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Is a Side Hustle Worth the Family Sacrifice?

June 20, 2022 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Side Hustle Worth the Family Sacrifice

When our kids were young, my husband and I struggled financially. My husband was getting his Ph.D. and worked as a graduate assistant. I had just quit my full-time job because the cost of daycare in Chicago for two kids under two plus after-school care for our oldest would cost me as much as I was taking home each week. We survived for three years like this until my husband graduated and started working a regular job and a side hustle. I also worked a part-time job from home. Now that we’re 10 years removed from that situation, we recently discussed if a side hustle is worth the family sacrifice.

Some Times You Have No Choice

I want to acknowledge that sometimes, you have no choice. Sometimes you have to work as much as you can to cover rent, buy groceries, and care for your family. For my husband and I, the first few years after he graduated were like this. We were in debt because we had lived off his graduate assistantship and student loans those last three years, and we needed side hustles to try to get out of the hole we were in. However, we should have set a limit for how long we would work our side hustles.

Dave Ramsey’s Influence

Fifteen years ago, I loved listening to Dave Ramsey, and I bought into the idea that we should “live like no one else so later we can live like no one else.” I accepted the sacrifice that side hustles required because I was sure that if we worked hard, we’d end up on the other side, able to check off the baby steps.

Is A Side Hustle Worth the Family Sacrifice?

We are now at the point where we’ve completed baby steps 1, 2, and are on baby step 3. However, we’re also at the point where our kids are now 18, 13.5, and 12. We lost a lot of our kids’ lives to side hustles.

Is a side hustle worth the family sacrifice? As a parent with older children, I can answer for us, it was not worth it.

What We Sacrificed for the Side Hustle

Side hustles have a dark side that most people don’t talk about. For us, these were the major drawbacks:

We Were Exhausted

Is a Side Hustle Worth the Family Sacrifice?

After my husband got home from his regular job and side hustle, I would start my work after being with the kids all day. I would often work until midnight and get up at 5 or 6 a.m. That was not enough sleep.

My husband and I were both exhausted all the time.

We Were Grouchy

Because we were working so hard and exhausted, we were also grouchy. Raising young children can be challenging under the best circumstances, but when you’re exhausted and grouchy, it’s not good for anyone.

Final Thoughts

Is a side hustle worth the family sacrifice? For us, the answer was no. Rather than following Dave Ramsey’s advice to hustle until you’re completely out of debt, we should have set a limited time frame for our side hustle. We hustled for far too long, and I’m sorry we missed out on some opportunities to spend enjoyable time with our kids when they were little because of that.

Read More

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MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: budget, Children, Debt Reduction, Emergency Fund, Frugality, General Finance, Guru Advice, Married Money, pf books, Saving Tagged With: family, getting out of debt, marriage, side hustle

Don’t Let Your Minimum-Wage Job Take Advantage of You

April 4, 2022 By Erin H Leave a Comment

Working a minimum-wage job can be a trying experience, but one that’s necessary due to certain situations. It doesn’t have to wear you out all the time and leave you feeling used and abused, however. Read on to see some of the ways in which you can cope with a minimum-wage job and enjoy your life.

Give Yourself a Break

Everyone needs a break every now and then in order to avoid burning out. This is true for people working minimum-wage jobs, so find time to give yourself a break and recharge. You can take a break by spending some time doing something that you enjoy doing, whether it’s knitting, baking, or even just lounging indoors. Use your time off to recharge your energy and you will be happy that you took the time to do so when you get back to work. With the 40-hour-work week established by the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA of 1938, it’s possible to find time for a break if you manage your time properly. Make sure not to miss any deadlines, but get what you need to do out of the way so that it doesn’t hang ominously over your head and prevent you from effectively taking a break.

Speak Up

Whenever you feel like you’re being treated poorly or have a lot more on your plate than you can handle, try to speak up about it. While you may fear backlash and work retaliation if you do so, it’s good to plan in advance before you do so. Voice your issues in a way that doesn’t come across as combative and angry, so you don’t have to stifle endless issues that will cause you mental stress and strain. This way, you may improve your treatment and possibly even help to improve the conditions of your fellow workers who may be in the same boat but they’re unsure about what to do.

Learn More Skills

While working a minimum-wage job can be frustrating, you could use it as an opportunity to learn important skills and improve your chances of moving ahead. Whatever your designation is, you should make sure to go above and beyond, and even learn about other aspects of different positions. This initiative will enable you to stand out as an exceptional employee and you may be easily moved up the ranks, leaving the minimum-wage nightmare in your past. With around 60% of remote workers surveyed saying that they would leave their current job for a fully remote position that paid the same rate if they could, it’s clear that many people are looking for different opportunities. With a solid set of skills at your back, you will also have a better chance of getting another job as well, if you choose to look for it.

Make Friends at Work

One thing that will make it more bearable to check into work every day is having friends with whom you share interests. While you may feel frustrated and listless about working minimum wage, remember that most, if not all, of your co-workers, are also there due to similar circumstances. They’re not your enemies, so keep an open mind and allow friendships to form naturally if they will. This will help you enjoy the time you spend at work a little bit more.

Practice Your People Skills

Whether you work in the food industry or construction, where you will get to deal with people who need roof inspections, which, according to Zillow, need to be done at least once every year, you can practice your people skills. Polish them up and you will improve your likelihood of becoming easier to hire or even getting promotions. When you look back on the training you got, you will understand why most employers seek people with a certain set of experiences.

These tips should help you enjoy the time you spend working minimum wage. Try them out and you will see a positive change in both your personal finance and attitude!

Filed Under: Guru Advice

You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Do Something Meaningful, Start Here

July 29, 2021 By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

How do you want to be remembered? It is possible that you consider yourself poor and disadvantaged. The harsh reality is you might be right. Further, you might die poor as well. Statistically, your chances of completely breaking free of your socioeconomic status is not good. This varies depending on where you live. But even in the wealthiest country in the world, the majority of people born into poverty never move too far up the ladder. That is unfortunate. But this is a moment for tough love.

It is true that you have as much chance as anyone else of beating the odds. And this site is all about helping you do that. It is most certainly not impossible. But you cannot pin your value as a human being on whether or not you ever achieve a significant amount of wealth. You cannot wait around for your ship to come in or for your luck to turn. You have a life to live right here and now. You have kids to raise and rent to pay.

You are not defined by what you do with your future, but by what you do with your present. It is possible for you to win at life with the hand you were dealt. You can do something meaningful and make the world a better place without becoming a billionaire. Even making minimum wage, these are some meaningful things you can do right now to make the world a better place.

Become a Nurse

You can go back to school even as a busy adult. Millions of people do so successfully every year. If you want to make a lot of money, get an MBA. If you want to do something meaningful that will change the world for the better, look into online MSN programs.

The heroes of the pandemic were not the doctors or the researchers or the journalists who stood up and told the truth. Albeit, they all deserve a round of applause. But the ones who wore the super suit were the nurses who had close contact with the patients who came through the doors every day. They were the most at risk. And often, their super suits didn’t include the proper PPE. They went to work anyway.

Some of them were volunteers. Some were entry-level nurses. Some were just a heartbeat away from being doctors. They all did the job at whatever level they could. They will be remembered as heroes right alongside soldiers who fought in wars. You don’t have to wait for the next pandemic to wear the cape.

Get a Will and Life Insurance

There are plenty of good reasons to have a will, even if you’re broke. Whatever resources you have, you want them to go to the ones you love and not someone else. Further, if you have good life insurance like Bestow, you will have a lot more than nothing to leave the ones you love.

It is all about setting up your family for success. Your family would much rather have you than a life insurance settlement. But you have to think about what is best for them. Right now, your job might be all that is keeping your family afloat. If something should happen to you, they would be ruined. If you make sure there is an ample payout when you die, you will leave at least one family better off because of your forethought. If you have your health today, it could pave the way for your family’s wealth tomorrow.

Go Green

You don’t have to be rich to be green. But it certainly helps. When you are poor, you have fewer opportunities. There is no denying that fact. However, you do not have to worry about the opportunities you don’t have. You can make the little difference that you can make. And that will inspire others to do the same. Many hands lifting make light work of everything. If you can’t recycle, make a conscious decision to purchase products that are responsibly sourced and responsibly packaged. Do the little things you can. It all adds up.

Become a nurse. Set your family up for success. And go green to the extent possible. Even if you don’t see the results, just know that doing these things will make a profound difference. You do not have to be remembered for your wealth to be remembered well.

Filed Under: Guru Advice

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