7 Reasons Why You Absolutely Need a Side Hustle

Right now, I want you to think about what your financial goals are. Do you want to pay off your student loan debt? Be done with credit card debt? Start maxing out your yearly IRA contributions?

Those are fantastic goals, but here’s the problem — you only have so much money to go around. With what you currently make, it could literally take you decades to meet your goals.

If you picked just one of the dozens of side hustle ideas out there, you could start earning $500, $1,000, $2,000, or more every month. That money will expedite your debt pay off, your retirement contributions, and more.

I’ve also heard many personal finance enthusiasts say that you need to “do what the numbers tell you to do” when you’re trying to decide between paying off your debt or investing. While I’m a huge fan of paying off student loans and high-interest rate debt as fast as possible, I agree with that argument to a degree.

But what I don’t think is taken into consideration with the numbers approach is the mental effect of having tens of thousands of dollars that you owe to someone else hanging over your head like a dark cloud.

Debt sucks. It’s more than a number; it’s a feeling.

Side hustles can get rid of that stress and anxiety caused by debt that much faster. You save money on interest charges, and you might be able to throw some cash into an emergency fund to prevent future debt, etc.

And going back to the numbers, more money means you can start investing that much sooner.

Make more money. It’s really that simple.

One of the things I love about side hustles is that there is something for any and everyone. No matter what your education is, the field you work in, or interests, there is something for you.

The only skill all side hustles require is motivation. Once you’ve got your reason for side hustling — like paying off debt or retiring early — you can start making things happen.

Take my all-time favorite side hustle idea, running your own digital marketing agency. That sounds like a job that requires a degree or a background in marketing, maybe even advertising. But no, it’s something you can learn how to do from the comfort of your own home and make an extra $1,000 to $2,000+ every month.

Running digital ads is a legit side hustle idea. See, doing digital marketing on Facebook is a growing industry as small business owners start to realize that they can leverage Facebook’s massive audience to reach new customers.

But, and here’s where you come in, most small business owners lack the time it takes to learn and run an effective ad strategy.

Running Facebook ads is the exact side hustle I did after leaving my teaching job to run this site full-time. I didn’t go to school for marketing; I learned it on my feet and the hard way. But, after landing my first client and then another and another, I was quickly out earning the teacher’s salary I left behind.

I’m not alone in that success either. There are plenty of people who have taken the Facebook Side Hustle Course (the course I created with my buddy Mike Yanda, a lawyer turned digital marketer who now earns $30k a month running Facebook ads), who learned and now have this valuable skill.

Many are working full-time jobs, even multiple jobs, raising kids, etc…. another reason I don’t believe everyone lacks the time for a side hustle. These are real people who learned how to do digital marketing and are now earning extra money every month.

But here’s the deal, running Facebook ads isn’t the only skill you can learn. You can learn how to work as a virtual assistant, freelance writer, or make money on Pinterest. There are others that use skills you probably already have, like flipping furniture.

There’s something out there for everyone.

Read more at How to Make a Full-Time Income Flipping Furniture From Home

If you haven’t noticed, the gig economy is the way of the future. And if you need proof of that, check out these statistics found in the 2019 Freelancing in America Study study done by Upwork:

• There are currently 57 million freelancers nationwide, up by 4 million in the past five years
• 40% of millennials work as freelancers
• Freelancing contributes nearly $1 trillion to the GDP
• 46% of side hustlers feel that freelancing gives them more flexibility
• 77% say technology has made it easier to find work
• 91% have a positive outlook on the future of their industry

And according to an article in Forbes, 57% of companies are outsourcing freelance work to side hustlers to save money.

Trends like what we see in those data points are why I’m so focused on helping people find online side hustles. The internet is where we learn, play, and work these days. The earlier you get on board, the easier it will be to learn new technology and platforms that many online side hustlers use regularly.

Read more at How to Make Money Online: 21 Ways to Make Money From Your Laptop

Here’s the harsh reality: when you have one job or one income stream, your finances are at a higher risk if something happens to that job.

What if your company decided to downsize and your job was on the line? Having a side hustle can keep you afloat while you look for more work. You’re less likely to rely on credit cards or dip into your retirement savings if you have extra money coming in.

Also, several side hustle ideas can bring in passive income, where you aren’t trading time for money.

Just think, you could build a passive income stream now to bring in more income, and then be prepared if something happened to your traditional 9-5 job.

The internet has made it easier for companies to spend less money on traditional employees. A side hustle can both take advantage of the wide variety of freelance work available while mitigating future risks.

Read more at How to Make Money From Home in 2020: Make Money In Your Underwear

When I started this site, I never had any idea that blogging would become my full-time job. I’ve seen this same thing echoed by countless readers, some of the freelancers who work from my site, and students in the Facebook Side Hustle Course.

For most people who turn their side hustle into a full-time job it means they are switching to full-time self-employment, which includes a lot of perks, like:

• Increased flexibility to work where you want and when you want
• You can scale your side hustle to earn more, rather than being limited to what your traditional job pays
• You get to be your own boss, which is something I personally love

At the same time, there are some cons to working for yourself, like your income probably won’t be as steady in the beginning. But, this is one of the best reasons to start a side hustle now. You can build demand and your client list while earning a steady income for your day job.

The point is that the option is out there. And it’s not called a side hustle because it's easy — earning a full-time income from your side hustle takes work. If leaving your day job is your dream, then side hustles are one way to make it happen.

There is a lot of room in the online space for new side hustlers, but why let someone else get a headstart on earning money that you could be making instead?

The people who have already started side hustles have already done the hardest parts of starting one — they took a leap, found a side hustle, and got to work.

These people have jump-started paying off their debt, saving for retirement, and diversifying their income.

Honestly, the hardest part is getting started. There are so many side hustle ideas out there, and all it takes is finding one that you’re interested in and that fits your situation. There are side hustles for teachers, stay-at-home moms, and more.

Read more at 7 Side Hustles You Can Actually Start in 2020