Have you ever heard of the board game Pay Day?
When Mrs. FInding (me) was a kid, it was one of my favorite games. I remember making my family play over and over again until they would very nicely (see desperately) ask me to take a break.
Turns out that was a good precursor to my future.
I love getting paid.
Seems like something ironic for someone who is on a path to FIRE and is seemingly running away from paydays, but I can’t help the excitement I feel when I know I will get what I earned.
That’s why having side hustles seemed to make so much sense for me. I love the idea of a “bonus” and of maximizing my time to see what I can squeeze out of it- sometimes for a profit.
While I’m new to the side hustle “game,” and slowly building it up, it’s been really fun to see what all I can do, how I can push myself, learn my limits, and earn some extra cash towards FI.
To give you a quick idea of what I mean by building up my side hustles, here is my timeline with “hustling”:
June 2018– I got my first side hustle (sort of) on accident doing social media work for a small local business. About $200 a month.
July 2018– After sharing I got my first side hustle at a Meetup, I was invited by someone else to work for them! An additional ~$400 a month! I also had a terrible dog sitting experience (all for the sake of some extra dough, my first lesson in pushing too far in side hustling- ask me about that experience sometime, it’s hilarious, but only in retrospect).
August-October 2018– I worked mostly these 2 hustles, adding on smaller hustles like taking surveys (with Amazon Turk and Google Rewards), getting cash back apps (like Dosh and Ebates), and selling some items I no longer needed. These weren’t cash cows and I didn’t track them thoroughly, but I think I added something like ~$50-$100 a month.
November 2018– I had shared with some friends that I was taking on these side hustles and making some extra money, which they in turn shared with some of their friends that are entrepreneurs. Two of them reached out to me asking for help. While it was smaller in pay, I was so thrilled to get these connections, begin feeling like I really had some marketing skills to offer, and of course, make a little extra money.
December 2018– A friend of my 2nd side hustle connection asked me to start working for her (mostly social media and digital marketing work). We decide I won’t officially start work until January, but I’m so pumped about all these hustles! Unfortunately, this is when my first side hustle connection decides they can no longer invest in their business (also a side hustle for them) and we part ways.
January 2019– I realize that this side hustle thing is taking off, bringing in some serious money, and maybe even more enjoyable than my full time job (?!) so I start tracking my earnings (also, taxes- maybe I need to start keeping track…).
So from there on I decided to track my side hustle income.
I find the monthly reconciliation of what I made even more fun than the game Pay Day and my “real” paychecks.
Every side hustle penny feels like bonus money and one step closer to FI.
It’s really intoxicating to see how much more you can earn, something I actually think I need to be careful with. I think as people drawn to FIRE, we are good at challenging ourselves, but perhaps not so great at knowing when to slow down.
I want my side hustles to remain fun, continue to seem like a bonus, and keep pushing me to learn, but only if I want to…I don’t want them to become something I feel like I have to do.
So that’s where I am currently. So excited about the prospects, thrilled for what I already have, but cautious that I don’t start to go down a slippery slide where side hustles become just another part of the grind.
I hope you will follow along this part of the FIRE journey with me as I update new hustles, my income each month, and learn how to balance the drive for more with enjoying life along the way.
What about you? Do you have any side hustles or are looking to start one? Have you found it loses its excitement after some time? I’d love to hear your experience!
