TRANSFORMING PASSIONS INTO PROFIT: A GUIDE TO ACHIEVING FINANCIAL FREEDOM

TRANSFORMING PASSIONS INTO PROFIT: A GUIDE TO ACHIEVING FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Austin is the founder of The Logic of Money and has a passion for finance and helping others. In college, he studied finance, investments, banking, real estate, and urban land economics. He aims to share his knowledge and tips to make personal finance less stressful for everyone. You can follow him on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Ever clicked on an article promising you an easy way to make $500+ a month, only to find the same old suggestions? Drive for Uber or Lyft, become a delivery driver, or take surveys online? We’ve all been there. I’ve even written one of those articles, thinking it was a quick way to break into blogging (spoiler: it wasn’t).

These articles tend to recycle ideas because making money online or on your own time isn’t easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it. But it is possible; you just have to find what works for you.

What Makes a Good Side Hustle?

A side hustle is exactly what it sounds like: something you do on the side of your main job to bring in extra income. It’s not your primary source of income, so it should be something you enjoy. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending all your free time doing something you dislike, and that’s no way to live.

A good side hustle boils down to three things:
– You’re already good at it
– You enjoy doing it
– You can monetize it

If driving people around at odd hours doesn’t appeal to you, then Uber or Lyft isn’t the right fit. If delivering food makes you constantly hungry and upset over tips, then that’s not your gig either. But if you love coaching basketball and see value in running youth camps, that could be perfect for you. Find something you’re good at, enjoy, and then figure out how to make money from it.

Why Have a Side Hustle?

You might be asking, why bother with a side hustle if you’re financially stable? Well, side hustles aren’t for everyone. If you don’t need the extra cash and prefer more free time, then it’s not necessary.

For others, like myself, it’s a hobby. It’s fun, and it’s enjoyable. I love learning new things and developing new skills. My bigger end goal is to be financially comfortable, retire early, travel, and provide more than necessary for my family. Some people use side hustles to pay down debt, save for big purchases, or simply because they can’t sit still.

That’s the beauty of a side hustle—it’s something you control and do on your own terms. You’re your own boss, and if you put in enough time and effort, you might even turn it into your full-time job.

What Are My Side Hustles?

I have two side hustles. The first is blogging, which I started in July 2019. I blog on The Logic of Money about personal finance. I’ve been passionate about finance since I can remember, chatting about stocks with my father growing up. I opened my own brokerage account as a sophomore in high school and never looked back.

I started the blog not just to make money but to communicate and educate others about finance. Of course, I wouldn’t mind making money from it, but that’s not my main motivation. I needed an outlet to talk about finance, and blogging checks all the boxes for a great side hustle for me: I enjoy it, I know a lot about it, and I can monetize it.

My second side hustle is collecting and investing in sports cards. It might sound nerdy, but I’ve loved sports and trading cards since I was a kid. There’s no better feeling than finding your favorite player or team in a pack of cards.

You might wonder how you can make money from sports cards. Well, their popularity has surged in recent years, and people are spending more money on them. If you have old sports cards, check their value on eBay—you might make some serious money, especially with rookie cards of big-name athletes. I monetize this hobby by buying and selling these cards and writing about my collection on my other site, The Card Report. Again, it’s something I enjoy, I’m knowledgeable about, and I can make money doing it.

Final Thoughts

Side hustles are not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. You don’t need to read every article on making money in your spare time. While they might give you ideas, you can determine your own side hustle by figuring out what you’re good at, what you enjoy, and getting creative in monetizing it. The key to monetizing anything is providing value to others and going above and beyond the competition.