Are You Hustlin’ For A Better Lifestyle?

Hustlin' BlingHustlin’ may sound trendy these days, but it can really be a slick move. Workin’ a 9-5 only gets you so far sometimes ;) If you’re trying to knock away that debt or hit that emergency fund goal, ya gotta pick up some side gigs (aka “hustles”) and start taking home that money.

And it’s a wide open market out there too! Some people like to referee, some design logos, and others even write eBooks – all in the name of creating a better lifestyle for themselves. And in case you haven’t noticed, yours truly does the same here too. It’s not one of the main reasons for running Budgets Are Sexy, but it feels pretty damn good bringing home a little extra paper – especially as my full-time junk could blow up at anytime (no joke, it’s been kinda scary around here lately).

But money aside, it’s also refreshing to know that we have OPTIONS. We may think we’re confined to one main job every week, but we’re far from it. There’s nothing preventing us from pickin’ up a side gig or turning our hobbies into a little extra income. It sounds lame, but most things really ARE possible if you put in the sweat and dedication. Plus, how awesome would it feel workin’ for yourself over a crabby ass boss? (Unless, of course, you yourself are crabby. In which case you may be $hit out of luck ;) ) With most of these gigs, YOU are the one who schedules these opportunities and methods for knocking them out. And the more you work at ’em, the faster and more efficient you become.

So today, I challenge you to think up some of your own hustles and to spend a few minutes figuring out how you could put them into motion shall the need ever arise. It doesn’t have to be something fancy or anything, just a way to optimize your skills and get paid a little in return. And the more you enjoy doing it, the better!

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27 Comments

  1. Mama Geek March 22, 2010 at 8:17 AM

    Funny, I was just checking out my blogs before working on my maternity t-shirt designs. This brings my side hustles up to 3, and I like this one the best because after the initial work (getting the designs done and setting up the store) I can just sit back and collect the $$$. Well, more like $, since I only get about $2 per shirt, but it’s still money I didn’t have before.

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  2. Patrenia March 22, 2010 at 9:00 AM

    I remember about 9 years ago, I went to a seminar featuring Jim Rohn (still have the notes). He spoke on this actual topic. It was the first time I was actually introduced to the fact not having just one income. Sad, but it’s taken me a few years to attempt to put this plan into action, BUT I never forgot what he said.

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  3. Abigail March 22, 2010 at 11:05 AM

    I’ve done a couple of side hustles, my blog included. One of them was mainly to feed a hobby which was kind of pricey. So I bought and sold items on eBay/a collector’s board. I didn’t make too much money, but then I didn’t have much to invest either, which probably didn’t help. Still, it served its purpose and I can always go back it one day if I like.

    I would also like (in my “spare time”) to make up some buttons/t-shirts via cafepress or something similar. I have some funny ideas, so I think it’d be cool to make them up and create a little store page, maybe link to it on my blog.

    Hey J, you’re a designer right? :P

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  4. Peter March 22, 2010 at 11:25 AM

    Thanks for linking up one of my side hustles. I think having a diversified income is key, especially in today’s unsure environment where you never know if your day job will be around tomorrow – or not. I’ve got I think probably 6-10 source of income at least now, and growing! Gotta love the side hustles!

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  5. kt March 22, 2010 at 11:51 AM

    i think that rick ross(♫everyday am hustling song that is playing in my mind♫) has given entrepreneurship street cred because in essence that is what hustlin’ is making money in an independent venture. and by the way…. am a hustler baby :D

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  6. MyFinancialObjectives March 22, 2010 at 12:05 PM

    6-10 Peter, WOW! That’s awesome, and advice! I’m looking for some side hustles. I’ve got a potential side job in mind, we’ll see if that comes to pass though.

    I guess the Navy Reserve is my only side hustle, though I would’nt really consider it a side hustle, but it does bring a little extra income each month!

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  7. lenciB March 22, 2010 at 1:05 PM

    The only side hustle that I do would be: making photo albums and scrapbooks. But I’m not 100% committed to it as I could be. I don’t do any marketing, lol. And I end up buying more things on etsy than selling!

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  8. Laura March 22, 2010 at 1:25 PM

    J- I am with you 100%. Since I graduated from college I have almost always worked two jobs- one boring and one fun. :) Right now my second job is teaching piano and voice, which pays really well and is a blast. Sometimes I think about quitting it and just doing my regular 9-5- then I realize I would miss it. Plus I love the idea that if my 40 hour a week gig decided to drop me, I would have a little cash already coming in to help me keep my head above water. And as I get my blog up and running a nice side effect has been a little bit of income there as well! I will say a prayer your regular job stays consistent!

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  9. Donna March 22, 2010 at 2:01 PM

    My main side hustle is to play music. I play in a paid summer municipal band and recently expanded to musicals. It amounts to a few thousand a year but I enjoy the work and that is what counts.

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  10. Investing Newbie March 22, 2010 at 2:56 PM

    I still haven’t found a side hustle, but I really want one. I’m on the hunt and will let you know when I find a legit one. I’ve tried surveys, but those take a lot of time to cash out. I hit $14.00 recently though and I need 11 more to cash out!. LOL.

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  11. Denis M. March 22, 2010 at 3:14 PM

    My full-time job is as a video producer at a University and I’ve got a growing hustle as freelancer for the pro sports team in Miami as graphics and stats coordinator. Pays $45 per hour, 7 hours on game days. I’m contracted to wok 40 games so far, about 12k this year in xtra income. Pushes me to work 50-60 hours per week sometimes but it’s ok with me, I’m only 25 yrs old!

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  12. ctreit March 22, 2010 at 3:19 PM

    There are two “hustles” that I have been toying with, but I don’t think I will ever be able to pull either one off. 1. Truck driver. I think it is cool to go around the country or continent and log stuff around behind your butt. 2. Bar-tender. ‘Nuff said!

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  13. Simple in France March 22, 2010 at 4:23 PM

    I’m always such a schemer that I usually have a few ‘hustles’ in mind, but right now I’m too busy to implement anything. I’m thinking of something involving teaching English with a hybrid face to face and online set up here in France. . .

    And a couple of other silly things. But sometimes the silliest things make good money. I paid of my credit cards after college teaching swimming lessons in Southern California. . .

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  14. Molly On Money March 22, 2010 at 6:46 PM

    I have had a small number of laying chickens for over 10yrs. Sometimes we sell the eggs but mostly we eat them or give them away. This spring I ordered 25 meat baby chics and will raise them & process them for friends for a low fee. This will give me the opportunity to see if I want/can make some extra income raising and selling my chickens.

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  15. J. Money March 22, 2010 at 8:30 PM

    I’m a hustla, I’ma I’ma Hustla baby!

    @Mama Geek – There you go! If I were preggers I’d order one myself. or rather, one for my wife ;)
    @Patrenia – Wow, must have been a powerful speech. I really admire those people that can have such an impact on others like that – really leaves behind something GOOD in this world, you know? (unless, ofcourse, someone was spouting out nonsense like Hitler and the rest…but we’ll focus on the positive!)
    @Abigail – Haha, that I am my good friend ;) Although I barely have the time to design my own little inventions these days! I’ve had “Budgets Are Sexy shirts” on my list for 1 1/2 years now….but more power to you if you could get ‘er done! I’d buy one of your products :)
    @Peter – Nice! I’ll have to speed up my projects then to catch up to ya! haha…we’ll have some sort of “hustle party” at the end. Like, when we’re retired at the beach or somethin.
    @kt – I’m a hustla, I’ma I’ma hustla baby! Love that song even more – catchy as hell! (and you’re right, it’s all about the independent ventures)
    @MyFinancialObjectives – It impresses the ladies too ;)
    @lenciB – Haha, funny how that happens. Hobbies are still good to have though! Perhaps you’ll end up marketing it all out later when you least expect it.
    @Laura – Thanks Laura – I will take all the prayers I can that things work out for the good :) Whether that’s with or without my 9-5. And that’s awesome you know piano and voice so well!!! We bought a piano 2 years ago and it’s just collecting dust in our basement…
    @Donna – Hot! Probably feels good being surrounded by other musicians too like that. Having your own side hustle community is great (kinda like all you guys here!)
    @Investing Newbie – Hmmm….maybe you could be a party hoster?! :) As in – you throw a party for all of us, and we’ll come over! haha…we’ll all chip in $5 too so that way it’s considered a Hustle.
    @Denis M. – Damn son! That is a GREAT side gig, good for you. Talk about workin’ it man.
    @ctreit – Oh yeah, bartending on the side would be killer. So many tips to collect! Especially if you’re a chick. A hot one, too.
    @Simple in France – I like it :) When we lived overseas my mom taught English and made a boat load…. she charged per head and had groups of 5-10 per session, it was great. A bit weird for us when we’d come home to strangers in our house, but still a smooth biz.
    @Molly On Money – Wow. Well I must admit I didn’t see that one coming :) But that would surely constitute as a hustle! Maybe you can write a guest post for me here on the life of a chicken raiser? Would be a pretty neat change.

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  16. Keith @ LifeTuner March 22, 2010 at 10:14 PM

    While I was enlisted in the Air Force, a volunteer opportunitity that I was pursuing turned into a part time job and eventually led to a full time position and new career. There’s a lot to be said for volunteer work if you’re having trouble immediately identifying your side hustle.

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  17. J. Money March 22, 2010 at 11:58 PM

    Great point – that’s totally true. The more passionate you are, the better too!

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  18. Molly On Money March 23, 2010 at 8:23 AM

    @ J. Money- It must be all the years I’ve been hustling that I’ve gone through the more traditional ways to make extra cash. I’d love to contribute- I’ll know how well my hustle worked in 10 weeks (fyi- that’s the life span of my chics!).

    Reply
  19. LeanLifeCoach March 23, 2010 at 9:13 AM

    But J. you forget, nobody has any time :-)

    It drives me crazy how many people think they don’t have control over their own destiny. Truth is we all have a lot of time that could be used on a side hustle… if we really want to.

    There is a new blog built on a great premise called 151DaysOff.com. The writer says when you consider the fact that we have weekends and nights, outside of work we all have about 151 days off each year. What are we doing with them?

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  20. J. Money March 23, 2010 at 10:12 AM

    @Molly On Money – Awesome! Keep me informed.
    @LeanLifeCoach – Very very true. When something is important to us, we find a way to make time for it too :) Whether it’s making more money, spending time with friends, working on our career, etc. – it’s all up to US to do something about it, no one else is going to do it for us.

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  21. Samurai March 24, 2010 at 3:39 AM

    J, I think one of the things we’ve all got to remind ourselves is to continue hustling with the main job we have. To not take for granted our current position, and to treat our job as if we won the lottery!

    Best,

    Sam

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  22. Doctor S March 24, 2010 at 11:30 AM

    Thanks for the pub as always mister J. I think when it comes to making money, or hustling as you put it, the key is to try and tap into as many potential sources as possible. Whether it is your 9 to 5, eBay, working nights, or ad revenue… money coming in, regardless of where it comes from, is the same.

    The more streams you build up, the more zeros in the bank account. Just gotta tap into your own potential.

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  23. J. Money March 26, 2010 at 2:15 AM

    You guys speaketh the truth!

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  24. Kevin September 17, 2014 at 9:30 PM

    I just want to say I just stumble across this site while researching Uber/Lyft and found it very refreshing. I’ll give you a brief list to show my appreciation!
    1.) I worked for Apple Inc. (yes the ones that make the iPhone, etc.) recently. I was an At-Home Advisor making decent money to sit AT HOME and tell people how to fix their phone/computer/etc. Loved it, was certain I was going to retire there…WRONG. Got canned on some BS. So for me this hits home because you NEVER know (especially in this economy) when things will go awry….sadly. I also have a wife and 2 young children to support.
    2.) Although I am a Military (Army) Veteran I DESPISE having people breathing down my neck. I can do it when i absolutely NEED to but I try to avoid it at all costs, hence the work from home job.
    3.) Work/Life balance SUCKS in 90% of jobs. This is another huge reason I like side hustles, even if some of them do not pay all that well. I prefer that and being able to see my kids, then good money and working 50+ hours a week.
    4.) (At the risk of sounding like a complete, self-promoting, D-Bag) I have never been paid what I am worth. Where I am from (rural Ohio, and I’m sure in most other places) employees are paid what the company thinks they should be paid, not what they are worth. I love side hustles because you get out of them what you put in. Which is why I am really interested in Uber/Lyft, plus my buddy does both and makes decent money!

    There are more, but those are the principle reasons. I know at some point (unless i find something on here that earns enough) I will need to go back to working for “the man” but it is def refreshing to see that there are others out there that have the same mentality.

    Also love the comments! Most blogs and forums are nothing but trolls and negative/unnecessary comments/internet tough guys. This place seems to be friendly, and…well..I like that :)

    Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  25. J. Money September 24, 2014 at 1:48 PM

    Thanks man! We’re incredibly fortunate to have awesome readers and commenters here on the site – I don’t even read most comments at other places because there’s such negativity and bashing going on, it’s lame. We’ve got enough issues to worry about in our lives than dealing with random haters hiding behind the computer, right?

    And thanks for adding to the convo too – sucky but interesting story you have there. I couldn’t agree with you more on this one – “I love side hustles because you get out of them what you put in.” So very much true. If you end up giving Lyft/Uber a shot lemme know! We had tons of comments/discussions going on w/ that post so hopefully it really opened up some good opps for people who enjoy riding and making some extra cash :)

    Stop by again anytime!

    Reply
  26. lee August 11, 2019 at 6:36 AM

    Some great ideas in the comments, I love a side hustle and always believed that you should have more than one income as you never know. Also, the number of times ive snapped in my head at work and I do worry that I will do that out loud one day and just walk out. It always helps to have multiple income streams. My favorite at the moment is matched betting as that can earn me a few hundred a months. P.s from what I have seen your blog is a very friendly place to hang out, No trolls as of yet! Keep up the good work.

    Reply
    1. J. Money August 16, 2019 at 2:54 PM

      Haha thanks… Glad you enjoying it so far :)

      Reply

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