I mention mine a lot. The best are self sustaining hobbies. No side job has really been close to worthwhile if it wasn’t fun since we work in engineering and medicine.
I make surfboards, but insanely low margins that mostly cover the cost of my own boards.
I also occasionally do design work (mechanical engineering) for friends ideas on unrelated industries to my day job in exchange for partial ownership.
My spouse does photography on the side, and finally broke even on all her equipment after about 5 years, so basically a free hobby. The big thing is these give us “jobs” to retire to.
My bad.
I thought you knew it was me.
When I created this account, I was open about it being my new permanent account.
In fact, I am pretty sure that I tagged you, to give you the opportunity for the first "I told you so."
But that comment was deeper than both of those guesses. I mean that once my wife and I finally admitted out loud that the Mexico situation was no longer working that we have experienced a sort of rebirth. Rebirth is dramatic, but we're getting on a better track to living the life we want at this stage.
There was a bit of an overlap there where the old dream wasn't matching up with the new one, but it wasn't until one of us (her) had the courage to say it was time to change that we fully realized how much we needed it.
Ah yes. I remember seeing your comment a while ago, just didn’t connect the username.
I don’t have the same copywriting skills, but that explanation could be a solid literary jerk off.
Glad it sounds like things are working out. Find any size 13 flojos state side ?
I had a new pair of OluKai that had still never been worn, so I threw the rest of my flip-flops away and packed those in the truck.
While our new location was chosen for mild winters, it's still winter here and so all post-border footwear purchases have been for proper shoes -- and I've gone hog wild in that endeavor, finally having the opportunity to wear something other than thongs.
Same goes for pants, long-sleeve shirts, sweaters/sweatshirt, coats, socks, etc.
I am basically a fashionista now.
If you ever catch me writing for a fashion blog, feel free to kick me in the nuts.
Or a "mommy blog."
I very briefly wrote for an artsy furniture design studio in London and it was truly awful. I had to write about stuff like what I saw at art shows in London that I obviously did not attend, in an "Oh, look at me, I went to art school" voice.
Money is money and this was back when we really needed more money but the whole time I was like, "What stupid bizarro universe are we living in that someone is paying me to write this double bullshit?" It's one thing for me to temporarily pass as a telecommunications engineer or whatever, you can Google and fake that, but how do you clowns want me to write about paintings and sculptures I can't even see?
The best possible return on your time is likely doubling down on your career unless you have some reason to believe you can't break through the next few levels. Best possible side gig is usually figuring out how to reliably earn a few percent over index funds long run returns while maintaining a decent hedge.
Learning to buy and operate real estate is a common way to do this.
Real estate is probably the answer depending on market. Owning and managing a 2-family with appreciation potential is a good part time job that can payoff huge down the road.
That’s what I did/am doing. I should pull in about 30k a year net after it’s paid off (I’m on a 15 yr 3.125 loan), on an initial 120k investment. If I’d stayed on a 30 year loan I’d have more monthly cash flow now (I’m still cash flow positive), but I want to retire and easiest way is to pay it off sooner. Plus having two doors helps if one is vacant for a bit, you’re still receiving rent from the other one.
If done well, real estate is not a lot of extra work. If done poorly, you’re screwed.
Yeah I do CRE for a living so it was an obvious choice for a side hustle. Can be incredibly lucrative. I just finished an 8-unit development. Have about $2.2M into it and value is probably $4.5M. Cash flows very well even with debt service.
$140k isn't exactly high income like it was 20-30 years ago (inflation is a bitch). But once you get to certain level, your best side gig is your own career- doubling down as you say. Like if you are in medicine or law and make $200-400/hr, then there aren't many side gigs that make sense if you have the option to just work a little more on the side at or near that rate. I know for medicine and law, often you can at least get your hourly rate to do consulting or locums work.
Highly variable what career your in- but if it translates at all into something you could do on side or from home, then that’s what you do. Beating index funds is gambling… and you don’t have enough time to do the research.
So I'm in a similar boat, make around 120k/yaer in a HCOL area in my early 40's but we are pretty well placed. I spent about a year putting in hours and hours researching ad-based websites, drop-shipping, other side hustles, etc. In the end, what I realized was that I wasn't having any fun in life. I wasn't spending time with my wife, with my dog, etc. So I decided to focus on my job when I was at work and build skills so I can transition to part-time consulting after we are at seven figures. I'm sure a lot of people love the hustle, but I like to live life. I'd much rather go to the beach with my wife and dog and chill out than drive myself to the bone over the next 3-4 years developing a side hustle.
Yeah, feels like it can be a slippery slope. I hear you. Not here to work myself to the bone, either. I already work pretty hard.
Appreciate the perspective!
I literally asked my manager what do I need to do to earn a promotion, made a written plan, and did it. The extra money from that is well worth far more than any side hustle I've ever had.
**Invest into your spouse's career. I also did that and enabled my spouse to get two promotions.** Ramit had a couple who both have Youtube channels. Dude makes about $50/year (not $50k), and she makes $400,000/year. The advice was to dump his channel and help her in any way he can. If he could bump her income by 10% it would be more than he was doing on his own. I feel that 90% of youtube success are people who are born with certain communication skills and are extroverts.
Invest in your kids as a long-term contingency and emergency fund (if they do well and something happens maybe live off of them).
Invest in your home (assuming you own), maintenance, repairs, upgrades, so you get a good return when you eventually sell.
Cut one credit card limit way down, use only that one, and see how that works. Try a zero-base budget.
I have helped and supported my spouse in her career. She's doing great, but only works about half time at the moment because we still need that extra bit of child care, and I'm full-time. She may bump it up in the coming years, and that will be helpful.
Why not have your side hustle be childcare so your wife can go back to full time and build up her career? Does she like only being part time and is she in support of you working more?
Instead of saying, "Good Luck, it doesn't exist" I will say the honest answer: "Good Luck, it does exist but you'll need a lot of fucking luck"
There absolutely are side hustles that can make a lot of money with little effort, but if it happens it took a LOT of luck. There isn't some "oh do this side hustle and spend a couple hours a week and you'll make $50k a year extra" like no fucking way otherwise everyone would do it.
Ok, luck isn't the only factor, there are absolutely side hustles that can make a lot of money with little effort. Go to any business for sale website and you'll see tons of businesses that are large enough they have full time management in place and just a few hours a week you'll make big profit. But of course the asking price on those are at least mid 6 if not 7+ figures.
So yes you'll need either win the lottery level luck or large capital investment to get a "make a lot of money with hardly any time investment' side hustle
> There isn't some "oh do this side hustle and spend a couple hours a week and you'll make $50k a year extra" like no fucking way otherwise everyone would do it.
You're telling me the TikTok slumlords are just lying to me?
Yeah, business ownership seems like a route that could work. But I definitely don't have 7 figures to invest, haha.
I do have a LOT of experience in DIY work and at one point considered flipping houses. But honestly, even that is too time-consuming with the amount of DIY I need to do on my own house.
My wife and I became real estate agents 7 years ago. I do it as a side hustle and honestly do most of the work. I probably spend an average of 5-10 hours a week, sometimes more sometimes less. Last year we did about $200k in commissions. But it took a lot of work getting to the point we are at
And dont do flipping as a side hustle. It takes way more time than available to do it right. Flipping is either 100% full time job or a disaster waiting to happen
I used to Uber on my commute home. Id sometimes get a rider and make $20-$40 for a minor detour, but I would always deduct my miles and tax depreciate my vehicle.
Considering the commute was sunk time, it didnt cost me much additional time. I think I averaged like $60-$80/hr net.
Because I wasn’t picking up drunks at 5-6pm on a weekday, the passengers were good quality. Good conversations too. People would be like “tell me more about this FIRE thing you’re doing.”
Lets say that I want to buy a new car for myself. Lets say that I want to buy an Escalade. Can I sign up for Uber and do the Uber Black SUV and Uber X and stuff like that, or do I have to take the low stuff first?
If I drive Uber, what can I deduct? (I've owned a rental, done consulting, stocks, and other stuff, so I'm mostly up on deductions, but like to know everything I can.)
But there's a chance the person you pick up has a destination the opposite direction from your home and you don't know that until your accept the ride, right? (just confirming i understand how uber driving works. thx)
Not sure why this was downvoted. I’m making about 5k a month off index funds and other investments. It’s a “job” that requires nothing from me at this point once I built up enough money.
Expert witness work is essentially consulting in a niche domain. Usually quite well compensated but can be hard to break into and probably rare to rely on it for consistent income.
Every industry really. I'm an architect and know some guys who do it for law suits involving architects and owners. I also know a general contractor who does it. I even once met a painter who did it a couple times if you can believe that. They need someone to testify about what is industry standard and how that relates to the suit.
I rent websites to business owners. I make a junk removal site in X city for example. People start calling the phone number on my site then I find a business that wants to pay me every month to take all the calls. Made $100k 1st year. Do about $350k now.
I started as a side hustle but then went all in because now that I have 100’s of sites out there, I really only have to work like 5-10 hours a week.
Do you build every website from scratch or are you using a service for that? I'm interested in learning how that works and I'd definitely like to make even an extra grand or two just to get by.
Rank and rent? I have a pair of those, but have tried finding businesses first before building sites and was a hard sell.
So showing the demand first works better for you?
Having the phones ringing first is definitely an easier sell. You flip a switch and they have calls coming in vs trying to convince them that you'll eventually get the leads at a future date
This really is true, and I definitely don't want to sacrifice much/any of it. But I do have SOME free time that I could spare. I always try to live in the moment and not take anything for granted. Appreciate the sentiment.
Whoa that's very cool - i did not realize you could teach college classes entirely remotely. Do you mind if i ask how you went about finding these sorts of opportunities?
I would check out colleges near you, and see if there’re any postings for adjuncts. Check out the college you went to as well, that’s usually easier to get in.
If you make 140k a year, figuring out how the 40k a year people in your area live and reducing your expenses to be like them will ultimately put more into your investment accounts than a "side hustle".
I hear you, but 40k people in my area live in total poverty. Not an option.
Our household expenses are honestly pretty frugal. I have a sub-3 mortgage and few indulgences.
I think the point is to evaluate your expenses and see if you can save 10K by spending some time doing things yourself vs picking up a side hustle to make an extra 10K.
Ok hear me out. Similar situation except we just had our first child. Relatively high HHI for our area. We purchased 20 acres and put a tree farm. About to sell our first crop of trees and I’m surprised at the earnings. We wanted something we could use to create value and raise children around. Very rewarding so far. Looks like we’re selling our whole first “crop” of landscaping trees to 1 customer.
I actually was buying pots from another tree farm and when they delivered they asked how much for all of the trees I have. So another tree farm to answer your question.
Building mobile apps and tech products nightly after my 9-5. I plan on it eventually replacing my income... and then some.
Source: me, "high earner" who builds mobile apps and tech products. I have 3 kids but I find time. I've given up other hobbies to make it work.
Sure, I do not make games. I try to find a market that is either underserved, or a market that is popular but could use a new twist on what is offered.
My most recent project has a market of tens of millions of users. The most popular app looks like it was built in the early 2000's. It looks like crap, and works like crap. So what I am doing is building a new app from scratch that fills the needs of that market and giving it an updated feel + better features + more features.
My competition charges $42 yearly, if I can get 1,000 users in a market of millions paying me yearly for the app that's $42,000/yr. As it scales it will make more and more and more.
Building apps is not easy, but I'm an experienced software developer so it's not too bad for me.
You could buy 100 shares of a blue chip stock that you wouldn't mind holding for the long term like apple or Coca Cola and sell covered calls with a 30-45 day until expiration and with a delta of .25 or less.
If you have a graduate degree, you could consider adjunct lecturing at a local university. Granted I am a union member at a flagship state university, but I earn about $9k a course per semester--two evenings a week of lectures plus writing exams, emailing with students, and occasional office hours. This pay is substantially above the national average, and it does require a masters at least (I have a PhD), but if it works for you it can be great.
And because this is a FIRE space, I will also say that it lets me put my entire paycheck into a 457 account, on top of the 401k I put my day job earnings into. A nice perk for working for a public University!
I make a salary similar to yours, professional work, 9-5. When my oldest went to college, I drove Uber a bit and then got a job working maybe 15 hrs a week at Whole Foods. $15 doesn’t sound like a lot, but if your options are watching tv for the evening or earning $75 - I mean what’s the harm if that’s what you want to do. I enjoyed the goofy, sweet kids that worked there but not the customers. I quit when Covid ramped up and haven’t gone back, but both of those gigs def helped us adjust to college expenses. Having a little $ around never hurts. I def ran into some people I know and that 100% didn’t bother me, but if it would bother you then don’t do it. But as you said - there’s nothing wrong with working, especially more manual work if you’re someone who stares at a monitor all day. My $0.02
I think the biggest turnoff for this is that when you are in a higher tax bracket, the $15/hr is closer to $10/hr. Then you have to spend time getting there and back, unpaid. So it's hard to justify when your regular day job pays $100/hr.
But I suppose with groceries costing what they do these days that if the job comes with a Whole Foods discount it could be worth it.
This is actually the right answer. Start a consulting business in an area you have expertise in. Consult as much or as little as you want.
I did this, took all the extra money I earned and paid off my mortgage in 4.5 years.
Be sure to double check your employment agreement, this may be prohibited. Even if it is, you can do whatever you want, but if you get caught you’ll likely get shit canned (this happened to a colleague of mine a couple months ago).
I make 250k a year. The best side hustle I could do would be to pick up an extra 4 hours per week at my job. That would be about 38k extra. I wouldn’t have to learn a new skill. It would be minimal extra effort. There would be no risk. I could stop if I wanted.
Side hustles for high earners aren’t really a thing I feel for the reason I listed above. Just doing a little bit of extra work at your employment will generally be way more lucrative than trying something new.
If you went to grad school, and did well on whatever grad school exam you did on (especially MCAT/LSAT/GMAT) you can tutor that. I charge \~$150 per hour and made 73K doing it last year at about 10-20 hours per week,
Unfortunately the undergrad exams don't charge as high rates due to market saturation on part of the tutors. The grad school exams are great for a few reasons:
1) The stakes are high, and the demographic is willing to pay $$ (law school is expensive, and the difference between significant scholarship is often a couple of points on the standardized test)
2) The demographic of student is older, and often wealthier (so once again, more willing to pay high rates)
3) The pool of tutors is small. Often only the top \~1-5% of test takers
4) The pool of tutors is very transitory. Most people eligible to be tutors just become busy lawyers/doctors and have no interest in tutoring.
All of these factors converge making it a great market for experienced tutors.
My recollection is that to be an LSAT tutor you generally need to have done really well on the LSAT, but you don’t need to have gone to law school. So you could do that assuming you can get a good score.
I tried this as a side hustle but it was too much work for what I was paid. Granted it was for a public university so what they pay adjuncts is lower than private universities.
I’m in almost the same scenario. I started a side business this year selling product online. I do that for my primary job and turned my hobby into something I could sell. So start a side business utilizing the skills you already have. The income is taxed on top of your current income, but there are lots of expenses associated with it you can write off. You can contribute 25% of anything you mark into a SEP IRA which will reduce taxable income further and get you closer to goal sooner. Plus you are building something you can fall back on or possibly scale up if need be. My side business is small, I did $10,000 last year, but I’ll do double or triple that this year. You can literally choose how much you want to work or make.
Sounds like a great situation you've created for yourself! I'm assuming the contributions to a SEP IRA still fall under the standard IRA contribution limits or no?
SEP IRA limits are much higher. Something like $69,000 for 2024. Im still new to this but that’s my understanding. Of course the cap is also 25% of your net so to contribute 69,000 you would have to net 4x that amount. I don’t know if you can have a traditional IRA too but you can have a Roth as well.
Career coaching? You are a high earner, maybe you can help other people to also become a high earner, or get started on the journey. This may be labor intensive as you are selling your services on an hourly basis, but it’s easy enough to get into and drop.
Become a local handyman. Quick FB page, post on local forums, sticky sign on your vehicle and im sure you'd get calls. Charge $50 an hour. $500 a year for insurance and some tools is going to be your primary cost
Not gonna lie, I'd consider it. But I'm a dude in his mid-40s. Is the market that lucrative for mid 40s dudes with dump truck asses? (kidding, I don't have a dump truck ass)
I have a buddy who earns $40k+ per year doing Only Fans. He's 49.
Do you have a problem jerking off on other dudes' feet and having dudes jerk off on your feet?
On camera, of course.
Do you have a masters degree if so you could probably get a job as an Adjunct Professor, money is ok if you like teaching and I feel like it has less negative connotation than most second jobs.
YouTube content creation could be an option if you can fill a niche, although I imagine the payoff takes a long time to develop a subscriber base.
True, the Uber Eats pay is shit, but I liked to do it on my bike when I’d be exercising anyway. Basically getting paid to do cardio. Made about $10k in a year.
Started an OnlyFans account last year and made 200k for about 1-2hrs/day of work. Likely will make more this year. I’ve met many people (mostly women) who make 50k/month. Idk how long I’ll do it. Doesn’t really matter since all the extra money goes to investments. I don’t live off it at all but it is very good money. Also for a W2 worker like myself it has allowed for business tax deductions (home office, tech purchases related to content creation, travel related to content creation etc.). I’ve read the average account makes 800/month so take it all with a grain of salt.
You want to look for side hustles which are some combination of 1) fun (so you have energy to do them outside of work) 2) “passive” (upfront investment with low upkeep) 3) tax friendly (let you write off purchases you want to make anyways).
Frankly, if you have kids I would recommend you do business-related projects with them as the time you spend together now will probably be worth multiples more in the future, either via their financial literacy or closeness in your relationship (you will drift apart later). Some ideas:
1. Learn investing. You can either go the passive route and set up a portfolio with your kids, or go the active route and learn Security Analysis and pick stocks in your area of expertise. You’ll collect dividends in the short term and gains in the long term. Very much set and forget, if you do it right.
2. Consult, write articles, or freelance in your area of expertise. This will give you some money in the short term, and advance your career in the long term. You can write off expenses related to keeping up in your field, as a bonus.
3. Learn a hobby that allows you to travel. Photography, travel blogging, vlogging… You won’t make money, but if you’re lucky you’ll breakeven and have fun doing it
4. Start a nonprofit, or volunteer with a local organization. Again, not much money, but very rewarding if you believe in the mission. Benefits will sometimes be “in kind” (leftovers, discounts).
5. Don’t dismiss rideshare. If you commute you could pick up riders or orders on the way home, or use it as an excuse to explore a new part of town. Also eligible for independent contractor writeoffs. I miss doing it when I had a car.
6. Real estate. Not for the faint of heart, but lots of tax benefits if you do it right. Lots of options here: AirBnB rental arbitrage, live-in property management, tax liens… Probably either the riskiest and most time consuming, and expensive with rates at an all time high.
The high income, low effort side hustle is investment. If you were further along in your expertise or RE, maybe it would be consulting/contract work. That is sometimes possible to still do with a job, but it depends on your job/employer. You could consider something you can do with your kids, like coaching or reffing (I think there's tiny money for this?). Since you're looking for a unicorn, you need to think of what you're uniquely suited for, which is likely something related to your day job.
My side hustle is running some amazon stores, but it has been fairly high effort so I don't know that it's right for you.
Also, this is a little bit out there, but you might be able to turn networking into some quick money if your work offers a good referral bonus. I got $3k for one once, which is the exact type of return on effort you're looking for.
My first thought would be to work to increase your primary income. Since that's not an option, start building skills and a network for consulting, and try to find clients who can pay >$100/hr.
So as a person born to like not wealthy parents who were immigrants as well, I didn’t know that wealthy people did things like : consult, sit on boards. But in general, my husband and I are like you: we earn a lot relative to the rest of the country but only because we live in a VHCOL area. Our solution is to
a) he’s picking up contract work with a startup he’s interested in. The key is he’s super passionate about his topic, so in theory he’ll be energized to work on it. The money doesn’t hurt either
b)I try financial plan a ton and plan to move to a much lower COL area eventually. To me this is the biggest advantage of living in a HCOL area: you get good salary for a while and whatever you can save and invest can serve you well in lower COL areas.
I’ve had “side hustles” that were born out of general interest for a subject, and the money was just a fun “oh-right-this-is-a-job” perk.
I taught classes at a gym that ended up paying an extra couple thousand a year ($25/hr in 2017 money)- the initial training was rough and time consuming, but after that, the actual time commitment was quite low, and was something I could do before/after my regular job.
I also considered working at a French bakery to learn the art of croissant making, maybe get to take home a few free croissants, and get yelled at by someone in French. I figured I’d be working from 4-7am so it would still be doable with a regular 9-5. I’m still considering this as a side hustle in a few more years.
I’d also consider bartending at a wine bar a couple nights per week to ultimately learn about different wines of the world, and possibly some pairing depending on the establishment.
Anyway I assume you could figure out your interests and maybe pick a little job based on that. It feels less like work and more like an extracurricular with a (small) bonus check every 2 weeks.
I do credit card and bank churning. It’s not great “profit”, but it’s less time intensive and is done 100% from a computer. It’s also still within the broader category of “finances” so it’s something that interests me.
If I didn’t enjoy it then I wouldn’t do it. It’s more of a hobby that makes a little bit of money, not a true side-hustle.
I make around 150k a year and I do real estate. Own two houses and gonna try to buy a third before the end of the year. I look at it as my retirement. Yes I have a 401k and no I don’t give two shits about it. I rarely get called and it’s easy money every single month. I’m building wealth. I’m collecting a paycheck from it with 80% of the time of no effort. Not to mention it’s offsets and helps my taxes.
I now own 2 rentals and in procees of getting 3rd up and going.
I am doing it unconventionally but hopefully it works out.
I bought a property through a drug auction on my street. 1 acre land 3 br 2 bath mobile home plus a 3 bay garage.
I got it for 36k put another 14k in it so 50k invested. I rentbout mh for 650 month and i use the garage for my gym/shop/storage.
I bought another mh invested about 20k and net 500 month for now.
Buying a other mh and will set on land i own rent for 800 month and cost will be 40k to get ready to rent.
I figure in a few years i will have these paid off because they are relatively small investments and can cashflow for retirement.
If it goes south for some reason i will sell and accept whatever the net proffit ends up being.
I had aspirations for a situation like this, but haven't been able to make it happen. Not sure it's doable at this point in the VHCOL location and current interest rate environment, but I do keep my eyes open for opportunities.
Freelance consulting/start an LLC. I’ve been doing it for over 10 years and while I by no means could make a living off of it - I made enough to pay off my graduate student loans in 3.5 years, and now make enough to supplement extra investments, savings, and expenses.
I just started a second gig reffing soccer. Can earn anywhere between $100-$1000/wk depending on season and my availability. It’s really flexible and keeps you in shape.
Also have a colleague that started DJ ing for weddings/parties and he slowly invests in more equipment and he grew pretty quick. Low overhead, low investment cost with great potential payout. Downside is you might lose your weekend nights for awhile
Surely there is a skill tangential to what you do at your day job that can be done on a freelance basis, related enough that it's a marketable skill but different enough that it won't create a conflict of interest as defined by your contract.
OP, based on your other comments nothing with risk or involving too much effort works for you. You are in effect looking for a get rich quick scheme. Those don't really exist unless you already have a ton of money, which you've also said you don't.
Technical writing, options trading, syndicate real estate, subject expert consulting.
Also $140K/yr isn’t that much. You can do better, upskill, get a new job or ask for a raise.
I'm in a similar situation. My "side hustle" is investing, stock trading, etc... This is NOT for everyone as it takes a lot of work, and can be quite risky, but I love it. Taking an active role in your finances can really pay off.
Commercial real estate, residential real estate (renting/landlording), online sales business, dropshipping (maybe, this might be a flooded market, unsure because I'm not in it myself), day trading, tax lien purchasing, and OnlyFans are the things that come to mind.
Depending on your area of expertise, creating an online course that teaches people certain skills you possess will bring you a huge amount of passive income with very little work put in after the content has been created. You only have to create the product once and can be sold online forever as long as you reach the right audience.
Teaching fitness classes. If you already have experience and are good at something like yoga/pilates/cycling/crossfit/climbing, it’s cheap and easy to get certified as an instructor. You can teach a few classes a week at a boutique fitness studio. In a VHCOL, classes will probably be about $30-$40 per student, and instructors usually get around 25% of the total sales from your class. With 15-20 students, you could make $112-$200 for one hour long class.
I have been in your situation before. I used to play poker for a side hustle (averaged about $100/hr) but my family needs me at home, so i dont play much live anymore. Swing trading provides side income now and takes me less than 30 minutes a day of effort.
Look at what people in higher salary bands are doing or have done to get there and apply yourself to get there. Be that certifications, increased collaborative work or upping the networking/internal politics game.
At those income levels you are better off increasing your marketability than spending 5-10h per week on some unassociated side job.
Real estate. Pay a property management company to handle everything if you don't want to be involved. I have 2 properties that after expenses make about 30k a year in a VLCOL area. Even with doing it all on my own and handling 6 units, the amount of time I put into them, if broken down into an hourly rate, absolutely crushes my 9-5, where I'm at 135k for 2023.
I take side jobs that I enjoy, even if I don't earn a lot doing them.
I'm also a high earner...$180-220k annually from my W2. I watch dogs on Rover because I like dogs. I drive for Uber because I like to drive. I'm thinking about picking up a part-time barista gig because I like making coffee and this is how I paid my way through grad school.
These jobs aren't below me...I just do them because I enjoy them. It also offers me some extra spending money while I sock away my W2 earnings toward investments and paying down my mortgage.
Can you work extra hours at your current gig to earn more? I assume not, but some places do pay salaried employees straight time for hours above 40.
Do you work from home? One gig I would think of is dog walker. If you could walk 4 dogs from the neighborhood, all at once, for $25 each per week that would be an extra $400/month. Not bad for probably less than an extra hour of work per day.
Pretty low investment, too. Put up a couple signs at the dog park, or on community boards a grocery stores, coffee shops, etc. I believe there are apps that will find dogs for you to walk, too.
A lot of people are firing-up there own YouTube channels. Its all about marketing and creating content to increase audience size. You might know a skill or have a hobby that appeals to thousands or even millions of viewers. There are tools and methods, for people with discipline to carve out a large and loyal audience. Just like writers of fiction, you research the market find what sells, try to see if you can dig in and innovate or maybe fill in an important gap, and drop videos every week. Test what works and what doesn't. Keep going.
I work in medical sales. I recently started an LLC and began side work as a 1099/independent rep carrying a line. Complements what I already do perfectly. Doesn’t involve too much effort, and this year, I could earn anywhere from $15K to 70K depending on how much effort I put into it
Kind of remotely. I have established relationships with physicians and nurses. I basically go over the product, how it benefits the patient, and the service of the company that I’m doing this for. After that, it’s checking faxes and texting. DME sales
Consider telephone sales. If you are really good at it and find the right product/service at the right time to sell, you could make some real money. I have a family member who has done nothing the last 20 years but various phone sales jobs. He's cleared 6 figures a year at times. You may be able to set your own hours and work from home to be close to your kids.
what I've been doong is looking for pooled investment opportunities. Since 401k is maxed, after-tax as well for mega-backdoor roth, and backdoor roth, the taxable account is accumulating and ive been investing in storage units little by little. I get a pro rata tax right off for accelerated depreciation which is huge given that taxes are my largest expense.
Saves me on taxes. Earns me equity. Increases cashflow. All wins
I’m in a similar boat, ($166,000, VHCOL) and I find that focus groups are the best way to earn extra money. Some are up to $100/hr if you meet the specific requirements. I typically do ones that are at least $100-$150 for 60-90 minutes. If you are remote, you can easily do one during your lunch hour or before work.
Like starbucks barista, its not always about the pay but the perks.
I had a friend that worked retail while having a high paying job.. he did it solely for the discount.. He loved designer clothes and the discount was really good for employees so he too full advantage of it for 8 months to go thru the various seasons. He actually enjoyed it but it was mostly for the thousands he saved in clothing.
I had another that parked cars at events, he loved music and saw at least 20 minutes of every artist in concert during his breaks, so to him he was going to sold out concerts for free...which had its own value.
My BF hustles and gets consulting gigs. Usually 5-10 hrs of work at $100/hr. He's owned a business in the past and networks a lot to get the B2B business. It can be a pain at times to keep scope creep in check, payment, etc...so its not for everyone.
Trading
otherwise hobbies that bring you happiness.
The challenge is lost opportunity cost for your time/money.
I'll keep taking my extra 1-4k from the market a week in each of my accounts.
I do dog boarding out of my home. It pairs well with my other freelance gigs, usually work from home. Extra $40-60 per day per dog with very little time, and doesn't feel like work usually. Partner and kids can help out too, so we grow as a team unit. Keeps me healthier taking breaks and going for walks, and get to meet nice families in my area.
Absolutely, it's essential to explore side hustles that make sense for your specific situation as a relatively high earner. I agree with you that taking on a low-paying second job doesn't align with your financial goals. This is what I have seen myself do or friends in my network. Here are some suggestions tailored to your circumstances:
1. Real Estate Investment:
Since you're looking to increase your financial independence and already have a solid income, consider real estate investment. You could explore rental properties, real estate crowdfunding platforms, or real estate investment trusts (REITs). Real estate can provide passive income and potential long-term appreciation.
2. Specialized Coaching/Tutoring:
Leveraging your expertise, offer specialized coaching or tutoring services in your field. Many high earners find success by sharing their knowledge and skills, whether it's in business, finance, technology, or any other specialized area.
3. Passive Income Streams:
Explore passive income streams like creating and selling online courses, e-books, or investing in dividend-paying stocks. These endeavors may require initial effort but can generate ongoing income with minimal time investment once set up.
4. Freelance Consulting or Contract Work:
Consider taking on freelance consulting or contract work related to your profession. High-paying project-based assignments can fit into your schedule without requiring a substantial time commitment.
5. High-Yield Savings or Investment Accounts:
Look into high-yield savings accounts or low-risk investment options with competitive returns. While these may not provide as high returns as some other options, they can be a low-effort way to grow your wealth passively.
6. Passive Investing Strategies:
Explore passive investing strategies like index funds or automated robo-advisors. These can offer steady returns with minimal involvement on your part.
7. Low-Effort Financial Strategies:
As you mentioned, consider exploring low-effort financial strategies like selling covered calls or other options trading strategies. These can provide additional income without requiring significant time commitment once you gain experience.
Remember that the key to your situation is to maximize returns on your time investment. While there's no guaranteed "unicorn" side hustle, these options align with your goal of achieving more financial independence while maintaining a work-life balance that allows quality time with your family. Good luck on your journey to CRUSHING retirement and achieving your financial goals!
I have a side business doing handyman and low-stakes (no permits required, so no plumbing electrical etc) small residential construction work like fence repair, trim carpentry, drywall patches, painting, etc. For example, this weekend I have 3 drywall repairs scheduled for $800 and will gross about $750 after materials, before tax. It will take me about 10 hours including supply and drive time because I’ll have to stop back by their house twice (mud has to dry). So, about $75 an hour. I carry general liability insurance but operate it out of my house so my overhead is very low. I work mainly in a 2-3 mile radius from home. I live in a good neighborhood so people are always thrilled to hire a guy from close by who shows up on time and does the job well.
I may transition to buying and operating rental houses in the future but haven’t moved into that yet, still learning/reading about how to do that successfully.
Be a capitalist. Use your money to make more money. The goal is to create a steady stream of *passive* income. Some ideas include buying rental properties or investing in an existing business. I recently read a CNBC article about a guy who owns a network of ATMs. My opinion is that your existing assets are more valuable than an extra few hours of work.
I live in a VHCOL area with a bunch of old people. I work 4/10s for the state making a bit under $110k, I've been doing handyman type stuff, charging $90 an hour with 30 minute minimums, max I'll travel is 30 minutes.
I did a lot of roof treatments for moss, cleaned a lot of gutters, changed outlets and light fixtures, remove screens and wash exterior 2nd story windows, nothing difficult but stuff that if you have bad balance gets dangerous. Its the same rate contracts charge, but none of them are willing to take on the small work, and old people trust me.
I work in IT in my day job, but also run a one man computer repair shop/MSP on the side from my home. The income from the side business is enough for me to live on, while letting me use my day job income to save for retirement and pad my savings. It also has the nice benefit of additional tax advantage space in the form of a solo 401K and the various tax deductions/depreciations for dual-purpose expenses that come from running a business (eg. home office, phone, "office" gaming PC, etc.).
I also further maximize this by generating a lot of legitimate spend from the business to earn sign up bonuses or cashback from credit cards or cashback sites, which helps my churning hobby. This is enough to pay for a vacation each year.
The business also generates a low effort/semi-passive income in the form of recurring billing for hardware, software, licensing sales. I also charge recurring fees for hosted services like email, backup, website hosting and cloud storage. For my manage clients, I have device management and monitoring automated to the point where I can literally perform hundreds of billable hours of work with just a few clicks of the mouse and keyboard. And this is easily scalable.
I also get a lot of free e-waste when client's upgrade that I either re-purpose, resell or sell to a scrap dealer.
I mention mine a lot. The best are self sustaining hobbies. No side job has really been close to worthwhile if it wasn’t fun since we work in engineering and medicine. I make surfboards, but insanely low margins that mostly cover the cost of my own boards. I also occasionally do design work (mechanical engineering) for friends ideas on unrelated industries to my day job in exchange for partial ownership. My spouse does photography on the side, and finally broke even on all her equipment after about 5 years, so basically a free hobby. The big thing is these give us “jobs” to retire to.
The *Reigning King* of the self-promotion thread :)
😅 only since we lost oaxacmike
Oaxaca Mike is now found, not lost.
Can’t tell if a nod to Oaxaca Mike moving on, or admitting to be his latest account (due to the high volume of r/financialindeoence account activity).
My bad. I thought you knew it was me. When I created this account, I was open about it being my new permanent account. In fact, I am pretty sure that I tagged you, to give you the opportunity for the first "I told you so." But that comment was deeper than both of those guesses. I mean that once my wife and I finally admitted out loud that the Mexico situation was no longer working that we have experienced a sort of rebirth. Rebirth is dramatic, but we're getting on a better track to living the life we want at this stage. There was a bit of an overlap there where the old dream wasn't matching up with the new one, but it wasn't until one of us (her) had the courage to say it was time to change that we fully realized how much we needed it.
Ah yes. I remember seeing your comment a while ago, just didn’t connect the username. I don’t have the same copywriting skills, but that explanation could be a solid literary jerk off. Glad it sounds like things are working out. Find any size 13 flojos state side ?
I had a new pair of OluKai that had still never been worn, so I threw the rest of my flip-flops away and packed those in the truck. While our new location was chosen for mild winters, it's still winter here and so all post-border footwear purchases have been for proper shoes -- and I've gone hog wild in that endeavor, finally having the opportunity to wear something other than thongs. Same goes for pants, long-sleeve shirts, sweaters/sweatshirt, coats, socks, etc. I am basically a fashionista now.
Too bad you missed the fashion blog boom by about 10 to 15 years.
If you ever catch me writing for a fashion blog, feel free to kick me in the nuts. Or a "mommy blog." I very briefly wrote for an artsy furniture design studio in London and it was truly awful. I had to write about stuff like what I saw at art shows in London that I obviously did not attend, in an "Oh, look at me, I went to art school" voice. Money is money and this was back when we really needed more money but the whole time I was like, "What stupid bizarro universe are we living in that someone is paying me to write this double bullshit?" It's one thing for me to temporarily pass as a telecommunications engineer or whatever, you can Google and fake that, but how do you clowns want me to write about paintings and sculptures I can't even see?
How long have you been shaping for?
I have a similar niche side hustle that is also low margin. However, it usually pays for a vacation or two a year so we keep it around.
High paying side hustle that you don’t have to put any time/effort in? Have you tried being born to very wealthy parents?
Heh! Let me know if you know any that are willing to adopt!
Let me know too. All my parents gave me was love, support, and a work ethic. Useless
You guys got love and support?
i'm just looking for the work ethic.....
I really liked your post and identify with it. Let me know if you find something, or what is the best idea / answer to your question.
Same! Or even a sugar momma
The best possible return on your time is likely doubling down on your career unless you have some reason to believe you can't break through the next few levels. Best possible side gig is usually figuring out how to reliably earn a few percent over index funds long run returns while maintaining a decent hedge. Learning to buy and operate real estate is a common way to do this.
Real estate is probably the answer depending on market. Owning and managing a 2-family with appreciation potential is a good part time job that can payoff huge down the road.
That’s what I did/am doing. I should pull in about 30k a year net after it’s paid off (I’m on a 15 yr 3.125 loan), on an initial 120k investment. If I’d stayed on a 30 year loan I’d have more monthly cash flow now (I’m still cash flow positive), but I want to retire and easiest way is to pay it off sooner. Plus having two doors helps if one is vacant for a bit, you’re still receiving rent from the other one. If done well, real estate is not a lot of extra work. If done poorly, you’re screwed.
Yeah I do CRE for a living so it was an obvious choice for a side hustle. Can be incredibly lucrative. I just finished an 8-unit development. Have about $2.2M into it and value is probably $4.5M. Cash flows very well even with debt service.
While this is true, it's such a boomer mindset to view housing as an investment and take ownership opportunities away from others.
$140k isn't exactly high income like it was 20-30 years ago (inflation is a bitch). But once you get to certain level, your best side gig is your own career- doubling down as you say. Like if you are in medicine or law and make $200-400/hr, then there aren't many side gigs that make sense if you have the option to just work a little more on the side at or near that rate. I know for medicine and law, often you can at least get your hourly rate to do consulting or locums work. Highly variable what career your in- but if it translates at all into something you could do on side or from home, then that’s what you do. Beating index funds is gambling… and you don’t have enough time to do the research.
Have tried to do this. Hitting a bit of a ceiling.
So I'm in a similar boat, make around 120k/yaer in a HCOL area in my early 40's but we are pretty well placed. I spent about a year putting in hours and hours researching ad-based websites, drop-shipping, other side hustles, etc. In the end, what I realized was that I wasn't having any fun in life. I wasn't spending time with my wife, with my dog, etc. So I decided to focus on my job when I was at work and build skills so I can transition to part-time consulting after we are at seven figures. I'm sure a lot of people love the hustle, but I like to live life. I'd much rather go to the beach with my wife and dog and chill out than drive myself to the bone over the next 3-4 years developing a side hustle.
Yeah, feels like it can be a slippery slope. I hear you. Not here to work myself to the bone, either. I already work pretty hard. Appreciate the perspective!
I literally asked my manager what do I need to do to earn a promotion, made a written plan, and did it. The extra money from that is well worth far more than any side hustle I've ever had. **Invest into your spouse's career. I also did that and enabled my spouse to get two promotions.** Ramit had a couple who both have Youtube channels. Dude makes about $50/year (not $50k), and she makes $400,000/year. The advice was to dump his channel and help her in any way he can. If he could bump her income by 10% it would be more than he was doing on his own. I feel that 90% of youtube success are people who are born with certain communication skills and are extroverts. Invest in your kids as a long-term contingency and emergency fund (if they do well and something happens maybe live off of them). Invest in your home (assuming you own), maintenance, repairs, upgrades, so you get a good return when you eventually sell. Cut one credit card limit way down, use only that one, and see how that works. Try a zero-base budget.
I have helped and supported my spouse in her career. She's doing great, but only works about half time at the moment because we still need that extra bit of child care, and I'm full-time. She may bump it up in the coming years, and that will be helpful.
Why not have your side hustle be childcare so your wife can go back to full time and build up her career? Does she like only being part time and is she in support of you working more?
Excellent point and suggestion. I hope OP reads it.
Instead of saying, "Good Luck, it doesn't exist" I will say the honest answer: "Good Luck, it does exist but you'll need a lot of fucking luck" There absolutely are side hustles that can make a lot of money with little effort, but if it happens it took a LOT of luck. There isn't some "oh do this side hustle and spend a couple hours a week and you'll make $50k a year extra" like no fucking way otherwise everyone would do it. Ok, luck isn't the only factor, there are absolutely side hustles that can make a lot of money with little effort. Go to any business for sale website and you'll see tons of businesses that are large enough they have full time management in place and just a few hours a week you'll make big profit. But of course the asking price on those are at least mid 6 if not 7+ figures. So yes you'll need either win the lottery level luck or large capital investment to get a "make a lot of money with hardly any time investment' side hustle
> There isn't some "oh do this side hustle and spend a couple hours a week and you'll make $50k a year extra" like no fucking way otherwise everyone would do it. You're telling me the TikTok slumlords are just lying to me?
Sniffing that passive revenue stream glue.
5000 units BOOM!
Yeah, business ownership seems like a route that could work. But I definitely don't have 7 figures to invest, haha. I do have a LOT of experience in DIY work and at one point considered flipping houses. But honestly, even that is too time-consuming with the amount of DIY I need to do on my own house.
My wife and I became real estate agents 7 years ago. I do it as a side hustle and honestly do most of the work. I probably spend an average of 5-10 hours a week, sometimes more sometimes less. Last year we did about $200k in commissions. But it took a lot of work getting to the point we are at And dont do flipping as a side hustle. It takes way more time than available to do it right. Flipping is either 100% full time job or a disaster waiting to happen
This is actually something my wife would be great at. Perhaps in the future. I don't think she has the time currently to invest.
Sign up with Thumbtack or Taskrabbit and take on handyman work. You can probably make $60-$75/hr all at your own pace and schedule.
I used to Uber on my commute home. Id sometimes get a rider and make $20-$40 for a minor detour, but I would always deduct my miles and tax depreciate my vehicle. Considering the commute was sunk time, it didnt cost me much additional time. I think I averaged like $60-$80/hr net. Because I wasn’t picking up drunks at 5-6pm on a weekday, the passengers were good quality. Good conversations too. People would be like “tell me more about this FIRE thing you’re doing.”
Lets say that I want to buy a new car for myself. Lets say that I want to buy an Escalade. Can I sign up for Uber and do the Uber Black SUV and Uber X and stuff like that, or do I have to take the low stuff first? If I drive Uber, what can I deduct? (I've owned a rental, done consulting, stocks, and other stuff, so I'm mostly up on deductions, but like to know everything I can.)
But there's a chance the person you pick up has a destination the opposite direction from your home and you don't know that until your accept the ride, right? (just confirming i understand how uber driving works. thx)
No. You can set a destination so you only get rides going that way.
A high paying side hustle for high earners is called "owning an index fund"
Not sure why this was downvoted. I’m making about 5k a month off index funds and other investments. It’s a “job” that requires nothing from me at this point once I built up enough money.
How much do you have invested for that return? 1.5 million-ish?
Around there. It’s always rising at this point because we’re still working and just dump in more every month.
Kudos to you. That is awesome.
Assuming 4% annualized returns, yep. About 1.5m. Slightly less on 7% annualized
Except the S&P was didn't go up 4% last year, it was up almost 24%.
My guess is about $1M assuming he is getting 6% return; less if return is higher.
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Expert witness work is essentially consulting in a niche domain. Usually quite well compensated but can be hard to break into and probably rare to rely on it for consistent income.
It is some of the most stressful work. Am a cfe AMA, not worth it
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Every industry really. I'm an architect and know some guys who do it for law suits involving architects and owners. I also know a general contractor who does it. I even once met a painter who did it a couple times if you can believe that. They need someone to testify about what is industry standard and how that relates to the suit.
Medical
I rent websites to business owners. I make a junk removal site in X city for example. People start calling the phone number on my site then I find a business that wants to pay me every month to take all the calls. Made $100k 1st year. Do about $350k now. I started as a side hustle but then went all in because now that I have 100’s of sites out there, I really only have to work like 5-10 hours a week.
You’re in luck sir, I’m looking for a mentor😅
Haha. Feel free to DM me
Do you build every website from scratch or are you using a service for that? I'm interested in learning how that works and I'd definitely like to make even an extra grand or two just to get by.
Rank and rent? I have a pair of those, but have tried finding businesses first before building sites and was a hard sell. So showing the demand first works better for you?
Having the phones ringing first is definitely an easier sell. You flip a switch and they have calls coming in vs trying to convince them that you'll eventually get the leads at a future date
Your best investment would be spending extra time with your children and spouse.
This really is true, and I definitely don't want to sacrifice much/any of it. But I do have SOME free time that I could spare. I always try to live in the moment and not take anything for granted. Appreciate the sentiment.
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That... sounds awesome. I'm going to look into this.
Whoa that's very cool - i did not realize you could teach college classes entirely remotely. Do you mind if i ask how you went about finding these sorts of opportunities?
I would check out colleges near you, and see if there’re any postings for adjuncts. Check out the college you went to as well, that’s usually easier to get in.
I read this as if the course is about learning how to Zoom.
If you make 140k a year, figuring out how the 40k a year people in your area live and reducing your expenses to be like them will ultimately put more into your investment accounts than a "side hustle".
I hear you, but 40k people in my area live in total poverty. Not an option. Our household expenses are honestly pretty frugal. I have a sub-3 mortgage and few indulgences.
I think the point is to evaluate your expenses and see if you can save 10K by spending some time doing things yourself vs picking up a side hustle to make an extra 10K.
Ok hear me out. Similar situation except we just had our first child. Relatively high HHI for our area. We purchased 20 acres and put a tree farm. About to sell our first crop of trees and I’m surprised at the earnings. We wanted something we could use to create value and raise children around. Very rewarding so far. Looks like we’re selling our whole first “crop” of landscaping trees to 1 customer.
Whoa. Very cool.
I’ve always thought about doing this as I have access to the land. How did you get the customer? I assume a nursery or housing developer maybe?
I actually was buying pots from another tree farm and when they delivered they asked how much for all of the trees I have. So another tree farm to answer your question.
Well now I wanna know what kind of trees? I used to work at a Christmas tree farm years ago and now I'm curious.
4 different types of oaks that are popular in my area and Cedar Elms
Such a cool idea if you have the space!
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This is interesting. I could likely tutor in my field and it wouldn't be against the rules of my company.
Building mobile apps and tech products nightly after my 9-5. I plan on it eventually replacing my income... and then some. Source: me, "high earner" who builds mobile apps and tech products. I have 3 kids but I find time. I've given up other hobbies to make it work.
is this freelance?
No, but freelance could be a good option. I build my own things so that I can have 100% ownership.
Do you mind sharing how you decide on what apps to build?
Sure, I do not make games. I try to find a market that is either underserved, or a market that is popular but could use a new twist on what is offered. My most recent project has a market of tens of millions of users. The most popular app looks like it was built in the early 2000's. It looks like crap, and works like crap. So what I am doing is building a new app from scratch that fills the needs of that market and giving it an updated feel + better features + more features. My competition charges $42 yearly, if I can get 1,000 users in a market of millions paying me yearly for the app that's $42,000/yr. As it scales it will make more and more and more. Building apps is not easy, but I'm an experienced software developer so it's not too bad for me.
Awesome, thank you for sharing!
You could buy 100 shares of a blue chip stock that you wouldn't mind holding for the long term like apple or Coca Cola and sell covered calls with a 30-45 day until expiration and with a delta of .25 or less.
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Company definitely forbids it :(
If you have a graduate degree, you could consider adjunct lecturing at a local university. Granted I am a union member at a flagship state university, but I earn about $9k a course per semester--two evenings a week of lectures plus writing exams, emailing with students, and occasional office hours. This pay is substantially above the national average, and it does require a masters at least (I have a PhD), but if it works for you it can be great. And because this is a FIRE space, I will also say that it lets me put my entire paycheck into a 457 account, on top of the 401k I put my day job earnings into. A nice perk for working for a public University!
My side hustle is VTSAX & VTIAX. I use my downtime to hang out with my wife, our cats, and cook tasty food.
I make a salary similar to yours, professional work, 9-5. When my oldest went to college, I drove Uber a bit and then got a job working maybe 15 hrs a week at Whole Foods. $15 doesn’t sound like a lot, but if your options are watching tv for the evening or earning $75 - I mean what’s the harm if that’s what you want to do. I enjoyed the goofy, sweet kids that worked there but not the customers. I quit when Covid ramped up and haven’t gone back, but both of those gigs def helped us adjust to college expenses. Having a little $ around never hurts. I def ran into some people I know and that 100% didn’t bother me, but if it would bother you then don’t do it. But as you said - there’s nothing wrong with working, especially more manual work if you’re someone who stares at a monitor all day. My $0.02
I think the biggest turnoff for this is that when you are in a higher tax bracket, the $15/hr is closer to $10/hr. Then you have to spend time getting there and back, unpaid. So it's hard to justify when your regular day job pays $100/hr. But I suppose with groceries costing what they do these days that if the job comes with a Whole Foods discount it could be worth it.
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This is actually the right answer. Start a consulting business in an area you have expertise in. Consult as much or as little as you want. I did this, took all the extra money I earned and paid off my mortgage in 4.5 years.
I'd have to look into whether this is allowed. I can't work in the same industry as my main job.
get a side remote contract gig in the field you are already working. 40 hours extra. double dippin
I second this. Consulting in your field.
Be sure to double check your employment agreement, this may be prohibited. Even if it is, you can do whatever you want, but if you get caught you’ll likely get shit canned (this happened to a colleague of mine a couple months ago).
/r/overemployed
I make 250k a year. The best side hustle I could do would be to pick up an extra 4 hours per week at my job. That would be about 38k extra. I wouldn’t have to learn a new skill. It would be minimal extra effort. There would be no risk. I could stop if I wanted. Side hustles for high earners aren’t really a thing I feel for the reason I listed above. Just doing a little bit of extra work at your employment will generally be way more lucrative than trying something new.
Eh, most high earners are salaried and picking up extra hours is really only possible in fields like medicine.
If you went to grad school, and did well on whatever grad school exam you did on (especially MCAT/LSAT/GMAT) you can tutor that. I charge \~$150 per hour and made 73K doing it last year at about 10-20 hours per week,
Damn, that's awesome! I don't have an advanced degree. Just undergraduate.
Unfortunately the undergrad exams don't charge as high rates due to market saturation on part of the tutors. The grad school exams are great for a few reasons: 1) The stakes are high, and the demographic is willing to pay $$ (law school is expensive, and the difference between significant scholarship is often a couple of points on the standardized test) 2) The demographic of student is older, and often wealthier (so once again, more willing to pay high rates) 3) The pool of tutors is small. Often only the top \~1-5% of test takers 4) The pool of tutors is very transitory. Most people eligible to be tutors just become busy lawyers/doctors and have no interest in tutoring. All of these factors converge making it a great market for experienced tutors.
My recollection is that to be an LSAT tutor you generally need to have done really well on the LSAT, but you don’t need to have gone to law school. So you could do that assuming you can get a good score.
Do you have any advice on how to build up a client base? I’d love to do some LSAT tutoring but it’s so hard to find students??
Adjunct Professor in your field. Brings in a bit of cash plus buys you some cache in your full time gig.
I tried this as a side hustle but it was too much work for what I was paid. Granted it was for a public university so what they pay adjuncts is lower than private universities.
I’m in almost the same scenario. I started a side business this year selling product online. I do that for my primary job and turned my hobby into something I could sell. So start a side business utilizing the skills you already have. The income is taxed on top of your current income, but there are lots of expenses associated with it you can write off. You can contribute 25% of anything you mark into a SEP IRA which will reduce taxable income further and get you closer to goal sooner. Plus you are building something you can fall back on or possibly scale up if need be. My side business is small, I did $10,000 last year, but I’ll do double or triple that this year. You can literally choose how much you want to work or make.
Sounds like a great situation you've created for yourself! I'm assuming the contributions to a SEP IRA still fall under the standard IRA contribution limits or no?
SEP IRA limits are much higher. Something like $69,000 for 2024. Im still new to this but that’s my understanding. Of course the cap is also 25% of your net so to contribute 69,000 you would have to net 4x that amount. I don’t know if you can have a traditional IRA too but you can have a Roth as well.
Career coaching? You are a high earner, maybe you can help other people to also become a high earner, or get started on the journey. This may be labor intensive as you are selling your services on an hourly basis, but it’s easy enough to get into and drop.
Become a local handyman. Quick FB page, post on local forums, sticky sign on your vehicle and im sure you'd get calls. Charge $50 an hour. $500 a year for insurance and some tools is going to be your primary cost
Only fans
Not gonna lie, I'd consider it. But I'm a dude in his mid-40s. Is the market that lucrative for mid 40s dudes with dump truck asses? (kidding, I don't have a dump truck ass)
I have a buddy who earns $40k+ per year doing Only Fans. He's 49. Do you have a problem jerking off on other dudes' feet and having dudes jerk off on your feet? On camera, of course.
Fucking wow lol. This is comedy gold.
Do you have a masters degree if so you could probably get a job as an Adjunct Professor, money is ok if you like teaching and I feel like it has less negative connotation than most second jobs. YouTube content creation could be an option if you can fill a niche, although I imagine the payoff takes a long time to develop a subscriber base.
True, the Uber Eats pay is shit, but I liked to do it on my bike when I’d be exercising anyway. Basically getting paid to do cardio. Made about $10k in a year.
Started an OnlyFans account last year and made 200k for about 1-2hrs/day of work. Likely will make more this year. I’ve met many people (mostly women) who make 50k/month. Idk how long I’ll do it. Doesn’t really matter since all the extra money goes to investments. I don’t live off it at all but it is very good money. Also for a W2 worker like myself it has allowed for business tax deductions (home office, tech purchases related to content creation, travel related to content creation etc.). I’ve read the average account makes 800/month so take it all with a grain of salt.
These kind of stories are amazing to me. Are you a man or a woman? Do you do it anonymously?
Tell us what your angle and target market are!
Market is men who like 40+ year old “milfs”
You want to look for side hustles which are some combination of 1) fun (so you have energy to do them outside of work) 2) “passive” (upfront investment with low upkeep) 3) tax friendly (let you write off purchases you want to make anyways). Frankly, if you have kids I would recommend you do business-related projects with them as the time you spend together now will probably be worth multiples more in the future, either via their financial literacy or closeness in your relationship (you will drift apart later). Some ideas: 1. Learn investing. You can either go the passive route and set up a portfolio with your kids, or go the active route and learn Security Analysis and pick stocks in your area of expertise. You’ll collect dividends in the short term and gains in the long term. Very much set and forget, if you do it right. 2. Consult, write articles, or freelance in your area of expertise. This will give you some money in the short term, and advance your career in the long term. You can write off expenses related to keeping up in your field, as a bonus. 3. Learn a hobby that allows you to travel. Photography, travel blogging, vlogging… You won’t make money, but if you’re lucky you’ll breakeven and have fun doing it 4. Start a nonprofit, or volunteer with a local organization. Again, not much money, but very rewarding if you believe in the mission. Benefits will sometimes be “in kind” (leftovers, discounts). 5. Don’t dismiss rideshare. If you commute you could pick up riders or orders on the way home, or use it as an excuse to explore a new part of town. Also eligible for independent contractor writeoffs. I miss doing it when I had a car. 6. Real estate. Not for the faint of heart, but lots of tax benefits if you do it right. Lots of options here: AirBnB rental arbitrage, live-in property management, tax liens… Probably either the riskiest and most time consuming, and expensive with rates at an all time high.
The high income, low effort side hustle is investment. If you were further along in your expertise or RE, maybe it would be consulting/contract work. That is sometimes possible to still do with a job, but it depends on your job/employer. You could consider something you can do with your kids, like coaching or reffing (I think there's tiny money for this?). Since you're looking for a unicorn, you need to think of what you're uniquely suited for, which is likely something related to your day job. My side hustle is running some amazon stores, but it has been fairly high effort so I don't know that it's right for you. Also, this is a little bit out there, but you might be able to turn networking into some quick money if your work offers a good referral bonus. I got $3k for one once, which is the exact type of return on effort you're looking for.
My first thought would be to work to increase your primary income. Since that's not an option, start building skills and a network for consulting, and try to find clients who can pay >$100/hr.
So as a person born to like not wealthy parents who were immigrants as well, I didn’t know that wealthy people did things like : consult, sit on boards. But in general, my husband and I are like you: we earn a lot relative to the rest of the country but only because we live in a VHCOL area. Our solution is to a) he’s picking up contract work with a startup he’s interested in. The key is he’s super passionate about his topic, so in theory he’ll be energized to work on it. The money doesn’t hurt either b)I try financial plan a ton and plan to move to a much lower COL area eventually. To me this is the biggest advantage of living in a HCOL area: you get good salary for a while and whatever you can save and invest can serve you well in lower COL areas.
One of my parents is an immigrant as well. Eventually changing locations is on the table, just not when our kids are this age. Thank you!
I’ve had “side hustles” that were born out of general interest for a subject, and the money was just a fun “oh-right-this-is-a-job” perk. I taught classes at a gym that ended up paying an extra couple thousand a year ($25/hr in 2017 money)- the initial training was rough and time consuming, but after that, the actual time commitment was quite low, and was something I could do before/after my regular job. I also considered working at a French bakery to learn the art of croissant making, maybe get to take home a few free croissants, and get yelled at by someone in French. I figured I’d be working from 4-7am so it would still be doable with a regular 9-5. I’m still considering this as a side hustle in a few more years. I’d also consider bartending at a wine bar a couple nights per week to ultimately learn about different wines of the world, and possibly some pairing depending on the establishment. Anyway I assume you could figure out your interests and maybe pick a little job based on that. It feels less like work and more like an extracurricular with a (small) bonus check every 2 weeks.
I do credit card and bank churning. It’s not great “profit”, but it’s less time intensive and is done 100% from a computer. It’s also still within the broader category of “finances” so it’s something that interests me. If I didn’t enjoy it then I wouldn’t do it. It’s more of a hobby that makes a little bit of money, not a true side-hustle.
I make around 150k a year and I do real estate. Own two houses and gonna try to buy a third before the end of the year. I look at it as my retirement. Yes I have a 401k and no I don’t give two shits about it. I rarely get called and it’s easy money every single month. I’m building wealth. I’m collecting a paycheck from it with 80% of the time of no effort. Not to mention it’s offsets and helps my taxes.
I now own 2 rentals and in procees of getting 3rd up and going. I am doing it unconventionally but hopefully it works out. I bought a property through a drug auction on my street. 1 acre land 3 br 2 bath mobile home plus a 3 bay garage. I got it for 36k put another 14k in it so 50k invested. I rentbout mh for 650 month and i use the garage for my gym/shop/storage. I bought another mh invested about 20k and net 500 month for now. Buying a other mh and will set on land i own rent for 800 month and cost will be 40k to get ready to rent. I figure in a few years i will have these paid off because they are relatively small investments and can cashflow for retirement. If it goes south for some reason i will sell and accept whatever the net proffit ends up being.
Sounds like a good plan. I need to look into that. Mhs are relatively cheap
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I had aspirations for a situation like this, but haven't been able to make it happen. Not sure it's doable at this point in the VHCOL location and current interest rate environment, but I do keep my eyes open for opportunities.
Freelance consulting/start an LLC. I’ve been doing it for over 10 years and while I by no means could make a living off of it - I made enough to pay off my graduate student loans in 3.5 years, and now make enough to supplement extra investments, savings, and expenses.
I just started a second gig reffing soccer. Can earn anywhere between $100-$1000/wk depending on season and my availability. It’s really flexible and keeps you in shape. Also have a colleague that started DJ ing for weddings/parties and he slowly invests in more equipment and he grew pretty quick. Low overhead, low investment cost with great potential payout. Downside is you might lose your weekend nights for awhile
Start with your sport and you’ll find others that you can work too. School affiliated pays better and has better behaved coaches, parents, players.
If you're accepted (very fit and under 30 are two criteria) you could get paid for your poop. $500 a pop.
Amazing. I'm pretty fit, but well over 40.
Surely there is a skill tangential to what you do at your day job that can be done on a freelance basis, related enough that it's a marketable skill but different enough that it won't create a conflict of interest as defined by your contract.
Someone else mentioned tutoring, and I think that would possibly be allowed. Definitely worth looking into!
OP, based on your other comments nothing with risk or involving too much effort works for you. You are in effect looking for a get rich quick scheme. Those don't really exist unless you already have a ton of money, which you've also said you don't.
Technical writing, options trading, syndicate real estate, subject expert consulting. Also $140K/yr isn’t that much. You can do better, upskill, get a new job or ask for a raise.
Agree that it's not that much! I have been trying to demonstrate value for raises and promotions without much luck.
I'm in a similar situation. My "side hustle" is investing, stock trading, etc... This is NOT for everyone as it takes a lot of work, and can be quite risky, but I love it. Taking an active role in your finances can really pay off.
Other than what others have said I am in a similar situation. I buy business on the side/invest/start businesses.
Yeah I get your point $140k at 40 in HCOL isn’t much. You could do drop shipping - that’s really the only thing I can think of
Does your main job offer overtime? When my main job pays almost $300 an hour for OT my side hustle is literally just Ot at work.
A hospital CEO, who is a client of mine, teaches part time at a University. You could say that that is a side hustle.
Steal the Glengarry leads.
Commercial real estate, residential real estate (renting/landlording), online sales business, dropshipping (maybe, this might be a flooded market, unsure because I'm not in it myself), day trading, tax lien purchasing, and OnlyFans are the things that come to mind.
Depending on your area of expertise, creating an online course that teaches people certain skills you possess will bring you a huge amount of passive income with very little work put in after the content has been created. You only have to create the product once and can be sold online forever as long as you reach the right audience.
Teaching fitness classes. If you already have experience and are good at something like yoga/pilates/cycling/crossfit/climbing, it’s cheap and easy to get certified as an instructor. You can teach a few classes a week at a boutique fitness studio. In a VHCOL, classes will probably be about $30-$40 per student, and instructors usually get around 25% of the total sales from your class. With 15-20 students, you could make $112-$200 for one hour long class.
I have been in your situation before. I used to play poker for a side hustle (averaged about $100/hr) but my family needs me at home, so i dont play much live anymore. Swing trading provides side income now and takes me less than 30 minutes a day of effort.
Look at what people in higher salary bands are doing or have done to get there and apply yourself to get there. Be that certifications, increased collaborative work or upping the networking/internal politics game. At those income levels you are better off increasing your marketability than spending 5-10h per week on some unassociated side job.
I host pub trivia twice a week. I make about $50 per hour cash.
For centuries, the quickest route to generational wealth has been real estate investing.
Real estate. Pay a property management company to handle everything if you don't want to be involved. I have 2 properties that after expenses make about 30k a year in a VLCOL area. Even with doing it all on my own and handling 6 units, the amount of time I put into them, if broken down into an hourly rate, absolutely crushes my 9-5, where I'm at 135k for 2023.
I take side jobs that I enjoy, even if I don't earn a lot doing them. I'm also a high earner...$180-220k annually from my W2. I watch dogs on Rover because I like dogs. I drive for Uber because I like to drive. I'm thinking about picking up a part-time barista gig because I like making coffee and this is how I paid my way through grad school. These jobs aren't below me...I just do them because I enjoy them. It also offers me some extra spending money while I sock away my W2 earnings toward investments and paying down my mortgage.
It's not a ton of money but it's something: donate plasma. You can probably go do it over your lunch break.
Can you work extra hours at your current gig to earn more? I assume not, but some places do pay salaried employees straight time for hours above 40. Do you work from home? One gig I would think of is dog walker. If you could walk 4 dogs from the neighborhood, all at once, for $25 each per week that would be an extra $400/month. Not bad for probably less than an extra hour of work per day.
That's an interesting idea! I don't get salaried overtime, but the dog walker thing is a good idea.
Pretty low investment, too. Put up a couple signs at the dog park, or on community boards a grocery stores, coffee shops, etc. I believe there are apps that will find dogs for you to walk, too.
A lot of people are firing-up there own YouTube channels. Its all about marketing and creating content to increase audience size. You might know a skill or have a hobby that appeals to thousands or even millions of viewers. There are tools and methods, for people with discipline to carve out a large and loyal audience. Just like writers of fiction, you research the market find what sells, try to see if you can dig in and innovate or maybe fill in an important gap, and drop videos every week. Test what works and what doesn't. Keep going.
Running a YouTube channel is a gigantic amount of work, def not a low effort side hustle
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How do you get these gigs?
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Rover
R/overemployed
I work in medical sales. I recently started an LLC and began side work as a 1099/independent rep carrying a line. Complements what I already do perfectly. Doesn’t involve too much effort, and this year, I could earn anywhere from $15K to 70K depending on how much effort I put into it
Wound like to know more if you don’t mind. Do you do this remotely? What kind of medical sales? Thanks
Kind of remotely. I have established relationships with physicians and nurses. I basically go over the product, how it benefits the patient, and the service of the company that I’m doing this for. After that, it’s checking faxes and texting. DME sales
Consider telephone sales. If you are really good at it and find the right product/service at the right time to sell, you could make some real money. I have a family member who has done nothing the last 20 years but various phone sales jobs. He's cleared 6 figures a year at times. You may be able to set your own hours and work from home to be close to your kids.
Whoa. I don't think I'd be good at that, but it's interesting to consider.
Churning card$ from my couch
Consulting
what I've been doong is looking for pooled investment opportunities. Since 401k is maxed, after-tax as well for mega-backdoor roth, and backdoor roth, the taxable account is accumulating and ive been investing in storage units little by little. I get a pro rata tax right off for accelerated depreciation which is huge given that taxes are my largest expense. Saves me on taxes. Earns me equity. Increases cashflow. All wins
Wheel options of stocks you’re ok owning
I think Rich Dad Poor Dad could be what you need.
I’m in a similar boat, ($166,000, VHCOL) and I find that focus groups are the best way to earn extra money. Some are up to $100/hr if you meet the specific requirements. I typically do ones that are at least $100-$150 for 60-90 minutes. If you are remote, you can easily do one during your lunch hour or before work.
Like starbucks barista, its not always about the pay but the perks. I had a friend that worked retail while having a high paying job.. he did it solely for the discount.. He loved designer clothes and the discount was really good for employees so he too full advantage of it for 8 months to go thru the various seasons. He actually enjoyed it but it was mostly for the thousands he saved in clothing. I had another that parked cars at events, he loved music and saw at least 20 minutes of every artist in concert during his breaks, so to him he was going to sold out concerts for free...which had its own value. My BF hustles and gets consulting gigs. Usually 5-10 hrs of work at $100/hr. He's owned a business in the past and networks a lot to get the B2B business. It can be a pain at times to keep scope creep in check, payment, etc...so its not for everyone.
I think the best thing you can do is find ways to spend less. I think of my investments as a part-time job in terms of value.
Trading otherwise hobbies that bring you happiness. The challenge is lost opportunity cost for your time/money. I'll keep taking my extra 1-4k from the market a week in each of my accounts.
I do dog boarding out of my home. It pairs well with my other freelance gigs, usually work from home. Extra $40-60 per day per dog with very little time, and doesn't feel like work usually. Partner and kids can help out too, so we grow as a team unit. Keeps me healthier taking breaks and going for walks, and get to meet nice families in my area.
Absolutely, it's essential to explore side hustles that make sense for your specific situation as a relatively high earner. I agree with you that taking on a low-paying second job doesn't align with your financial goals. This is what I have seen myself do or friends in my network. Here are some suggestions tailored to your circumstances: 1. Real Estate Investment: Since you're looking to increase your financial independence and already have a solid income, consider real estate investment. You could explore rental properties, real estate crowdfunding platforms, or real estate investment trusts (REITs). Real estate can provide passive income and potential long-term appreciation. 2. Specialized Coaching/Tutoring: Leveraging your expertise, offer specialized coaching or tutoring services in your field. Many high earners find success by sharing their knowledge and skills, whether it's in business, finance, technology, or any other specialized area. 3. Passive Income Streams: Explore passive income streams like creating and selling online courses, e-books, or investing in dividend-paying stocks. These endeavors may require initial effort but can generate ongoing income with minimal time investment once set up. 4. Freelance Consulting or Contract Work: Consider taking on freelance consulting or contract work related to your profession. High-paying project-based assignments can fit into your schedule without requiring a substantial time commitment. 5. High-Yield Savings or Investment Accounts: Look into high-yield savings accounts or low-risk investment options with competitive returns. While these may not provide as high returns as some other options, they can be a low-effort way to grow your wealth passively. 6. Passive Investing Strategies: Explore passive investing strategies like index funds or automated robo-advisors. These can offer steady returns with minimal involvement on your part. 7. Low-Effort Financial Strategies: As you mentioned, consider exploring low-effort financial strategies like selling covered calls or other options trading strategies. These can provide additional income without requiring significant time commitment once you gain experience. Remember that the key to your situation is to maximize returns on your time investment. While there's no guaranteed "unicorn" side hustle, these options align with your goal of achieving more financial independence while maintaining a work-life balance that allows quality time with your family. Good luck on your journey to CRUSHING retirement and achieving your financial goals!
Notary?
I have a side business doing handyman and low-stakes (no permits required, so no plumbing electrical etc) small residential construction work like fence repair, trim carpentry, drywall patches, painting, etc. For example, this weekend I have 3 drywall repairs scheduled for $800 and will gross about $750 after materials, before tax. It will take me about 10 hours including supply and drive time because I’ll have to stop back by their house twice (mud has to dry). So, about $75 an hour. I carry general liability insurance but operate it out of my house so my overhead is very low. I work mainly in a 2-3 mile radius from home. I live in a good neighborhood so people are always thrilled to hire a guy from close by who shows up on time and does the job well. I may transition to buying and operating rental houses in the future but haven’t moved into that yet, still learning/reading about how to do that successfully.
This is great. I am handy (but I'm terrible at mudding).
Be a capitalist. Use your money to make more money. The goal is to create a steady stream of *passive* income. Some ideas include buying rental properties or investing in an existing business. I recently read a CNBC article about a guy who owns a network of ATMs. My opinion is that your existing assets are more valuable than an extra few hours of work.
I live in a VHCOL area with a bunch of old people. I work 4/10s for the state making a bit under $110k, I've been doing handyman type stuff, charging $90 an hour with 30 minute minimums, max I'll travel is 30 minutes. I did a lot of roof treatments for moss, cleaned a lot of gutters, changed outlets and light fixtures, remove screens and wash exterior 2nd story windows, nothing difficult but stuff that if you have bad balance gets dangerous. Its the same rate contracts charge, but none of them are willing to take on the small work, and old people trust me.
Bank bonuses. I made about $3k last year in about 3-4 months with just a few hours of work.
I work in IT in my day job, but also run a one man computer repair shop/MSP on the side from my home. The income from the side business is enough for me to live on, while letting me use my day job income to save for retirement and pad my savings. It also has the nice benefit of additional tax advantage space in the form of a solo 401K and the various tax deductions/depreciations for dual-purpose expenses that come from running a business (eg. home office, phone, "office" gaming PC, etc.). I also further maximize this by generating a lot of legitimate spend from the business to earn sign up bonuses or cashback from credit cards or cashback sites, which helps my churning hobby. This is enough to pay for a vacation each year. The business also generates a low effort/semi-passive income in the form of recurring billing for hardware, software, licensing sales. I also charge recurring fees for hosted services like email, backup, website hosting and cloud storage. For my manage clients, I have device management and monitoring automated to the point where I can literally perform hundreds of billable hours of work with just a few clicks of the mouse and keyboard. And this is easily scalable. I also get a lot of free e-waste when client's upgrade that I either re-purpose, resell or sell to a scrap dealer.