Don’t get hustled by side hustles
Look for personal finance advice and it won’t be long before you land on a post about a lucrative side hustle or passive income stream. “I make $4,000 a week for only 1 hour and 26 minutes of work. Now I live in Cabo and my abs have never looked better!” Followed by an ad: Drive for Uber. Make cash money.
What’s even more stunning than the implication that Etsy is where millionaires live is the gall, the brazenness of people selling programs that claim they can teach you how to make $$$$ money just like them. Hold on there. Let’s get into it. You’re telling me you already know how to make thousands of dollars and you’re still trying to get $99 of mine? This is some 🐂💩.
Don’t buy it!
Anyone trying to convince you that you need their side hustle has something to sell you, and it’s not your financial success. Don’t buy it! Making money “on the Internet” may be new, but scams are not. Snake oil is as tedious as it is old fashioned.
Do you need a side hustle?
The best way to be smart with money is also old fashioned and boring. Spend less than you make and invest for the long term. It’s easier said than done, but it’s not complicated. You don’t have to upload any images to websites that do custom printing and shipping of tote bags. You don’t have to look into affiliate programs. You don’t have to sell pictures of your feet. You don’t have to. You don’t.
Extra money doesn’t hurt
Sometimes the money going out is equal to, or more than, the money coming in. It’s a tough spot to be in. Making a little more on the side can be one way to tip that balance in the right direction. To do this in a way that is sustainable enough to make reasonable money over time, the activity you choose has to be something you truly don’t mind doing. You could drive for Uber, if you don’t mind being in the car, or babysit, walk dogs, or get a part-time job at a store you like.
If you have a professional skill like coding or graphic design, you could pick up some freelance work, but you already know this. And you already know that it is not passive income but fully regular, time-consuming, actual work. It has to be worth the effort for you, and if it isn’t, that is ok too. You don’t have to.
No one gets rich without trying. No one wakes up in the morning looking forward to a light spot of affiliate marketing. Don’t let anyone on TikTok tell you otherwise.
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The above image was generated by AI in a total of about 8 seconds with DALL-E 2. Go ahead and get it printed on a tote bag. Let’s get rich!