Financial Panther

Financial Independence, Side Hustling, and Ebikes

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December 2016 Side Hustle Report

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Welcome folks to another side hustle report! People seem to love these reports because they give some insight into whether any of these quirky side hustles that I do actually make me any money. It’s not every day that a “big shot” lawyer hops on a bike and becomes a delivery man!

Now for the usual background. For those of you new to this, each month, I document what I earned doing various side hustles outside of my day job. These side hustles are primarily done using sharing economy and gig economy platforms (think of things like Airbnb and Uber). The great thing is that anyone can do these type of side hustles. You don’t need to get a business plan or invest any capital. Instead, just utilize the skills and resources you already have.

Aim To Max Out All Of Your Retirement Accounts This Year

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We should all have some amount that we aim to save every year. The great thing is that in the United States, the government basically gives you an amount to aim for each year in the form of retirement accounts. Since the government limits what you can put into each of these tax-advantaged accounts, it’s an easy goal to try to reach.

I think at minimum, everyone should aim to save enough each year to max out all of their retirement accounts. When you think about it, it’s not really all that hard to do. Just set up your automatic contributions once at the beginning of the year. Then do the most important thing you can do when it comes to investing – nothing!

Financial Panther’s 2016 Recap: A Year Of Big Changes

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Every year is a big year when you think about it, but I really did feel like 2016 was one of the bigger years in my life. The only thing is, as you get older, the years all sort of blend together. I have a vague idea of what I did in the past few years, but since I never wrote it down, I don’t exactly remember any specifics.

The great thing about blogging though is that it forces you to buckle down and think about what you did, and then write it all down in a synthesized fashion. When I start telling my crazy stories one day, hopefully, someone can look back on what I wrote and fact check me.

And hopefully, you can learn something from this recap too. I know I learn a ton just reading about what others did over the year. So come learn and be inspired! Or just come and be entertained! It’s all good to me.

The 52 Week Money Challenge: The Easiest Way To Save $1,378

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As we close out 2016, I thought I’d issue probably the easiest call to action out there – the 52 Week Money Challenge. This is by no means an advanced money concept. Still, I think it’s a good thing for anyone to do, no matter where you are in your financial journey. We all should have some money set aside for emergencies. And the 52 Week Money Challenge is an easy way to keep that emergency fund topped off each year.

I first learned about the 52 Week Money challenge a few years ago when I started getting interested in personal finance. You have to start somewhere and I was looking for ways to push myself just a little bit more. When you’ve got money coming in, it’s pretty easy to get lazy with your paycheck. Even if you think you’re saving money, a lot of it can slip through your fingers if you don’t put it to use somewhere else.

The Solo 401k: The Side Hustler’s Bonus Retirement Account

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The mechanics of a Solo 401k are fairly straightforward. If you’re earning income as an independent contractor, you’re eligible to create this type of retirement account. Basically, you’re creating a retirement plan for your own independent business. There are two parts to it – the employer part and the employee part. As an independent contractor, you’re basically both the boss and the employee of your own little business.

Qapital Review – A Free App To Automate Your Savings

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What makes Qapital a really awesome app is how easy it makes it to automate your savings.  All you have to do is open up the Qapital app on your phone, set up a new goal with a few taps of your finger, and then set up whatever automated savings rule you want for that goal.  It literally takes less then a minute to set up a savings goal.

How I Invest In My Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans, Part 2: Know Your Plans

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Welcome to Part 2 of an ongoing series detailing the process I went through in picking investments for my new employer sponsored retirement plans. Back in June, I switched jobs, moving from the private sector into the public sector. In addition to a huge change in salary, the job change also meant a whole new set of retirement plans and employee benefits that I had never heard about.

My hope is that this series can help those of you who are just starting a new job or have just switched jobs to learn more about the benefits that your employer probably offers . If you haven’t already, I recommend first reading Part 1: My Core Investing Philosophy, which details the key principles I follow when investing.

Part 2 of this series is pretty straightforward, but is something that is often overlooked (even by people who are good at saving). You need to ask yourself the basic question – what type of retirement plans does my employer offer?

November 2016 Side Hustle Report

Last Updated on 24 Comments
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Thanks for stopping by for another side hustle report! Sorry about putting this out a little later than usual. For those of you new to this, each month, I document what I earned doing various side hustles outside of my day job.

With the rise of the sharing and on-demand economy, it’s super easy to pick up a flexible side hustle. There’s literally never been a time in history where you could work in your spare time like you can today. The beauty of your side hustle income is that you can save every single dollar of it! Just think about what that can do for your savings rate…

Making Money With Airbnb In 2024: Why I Rent Out Our Guest Room

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It never really occurred to me how much space in a typical house goes unused until Ms. FP and I moved back into her four bedroom house. As a renter, we never lived in an apartment bigger than 800 square feet or so. Our smallest apartment (where we found all of that sweet, sweet trash) was about 600 square feet. At the beginning of this year the two of us moved back into a 4 bedroom house that was double or triple the size of any apartment we’d ever lived in.

It seemed like a waste to have so much space for just two people. But we didn’t want to get roommates either. That’s when we decided to try out our hand at Airbnb…

Is It Possible To Make Over $50 Per Hour As A Bike Messenger?

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Here at Financial Panther, we’re all about looking for weird money making opportunities. And if we can make a little bit of extra money while doing something we’re already doing, all the better! That’s why when I received the below email from Postmates, I immediately started figuring what I could do to snag that referral bonus.

As some of you already know, I’m a big fan of on-demand delivery services. I’ve written in a previous post about how I get paid to bike around town in my spare time using Postmates…

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