The Pros and Cons of Working a Side Gig - Money Tip Tuesday

Have you been asking yourself if you should pick up an extra job to get ahead with your finances?

This Money Tip Tuesday presents the pros and cons of picking up a side gig to supplement your income and why there really hasn’t been a better time to consider getting an extra job if you could use the extra money!

Like what you heard? Go ahead and share on your social media! Visit trianglecu.org to learn more about how we can serve you and don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Transcript:

Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal Podcast. 

On todays episode of Money Tip Tuesday I will go over with you the pros and cons of picking up a side gig to supplement your income and why there really hasn’t been a better time to consider getting an extra job if you could use the extra money! 

There are many pros and cons about having a second job but I am going to give you 3 pros and 3 cons. Lets get right into it! 

So, a little personal story! A couple of years ago, I decided that I wanted an extra job to supplement my income so I picked up ride sharing with one of the big ride share companies.  

A big PRO on having a side gig with a ride share company in particular is that you get to work when YOU want to. You’re not asked to work a certain schedule and you can take all the time off you want. This is extremely important for me personally because I have a family and there is always something going on that I need to be there for! Ride sharing makes it very flexible for you.  

Another pro of having a side gig is that it opens up more opportunities for you! A strong network is powerful to have. I firmly believe that the key to getting ahead, aside from hard work, is who you know. People helping people is the credit union mantra and in my opinion, it is the same with life. When I was driving strangers around, it opened the door to me meeting new people from all walks of life. Meeting new people will allow you to potentially meet THAT person who will introduce you to something amazing like a new industry you can work in that you hadn’t thought about and would be very good at!  

The last pro, you’ll achieve your financial goal much faster. What would an extra 2 to $400 do to your budget? I can tell you that often, that is the difference between being able to pay your rent or mortgage and not being able to. That’s a couple of hundred dollars you can throw at debt or your emergency fund! Even $100 extra per month is helpful!  

Lets get into the cons! Again, there are plenty of them just like there are plenty of pros. Here are my personal ones 

First and foremost, you lost time with your family. My family is #1 always so losing time with them is tough. If you are going to start a second job, realize that you will lose some time with your family.  

Second, you could get burnt out. Working your traditional 9-5, coming home, eating dinner then going to a second job can be tough. If all you do is work and you are the type who needs time to decompress, then think hard about the hours that you need to devote to a second job. If you need a second job, plan  your exit ahead of time. For example if you say to yourself, okay, I am going to sacrifice 6 months to work non-stop and get myself set up financially, then go for it! Now you know that this is just temporary and that will help you mentally. Those six months could set you up for decades if you do it right! 

Lastly, working a second job can and likely will test your patience. There will be days where you may want to quit and just stick with one job which is why I recommend that you get into it with a “WHY.” Why are you doing this? What happens when you get to your why? How long do I have to do this for? Answering these questions will allow you to really get mentally tough and sticking with it until your WHY is accomplished.  

That’s going to do it for the pros and cons but earlier I mentioned that right now may be the best time for a second job and that is because small businesses are hurting. If you find yourself needing the extra money, and having the extra time, go see if you can pick up and extra few hours delivering pizzas at a local pizza shop that likely needs the help. I see posts all the time on social media from businesses saying that they are closing early due to lack of employees and that they are hiring. Small businesses are vital to your local economy. Help them if you can! 

Thanks so much for tuning in to this weeks Money Tip Tuesday! Do you have any additional tips or advice that will help our listeners with this topic or other financial matters? Email us at TCUPodcast@trianglecu.org to let us know! Also, follow us on Facebook! Search for Making Money Personal Podcast and please give it a like and feel free to engage with us whenever we post new content!  

Thanks for listening to today’s Money Tip Tuesday and be sure to listen to our other tips and episodes on the making money personal podcast.  

Take care.