Side Hustles To Make Extra Money and Retire Early

This is a header image for Fiology Lesson Side Hustles To Make Extra Money and Retire Early. It depicts a person hustling up stairs to represent being motivated to accomplish a goal.

Why should you consider using side hustles to make extra money?

A side hustle is defined an activity performed other than your primary job with the goal of earning extra income. Using a side hustles to make extra money is one of the most powerful tools you can use on your path to Financial Independence. That’s because, assuming you’re already living fine off your day job income, every single dollar you earn from a side hustle can be saved.

This can dramatically increase your savings rate and speed up your journey towards Financial Independence. Even a relatively small amount of money – a few hundred dollars a month, for example – can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars if invested over the long term.

How do side hustles help you retire early?

Not only can a side hustle grow your portfolio, but it can also mean that you could potentially make do with a smaller one.

You’ve learned how much money you need to be Financially Independent by using the 4% Rule – that is, you should be able to withdraw 4% of your portfolio each year and have your portfolio theoretically last forever.

That same principle can work in reverse. $5,000 per year of extra income, for example, requires a $125,000 portfolio to create the same amount.

Thus, someone who can consistently make $5,000 per year on the side could get away with $125,000 less in their portfolio. It might not be complete Financial Independence, but imagine how comfortable you would be if all you had to do was make a few thousand dollars each year to live.

Are using side hustles to make extra money worth it?

Now that you know the value of side hustling, the only thing stopping you might be that you either think you don’t have the time to do it or you don’t have any ideas.

The great thing is that in today’s world, there are so many ways to earn extra income on your own time that anyone can start a side hustle. Sharing economy and gig economy apps like Airbnb, Uber, Rover, Postmates, and Wag allow anyone to start up a side hustle, on their own time and without very much upfront costs.

All you have to do is just get started.

So, if you don’t have a side hustle, consider getting one. It’s worth a lot more than you think as you continue on your path to Financial Independence.

Fiology thanks the FI community’s side hustle expert Kevin of Financial Panther for shaping this lesson.

Read:

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Take Action:

  1. You now know how valuable a side hustle can be when it comes to reaching Financial Independence. If you don’t have a side hustle, take a look around you and see what things you can do to earn extra income. Start small – challenge yourself to earn just $100 extra each month. Once you do that, you’ll probably find even more ways to earn extra income.

Additional Resources:

Quote:

“Everyday I’m hustlin’.” – Rick Ross

David Baughier

My passion for helping others led to the curation Fiology. Help me spread the message of Financial Independence by clicking a colorful link above and sharing this post on your favorite social platform. Thank you!

3 Comments

  1. Sean Mullaney on November 9, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    The new Section 199A “qualified business income” deduction is a tremendous tax benefit for side hustlers.

    • Fiology on November 9, 2018 at 11:20 pm

      Sean,

      And with all the Side Hustlers in the FI community, I know they will be interested. Your post on Section 199A is great and can now be found in Fiology Lesson 19: Don’t Evade Tax Knowledge.

  2. The Cheat Codes of FI - Financial 180 on May 1, 2019 at 11:39 am

    […] Side Hustler: Can you add a side hustle to increase your income? Preferably something you're good at and enjoy […]

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