A side hustle creates a new income stream so can be very beneficial. There are many ways to do this and Nick Loper’s Side Hustle Nation podcast / site brings to the surface many of these by interviewing people who are creating these.  I have always wanted a side hustle but I’m not very handy so couldn’t see myself on Task Rabbit nor could I see myself raising worms like one side hustler featured on Nick’s site. But I have found some that work for me.

So what’s my side hustle?

I love dogs and I am returning to what I am passionate about. Many years ago, I had envisioned owning a kennel. Now with 2 young kids, I don’t have the bandwidth for multiple dogs but I can manage two or three. And that’s where my side hustle comes in. I have signed up on Rover and have had 10 dogs stay with me so far. As a dog lover, I get to do what I love and it’s an important service to pet owners. I care for a member of their family, like they are part of my own.  We enjoy playing with these beautiful animals!! Dogs are pure love 💓😍 It’s a win win! The downside is clients come when they come, so the flow of money isn’t consistent. And it’s not a lot of $$ so it won’t pay my mortgage, but it may pay my car insurance or my groceries or maybe both! My investments cover my mortgage which is 60% of my outgoing costs, which enables me to live this life. 

And my 2nd hustle addresses my pet peeve, why do we have so much crap???

Another side hustle I’ve started is clearing out my house by selling things we don’t need or don’t use on Facebook Marketplace. I realized we have so much clutter in our house, things we paid good money for but never use and it’s all going to be landfill if not used. We have way more than enough. For example, a wrought iron decorative mirror that I not only didn’t use but have also shipped from NY to CA, when we moved😒!!!! A Calvin Klein dress that I used all of twice! What was I thinking! Unfortunately that’s the way life goes, we keep accumulating things and are so busy, we often forget to clean shop and get emotionally attached to it. At one point, I had a one out, one in policy but that didn’t work for kids toys. But we can and will live with less. So far, I have made almost $500. It’s not a lot, but it’s money sitting idle in my house and I put the extra money towards our mortgage. The added and more important benefit is less clutter means I have less to clean and more space in the house. All in all, a great side hustle sitting in my backyard. BTW Courtney Carver inspired me to do this when she came to speak at the company I last worked for. I also read her book, “Soulful Simplicity – how living with less can lead to so much more”, which I would recommend.

She suggests doing her 333 challenge. It’s about trying to use only 33 items of clothing (not including undergarments and gym clothes), shoes and accessories for 3 months. If you find you don’t miss the rest of your stuff, you can start to purge. Frankly I did not do this, I’m still too attached. But I did try to take out clothes from my closet. I put them in the guest bedroom hahaha …they didn’t go far. Now I need to find a way to sell them or donate them so if you have ideas, lmk:). I’ve heard of poshmark but haven’t tried it. If you have experience or tips on how to sell there, lmk. 

Simplifying creates space for things you love

In “Soulful Simplicity”, Courtney talks about waking up from living your life on autopilot. This was definitely me, trying to follow society’s definition on what success is. Collecting more and more when we already have enough, instead of listening to my own heart. But now it’s time to say “ENOUGH!” and start listening to myself, putting my hand on my heart and asking how  I feel emotionally, how things are going in my life, how I feel physically, what changes I want to make and what changes I have to make. Stop clinging to money and titles, which hasn’t brought me peace and happiness, which is after all what I would like in this lifetime. So I am letting go and simplifying. I am choosing to live life and do the things I love, daycare for dogs, doggy boarding, etc…and not let the things I own, own me. I have also developed a deep love for meditation and self development and will see what I can do there.

The less stuff we need, the less money we need to earn (and remember the first rule of FI , spend less than you earn). This opens up room for you to take risks and follow your heart, do work you enjoy rather than things you must do to pay for things you really don’t need, want or enjoy for more than that first few minutes. And if you side hustle follows your passion, you may be able to make it your main hustle! Go hustlers!!!

Resources:

Here’s a great Ted Talk from The Minimalists, worth a watch.