During my three years of side hustling, I’ve learned a lot. But today I wanted to share 10 things my side hustles have taught me specifically about money.
So what is a side hustle?
A side hustle is a means of making income outside of your typical 9-5 day job. For me, my side hustles include blogging and freelance writing.
My side hustles have changed my finances for the better. With the help of my side hustle income, I’ve been able to pay off my student loans twice as fast, put more money into my retirement accounts, and overall live a more comfortable and secure life. Plus, my years of side hustling have been really enjoyable and I’ve met some fantastic people along the way.
1) Frugality Can Only Save You So Much
I’m a saver at heart, so of course I prioritized frugality. Now, I understand that frugality is a tool, but it isn’t the only way to become financially successful.
With frugality, there is a limit to how much you can save. At some point, you can’t save more money without spending more money by buying things you don’t need.
This isn’t to dismiss frugality entirely. I still try to find ways to save money and lower my expenses. But I can only get my expenses so low, and it may take hours of clipping coupons or scouring deals to do so. Instead of putting all of my energy into lowering my expenses drastically, I now earn more money.
2) You Are Your Own Best Investment
A side hustle can really teach you that you are your own best investment. If there is a side hustle you are interested in doing, even if you aren’t sure you can make money doing it, start today.
It’s amazing how successful you can be when you are spending the time to do something you truly enjoy.
3) Income is Limitless
To be honest, I never started blogging or freelance writing expecting to earn any significant money. But once I began producing content consistently, more and more opportunities presented themselves.
While there may be a limit to how much work I can successfully take on, my income is limitless. I can always raise my rates, implement more opportunities to earn passive income, or build my business to partner with other people.
4) A Budget is the Fuel to Get You to Your Financial Goals
But, no matter how much extra income you earn, it won’t do you any good if you don’t stick to a budget.
A budget is like the fuel to move you along your financial journey. In order for your side hustle income to be helpful to you, you’ll need to budget for it accordingly (and don’t forget to save for taxes).
5) Marketing Is Key to Making More Money
Regardless of what side hustle you are considering, at some point, you will be faced with needing to market your services.
Marketing yourself can be one of the trickiest parts of side hustling, especially if you aren’t used to talking yourself up. But without effective marketing, you aren’t going to find the client base you need. Sure, you may stumble upon some clients. But the most successful side hustlers will all agree that you need to partner with the right people.
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6) There are No Prerequisites for Success
One of the best things about side hustles is that you don’t have to be an expert to become successful.
You don’t need a ton of advanced training, additional degrees, or years of experience in order to find clients. If you’re good at what you do and can market yourself, you’re bound to find clients.
7) You Lose With Comparison
No matter your side hustle, at some point it is likely that you will fall into the trap of comparison. Maybe you compare yourself to your competitors, or compare your earnings to other side hustlers.
Comparison can be a challenging issue to overcome, but it’s something we should always be conscious of. If we’re not careful, comparison can not only be a huge time waster, but it can prevent us from reaching our own goals.
One way to start overcoming comparison is to swap out the word comparison with collaboration. Instead of feeling the need to compare yourself with your competitors, start collaborating with them instead. Shoot them an email or meet them for coffee. You may be surprised how much you both could benefit from collaboration, even when you may be competing for similar clients.
8) You’ll Never Regret Saving
Not sure what to do with all of that extra side hustle income? You’ll never regret saving it.
When you have extra income, it may be tempting to succumb to lifestyle inflation and spend the money on things you don’t necessarily need. In reality, saving extra income is so much more satisfying than buying a bunch of unnecessary items.
9) Multiple Income Streams Bring Peace of Mind
It isn’t always easy to balance a side hustle with a full-time job. To be honest, there have been many times I’ve considered quitting. Even though I love blogging and freelance writing, it can be downright tiring to come home from a full-time job and work on a blog.
Even as I grew in my career and saw my income grow with it, I kept earning money through freelance writing. I kept side hustling because ultimately, it’s something I enjoy doing. But I also keep doing it for the peace of mind.
There are too many unknowns in life, and though I don’t live in fear, you just never know what could happen tomorrow. You or your spouse could get laid off unexpectedly, have an expensive medical emergency, or move cities and have to job search again. Having that extra cash flow certainly doesn’t hurt. Regardless of what happens in the future, I feel more secure knowing that I have some form of income coming in.
10) Passive Income is Awesome
Blogging is one of the best ways to build passive income. Nothing is more gratifying than setting up a blog and watching it make money on its own.
Blogs can earn passive income through affiliate marketing, advertising, or by selling a downloadable product. After you have spent the time creating and setting up the methods for passive income, you can make money without even having to look at it again.
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It might sound like a hefty claim, but starting a side hustle has truly changed my life. Not only has it helped to improve my finances, but it has taught me so many things about myself in general. I highly recommend everyone starts a side hustle. Here are some related posts to help you start a side hustle today:
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Do you currently side hustle? What lessons have you learned? If you don’t yet have a side hustle, do you think you’ll start one?
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loving it, thanks for sharing:D
Thanks, Giulia!
#1 and #8 resonated with me the most! I was always “frugal” but I have to admit that making more money is wayyyyyy better than cutting out a bunch of things just to save a few pennies. And I have never regretted my savings account either! It’s helped me out when those crazy unexpected expenses pop up.
Yes! I definitely think frugality is helpful, but it’s only one tool. Making money is much more fun than pinching pennies on everything :)
I love number three. Income is truly limitless. If you work hard, there truly is no limit how much you can make. If you procrastinate, you won’t make that much.
Agreed! The correlation between the amount of effort and the amount of success is insane.