Earning a living means something different to each one of us. For some, it’s about finding a way to make ends meet and for others, it’s making ends meet but wanting the satisfaction of earning more than the minimum. We all want to earn more money. Life is expensive, and debt is exhausting. I will always be that person, wondering if it’s possible to increase my income and take on a new adventure. I’ve been attempting to gain multiple streams of income for years now, and last year, things started to come together. 

For some reason (that I’ll never know because one half of my brain doesn’t share secrets with the other half), I have never written about my side hustles on this blog. But then, the other day, while answering some interview questions about the income I earn through my side hustle, I discovered that this information was pretty cool. Five years ago, I was barely making ends meet, and I was in a lot of trouble financially. Today, I’m able to earn income in several ways.

As you already know, there is a ton of information online about how to make money, and what types of side hustles you can take on, so I’m looking forward to not preaching the tactics I use. But, I do want to share with you the reality that is earning a legitimate income from side hustles. Not to mention, maybe this can help you push through and continue with your earning adventure — or pull back. Because to be honest, it’s an exhausting and mentally draining way to make money. 

How did I make my first side hustle dollar?

In 2015, I started my free blog on WordPress.com. It was terrible. I used a free theme and thought that 300-word blog posts were enough. I remember writing a winning blog entry where I called myself by an anonymous name and aired my dirty financial laundry to the internet. I was incredibly proud of my work. Now, looking back, I laugh very loudly at how pathetic that post was. 

Blogging wasn’t something I ever thought was worthy of value. The reason I started wasn’t to make money, and I never had the intention of blogging or taking it on as a job rather than a hobby. All I wanted was to pay off my debt and get better at money. Ultimately, I was successful. I made very little money that year, but that’s because I didn’t know it was a thing, and I wasn’t concerned about anything other than paying off my consumer debt. 

After paying off my debt and realizing that I wanted to continue to blog, I started to invest a lot more time and money into my site. I finally bought a paid theme from WordPress and purchased my domain. I wrote one blog post every single week and started to create a social media following that for some reason, people were loving. I found the personal finance community and made some fantastic Internet friends, who I’m still very close with today. 

About 11 months in, I started to receive some emails from random companies asking to work with me. They’d ask for links on my website for $100, and I had no idea if this was legal. But, I was intrigued. Someone told me that I could accept the money, but that it would impact my rating on Google if I put in a bad “backlink.” Little 26 year old me had no idea what that meant, so excitedly, accepted her first earnings from blogging. “A stupid link on an old post?” I thought to myself. “Who am I hurting doing that?” 

It felt insane to me that I could make money just by copying and pasting one link onto the backend of my site. I was inquisitive if this was a reliable way to earn an income, so I started to do some more research. That’s when things got real for Mixed Up Money. 

What kind of jobs did I take on outside of full-time work?

At first, I was working with financial companies to spread the word about their apps, bank accounts or products. Being that this wasn’t my full-time income, I felt like I had more control over which opportunities I could say yes to and which ones I could turn down. I promised myself from the very beginning that I would never work with organizations that I didn’t personally use. 

Aside from that, I started to receive a few small requests to do some writing for other websites. After all, writing was what I went to school for, so it felt terrific to put my degree to use. Some of those writing opportunities lead to real part-time contracts. From there, I began my side hustle as a freelance writer. This one idea spiralled into multiple opportunities. If I could write for others, I could manage their social media. If I could run people’s online brand, I could edit their videos or become an affiliate. The options seemed endless. I had a ton of skills I had been working on for free by running my blog, that would seriously help other businesses. 

The roles I’ve taken on as a side hustle include, but are not limited to:

• Freelance Writer

• Video Creator and Editor

• Social Media Manager

• Communications Coordinator

• Social Media Influencer & Blogger

• Affiliate Marketer 

Without my blog, I likely wouldn’t have landed any of these opportunities. Heck! Without my blog, I probably wouldn’t have landed my current full-time position. 

How much do I earn from side hustling? 

In my lifetime, I have earned nearly six figures of additional income working side hustles. It started small, though. In my first full year of side hustling outside of a full-time job, I made only $2,150. But, we all know that for some of us, that’s an entire additional paycheck — or more.

It has taken me five years of working five jobs at a time to earn a substantial income from side hustling. Last year was my highest earning year yet, and that’s mostly because of my part-time work. 

In 2019, I made $40,000 in side hustle income after tax. 

Here is a breakdown of where those earnings come from:

Side Hustle	Percentage of earnings
Affiliate marketing	0.11%
Freelance writing	19%
Marketing contracts	69%
Sponsorships	11%
Total	100%

This year, just four months in, I’ve made $15,078 side hustling before tax. 

Here is a breakdown of where those earnings come from: 

Side Hustle	Percentage of earnings
Affiliate marketing	0.33%
Freelance writing	20%
Marketing contracts	50%
Sponsorships	29.67%
Total	100

What are some essential things to remember about side hustle income?

1. Earning money is like riding a rollercoaster

Although I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on finding a few contracts and partnerships that provide recurring revenue, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes, side hustle earnings can be extremely inconsistent and difficult to predict. Some months are crazy busy. In the financial world, for example, tax season or the holidays can be a hectic time. Summer, on the other hand, has less earning opportunities. 

2. It takes time to find opportunities

For the first few years of attempting to earn money on the side of my full-time job, it felt exhausting. Not only did I not understand my value or the market rates I should charge for specific tasks, but I was also unaware of where to start. Without a network of contacts on hand, it was a constant struggle of looking for the next opportunity. 

3. You need to establish yourself

After getting my feet wet, it became easier to navigate potential earnings. Once you have connections and some references, you are more likely to get other jobs. My first big break as a freelance writer was scoring a recurring role with PopSugar. After that, I had learned more about what editors look for, what kind of stories to pitch, how to pitch, and how long it would take me to pump out content.

4. Your side income should never pull you away from your full-time job

No matter what, you have to remember that your side hustle comes second to your full-time job. Even though it can feel good to have control over your work schedule, side hustling doesn’t offer you benefits or consistent compensation. If you’re overworking yourself or overcommitting to work outside of your everyday responsibilities, you can quickly burn yourself out. Don’t forget to focus on your day job. 

If I had to guess, the reason I’ve been successful in my side hustles are three-fold:

• Money has never been my driving force

• I never felt obligated to agree to a job that wasn’t inspiring

• I am okay giving up my evenings and weekends to work on other projects

Should you have to side hustle to earn a living? Of course not. But, sometimes that extra bit of money each month can lead to a lot less stress and a lot more financial security. If you’re willing to go the extra mile to have multiple streams of income, make sure it’s by doing something that doesn’t cause you more stress than the stress you were already trying to eliminate. Take it from someone who has had to learn the hard way — it’s never worth it.