Department says the online application takes about 10 minutes at StudentAid.gov, and borrowers who enroll in autopay get a 1% interest rate reduction.

The online application has only been available since June 29, when RAP appeared as a selectable option in the Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request. A paper application still isn't finalized, and borrowers have reported slow load times during the rollout, which followed a weekend-long StudentAid.gov outage that lasted well into Monday.

How This Connects

In The College Investor's interview last month, Kent previewed exactly this push. He called RAP's interest subsidy and principal match a fix for negative amortization, told borrowers "don't wait until July 2nd" to act, and noted more than 300,000 SAVE borrowers had already switched plans before the launch.

Borrowers comparing options can run the numbers with The College Investor's RAP calculator and our RAP vs. IBR comparison before applying.

Expect application volume to climb as servicer notifications reach more of the 7 million SAVE borrowers this summer and fall. Anyone weighing RAP against IBR or the Tiered Standard Plan should compare monthly payments and long-term costs based on their own situation and apply well before their 90-day window closes.

Anyone deciding on their options should run The College Investor's Student Loan Calculator based on their individual financial situation.

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For most borrowers after July 1, 2026, consolidating federal student loans no longer offers a real upside — and it can quietly erase progress you've already earned towards loan forgiveness. The one situation where it still helps is getting out of default.

Consolidation used to be a helpful tool for many borrowers. It turned old FFEL loans into Direct Loans, unlocked income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), and let borrowers capture the one-time IDR account adjustment. Those windows have closed. The adjustment is over, FFEL cleanup deadlines have passed, and the menu of repayment plans is shrinking — so the cost-benefit math has flipped for most people.

There is no real requirement for any borrower to consolidate their loans at this point in time, and except for defaulted student loan borrowers, doing so may be more harmful than helpful.

What's Changed?

First, all of the Biden-era waivers to make consolidation helpful have expired. Second, starting July 1, 2026, a slate of new repayment plan and loan options went into effect.

If you consolidate your student loans now (and anyone who has after June 30, 2024), your progress toward IDR forgiveness resets to zero. For PSLF, consolidation takes a weighted average of the qualifying payment counts on your old loans, which can drag your count below your highest-counting loan.

For Parent PLUS Loan borrowers, consolidation used to offer a pathway to income-driven repayment plans. However, for all new Parent PLUS Loans (including those consolidated after July 1), there will be NO access to income driven repayment.

And finally, major repayment plan access change if you consolidate. Any consolidation loan disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 strips access to every repayment plan except the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) or a tiered standard plan.

Consolidating now doesn't just fail to help — it can lock you out of options you have today.

More Costs Borrowers Forget

Consolidation doesn't really change your interest rate. The new rate is the weighted average of your existing rates, rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of a percent. You don't save money by consolidating, and it could even cost you the tiniest bit more.

Two other costs hide in the fine print. Any unpaid interest capitalizes onto your principal, so you start paying interest on a bigger balance. And a longer repayment term (sometimes stretching from 10 years to 20 or more) lowers the monthly payment while raising total interest paid over the life of the loan.

What Student Loan Consolidation Does Help With: Getting Out Of Default

If you're in default, consolidation remains a legitimate option to get out of student loan debt. 

There are three ways out of default: pay in full, rehabilitate, or consolidate.

Consolidation is the fastest — it can resolve default in weeks rather than the nine on-time payments rehabilitation requires. 

The trade-off: consolidation leaves the default on your credit report for up to seven years, while rehabilitation removes it.

How This Connects

The College Investor has long flagged that consolidation is widely oversold. Our coverage of student loan rehabilitation walks through why borrowers exiting default should weigh rehab's credit-repair benefit against consolidation's speed. And as we noted in Why Some Borrowers Must Consolidate Before June 2026, the narrow "must consolidate" cases (certain FFEL and Parent PLUS holders protecting IDR and PSLF access) were tied to deadlines that have now passed.

Going forward, treat consolidation as a default-recovery tool and nothing else.

If you're current on your loans and chasing loan forgiveness, consolidating is more likely to set you back than move you ahead. Confirm your own situation with your servicer or at StudentAid.gov before signing anything.

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