11 Things I’d Rather Do than Side Hustle

Side hustles. Where to begin? If you’ve been a long-time reader, you know that side hustling is my thing. I’ve been freelancing for four years (but recently stopped freelancing for something else) and I’ve been blogging for almost two years. My blog is finally bringing in a consistent income (you can check out my latest income report here!) with very little work, so I’m a happy camper!

So, yes, I like side hustling. It’s allowed my family and I to save money, travel, not be on such a tight budget, and even move across the country. I’ll probably side hustle for the rest of my life, if I’m being honest.

But, let’s take a look at my life in the last four years, just real quick:

• Quit my FT job to be a SAHM mom
• Immediately started freelancing
• Had another daughter 16 months later
• Took on a freelance editing job 1 month before she was born
• Moved across the country
• Continued freelancing with two toddlers at home with me
• Started this blog (want to start your own? Here’s my tutorial on starting a profitable blog)
• Moved from an apartment to a rental house
• Started working full-time
• Moved from our rental to our new home we purchased
• Got pregnant with our third baby (another girl!)
• Finally backed off freelancing…

Haha, so, life’s been busy. I’m sure your story looks similar. The past four years have been the best years of my life, and a lot of that IS thanks to side hustling. However, this year I’ve really made an effort to slow down. Life is so short, and I’m not near as focused on making as much money as possible anymore.

In light of my new period of slowing down, I thought it’d be fun to list 11 things I’d rather do than side hustle! Ready? Let’s go.

11 Things I’d Rather Do Than Side Hustle

Spend time with my kids. My two little girls (+ the one in my belly!) are the lights of my life. They’re a handful; but there is truly nothing I’d rather do than spend time with them and my husband. Family is the best.

Chat with my husband on the porch. Our screened-in porch overlooks a creek and a bunch of trees. It’s beautiful, and so relaxing. Most nights, weather permitting, John and I sit and chat for a while after the kids go to sleep.

Cook dinner. While I’m not the best at cooking dinner every night, if there’s something I’m in the mood for, I really enjoy cooking. I’ll play some music, set the girls up with their artwork, and get to cooking! To me, this is much better than typing away on my computer 🙂

Watch Netflix with my husband. Confession: We watch shows on Netflix each and every night together before falling asleep. I love it. There is no way I would ever sacrifice even one night of this to side hustle.

Sleep in. When freelancing was my job, I had to fit it within my schedule, which usually meant early mornings and nap time. Now, since I do have a FT job, freelancing is not prioritized. And sorry – ain’t no way I’m waking up before my kids (who are up at 6) to crank out an article.

Go to bed early. Anddd on that note, I am also asleep by 9:30 on most nights. Sure, now I’m pregnant and extra-exhausted, but I was this way even before getting pregnant. Freelancing + nighttime do not go well for me. I’ve done it a few times and the results are never good.

Take the girls to the pool. It’s pool season, yay! We love spending our weekends and evenings at our neighborhood pool. In the past, I would have let John take them while I stayed home and worked. Now, no way am I missing out on the fun!

Clean my house. Did I really just say that? Ok, maybe sometimes I would much rather side hustle than clean, but I love that now I can choose! And yup, cleaning my home wins more often than not.

Go to the gym. We recently joined the YMCA. The girls love the childcare facilities, they have an outstanding kid pool, and the gym itself is pretty nice, too. We’ve been trying to go at least three times per week and have been successful so far. Exercising is extremely important, and I’m not willing to sacrifice my health for a few extra bucks.

Take on a home project. This past weekend, John and I finished painting our entryway (it’s been a work in progress since we moved in nearly a year ago). While I’m mostly in charge of the music, it’s fun to spend time together accomplishing tasks around the house. Next up? The nursery!

Read a book. Reading is something I never used to have time for. Why read when I could write and make money? Now, while I don’t read often, I do try to make it a priority to keep a book on my nightstand and read a few evenings per week. Any recommendations? I love The Girl on the Train style books 🙂

The Pros of Side Hustling

I’m not at all against side hustling, I just view it differently now that I work full-time and we don’t “need” my side income. However, there are many, many pros to side hustling, which I thought I’d quickly recap:

• It can become your FT job. I have many friends who are making five figures a month freelancing. That IS their full-time job. How cool is that?!
• It reduces or eliminates money stress. I can’t remember the last time I was stressed about money. And I used to stress about money all. the. time. I have my side hustle (blogging) and John has his (painting and construction). Neither one is “needed,” but it sure is nice to have a cushion!
• It allows you to pay off debt faster. Side hustling allowed us to pay off John’s student loans and my car within two years. If you can make extra money and throw that towards debt, do it!
• It gives you more financial freedom. Money John and I make from side hustling goes to savings, vacations and dinners out. It gives us freedom with our money – whether we choose to save/invest it or splurge a little bit on things we don’t really need.

I am all about saving for the future while enjoying the now. I’ll admit – I don’t want to go out to eat once a month because I’m trying to save, save, save. I like stopping at Starbucks once or twice a week before work. I love going on family vacations. I love making extra payments toward our SUV so we can pay it off by the time the new baby is born. SIDE HUSTLING is what allows us to do all of this! Without it, we’d be fine. But life sure is a lot more fun because of it 🙂

Do you side hustle? Are you like me and you’ve cut back? Or are you planning on quitting your day job to side hustle full-time? Share in the comments!!