There are many reasons to start a side hustle, after speaking with many people about the reasons why they started their own side hustle, from just to make extra cash, explore their talents, etc.
10 Reasons Why Having A Side Hustle Is Good For You
Even if you’re earning top dollar in your day job, you may still want to think about getting a side hustle. Here are some of the top reasons why having a side hustle is good for you.
Make extra money
This is the main reason most people start side hustles, the issue is that inflation is increasing every day, which means that things are becoming more expensive, while the rate of increase in average salary is not that high.
In order to be able to afford most of the basic needs most people decide to either work more than one job or start a side hustle.
Improve your quality of life
When you’ve got extra cash flow coming in, then you basically have more disposable income. This means you can use the money to buy your wants and not just your needs.
You can go on vacations and do fun things with the family! You can buy the latest gadgets if you like.
Of course, do all this fun stuff in moderation. You don’t want to get used to a more expensive lifestyle if your side hustle income isn’t even all that stable yet.
Jobs are not secure anymore
There was a time in history when you got a job, probably you would do it until you die or retire, that is not the case anymore, just look at what happened to Twitter after Elon Must took over, more than 75% of the employers lost their jobs.
As I am writing this, there is a comprehensive layoff from major tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft to small fintech startups and apps.Â
Have an outlet for your creativity
Let’s be honest, most people do not like what they do for a living, they took a job just to pay those bills or was the job they got after waiting for a very long time to get one.Â
If you work a relatively boring and routine job, then you may not have much room for creativity.
A side hustle you’re passionate about will help you get the creative release you so desire.
This means that when you work at your day job, you should generally feel good most of the time.
Have a backup plan
I have a simple formula in life, if one source of your income is contributing more than 50% of your total income, you are one ”I want to see you in my office” away from being completely in economic ruin.
What you will do when your company eventually fires you without any notice and if you are lucky they will pay you 3 months of allowance, I know, they paid me two weeks of allowance. I would not wish my worst enemy to be in that situation.
Keeping all your eggs in one basket isn’t a good plan. When it comes to finances and income streams, diversity is key.
If for any reason, you suddenly decide to quit your job or get fired, then you’re not going to go hungry because you’ve got other means of earning money.
Pay debts and loans
Trust me, most people can not survive just on their salary, it is almost impossible to do that, what they will do is start acquiring loans or charging their credit cards for everything.
If you’ve accrued some debt and loans, then you’ll find it hard to pay off all these if you just depend on your salary.
This is especially true if you live paycheck to paycheck and have no savings. If you have a profitable side hustle, you can use the additional cash flow to pay off your debts and loans.
Build your emergency fund
Emergencies don’t exactly announce themselves. They just happen. And when they do, then you better be prepared.
If you don’t have an emergency fund, then you could wipe out your entire savings, and you’d fall into even more debt.
My recommendation is to have a fund that can help you to survive for at least 24 months, which means if your monthly expenditure is M amount of money, you should have an emergency fund of 24xM.
You’ll meet new people
This is where it gets really fun when you start your side hustle you will meet people who are on the same journey as you.
There are tons of benefits to meeting new people. You not only widen your horizons, but you also have plenty of opportunities to get referrals from people in your network.
You’ll get a new perspective on things, and there’s always the opportunity to learn something new from your new friends.
Own your own business
There is a possibility of turning your side hustle into a full business, before you turn it into a full business just make sure that you make more money in your side hustle so that when you quit your day job, you will have an income flow that will cover all your needs.
Acquire true freedom
For me, this is the main reason that I decided to start my side hustle, I really do not like someone to tell me when to start to work when to eat, or have a break when I can go and hang out with my son.
The idea of true freedom is that you have financial, location, and time freedom, you can buy whatever you want, you can go whenever you want and work from anywhere, and most important you have free time to do what you love the most, this is the true freedom.
Conclusion
Those are the 10 reasons why having a side hustle is good for you, what reason resonates with you the most? what is your reason to start a side hustle? please share your answer in the comment section below so that other people can learn from your experience.
