Side Hustles
Side Hustles
Does anyone have any good side hustles that they do on the side in order to generate extra revenue? Curious what if any others in this community are doing besides their day jobs to get ahead...
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Re: Side Hustles
I have a rental property
I published a book on Amazon and get some royalty income every month
I buy and sell stuff online... when I see an easy score. Not too often, but a few times per year.
I published a book on Amazon and get some royalty income every month
I buy and sell stuff online... when I see an easy score. Not too often, but a few times per year.
Re: Side Hustles
This is a very frequently asked question on Bogleheads, so you might try the search box.
Re: Side Hustles
My neighbor is a 5th grade school teacher. He makes money selling everything from lesson plans to math tricks through Teachers Pay Teachers.
Re: Side Hustles
Teach online, has been my single biggest side job for 15 years. Fact check for texts and other books in my subject area, drive trucks and anything else for various industries or owners who need them moved to/from the shop. All of these pay very roughly 35-50 an hour. Make small amounts with hobbies like metal detecting, reselling items from yard sales, and make about $500 a year in credit card bonuses which is 2-3 cards a year. Funny, but all of this work has earned me less than just investing in stocks which takes almost zero effort.
70% Global Stocks / 30% Bonds
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Re: Side Hustles
Also worth searching, there are tons of posts about this with good ideas.
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Re: Side Hustles
My retired neighbor and his wife move cars for a couple of dealerships. Say someone wants a green Subaru but the local dealer has to trade with a dealer in another town. He and his wife drive to the other town pick up the car and drive it back.
I'm not sure if the make much money but it gets them out of the house.
I'm not sure if the make much money but it gets them out of the house.
We plan. G-d laughs.
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Re: Side Hustles
How old are you? What is your career? Are you investing in your career?
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Re: Side Hustles
I am a Speech Language Pathologist, and I used to work on a PRN basis at some of the local nursing homes and a local home health agency. It paid very well and I did this on and off for about 15 years. My husband teaches part time at the local community college two nights a week.
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." Yogi Berra's financial wisdom.
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- Location: Pennsylvania
Re: Side Hustles
Bouncer at a popular bar on weekends. Something I always wanted to do. Tried it in 2016 and was hooked. $25/hr to people watch with live acoustic cover bands in the background. Have a solid crew and do things by the book, so low risk.
Have scaled back (at 33 years old) to only Friday nights so I have time to complete MBA coursework/homework on weekends and spend time with my wife and dog. Only a couple people at my “career job” know I do it.
If you want to feel old, now any ID with DOB in 1900s is 21+.
Also have rentals and do hard money lending to developers.
Have scaled back (at 33 years old) to only Friday nights so I have time to complete MBA coursework/homework on weekends and spend time with my wife and dog. Only a couple people at my “career job” know I do it.
If you want to feel old, now any ID with DOB in 1900s is 21+.
Also have rentals and do hard money lending to developers.
Re: Side Hustles
Agree with others that the best ROI is often 'investing' in your career.
That being said, I have a few that I do for 'fun money':
1. Adjunct faculty: teach 1 grad class year-round ($25k/yr)
2. Market research / focus groups ($15k/yr)
3. Random stuff [crypto validator, hard lending, family business assistance, bank & CC bonuses, selling stuff online, etc.] ($0 - 15k/yr)
That being said, I have a few that I do for 'fun money':
1. Adjunct faculty: teach 1 grad class year-round ($25k/yr)
2. Market research / focus groups ($15k/yr)
3. Random stuff [crypto validator, hard lending, family business assistance, bank & CC bonuses, selling stuff online, etc.] ($0 - 15k/yr)
Re: Side Hustles
Side hustles:
A) Tech consulting (steadily increasing, but looking like 25-30k this year, enough that I formed an LLC last year)
B) Focus groups, product research engagements (a few K)
-TheDDC
A) Tech consulting (steadily increasing, but looking like 25-30k this year, enough that I formed an LLC last year)
B) Focus groups, product research engagements (a few K)
-TheDDC
Rules to wealth building: 75-80% VTSAX piled high and deep, 20-25% VTIAX, 0% given away to banks.
Re: Side Hustles
My wife and I both have worked from home the entire pandemic. We picked up dog watching, which hasn’t added a lot of effort as we already have a dog and a fenced in yard. It’s not particularly lucrative, around $40 per day, but we figure it’s easy money
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Re: Side Hustles
anyone knows how to get started selling product on amazon as a side hustle ?
how do i get started and what market research tool do i use ?
how do i get started and what market research tool do i use ?
Re: Side Hustles
This is great. Can you please elaborate on the focus groups, product research engagements?
How does one get these opportunities in tech?
- Sandtrap
- Posts: 21692
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Re: Side Hustles
Side Hustles:
Long Long ago:
Looking for redeemable bottles under neighbor's homes, relatives homes, abandoned lots and everywhere else.
10-15 cents each.
Bundles of 50 burlap cattle feed bags rolled up in used twine.
35 cents per bundle.
Long medium ago: carpentry or tradeswork odd jobs on weekends. Especially for R/E apartment buildings n condo high rises.
$100/day.
Medium long ago: heavy equipment and backhoe operator on weekends and day's off.
$20/hour.
Actionably:
*
Current best Return on one's efforts in one's "free time", day's off, vacations, after work:
Invest in:
1
Education and training to raise one's income and skill sets.
2
Work at another job to do #1 besides income.
3
Invest in R/E Residential Income Property wisely, self manage everything, repeat, repeat.
Actionably:
*
There can be (not always) a great return on one's efforts with the mentality that there's a lot that can be done when going beyond the "mental and social, etc, "boundary" of "working" a 40 hour "work" week. (redefine "work")
Some great real life examples in the YouTube motivational Real Life story talks by; Arnold Schwizenegger, Denzel Washington, etc.
Humorously: (attitude readjustment to improve financially, etc).
Navy Seal vs Seal
Otter vs Sloth
j
Long Long ago:
Looking for redeemable bottles under neighbor's homes, relatives homes, abandoned lots and everywhere else.
10-15 cents each.
Bundles of 50 burlap cattle feed bags rolled up in used twine.
35 cents per bundle.
Long medium ago: carpentry or tradeswork odd jobs on weekends. Especially for R/E apartment buildings n condo high rises.
$100/day.
Medium long ago: heavy equipment and backhoe operator on weekends and day's off.
$20/hour.
Actionably:
*
Current best Return on one's efforts in one's "free time", day's off, vacations, after work:
Invest in:
1
Education and training to raise one's income and skill sets.
2
Work at another job to do #1 besides income.
3
Invest in R/E Residential Income Property wisely, self manage everything, repeat, repeat.
Actionably:
*
There can be (not always) a great return on one's efforts with the mentality that there's a lot that can be done when going beyond the "mental and social, etc, "boundary" of "working" a 40 hour "work" week. (redefine "work")
Some great real life examples in the YouTube motivational Real Life story talks by; Arnold Schwizenegger, Denzel Washington, etc.
Humorously: (attitude readjustment to improve financially, etc).
Navy Seal vs Seal
Otter vs Sloth
j
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Re: Side Hustles
Back when I was a technician, my side hustle was taking night classes in engineering. My work paid for the course with a B or better. This was back before student loan flood gates opened and colleges skyrocketed their tuitions, so most employers saw the tuition as bread crumbs.
I do a few things now. Some grew out of hobbies, some just are so easy to do that I can't pass it up.
Really small stuff: eScrap recycling. I collect electronics and pull them apart and separate what's inside. PC Boards, aluminum, copper, steel. Then I sell the separated stuff to my local eScrap yard. Good for maybe $1k a year and I only bring things to the scrap yard when I'm going that way for something sles.
Low Balance Forgiveness: Many credit cards will forgive a small amount every month. Some are 99 cents, some $1.99. The "work" is keeping track on a spread sheet to keep each of these cards loaded with the low balance, usually by putting that amount into my Amazon gift card account. The secondary effects are that I only open new cards when they offer a bonus to sign on. $100 or $200 to start and then the card is aging to eventually put them into tradeline sales.
Tradeline sales: As MMM suggests, this is a $1k per hour activity. Again, the spread sheet keeps the cards all loaded so they show on authorized users' credit reports. The time spent is adding users to the cards and eventually removing them. The amount made depends on the age and credit limit of the cards being sold. A typical month for me is around $500, but has been steadily increasing over time as the cards being used are aging and can jump a payment bracket. The downside of this is that card companies can and do shut down credit cards and some like BoA shut down not only all credit cards you have with them but also all other accounts you have. Also, the way card companies act changes often, so a $200 per month card can easily become a $0 card.
Manufactured Spending: There are those who say that this died on May 5th when redbird shut down their program. I say that these people have no imagination. I only do this with multiple offers to combine card spending with supermarket gas points. So for example, starting today, my supermarket is offering 3 times gas points for Visa gift card purchases. So for a $500 gift card purchase, plus $5.95 activation, I get 1500 points, which converts to $1.50 per gallon off of gas purchases. On a 2% cash back credit card, this also returns $10. Back in the easy days, one could go to Wal Mart and buy money orders with gift cards, but that's done. Or at least, limited to $100, so can become more expensive to unload the gift cards. And this has always been very YMMV where some stores and some customer service reps won't do it. I don't even bother with this stuff anymore. I spend the gift cards for normal purchases. The biggest gain for me is that I haven't paid more than $1.50 per gallon for gas in years. This program isn't as good as it used to be where there wasn't a limit in the past, and is now a limit of $1.50 per gallon discount plus the shell station program discount of 5 cents per gallon and used to allow 36 gallons of gas. Back then, 69 cents would buy me 36 gallons of gas. No, not per gallon....for the entire 36 gallons. With a 20 gallon limit now and $1.55 total discount, that's certainly less but cuts my gas cost in half. I have a trailer hitch rack that I can put 4 six gallon gas cans on to be sure I get the full 20 gallons every time.
I do a few things now. Some grew out of hobbies, some just are so easy to do that I can't pass it up.
Really small stuff: eScrap recycling. I collect electronics and pull them apart and separate what's inside. PC Boards, aluminum, copper, steel. Then I sell the separated stuff to my local eScrap yard. Good for maybe $1k a year and I only bring things to the scrap yard when I'm going that way for something sles.
Low Balance Forgiveness: Many credit cards will forgive a small amount every month. Some are 99 cents, some $1.99. The "work" is keeping track on a spread sheet to keep each of these cards loaded with the low balance, usually by putting that amount into my Amazon gift card account. The secondary effects are that I only open new cards when they offer a bonus to sign on. $100 or $200 to start and then the card is aging to eventually put them into tradeline sales.
Tradeline sales: As MMM suggests, this is a $1k per hour activity. Again, the spread sheet keeps the cards all loaded so they show on authorized users' credit reports. The time spent is adding users to the cards and eventually removing them. The amount made depends on the age and credit limit of the cards being sold. A typical month for me is around $500, but has been steadily increasing over time as the cards being used are aging and can jump a payment bracket. The downside of this is that card companies can and do shut down credit cards and some like BoA shut down not only all credit cards you have with them but also all other accounts you have. Also, the way card companies act changes often, so a $200 per month card can easily become a $0 card.
Manufactured Spending: There are those who say that this died on May 5th when redbird shut down their program. I say that these people have no imagination. I only do this with multiple offers to combine card spending with supermarket gas points. So for example, starting today, my supermarket is offering 3 times gas points for Visa gift card purchases. So for a $500 gift card purchase, plus $5.95 activation, I get 1500 points, which converts to $1.50 per gallon off of gas purchases. On a 2% cash back credit card, this also returns $10. Back in the easy days, one could go to Wal Mart and buy money orders with gift cards, but that's done. Or at least, limited to $100, so can become more expensive to unload the gift cards. And this has always been very YMMV where some stores and some customer service reps won't do it. I don't even bother with this stuff anymore. I spend the gift cards for normal purchases. The biggest gain for me is that I haven't paid more than $1.50 per gallon for gas in years. This program isn't as good as it used to be where there wasn't a limit in the past, and is now a limit of $1.50 per gallon discount plus the shell station program discount of 5 cents per gallon and used to allow 36 gallons of gas. Back then, 69 cents would buy me 36 gallons of gas. No, not per gallon....for the entire 36 gallons. With a 20 gallon limit now and $1.55 total discount, that's certainly less but cuts my gas cost in half. I have a trailer hitch rack that I can put 4 six gallon gas cans on to be sure I get the full 20 gallons every time.
Bogle: Smart Beta is stupid
Re: Side Hustles
+1. And the responses generally break into two camps:
The millennial and younger crowd have all kinds of ideas for gig economy jobs, monetizing blogs and existing hobbies, etc.
The Gen X, Boomer and older crowd typically advise to invest in advancing your day job (more degrees, certifications) or at most take on some consulting related to your day job.
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Re: Side Hustles
I've got a lot of side hustles (hence the username) but my most profitable is single family rental properties. One is an AirBnB which is crushing it. The others are long term but we are converting another long term rental to a short term after seeing the huge performance gains of having one AirBnB.
People are still scared of staying in hotels it seems like, so single family home rentals for the short term are crushing it right now.
I went from working a six figure salary w-2 job and 10x'd my old salaried position by growing my side hustles. If you can grow a side hustle to a full-time revenue producing lifestyle, that is the ultimate in Financial Independence. I do sweat a lot though and manage most myself!
Re: Side Hustles
My wife does this, too. Usually good for a couple hundred in cash/gift cards periodically. Not bad for <1 hour of effort (usually). I've tried to get into it, fill out the surveys and whatnot, but never seem to get the return call to participate.
- ClevrChico
- Posts: 3394
- Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:24 pm
Re: Side Hustles
I used to do some tech consulting on the side, but now solely focus on 8-5 tech job. That seems to offer the most bang for the buck for my time.
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Re: Side Hustles
My brother found an interesting niche as a residential real estate appraiser, pretty hot in today's market. Day trips to new homes for measurements/photos, and then writing a report at home regarding appraised values. Some states have technical requirements and/or an "apprenticeship" working for a company first. The key is to develop a few clients that go to you first. For my bro, he provided technical classes (along with a lot of pastry/coffee refreshments) to several companies to both teach the potential client companies on what to be on the lookout for, and to build that relationship. Now he is their go-to appraiser.
Re: Side Hustles
I branched out and began building some side hustle income in my life about 2 years ago and it has been fantastic as I have diverted most of my side hustle jobs into investments which as we know will produce long term “passive” income.
Currently this is as follows:
1. Substitute teacher in our local school system. (pay isn’t great, but is done when I am available and gives me access to State Teacher’ Retirement System with 10% of my subbing income deposited plus a match of 4%.
2. Teaching English as a Second Language & GED classes at local community college. About 8-12 hours a week, depending on the time of year. (Gives me access to Public Employee Retirement System & 457 account, plus I get a match.
3. Dividends in taxable account: currently not much (about $600/year and growing with account balance) all dividends are reinvested. However this is all passive income and will continue to grow through the years.
Love everyone’s ideas and thoughts.
Currently this is as follows:
1. Substitute teacher in our local school system. (pay isn’t great, but is done when I am available and gives me access to State Teacher’ Retirement System with 10% of my subbing income deposited plus a match of 4%.
2. Teaching English as a Second Language & GED classes at local community college. About 8-12 hours a week, depending on the time of year. (Gives me access to Public Employee Retirement System & 457 account, plus I get a match.
3. Dividends in taxable account: currently not much (about $600/year and growing with account balance) all dividends are reinvested. However this is all passive income and will continue to grow through the years.
Love everyone’s ideas and thoughts.
Re: Side Hustles
Quite honestly the market/product research companies found me. All of them are tech related as well. I have no idea how they got my number, but I’m more consistently on the short list of 2-3 of these companies (AlphaSights, GLG, ATI) and started getting calls from them back in 2016 two employers ago. I know they operate on referrals so I can only guess someone referred me and never told me.
As for tech, it’s my primary occupation (network/systems engineering) so making it a side hustle has been pretty easy for me. I still do some “home computer troubleshooting” but the big money is in the SMB market. I build networks and manage server infrastructure for a few regional companies and serve as a “1099 CIO” for a small firm in the area. Qualifications: I have a four year degree in comp sci and no certifications. If I had to certify for everything I work on that would take up most of my time!
For me the side hustle is just my passion. When formal retirement comes in 20 years or so (at 57 if I wanted to due to state retirement options) I would see myself continuing my side hustle on my own terms and phase it out gradually. I have had clients offer me full time gigs as well, but they just can’t match the pension benefit!
-TheDDC
Rules to wealth building: 75-80% VTSAX piled high and deep, 20-25% VTIAX, 0% given away to banks.
Re: Side Hustles
For me this has taken off and I have no idea how. It’s still the same 2-3 companies that have called me since 2016, but for the first time I have to actually take off work to do one of these focus groups - 14 hours - all done remote via WebEx. That’s an ATH for me.
-TheDDC
Rules to wealth building: 75-80% VTSAX piled high and deep, 20-25% VTIAX, 0% given away to banks.
- quantAndHold
- Posts: 10477
- Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:39 pm
- Location: West Coast
Re: Side Hustles
What is your day job, and how old are you?
The best paying side jobs typically use the skills from your primary career. One friend who is an accountant working for the city does tax returns every spring. When I was working in tech, I was an adjunct at the local community college, teaching a programming course.
The most fun side jobs are often working in something completely different, often something related to a hobby. For a long time, I sold my art in galleries. I thought of it more as a storage place for things I didn’t want to keep in my basement, but occasionally, something would sell, I’d get a check, and the gallery would get something new from my basement. Now that I’m basically retired, I’m an adjunct at a different school, teaching a course related to one of my other hobbies.
The best paying side jobs typically use the skills from your primary career. One friend who is an accountant working for the city does tax returns every spring. When I was working in tech, I was an adjunct at the local community college, teaching a programming course.
The most fun side jobs are often working in something completely different, often something related to a hobby. For a long time, I sold my art in galleries. I thought of it more as a storage place for things I didn’t want to keep in my basement, but occasionally, something would sell, I’d get a check, and the gallery would get something new from my basement. Now that I’m basically retired, I’m an adjunct at a different school, teaching a course related to one of my other hobbies.
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Re: Side Hustles
Agreed on investing in your career. You could sell stuff on eBay, drive Uber/Lyft, walk dogs, mow lawns, etc. for chump change. A young lawyer starting in Biglaw makes over $200k and if they prove themselves and make partner, they could make $2M. The road to get to $2M is exhausting and soul sucking. But if you get there, or even get to a stable $500k, then that's going to give a bigger boost than a few thousand here or there from side hustles.
Re: Side Hustles
+1 on focus groups. I usually make $100-300 for an hour or two of my time. And they are usually a lot of fun to do. Get paid to talk about something youre interested in. Oh and the payment is tax free
I remember last year when I was laid off, I was doing these basically full time. One week I made $1000 doing like 6-7 focus groups.
focusgroups.org and findfocusgroups.com are two good websites to start out with.
I remember last year when I was laid off, I was doing these basically full time. One week I made $1000 doing like 6-7 focus groups.
focusgroups.org and findfocusgroups.com are two good websites to start out with.
- eye.surgeon
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Re: Side Hustles
This will come off as a humble brag so I apologize in advance but I make about (removed) per year in physician side hustles, although I work my butt off 7 days a week often 24 hrs night and day to do it. I take call at several local hospitals for pay outside of my private practice, and have partial ownership in a large optical store and a physician owned hospital.
Last edited by eye.surgeon on Fri Jul 23, 2021 3:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"I would rather be certain of a good return than hopeful of a great one" |
Warren Buffett
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Re: Side Hustles
I do some "over time" work at my regular job and play credit games for money. Any extra cash goes into stock index funds.
Re: Side Hustles
I cannot stand idle time at work, so when work was slow I obtained 3 certifications. With one of the certifications and a masters degree, I was able to teach a class at the local university. I’ve taught the class for over 10 years. The money is really good being equivalent to my bonus for around 150 hours of teaching. As an added bonus, all three certifications helped me transition from one career to another. The certifications, as I said in another post, were the best money the company ever spent on me. I always coach junior staff to work smarter not harder.
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Re: Side Hustles
It’s interesting how this number has changed for me over time. My cut-off these days is about $100/hour.
I used to do focus groups and will need to look back into that as it usually makes the cut-off. I’m a teacher and have the option to teach summer school for $50/hour or tutor for around $60-$70/hour. I don’t work these jobs as the pay is not worth it to me.
I focus on bank, credit card, and brokerage bonuses as the hourly rate is usually well above $100/hour. My most recent bonuses were for a Chase business checking and credit card. I opened these accounts in person at a branch and the checking account gives a $750 bonus for depositing some money and making some transactions while the credit card gives the equivalent of about $1100 toward travel for meeting a minimum spending requirement. It took a half hour to open the accounts and another hour or so to deposit money, set up transfer links to my other bank, set up auto payments (on the credit card), make notes on a spreadsheet about the details to earn the bonuses, and I will likely take a few minutes to close the accounts after a year or so. It requires attention to detail but the hourly rate is great. My wife did the same, by the way.
Re: Side Hustles
you are right , millions are working under 10-15$ in service industry . what gives ?Ron Ronnerson wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:23 pmIt’s interesting how this number has changed for me over time. My cut-off these days is about $100/hour.
I used to do focus groups and will need to look back into that as it usually makes the cut-off. I’m a teacher and have the option to teach summer school for $50/hour or tutor for around $60-$70/hour. I don’t work these jobs as the pay is not worth it to me.
I focus on bank, credit card, and brokerage bonuses as the hourly rate is usually well above $100/hour. My most recent bonuses were for a Chase business checking and credit card. I opened these accounts in person at a branch and the checking account gives a $750 bonus for depositing some money and making some transactions while the credit card gives the equivalent of about $1100 toward travel for meeting a minimum spending requirement. It took a half hour to open the accounts and another hour or so to deposit money, set up transfer links to my other bank, set up auto payments (on the credit card), make notes on a spreadsheet about the details to earn the bonuses, and I will likely take a few minutes to close the accounts after a year or so. It requires attention to detail but the hourly rate is great. My wife did the same, by the way.
Thanks!
- quantAndHold
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Re: Side Hustles
Every opportunity Ron Ronnerson mentions either requires specialized skills or credentials (teaching), existing assets that get deployed (bank bonuses), or is really only intermittent work, good for few hundred dollars per year at most. I made exactly $125 on focus groups last year, despite making an effort to get on as many panels as possible.manuvns wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:09 pmyou are right , millions are working under 10-15$ in service industry . what gives ?Ron Ronnerson wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:23 pmIt’s interesting how this number has changed for me over time. My cut-off these days is about $100/hour.
I used to do focus groups and will need to look back into that as it usually makes the cut-off. I’m a teacher and have the option to teach summer school for $50/hour or tutor for around $60-$70/hour. I don’t work these jobs as the pay is not worth it to me.
I focus on bank, credit card, and brokerage bonuses as the hourly rate is usually well above $100/hour. My most recent bonuses were for a Chase business checking and credit card. I opened these accounts in person at a branch and the checking account gives a $750 bonus for depositing some money and making some transactions while the credit card gives the equivalent of about $1100 toward travel for meeting a minimum spending requirement. It took a half hour to open the accounts and another hour or so to deposit money, set up transfer links to my other bank, set up auto payments (on the credit card), make notes on a spreadsheet about the details to earn the bonuses, and I will likely take a few minutes to close the accounts after a year or so. It requires attention to detail but the hourly rate is great. My wife did the same, by the way.
People who don’t have skills or assets work in the service industry for low wages.
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Re: Side Hustles
My younger son starts his new job Saturday at Home Depot. He'll get a $2 raise over what he made at the old job. That higher pay is $15.50 an hour. Not everyone is a doctor making elevendy bazillion dollars a year.
Bogle: Smart Beta is stupid
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Re: Side Hustles
Isn’t that the truth! My first job was around 30 years ago. I made $4 per hour to haul shopping carts back into the store where I worked. This was in the summer time in a desert. One day, I saw a dead snake in the parking lot on a 115 degree day. Perhaps the heat got it. Anyway, it was brutal working conditions. I told myself to remember how hard I was working (more like suffering) for such little money and to get a good education. It was very effective motivation.quantAndHold wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:36 pmEvery opportunity Ron Ronnerson mentions either requires specialized skills or credentials (teaching), existing assets that get deployed (bank bonuses), or is really only intermittent work, good for few hundred dollars per year at most. I made exactly $125 on focus groups last year, despite making an effort to get on as many panels as possible.manuvns wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:09 pmyou are right , millions are working under 10-15$ in service industry . what gives ?Ron Ronnerson wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:23 pmIt’s interesting how this number has changed for me over time. My cut-off these days is about $100/hour.
I used to do focus groups and will need to look back into that as it usually makes the cut-off. I’m a teacher and have the option to teach summer school for $50/hour or tutor for around $60-$70/hour. I don’t work these jobs as the pay is not worth it to me.
I focus on bank, credit card, and brokerage bonuses as the hourly rate is usually well above $100/hour. My most recent bonuses were for a Chase business checking and credit card. I opened these accounts in person at a branch and the checking account gives a $750 bonus for depositing some money and making some transactions while the credit card gives the equivalent of about $1100 toward travel for meeting a minimum spending requirement. It took a half hour to open the accounts and another hour or so to deposit money, set up transfer links to my other bank, set up auto payments (on the credit card), make notes on a spreadsheet about the details to earn the bonuses, and I will likely take a few minutes to close the accounts after a year or so. It requires attention to detail but the hourly rate is great. My wife did the same, by the way.
People who don’t have skills or assets work in the service industry for low wages.
There came a time when my cut-off for a side gig would have been $20/hour, then it became $50, and currently it’s at $100. I sometimes have the opportunity to attend workshops that pay $300 for 6 hours of time. I don’t usually bother unless the topic interests me. Once upon a time, that would have amounted to 2 weeks worth of pay at a much harder job. I guess things move forward.
- quantAndHold
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Re: Side Hustles
Agreed, it was working in restaurant kitchens for $4.25/hr that convinced me to finish college.Ron Ronnerson wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 4:19 pmIsn’t that the truth! My first job was around 30 years ago. I made $4 per hour to haul shopping carts back into the store where I worked. This was in the summer time in a desert. One day, I saw a dead snake in the parking lot on a 115 degree day. Perhaps the heat got it. Anyway, it was brutal working conditions. I told myself to remember how hard I was working (more like suffering) for such little money and to get a good education. It was very effective motivation.quantAndHold wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:36 pmEvery opportunity Ron Ronnerson mentions either requires specialized skills or credentials (teaching), existing assets that get deployed (bank bonuses), or is really only intermittent work, good for few hundred dollars per year at most. I made exactly $125 on focus groups last year, despite making an effort to get on as many panels as possible.manuvns wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:09 pmyou are right , millions are working under 10-15$ in service industry . what gives ?Ron Ronnerson wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:23 pmIt’s interesting how this number has changed for me over time. My cut-off these days is about $100/hour.
I used to do focus groups and will need to look back into that as it usually makes the cut-off. I’m a teacher and have the option to teach summer school for $50/hour or tutor for around $60-$70/hour. I don’t work these jobs as the pay is not worth it to me.
I focus on bank, credit card, and brokerage bonuses as the hourly rate is usually well above $100/hour. My most recent bonuses were for a Chase business checking and credit card. I opened these accounts in person at a branch and the checking account gives a $750 bonus for depositing some money and making some transactions while the credit card gives the equivalent of about $1100 toward travel for meeting a minimum spending requirement. It took a half hour to open the accounts and another hour or so to deposit money, set up transfer links to my other bank, set up auto payments (on the credit card), make notes on a spreadsheet about the details to earn the bonuses, and I will likely take a few minutes to close the accounts after a year or so. It requires attention to detail but the hourly rate is great. My wife did the same, by the way.
People who don’t have skills or assets work in the service industry for low wages.
There came a time when my cut-off for a side gig would have been $20/hour, then it became $50, and currently it’s at $100. I sometimes have the opportunity to attend workshops that pay $300 for 6 hours of time. I don’t usually bother unless the topic interests me. Once upon a time, that would have amounted to 2 weeks worth of pay at a much harder job. I guess things move forward.
At this point in my life, whether or not I do a job has virtually nothing to do with how much it pays, and almost entirely to do with how much fun i think it’s going to be. I do have one job that’s 3 hours per week for minimum wage, but it’s something that I would gladly do for free. The fact that it’s a paying job is actually an annoyance, because then I have to spend time every year doing things like sexual harassment training. Also for minimum wage.
Re: Side Hustles
Thanks I am in manufacturing operations management and make about 105K a year with an MBA and am in my early thirties. Like my job right now but looking for something besides my day job as a hobby that I can make some money doing. Really like working with spreadsheets, analysis, and project management so have been thinking some about real estate but curious what others on here are trying and having success with.Trader Joe wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 9:32 pmHow old are you? What is your career? Are you investing in your career?
Re: Side Hustles
"One is an AirBnB which is crushing it" What does Crushing it mean ? Is crushing good or bad ?toomanysidehustles wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:55 amI've got a lot of side hustles (hence the username) but my most profitable is single family rental properties. One is an AirBnB which is crushing it. The others are long term but we are converting another long term rental to a short term after seeing the huge performance gains of having one AirBnB.
People are still scared of staying in hotels it seems like, so single family home rentals for the short term are crushing it right now.
I went from working a six figure salary w-2 job and 10x'd my old salaried position by growing my side hustles. If you can grow a side hustle to a full-time revenue producing lifestyle, that is the ultimate in Financial Independence. I do sweat a lot though and manage most myself!
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Re: Side Hustles
[/quote]
"One is an AirBnB which is crushing it" What does Crushing it mean ? Is crushing good or bad ?
[/quote]
Crushing it is a good thing. I'll make $80,000-$90,000 on AirBnB rents this year on a 2,500 sq/ft house with an 83% occupancy rate. That same house used to rent for $2,100 a month or $25,200 for the year for reference. I realize the majority doesn't know what this means, but that's almost 4x rents and that same house has appreciated almost $200K since I bought it. Hence my appetite for shifting more long term rentals to short term.
Real estate investing isn't for everyone, you can see from a lot of posts on this forum. You definitely have the "leaky toilet" type of calls, but I am a handy type person and love meeting with people.
Anyone who is interested (or clicked this thread to begin with) should watch Mark Kohler for tax saving strategies. He's a funny guy and WILL save you money through his tax savings strategies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLllDKDs6M8 (fast forward to 11:50 on this video for the good stuff)
"One is an AirBnB which is crushing it" What does Crushing it mean ? Is crushing good or bad ?
[/quote]
Crushing it is a good thing. I'll make $80,000-$90,000 on AirBnB rents this year on a 2,500 sq/ft house with an 83% occupancy rate. That same house used to rent for $2,100 a month or $25,200 for the year for reference. I realize the majority doesn't know what this means, but that's almost 4x rents and that same house has appreciated almost $200K since I bought it. Hence my appetite for shifting more long term rentals to short term.
Real estate investing isn't for everyone, you can see from a lot of posts on this forum. You definitely have the "leaky toilet" type of calls, but I am a handy type person and love meeting with people.
Anyone who is interested (or clicked this thread to begin with) should watch Mark Kohler for tax saving strategies. He's a funny guy and WILL save you money through his tax savings strategies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLllDKDs6M8 (fast forward to 11:50 on this video for the good stuff)
Re: Side Hustles
I have a friend who teaches math at a junior college. His pay is little more than gas money, but he is proud to say he teaches math.
I went to a University where the field of study was the best in the world. Several teachers worked for free teaching classes in the evening.
I went to a University where the field of study was the best in the world. Several teachers worked for free teaching classes in the evening.
Last edited by bluegill on Sun Jul 25, 2021 2:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Side Hustles
What do you do when you catch people with fake IDs?ActiveIndexer wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 9:41 pm Bouncer at a popular bar on weekends. Something I always wanted to do. Tried it in 2016 and was hooked. $25/hr to people watch with live acoustic cover bands in the background. Have a solid crew and do things by the book, so low risk.
Have scaled back (at 33 years old) to only Friday nights so I have time to complete MBA coursework/homework on weekends and spend time with my wife and dog. Only a couple people at my “career job” know I do it.
If you want to feel old, now any ID with DOB in 1900s is 21+.
Also have rentals and do hard money lending to developers.
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Re: Side Hustles
And that’s fine. We need people at all edges of the salary tables. Salary costs would begin to factor into higher costs, and inflation would would be even worse.
-TheDDC
Rules to wealth building: 75-80% VTSAX piled high and deep, 20-25% VTIAX, 0% given away to banks.
Re: Side Hustles
I tutor high school maths / physics / chemistry for about $65 (USD) per hour. I don’t look for the work, but the parents pass my name around and they call me up. I more do it to help out the kids, and it’s sort of fun, watching them get the concepts. I’ve been doing experimental physics at a research intensive university for years, so going back to high school stuff is relaxing and it’s interesting to see how it’s being taught now days.
I studied Physics not Finance, so best to ignore anything I say about money.
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Re: Side Hustles
Don’t let them in but only if it’s obvious it’s fake and I’ve never had that.manatee2005 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 25, 2021 12:14 amWhat do you do when you catch people with fake IDs?ActiveIndexer wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 9:41 pm Bouncer at a popular bar on weekends. Something I always wanted to do. Tried it in 2016 and was hooked. $25/hr to people watch with live acoustic cover bands in the background. Have a solid crew and do things by the book, so low risk.
Have scaled back (at 33 years old) to only Friday nights so I have time to complete MBA coursework/homework on weekends and spend time with my wife and dog. Only a couple people at my “career job” know I do it.
If you want to feel old, now any ID with DOB in 1900s is 21+.
Also have rentals and do hard money lending to developers.
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Re: Side Hustles
Algotrading is the best side hustle. I'm quickly approaching the one comma club from two.
- quantAndHold
- Posts: 10477
- Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:39 pm
- Location: West Coast
Re: Side Hustles
Back in the day, Colorado had a law where the drinking age was 21, but 18 year olds were allowed to work in bars. So I was carding people who were older than I was. If they handed me anything card shaped at all, I would take it, glance at it, and hand them their beer.ActiveIndexer wrote: ↑Sun Jul 25, 2021 10:28 amDon’t let them in but only if it’s obvious it’s fake and I’ve never had that.manatee2005 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 25, 2021 12:14 amWhat do you do when you catch people with fake IDs?ActiveIndexer wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 9:41 pm Bouncer at a popular bar on weekends. Something I always wanted to do. Tried it in 2016 and was hooked. $25/hr to people watch with live acoustic cover bands in the background. Have a solid crew and do things by the book, so low risk.
Have scaled back (at 33 years old) to only Friday nights so I have time to complete MBA coursework/homework on weekends and spend time with my wife and dog. Only a couple people at my “career job” know I do it.
If you want to feel old, now any ID with DOB in 1900s is 21+.
Also have rentals and do hard money lending to developers.
I mean, what did they expect me to do? I was a 5'2" tall 18 year old kid, who weighed 110 pounds soaking wet.