It’s no secret that I have mixed feelings about side hustling. Correction: It might be a secret if you missed the post where I called it stupid. While I’m past the point of calling my side hustle names, I do still cringe every time I see it touted as the financial panacea. It’s not always all that it’s cracked up to be blogged about. But I’m still working on it, so I thought I’d share the state of my side hustle.
In Person is Good
There are tons of ways for teachers to earn extra money. The two that I have stuck with the most consistently throughout my tenure are proctoring tests and tutoring. The need is there, and so is the money. Like all things, though, there’s a catch. You have to know your stuff. Over the years, I’ve gotten offers to tutor that pressure just past my area of expertise. Could I have tested the limits and tutored Spanish 3 or 4? Maybe. But I’ve built a reputation, and I’m not going to gamble with it. Never mind the fact that students and their families deserve better.
Whether it is proctoring exams or tutoring, these in-person side hustles have always been good to me. Though I could wax poetic about how fulfilling I find them (I did that here when a kiddo showed up unprepared to take a national exam), I’ll leave it at this. I can—and have—rake in $20, $40, or even $60 an hour. While I have definitely scaled back, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to totally walk away from this kind of money.
Online Might Be Better
My toes might be in the pool when it comes to online side hustling, but I’m totally still that kid that who is wearing a life jacket, water wings, and about a pound of zinc oxide on her nose. I’m earning a few hundred dollars a month pretty consistently right now, and I am starting to realize this is probably the way to go.
Tutoring and test proctoring have to happen during set hours. Those hours also happen to be the one part of the day that I get to spend with my son now that I’m back at work. To say that I am fiercely protective of those fleeting moments is accurate, if not understated. So there’s some freedom that comes with working online at a time that suits me. Still, I have found online work to be even more unpredictable than face-to-face side hustling. Perhaps it is because I am still finding my footing. Time will tell.
Why I’m Still Side Hustling
I often ask myself why I’m still side hustling. It’s not because I’m overly rested or finding myself with an abundance of time, that’s for sure. I’m also not looking to use it to pivot my career. I’m not looking to make a million dollars. I do my side hustles for the same reason that I teach—I’m passionate about them. I genuinely enjoy them. It’s also because I see it as a way to push myself closer to a goal. Right now, I’m looking to use my side hustle income to offset some of the childcare costs that we are incurring. While I’m not sure I have the time or the client base to cover it all, something is definitely better than nothing.
Less is Definitely More
Regardless of where I land in regards to my side hustles, I’ve come to realize that the less I have to do, the better off I am. Most of you are thinking, “Well, duh,” but it’s really not something I ever expected to see myself type. For most of my life, I’ve clung to busyness like a badge of honor. Earning an income from that busyness seemed to underscore that it was The Right Thing To Do. Now, though, my priorities are much clearer. I will continue to side hustle enough to meet whatever financial goal I’m shooting for at the moment, but I’m not going to sacrifice my priorities for it.
So Tell Me…Where do you stand with side hustles?
I alternate between loving and hating my “side hustle”. It is certainly the reason I was able to pay off my car so quickly, but that’s forgetting that it is the reason I had to buy a new-to-me car in the first place!
The money can be good at times, or it can be straight-up lousy. I picked up a carload of ladies last night that need a ride to the airport tomorrow morning (separate trips, 4am and 6am), so of course (!) I’m going to disrupt my sleep schedule to make a few bucks on a Friday morning… It’s an addiction, both the gig and the extra money. I’m chasing the high, meeting new people, and supplementing my income.
But I really need to find a better way to spend my free time than to be a glorified taxi driver.
I think side hustles are not bad if we have maximized the income at our main job. They can be a great emotional outlet when we get burned out at work.
That’s how I feel blogging although I haven’t made any money off of it yet.
I love this! I think it’s important to love your moonlighting gigs. I do freelance writing on the side to pay for blog stuff. I’m not getting rich, but it does bring in some much-needed moolah. 🙂 I drool thinking of how much I could take on if I had more time!
I go back and forth . . . and I guess it depends on the time of year and my state of mind. But to be honest, I’m the type that does too much . . . so I’m likely ‘working on myself’ to get to a point where I don’t need to feel like I need a side hustle . . . and can instead have a healthier balance of working for myself AND serving others . . .
I totally get the tension of wanting to scale back and yet enjoying the work and the personal growth. I think that is a struggle for almost all parents who are also really passionate about what they do. But even as a mom, I think it’s great to keep growing and trying new things. Water wings and all. =)
I think that for me, “clinging to busyness like a badge of honor” (great phrase!) was a stage of life. I had no problem working 60-70 hour weeks even while going to grad school when I was young and single, or even married and childless. And I was able to finish grad school when Little Bit was small because I knew the end point (and enjoyed it).
I realized once that was over, though, that I really wasn’t willing to do more than a full-time job no matter how much I enjoyed it, and when circumstances allowed me to shed that too (circumstances that included all those 60-70 hour weeks in my 30s), I was super glad. I don’t have the stamina or patience with it I once had, and I’ve found other sources for earning my badge of honor (Sarcastic Mom award)
Early in my journey to FI, I was all about the side hustle. I still do it to a certain extent, but through some combination of laziness or work fatigue, I don’t do nearly as much as I used to. Having only very low interest debt and a good amount of progress toward FI, it’s become less and less of a priority. These days I’m much more about quality of life than urgency to be FI. I think this is probably a very common “FI lifecycle.”
It’s awesome that you have so many options to side hustle, and even some that you could turn into a bigger income stream if you decided you needed more flexibility in the future. Options are always good!
“I often ask myself why I’m still side hustling. It’s not because I’m overly rested or finding myself with an abundance of time, that’s for sure. I’m also not looking to use it to pivot my career. I’m not looking to make a million dollars.”
This is me. All the time.
Love it, Matt! You are my people 🙂
Once your basic needs are met (food, shelter, transportation, retirement savings, etc) don’t do anything that does not make you happy. The point of life is being happy. The point of money is to assist you in being happy (by keeping you safe, warm and fed). If your side hustle is not required to meet needs, and does not make you happy, you should give it up. Be open to things that may bring you income and happiness, but never sacrifice happiness for income. That is a losing proposition.
Back when I was working full time (which of course is when I was younger), my side hustles were interesting business propositions that brought in much-needed cash and I didn’t mind (much) that they sucked up my spare time. Now that I’m older and retired, I have the time, but not the energy. Blogging keeps me busy enough.
I think side hustles can be useful if it’s the right side hustle at the right time in your life. But our circumstances and priorities change and so our side hustling must change with it. If your side hustles are still working for you, great. If not, then it’s time to re-evaluate.
We’ve hit a few side hustles we genuinely love, so we’re pursuing them. But agreed that sometimes we over-romanticize the side hustle. When, in fact, one hustle is PLENTY especially when kids are involved. 🙂
That’s the best, Maggie! Find the ones you love.
Right now I’m happy with my side hustle because a) I like it (most of the time and b) it’s helping enormously with debt repayment (especially given that my full-time job doesn’t really pay enough). However, it is incredibly time consuming, and I don’t think I’m going to want to do it forever. Working all day, coming home, making dinner, and working more (while also trying to parent and help manage a household) isn’t particularly sustainable. My plan is to stick with it until we’ve got our credit card debt out of the way. Then I’ll re-evaluate.
That’s my problem. I’m always telling myself it’ll be just until I accomplish one goal. Then another, then another, then another. Good thing I genuinely love them!
I am back and forth on this all the time as well! I am just starting a new career now, but I previously taught high school science for several years. During that time I did loads of tutoring and coaching, which all paid quite well. It was a no-brainer then to take on that extra work outside of school. I was in my mid 20s, had plenty of spare time and no family of my own, and just loved spending more time with the kids.
Kind of funny, but even though I am in a different career now, my two main side hustles are both still teaching-related. I am an examiner for the International Baccalaureate and grade exams for them (it’s not steady, but brings in a nice paycheck a couple times a year) and I write passages and test questions for a major English language testing company. I love them both because everything is done online so I can do it on my own schedule. I completely get how enticing the online side hustles must be now that you are a mom and trying to squeeze in as much time outside of work with your little guy.
Love your posts on this subject. I’m totally down for side hustles, but they’re not for everyone at all times. We need more reminders of that.
I like to have side hustles that are very much in my control. Taking on dog-sitting only when I want. Writing a piece when my other work is slower. It would be nice if I could build it up to act as a more passive-style income stream, because I want my time to be my own.
I like my side hustle, but it’s really more of a hobby that makes a bit of money. I don’t focus on blogging/freelance writing much. I don’t dedicate a certain amount of time each week to it, or really set goals for it. I just sort of do it. And sometimes I make money for it. Sometimes I think I really should take it more seriously – earn some real money from it, pay off my debt faster, maybe get featured in Rockstar Finance or something prestigious like that, but I know from past experience that when I start thinking about my blog as a job, it looses it’s appeal. I feel like I have to only write about certain things, that I can’t be too personal, that I have to follow all the rules, etc. etc. So instead, I don’t write at all. Keeping it as a hobby helps me to maintain my voice and the reasons I started blogging in the first place. Although a little monitization doesn’t hurt, right?