by Hope
Over my years here on BAD, I have tried a lot of side hustles. Some have been rewarding financially, some have been utter failures. All in all, I have enjoyed the variety they have brought.
Some of them were:
Walmart Reviews & Walking Dogs
But now, I’m exhausted. As mentioned over the last couple of months, work has picked up exponentially. Partly because of businesses evolving due to COVID but a lot of it is the result of increased customer referrals. I am so grateful!
As a result of this increased busy-ness, I have decided not to continue my latest side hustle, as a substitute teacher this coming school year. I had to stop taking assignments when I began care taking for my grandmother earlier this year and then of course, the quarantine began.
The free time I have, I want to spend with Princess and Beauty during their senior year. And possibly with Gymnast if he ends up moving back here.
I don’t anticipate this will greatly affect our financial progress. But it does take a load off as far as scheduling and logistics for getting everyone places.
This certainly doesn’t mean I plan to slow down in paying off my debt. In fact, I’m super excited to post a debt update tomorrow.
But my energy and efforts will all be going to my main income source versus diversifying with side hustles. I continue to take on a variety of clients, both long term and project specific. This gives me a cushion or safety net against what happened a few years ago when I was primarily working for just two clients…
And I’ve got a health EF…I’ve decided to keep my $10K+ EF and grow it slowly. I put a small percentage of my income in it every week. Then I created a second $3K account as kind of front line EF.
All of the other monies I have been stockpiling went toward my student loans this month. And tomorrow I will post my debt update for the month of June.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
So, what do you think ?