Our side hustles were not really planned with FIRE in mind.
Let’s see…. where did we even start with them?
2019
My mom passed away a few years ago. She didn’t have a lot, but she’d done everything in her power to reserve as much in her IRA as she could. With my small inheritance, I wanted to do something special with her memory as inspiration. I started a small service business– bought a course related to the industry and some start-up supplies for a few thousand dollars. It’s a bit demanding (as is my full-time gig), so my client roster has remained tiny. It barely brought in anything the first two years, then I got a little more conservative with business expenses— did I REALLY need that CRM software subscription for just a handful of clients???? Not really. How about the website that I wasn’t using to promote services or book appointments?? Nah. Still word-of-mouth for now.
I’ve been able to take more small distributions. The last distribution was about $100 for Q1. It should be closed to $300 for Q2. They go into the brokerage account.
It’s also been a hands-on lesson in running a small business, so if I decide to scale it someday, I have the basics in the bag.
2020
Hubby’s friend approached him with a part-time job doing media and IT work for a small local organization. It all started right when quarantine went into effect and has been a great place for him to learn new creative and technical skills, and they actually pay him a decent wage. That’s been ongoing since.
It currently brings in over $1,500 per month!
2021
Hubby quit his full-time job after two decades in a super stressful industry. It was one of the best things we could have done, and I’m so friggin proud we were able to swing it. During that time, he did some side hustling along with his part-time IT gig, and they recently doubled his pay with new responsibilities he has taken on.
He logged a few weeks in with a friend’s local flower shop before landing his current full-time job (in a new industry). This past weekend, we helped the flower shop with Mother’s Day deliveries and made $400!
Side hustles have not only brought in extra income, but they’ve allowed us to develop skills outside of our full-time realms. Not only that, I have a weird aversion these days to wrapping my identity up in my full-time job. Side hustling lets me redirect my attention other places and feel like I am not solely dependent on my full-time job to define myself or income.
Have you dabbled in any interesting side hustles?
-K