Side Hustles for the Win

F.I.R.E. on Fire

There are a lot of financial folk, of all shapes and sizes, who pooh-pooh the old “Get a side hustle” advice that’s been around since the beginning of time. You know, tight on money, deliver pizzas. Need some extra cash? Work on the weekends. Not too surprising that such sayings are looked down upon and hissed at by the average Joe.

I get it.

We live in an American culture where people simply don’t want to work that hard anymore. Living high on the hog has its upsides and downsides, one of those being the unwillingness to do uncomfortable things.

I want to explore the positive aspects of a side hustle, some from my own journey, and why I think it’s a great idea and a “short cut” on the way to a FIRE future.

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Why you should get a side hustle.

The arguments against a side hustle are usually the same, or mostly the same. I see them as too pessimistic and with not enough grit and determination. Where does money come from? Work. That will never change, even though the type of work might.

What are the arguments against side hustles, and how can we push back?

• Full-time jobs pay more; just focus on yours.

• Don’t get burnt out.

• You don’t make enough to make the side hustles worth it.

• etc.

Yes, and no. Most people have a poor image of a side hustle, which makes them react negatively or look down on it as a valid way to accelerate a FIRE plan. That’s short-sighted. One shouldn’t discount a valid and good idea simply because some people suck at implementing it.

Some people cearly can make decent money on a side hustle.

The thing is, most of the broke suburbanites with their car payments, large mortgages, credit cards … and no money left after travel sports … look down on such “small sums.” I would argue one doesn’t need to double your income for a side hustle to be worth it.

If you’re living your life right, but I mean below your means, a typical side hustle is pure gravy.

Who doesn’t like gravy?

Most people struggle to put anything away for retirement. It’s not exactly a well-kept secret that people sacrifice their future selves on the altar of pleasure now.

Those are the types of things side hustles can solve, or even if you are on a good FIRE path and doing well, can accelerate. Who would turn their nose up at an extra 20K a year to shove into a brokerage account or fill out some Roth IRAs? If you’re already a good saver, such gravy would seriously accelerate your FIRE goals.

• I agree that sewing cat sweaters and selling them at the local farmers’ market might not be the way to go.

Hobbies are not necessarily good side hustles. You actually need to make money, not spend it. In the digital age we live in, it’s not that hard to find something that makes money. Most people are just not creative enough, and simply won’t put their hand to the plow.

Yeah, you can deliver pizzas, that’s fine and dandy, but we live in a time and place, in global digital world, where you have to think about ideas like it’s NOT 1999.

I personally, you’re truly, write Substacks from the comfort of my home, in my big chair with my feet up on a table and a coffee in my hand, and depending on how hard I try, make anywhere from 35K-50K a year on my “writing side hustle.”

Is it a ton of money?

Yes, and no. Depends on your viewpoint. When it’s gravy, it’s tasty gravy that can accelerate a brokerage account like you wouldn’t believe.

Is it “easy” to make this sort of money on a side hustle? I would argue, yes, it is. One simply has to do what everyone else is not willing to do. Work hard. But, if you find something you love to do, is it work? Not really.

• An idea you love

• Digital is better

• Treat it like a business

• Be consistent and show up

In the grand scheme of things, I’m just trying to show you that in this high-cost-of-living time we find ourselves in, and it is high cost, from housing to groceries, a well-thought-out side hustle is often the answer to give that breathing room or accelerate a FIRE plan and send it to the moon.