7 Reasons Why You Must Start a Side Hustle

In 2008 I was at one of the lowest points ever with my finances.  I was living on a very tight budget just making enough to get by.  My credit cards were loaded up to the max and I could barely make ends meet.

2008 was also the year I changed something in my finances that made a huge difference for me.  It was a change I made to my financial situation that changed my life from that point on.

This change I made to my finances also changed my entire mentality to the way I saw my finances.  For once in my life I saw a light that gave me hope that things were going to be alright.

Any guess as to what that change was?

I’ll give you a hint, it’s not saving money or paying off your debt that changed my financial situation but rather earning extra money.

Yup that’s right I started my first side hustle and I was hooked ever since.

Why Start A Side Hustle

If you’re not sold on starting your own side hustle I thought I would share a few of the reason in this article as to why I started my side hustle.  These may or may not be things that you’ve thought of but if anything they will at least get your gears turning.

So take a moment and check out these reasons.

#1 Brings In More Income

I guess I’ll just state the obvious first when you start a side hustle it will bring you more income and not just another way to manage your money.

Not to discredit all the typical financial wisdom out there but learning how to save better and pay down your debt faster doesn’t necessarily earn you anymore income.  Rather you are just rearranging your current income to work harder for you, but the reality is this will only go so far.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t do those things but rather my suggestion is to combine these things.  Cut down your spending, pay off your debts, but by adding a side hustle on top of this you will be super charging your finances in a way most people won’t.

#2 Improves Your Finances Faster

Number two goes right along with number one and that is by adding a side hustle to your financial situation it will dramatically improve it a lot faster.  I personally attest to this because I’m living proof it works.

From 2008 to 2013  I’ve personally managed to earn over $30,000 which averages out to around $500 per month.  Now $500 may not sound like a whole lot but when you’re living paycheck paycheck it can make a huge difference.

Since that time it has allowed me to build a brand new house, take vacations every year, and even attend industry conferences to connect with other like minded people.

#3 Allows You To Save More

Third, it has allowed me to save more money than normal.  Before I started my side hustle I was saving around $25 to $50 a month.  Now that I have my side hustle I’m saving closer to $150 to $200 per month and sometimes more than that.

At one time I had over $20,000 saved up, but building a new house has definitely cut that down a bit.  However today I have right around $5000 saved up and I can tell you even having just that much saved up helps me sleep a lot better at night.

I don’t to deal with the financial dread anymore and it’s literally lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders.

#4 Brings More Opportunity

On thing I personally like the most about having a side hustle and having saved all the extra money is all the opportunities I’ve been able to take advantage of.

Just a few weeks ago I was able to take a weekend ski trip with my two brothers and guess what, I was able to pay for it with the money I’ve earned doing this business.  Without my side hustle I would have never been able to just drop everything and take a weekend.

That’s what I feel is so great about having a side hustle is it has allowed me to spend more time with the people I love and not feel guilty for taking the time off because I can’t afford it.

#5 More Productive In Your Off Time

According to the NY Daily News the average American watches around 35 hours of television a week or roughly 5 hours per day.  To me that is just amazing we spend so much time doing so little and the thing is we could be doing so much more.

What would happen if you would give up just two of those hours per day and dedicate them towards a side hustle of your choice.  My guess is that you would accomplish a lot more than watching reruns of Pawn Stars.

Don’t get me wrong I like certain shows on TV as well but their is a time and a place for it and that time is not 5 hours a day.  In fact I not only work on my business but it has also inspired me to read and exercise every day as well and those activities will help me to became far more successful that watching TV.

#6 Build Relationships With Amazing People

Another great side effect of starting a side hustle is that it’s helped me build some incredible relationships with others.  Since 2008 I’ve manged to become friends with a lot of people online from all over from Texas to California and more.

More than that I’ve been able to start a mastermind group and work with successful people.  In fact it’s allowed me to talk to successful people on a weekly basis and share ideas with them.

Finally, I’ve been able to talk to a lot of successful people at conferences from Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents, Lauren and Mark Greutman at MarkAndLaurenG.com , or  to total rock stars like Chris Ducker of ChrisDucker.com

Side Note:  By the way not to be all promotional and all but I was also recently interviewed on Lauren and Mark Greutman’s  podcast which you can check out here.  This was also a great side effect of starting my side hustle.

#7 Protects You From The Unknown

Finally starting a side hustle will protect you from the unknown.  In today’s economy everything is changing at a very rapid pace.  The Dow can drop 400 points or more in a single day, gas prices can go up by 50 cents a gallon, or worse companies can layoff entire divisions or shut their doors completely at a moments notice.

To say the least we live in a very volatile world and the last thing you want to be is another victim of these tragedies.  The great thing about a side hustle is that it gives you control over how you earn your money.

With a job you are at the mercy of your employer, they could choose to pay you, lay you off, cut your income, change your benefits, or worse fire you for pretty much any reason of their choice.

The point is that they have control over what you earn and what you don’t earn.  When you have a side hustle it’s completely up to you how much you want to earn.

Nuff said.

Do You Want To Start A Side Hustle?

So do I have your attention now?  Is your blood pumping with eagerness to get your side hustle off the ground?  The question now becomes what do you want to start as a side hustle and the answer to that is that it is literally endless of the opportunities out there

To help you along with the decision process I wrote an article a while back the gives you 47 ideas to help you get started.  To take the next step you can check out that article here.

If you do have an idea of a side hustle you plan to start what is it?  Feel free to share your idea in the comments below.