Side Hustle Pullback

Side Hustle Pullback

I have always been a staunch supporter of side hustles. It is safe to say that in the past I have had a ridiculous love affair. This amorous relationship has spanned decades. In fact, there were times in my career when I had as many as ten going at one time. Half retirement and financial independence have slowed me down quite a bit. Just like with work in general, I have downsized those side gigs that bring me less joy and more pain. In fact, I guess you could say that I have had a side hustle pullback.

The farther I travel down this financial freedom path, the less economic benefit I glean from taking on new jobs. Especially those where I don’t already have the skill and knowledge to demand a high hourly wage.

It’s just not worth my time.

The Lazy Side Hustle

Lazy side hustles are extra jobs using the knowledge and experience that one already possesses. I have spent countless years and dollars to arrive at my particular place in my career. Why throw away all of that to do something unrelated like become an Etsy sellar?

Sure, I could put in tons of hours to learn a skill that I don’t particularly love and earn an extra ten, fifty, or a hundred thousand dollars a year. This sounds great until I realize that I could sign up for a little extra call time in my hospice gig, or take on a new team, and I would get even more monetary benefit.

Taking on extra work at my current gig is far easier, less time consuming, and probably even more enjoyable. The only potential downside is that there is no location independence. I can’t travel the world continuously and still do my current job.

I can live with that.

Entering this new phase of the side hustle pullback, I feel like hitting the easy button is my best option.

Real Estate

Of course, my real estate holdings seem to argue against my point. If I was really going through a side hustle pullback would I have four rental properties? Isn’t real estate a side hustle?

Yes and no. I look at my condo rentals as an important form of income diversification. I receive income from rents, dividends, bonds, and my main hustle. Selling off my rentals would leave me in a more vulnerable spot economically. This is far more dangerous that letting go of a side hustle. I have that W2/business asset class covered by my hospice work. Dropping a side gig here and there won’t change my risk profile much. Ditching real estate would.

I can, however, consolidate real estate in such a way as to make it even less onerous. For instance, if the rentals become too much of a pain, I could always hire a property manager. Sure, I would lose some of the profits. But, I would still maintain the diversification while further offloading myself from unenjoyable chores.

Content Creation

It is fairly unlikely that I will move the needle with content creation. I make a small pittance on this blog that pretty much covers travel expenses. I’m sure, one day, I could get to the same place with the podcast.

Yet, these sums are never going to match what I can make with this profession that I have spent so much time becoming a part of. Doctoring will always be more profitable. It took me a few decades to find a way to do it in a manner that is both enjoyable and less stressful. Why would I give that up?

Final Thoughts

I am experiencing a side hustle pullback. I am realizing that I can earn more, maintain adequate diversification, and face less frustration by cutting out some of my side gigs. They were fun while they lasted. But they probably weren’t making much of a difference in my economic well being.

While some no doubt were fun, I think I will be much happier this way.