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Four short years ago I was just getting my finances back on track and focusing my attention on building wealth again. A few taps of the keyboard led me to realize that FI (Financial Independence) was still well within my grasp and that there was this whole underground movement called FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) where people were reaching their freedom number and giving the boot to their corporate jobs. Along with FI and FIRE, I also stumbled upon the concept side hustles and the gig economy. Apparently, there were a whole lotta people working multiple side jobs to supplement their full-time income to make their financial dreams a reality. Whoa.
Before I knew what hit me, I was diving deep into the idea of saving an exorbitant amount of my family’s income in an intense effort to reach FI as quickly as possible. One of the things I did to make sure this happened was to start a blog. This one! I didn’t start the blog to make money, mind you. In fact, I didn’t even conceive that making money from a blog was a thing. Instead, I started the blog to stay motivated, keep on task, and chronicle our journey toward FI.
Only after quite some time of publishing my story into the blogosphere did I realized blogging could be a money-making venture. And that’s when I started to take the blog seriously. I started focusing my efforts on telling our story but also creating quality content and building my audience. Wow, that WAS and IS way more work than I ever bargained for when I published that first post back in 2015.
Before too long, I found myself heavily entrenched in the world of hustle on the side of my full-time job with very little free time to show for it.
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The Gig Economy Defined
When I was growing up and starting my career, the concept of a gig was limited to the music industry. At least, in my mind anyway, the term didn’t have broad application to other areas of work. Today, the term gig economy is tossed around like it’s normal in all facets of industry – because it is.
As defined by Investopedia, the gig economy is used to describe work that is available for a specified time period. Basically, a company can hire contractors or freelancers to do work for a specific project and then terminate the relationship when the worker is no longer needed.
In essence, your side hustle or second job could be a part of the gig economy or not – depending on the nature of it.
For example and to clear up any confusion, freelance writers hired to produce 10 pieces of content over a period of 2 weeks are part of the gig economy. However, if this is their full-time gig, it’s obviously not a side hustle because it’s not on the side of a full-time job.
On the flip side, if someone works a full-time job and does freelance photography for themselves or a company on the side, they have a side hustle that is also part of the gig economy.
If, however, you have a blog (like me) and are working to build a brand and reach a bigger audience in addition to working your 9 – 5, you have a side hustle or, as I like to call it, a second job.
I’m sure that’s about as clear as mud, but the lines are obviously blurred in the landscape of today’s flexible and fluid economy.
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The Difference Between A Side Hustle And A Second Job
I hate to break it to you, but there really isn’t much difference between a side hustle and a second job.
Sure, some will say a side hustle is something that you’re passionate about and could eventually blossom into a full-time, more rewarding job than your current 40-hour/week grind, but the time commitment doesn’t change.
No matter how you slice it, there are still only 24 hours in each day, so if you choose to take on a side hustle or a second job you’re going to be consuming more of your waking hours earning money instead of relaxing, spending time with friends and family, or doing absolutely anything else.
I came to think of the terms side hustle and gig economy as trendy terms that, in my opinion, romanticize the idea of having multiple jobs. And sadly, these trendy terms are coercing our society into thinking that having full-time work along with an additional side hustle is an acceptable way of living, even if it means you have absolutely zero time to yourself.
After all, if you’re not hustling, you’re obviously not a go-getter and won’t have future success, financial or any other kind.
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Due to the gig economy gaining momentum and becoming increasingly more popular with both employers and employees in recent years, a fundamental shift has occurred.
First, let’s talk about The Good that has come from this shift. With our current fluid economy, it can be much easier to find immediate work to meet immediate financial needs or wants. And, if you have access to a computer and know how to use it, you’re in a beautiful position to benefit from this gig economy.
Also, if you already have a full-time job and are looking to increase your income for whatever reason, it’s much easier to do so without a major commitment. Maybe that means you do some freelancing in the evening or on the weekends for a few months to make enough money for a vacation. Sounds ideal, doesn’t it? Well, it can be. It can also work against the modern employee. Here’s how.
The Bad and The Ugly rear their heads when it becomes difficult to find a stable, full-time job with benefits. When this happens, one can be left trying to piece together a full-time income with several side hustles inside the gig economy. The result can quickly lead to a frustrated, over-worked, under-valued, and burned out employee that has no time to enjoy their life or family.
We’re all told that in order to create massive wealth we should create passive income and make money while we sleep, but that’s certainly easier said than done, especially for a busy adult with a family and competing financial obligations. Instead, most people trade their time for money in the form of a job or jobs.
Trading time for money isn’t bad, but, trading ALL OF YOUR TIME for money is. Unfortunately, this can happen when we add hustles to the side of full-time jobs that already require a minimum of 40 hours a week, or we try to work multiple side hustles to piece together a livable income.
If a raise or promotion isn’t in the cards and you must take on a side hustle to meet financial obligations or goals, be aware of potential burnout, feelings of neglect from your loved ones, and just general discontent with life. Obviously, keeping a close eye on how many hours you spend hustling each week will determine the severity of the above pitfalls, if they happen at all.
My Love Affair With Side Hustles
Okay, don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing side hustles and I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong the gig economy or trying to increase your income. In fact, I absolutely LOVE working on my blog and watching it grow into a legitimate business. I also love the extra money I earn from it. There are some days that I feel passionate about creating content and marketing and other days that it just feels like a chore.
According to the Internet, I guess the days when I feel passionate it’s a side hustle and the days when I feel burdened it’s just a second job.
Regardless of the definition, having the extra money from the blog allows me to invest more money each month toward our financial independence goal. And since we’d like to achieve this goal before we reach the government-declared retirement age, this monthly boost doesn’t hurt.
But, I’m well aware that I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a secure full-time job with benefits, so I have the luxury of choosing to have a side hustle – I don’t need one to meet my monthly bills or invest. Therein lies the difference between The Good and The Bad.
Common Side Hustles
Without calling out specific companies, I’m going to hit on 3 common side hustles that are encouraged within the personal finance space to make some extra dough. Although, with the exception of the third point, the other two are really just second jobs for more money. No passion needed. Some people even use a bitcoin price chart and use investing as their side hustle.
- Using your own car to taxi others: This is one I see over and over and one I have promoted in the past. It’s not that I think it’s a bad side hustle, it’s just a time-consuming one that eats up more profits than most people realize. After accounting for time, gas, and vehicular wear and tear, the earning potential dramatically decreases.
- Completing online surveys: Completing online surveys is something I tried out quite a few years back. It’s certainly possible to make money taking surveys but the amount of time required to earn any measurable income is extremely high. I didn’t keep track of how many surveys I took or how many hours I invested in that single month I engaged in it, but I do remember only earning $50.
- Starting a blog: You can start a blog in 15 minutes! Yes, that is true. But turning a blog into a money-making venture requires A LOT more than that. Blogging for profit is definitely possible, but there is typically a huge commitment involved over a long period of time before seeing any money. It took me more than a year of publishing 3 posts/week before making my first $100 from the blog. And when I heard my little girl say, “Mommy, you’re always on your computer”, I knew it was time to re-evaluate the amount of time I dedicated to my side hustle.
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Side Hustle Challenges And Rewards
No doubt about it, earning extra money from a side hustle can be a huge boost to your bottom line and be vital to eliminating debt or increasing your net worth.
If the time required by your full-time job and side hustle turns out to be exorbitant, which is started to be for me with my blog when I hit almost 40 hours/week on top of my regular job, you might be better off just focusing on getting a raise or promotion at your day job instead of adding a second one to the mix. In a lot of cases, a raise or promotion will give you the extra cash you would make from a side hustle without requiring much if any extra time.
The key is to incorporate a side hustle or second job into your life without sacrificing quality or happiness. It’s a balancing act but it’s not impossible depending on how much time you choose to devote to a side hustle.
It’s also possible that earning more money isn’t the only key to paying off debt and increasing your wealth-building potential. When we started tracking our net worth, it suddenly became much easier to stick to our budget and invest extra cash. You’d be surprised how much you might benefit just by keeping a pulse on your money. If you’re interested, we use the free and secure money management tool, Personal Capital, (psst…that’s an affiliate link) to track our money and net worth. It’s been the single biggest motivator on our FI journey.
It’s Go Time! Or Not.
Now that you’re armed with this knowledge of side hustles, the gig economy, and everything in between, the decision to embark on a side hustle and commit to such a timely endeavor isn’t something that should be taken lightly, especially if you have a family that values your time and affection.
Sometimes the boost in income is worth it. Sometimes it’s not.
