Why a Side Hustle?

As you’re driving home from another day in the salt mines (no, it probably isn’t that bad…but at times it seems that way), you think about getting out.

No matter what industry you’re in or job you have within it, at some time you’ve probably thought, “I gotta get out of here.”

When it gets bad enough, or when reality slaps you upside the head, that is when I find people reassess things.  And this is when the side hustle starts to come into the picture as a thought, as a possible path to freedom.

And whether that freedom is extra cash to make life easier, or being able to chuck the day job and work for yourself, it is the entry point that gives hope and breathes life into that new future.

So today I wanted to share a little about the why’s of taking on a side hustle, so you can know if it is right for you.

So what are some of the reasons?

This is a biggie.  The Dave Ramsey Show on the radio is caller after caller sharing their struggle of getting out of debt.

Sometimes it is the credit card balance that got out of hand from extended unemployment, or an illness that racked up hospital bills, or just bad spending habits.

Or it is student loan debt.  You know, that $80,000 of student loans you racked up while you were trying to find yourself or pursue your degree.  Where the government gave you the ability to spend whatever you want and go wherever you qualified for and pursue whatever degree interested you…regardless of the financial viability of that career.  And now you find yourself doing something entirely different than your degree (if you even ended up getting the degree at all) and still saddled with the debt.

Or it is the car loan.  And every month they ask for their piece of the pie before you get yours.  Yeah, you have the nice shiny new vehicle for the first year.  Then you find a few years down the road it is worth half as much and you have no money for the next one.  So the cycle continues.

Or it is the nice house.  Its the American Dream of home ownership, right?  But what happens when that house also comes with a steep price tag that takes a third or half your paycheck?  Then you’re a slave to your house.

So lets say you’ve got this debt on your back.  It creates real stress.  You may not realize it but it is there.  And if you have a job loss or other financial crisis hit, you could find yourself one paycheck away from having the whole house of cards collapse.

This is where a side hustle that generates $1,000 to $2,000 a month could be what helps you banish that debt for good and regain your freedom.  You could wipe out the credit card debt in six months to a year – working Dave Ramsey’s “Baby Steps”.  For student loan debt it could take a couple years and might require lifestyle changes as well.  But the side hustle will generate the momentum and the excitement as you see yourself cutting those balances and creating a “Debt Snowball”.

So maybe you’ve got your debt handled now but you need cash or extra income to help you buy your first or next home.

I’ve been there where the home you want to buy is just out of reach for your income or the amount of down payment you’ve saved up.

And you feel that if you keep saving and waiting, home prices (with or without inflation) will keep your dream home just out of reach.

So how do you close that gap?

Well getting side income, whether working a second job, or freelance work, or a side hustle (where you have a mini-side business that costs almost nothing to start), separately, or along with significant cuts in your monthly spending, will start you down the road to getting that home.

When you add income without adding significant expenses, you radically change your money situation.  And you find those things you thought were out of reach (including home ownership or living in your dream home) quickly become possible.

Maybe collecting expensive toys or living in the nice house isn’t your thing.  But traveling to exotic destination or just getting away from the day to day dreariness of work life is something that makes life worth living.

But you spend your entire paycheck each month from your day job.  You just don’t have any wiggle room to pay for that vacation. So what do you do?

Some people take on a second job in the evening, especially over the holidays when the retail industry is hiring temporary help that time of year.

But why not do it all year long and build the cash for amazing vacation experiences you’ll cherish for a lifetime?  Whether that is swimming with the dolphins, or seeing the Great Wall of China, or going on a safari in Africa, or seeing the great architecture of the great cities in Europe.  The world is out there for you to explore.

And building several thousand dollars a month in a side hustle or part time job can often create the opportunity for you to take that awesome vacation every six months.  Or you could save up for an over-the-top, once-in-a-lifetime vacation experience by saving up for a year or two.

Or if you like to do freelance work, you could even work that into work and travel for several years by building up a side hustle freelance business.

As you enter your 40’s it begins, in your 50’s it is starting to become real, in your 60’s it has arrived.  That retirement thing is looming.

And if you’re like most people you haven’t saved enough and are looking at the real prospects of having to work in retirement.  And those prospects aren’t pretty as age discrimination becomes real and health issues could derail your ability to work.

Here’s where the side hustle can help you in a couple ways.

First is you create income that builds your nest egg so you can hit your target retirement savings goal so you don’t have to have a job in retirement if you don’t want to.

Secondly you can start a side hustle that you could continue into retirement.  That is a great option for something that can create a passive income.  Then, coupled with savings and social security (assuming it isn’t bankrupt) you could have enough income to muddle through.  Or even live well depending on the success of your side hustle.

And if you start now.  Whether you’re in your 40’s or 50’s, you could have this business rolling right along by the time you hit your 60’s and retirement.

So maybe you just want to live better.  Have the toys – the boat, the RV, a plane.  Or have the country club membership.  Or provide for your kids’ education – whether that is private school, or moving to a better school district for public school, or building their college fund.

That is one of the great things about having money.  It opens doors and creates opportunities that otherwise would not be available.

Or you can have cool experiences.  It could be reasonably priced things even – like taking the kids indoor skydiving or doing indoor cart racing.  Or going skydiving or hang gliding or ziplining.

Life is too short to not have fun.  So build that “Fun Fund” and go take life by the horns.

Hopefully you got a few ideas from this article.  If you did, I hope you were inspired to consider taking on a side hustle.

Is now the right time to start?  Well if you listen to side hustle podcasts at all the guest they have on often say the one thing they’d tell someone who is considering a side hustle that they wish they were told when they were starting out was this.

The best time to start your side hustle was 20 years ago.  The second best time is NOW.  Things will rarely get better than they are now and by starting you’ll begin your journey.

And your side hustle will likely evolve as your career has evolved.  But until you start you won’t really find out what your best side hustle will be or where it will lead you.

Thinking a side hustle might be worth checking out?  Shoot me an email and we can discuss your situation specifically.