I’ve had a bunch of side jobs over the years, and now they’ve all turned into my main business since I’m self-employed. I never thought these side gigs would become my full-time job, but here we are, and I couldn’t be happier.
These side hustles really turned my life around, and I feel incredibly lucky for how things have worked out. My life now is totally different from what I imagined a few years ago.
Initially, after finishing my undergrad degrees, I was eager to get a side job during an 8-month break before starting my MBA. I even considered juggling a side job while working full-time and attending MBA classes. However, W advised against it, thinking I needed a break, and he was right. Taking on a part-time offline job would have been too stressful.
So, instead of a traditional part-time job, I expanded my online activities and looked for online positions. I enjoyed writing and offering other online services, so it felt more like a fun hobby. I found many online jobs, and things just took off from there!
While I always had multiple side jobs, most of my friends didn’t earn any extra money on the side. Maybe it’s a personal finance blogger thing! There are plenty of benefits to having a side job, though.
1. I had a lot of student loans.
If I had only relied on my day job, paying off my student loans would have taken forever. My monthly payments would have been around $500 for about 10 years. That wasn’t something I wanted. Some of my friends pay over $1,000 each month and don’t try to make extra money to pay them off faster. I didn’t want that to be me. I created a payoff plan and cleared my student loans within a year after graduating with my Finance MBA, thanks to my side jobs.
2. We were struggling.
We always had a roof over our heads and food on the table, but things were tight. We weren’t saving money, and I was accumulating student loans despite both of us working full-time.
3. We wanted to travel.
With our income and expenses, traveling seemed impossible. Side income allowed us to put extra money towards travel, so we could go on vacations without feeling guilty since it was paid for with bonus money.
4. We wanted to save money.
Side income helped us save a significant amount. We became less dependent on each form of income because we could save over 50% of our earnings each month. This allowed us to build a large emergency fund, save for repairs, retirement, vacations, and more.
5. We didn’t want to feel stuck.
Having side income created a buffer in our monthly cash flow, so unexpected expenses didn’t feel like a crisis. Before earning side income, any unexpected cost would cause us to panic.
6. We were frugal but didn’t want to cut expenses.
The only other option was to earn more. We could have cut our expenses a bit more, but not enough to make a real difference. We’ve always been somewhat frugal, so we knew we had to increase our income to change our lives.
Why do you make extra money? Why don’t you? Would extra money change your life? How would an extra $500 each month impact you?