Hello, beautiful people from across the lands. So you’ve been thinking about starting a side hustle and getting to the money…everybody mad ayyyye (in my Beyonce voice). With side hustling, it creates an extra stream of income that can help toward your financial goals. Side hustling can speed up your debt-free or savings plan. It allows you to create more opportunity for yourself that your regular 9-5 cannot do on its own. There are a few things to consider when adding a side gig to your routine.
Taxes!
I do not feel like this is talked about enough when introducing side hustles into the conversation. Yes, you have to pay takes on gigs that make you $600 and above. The tricky thing about this is you will be responsible for making sure those funds are put aside for tax season. I think a safe rule to go by is to use your job as the template for putting the funds aside. Now don’t quote me on that, I am learning as I go too. The more I know I will be sure to update this post but as of now just use that as the rule of thumb. The worst thing is to make great money side hustling then have to pay it back and then some because you were ill-prepared for tax season. Please do your due diligence and put that money aside! Brown Ambition has a great podcast episode that talks about this (Episode 164).
Time Management
Now, this is a sore topic for me. I am currently struggling to find my rhythm as I become more consistent with this blog. It is a learning curve but with continued strive, I’ll find my balance. When adding a gig in addition to your full or part-time job it can be overwhelming. Without a thought out schedule in place thing can quickly get lost in the sauce. Now that is not to say that everything needs to be perfect but you want to avoid adding stress when you are most likely doing it to reduce some financial stress. Try to find pockets of time throughout your schedule to get the side hustling in where you are not burning yourself out.
Money Management
Please make sure you are putting a budget in place for this extra income and giving it a specific assignment. I have blog posts to help you with that check out previous budgeting series day 1, 2, and 3. The worst thing is to make extra money and not see the benefit of meeting those financial goals put forth. I can guarantee without an active budget in place it will happen. This is a lesson I’ve learned firsthand when adding a side hustle to my routine. I did not think to add it in my budget and lost sight of why I added the side hustles anyway! I’ll get into it in another post. The moral is side hustles needs budgets too.
Conclusion
It’s important when thinking about adding a side hustle to your routine to make sure some key components are in place.
Taxes– Set aside taxes for side hustles that will make you $600 or more (pay now or feel the penalty later)
Time Management– Review your availability before adding a side hustle to your schedule.
Money Management– Side hustles needs budgets too. Do not forget to add it into your budget and give a specific assignment.
Enjoy getting to the money! Until next time dream, believe and achieve.
