Side Hustle or Side Hassle?: Spotting the Difference
episode
Master Your Money: Budgeting, Saving, and Debt-Free Living
23 min
1 speaker
4 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Master Your Money, budgeting, saving, and debt-free living. I'm your host, Nate Tanner. On this show, we use the Tregator philosophy to help you build a spending plan that fits your real life, stack up savings, and knock out debt without losing your mind or momentum. Now, first, I just wanna start out with a little apology. I was at a conference last week and I picked up a bit of a bug, so my voice is not quite where I like it to be. So stick with me, we'll make it through. Because today we are diving into one of the most hyped up money moves in the last decade, the side hustle. Somewhere between the great resignation and the great inflation, the side hustle rose to mythic status, the supposed holy grail of personal finance.
You need multiple streams of income, start a business in your sleep, make money doing what you love. And while yes, extra income can absolutely be a game changer, for some of us, that side hustle starts feeling more like a side hassle.
What is the episode’s big question about side hustles and why does it matter?
So the big question we're unpacking today is this, Is your side hustle actually helping your spending plan? Or is it just another time suck that's stealing your weekends and stressing your relationships? Today's episode, we're going to help you measure the real value of your hustle, evaluate it against your Trigator Triangle, budget, save, pay off debt, and most importantly, decide whether to keep it, change it, or cut it. Because at the end of the day, your time is limited. And if your hustle isn't moving your money in the right direction, it might be time to call it what it is, noise. Let's break it down. Time versus dollars. Is the hustle actually paying off? Let's talk about something that's almost become a badge of honor these days, the side hustle.
We live in a culture where if you're not working your main job and launching a handmade soap empire on Etsy and flipping Facebook marketplace finds out of your garage, you're somehow behind. Hustle culture is the new humble brag. And look, I get it, extra income can be a game changer. It can help you pay off debt, save faster, or cover unexpected expenses when your kid decides they need new cleats again because they grew overnight like a weed on Miracle-Gro. But here's the real question. Is your side hustle actually helping your spending plan or just helping you feel busy? Because not all hustle is helpful. Let's start with the most basic test. What's your real hourly rate? And no, I don't mean how much you made last weekend from selling those handmade tumblers at the craft fair.
I mean, how long did it take to prep? How much time did you spend setting up and tearing down? What did you spend on materials, gas, meals, or that emergency glitter refill? And how emotionally spent were you afterwards? Let's run a quick example. Say you made $200 at the local pop-up market. Awesome, right? But you spent four hours crafting, two hours driving and setting up, six hours on your feet smiling like your arches weren't plotting your demise, one hour cleaning up, and another two hours recovering on the couch while swearing you'll never do that again. That's 15 hours. And after subtracting $40 in materials and booth rental, you made $160. That's $10.66 per hour. And your legs still haven't forgiven you.
Now maybe you loved every second of it. Maybe that kind of hustle fuels you. If so, amazing. You keep doing your thing. But if you're doing it because you saw someone on TikTok claim that they made six figures crocheting frog hats, then maybe it's time to pause and check your motivation. Here's another angle. Let's say you're door dashing or delivering groceries. You make $75 in the night. That's solid. But was it in three hours of work? Four, and how much did you spend on gas, snacks, or that treat you gave yourself afterwards because you earned it? If you made $75 and spent $15 between gas and grabbing fast food on the way home, that's $60 net. If it took you four hours, that's $15 an hour. But here's the more important question.
Did that $60 actually move your financial plan forward?
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:10–1:13
2
What is the episode’s big question about side hustles and why does it matter?
1:13–12:30
3
How do you calculate your real hourly rate for a side hustle?
12:30–19:21
4
Is your extra income actually moving your financial plan forward or just plugging holes?
19:21–23:06
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Master Your Money: Budgeting, Saving, and Debt-Free Living
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Triggator 101: The Triangle That Changes Everything
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Stop the Bleeding: A No New Debt Recovery Plan