Financial Panther

Financial Independence, Side Hustling, and Ebikes

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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…

A Reminder: You Probably Make A Lot More Than You Think

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Thanksgiving is now behind us and with its passing comes the official start of the holiday season. I’ve always thought it helpful around this time of the year to remember how fortunate most of us are. If you’re reading this, chances are that you live in a developed country. You probably also make a decent income and have some education under your belt. If you’re smart, you might even be able to save up enough money one day so that you never have to work again. Most people in the world aren’t lucky enough to have the luxury of thinking about financial independence, let alone actually achieving it.

This is why its always struck me as a bit ridiculous when I see people with good jobs complaining that they don’t make enough to get ahead. Sure, making more money is probably better than making less money. And some cities are definitely more expensive to live in than others…

How I Invest In My Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans, Part 1: My Core Investing Philosophy

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I started a new job back in June and with it, I needed to set up my new employer sponsored retirement accounts. I’ve never switched jobs before, so I thought it’d be a good bit of education to share how I chose to invest in my employer sponsored retirement accounts.

My original plan was to write about it all in one post, but as I was doing so, I realized that I was talking about things without really giving any background as to why I was making those decisions. Needless to say, as I started writing, I realized my post was getting way too long!

So, instead of writing one ridiculously giant post, I thought I’d do my first series of posts! Part 1 is right here and deals with my core investment philosophy. It’s the foundation for how I pick the investments for my employer sponsored retirement plans.

Give Yourself A Raise By Creating Your Own Overtime

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I think most of us could use a little more money in our lives. The only problem is that earning more money isn’t always that easy or immediate. Raises are typically an annual thing and definitely not guaranteed. Bonuses are the same way. You could switch jobs to make more money, but that’s not always an option for everyone.

One surefire way to make some extra money is to get yourself some overtime hours. But, if you’re a white collar worker – like a lot of us are – you’re probably getting paid a salary. Even those of you who might be eligible for overtime probably can’t do so on a regular basis. Most organizations limit the amount of overtime that you can work.

Why I’m A Huge Fan Of Robo Advisors

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When I was in college, I picked up a copy of The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. His book is still one of my favorite money books and probably the first book I recommend to anyone beginning to learn about personal finance.

When I first read Bach’s book, I too, wanted to become an Automatic Millionaire! One chapter in his book talked about setting up an IRA or a Roth IRA. I was a 19 year old kid at the time, so I didn’t have a clue what that meant. All I knew was that it was something good! After reading Automatic Millionaire, I hopped onto E*Trade, opened up a Roth IRA, and transferred 100 bucks into my Roth IRA account.

And then, I was stuck. I remember Automatic Millionaire talking about investing in mutual funds, but I didn’t really know what that meant or how to put my money into that type of investment…

Has There Ever Been An Easier Time To Start A Side Hustle?

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We live in the golden age of side hustling. If you’re looking to make some extra money in order to pay off debt, save more, or even to buy that shiny new toy, there’s really no excuse for why you can’t do it.

Compare the nature of a part time gig today, as compared to just a few years ago. There wasn’t a sharing economy or on-demand economy. Things like Uber and Airbnb didn’t exist. When I was in college, making extra money meant either finding a part time job or figuring out a way to make your own job.

Finding a part time job meant working when your boss told you to work. That’s a problem for people who want flexibility. And creating your own job meant figuring out a skill you had and finding customers, not to mention you probably needed to spend some money in order to get your hustle started…

Do You Have The Strength And Stamina To Survive A Trump Presidency?

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By now, you’re all probably aware that Donald Trump is officially going to be the next president of the United States. This isn’t a politics blog, so I’m not sharing my thoughts on the matter (plus, I’m no politics expert). Nor is this a blog about the economy, so I’m not going to talk about that either. Heck, I have no idea where the economy will go. Things go up, things go down. Jobs are created, jobs are lost. I don’t really know why it happens.

What I do know is that the doomsday prophecies are out there. Trump is going to cause a recession! Stocks will crash! The rich won’t pay any more taxes! I have no idea if these are true or not. All I can do is stay calm and stick to my game plan.

October 2016 Side Hustle Report

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Welcome to another side hustle report! Each month, I document what I earned doing various side hustles outside of my day job. I’m a firm believer that anyone can find a way to make some extra money on the side. Even just a few years ago, starting up a side hustle required a bit of work and might have required some upfront capital costs. And picking up a second job meant you’d have to go to work whenever your boss scheduled you. But not anymore. Today, with the advance of technology, anyone can find a way to make some extra money on their own time, whenever they want!

Remember, your side hustle is worth a lot more than you think. Even making a few thousand dollars a year can add up to a ton of money over time. That’s because every dollar you earn in your side hustle is another dollar you can save. If you’re living fine on your regular income, then you don’t need to spend your side hustle income at all!

Why I Prefer To Pay Off Debt Aggressively

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Anyone with debt and a decent cash flow will eventually find themselves with a choice. What should be done with all of that excess money? Assuming your goal isn’t to spend it all on buying things, you’re basically left with two choices. Pay off your debt aggressively. Or invest the surplus.

The pure mathematical answer is to play the interest rate arbitrage game. Excess money should go into assets that provide a rate of return higher than whatever interest rate your debt is at. It’s a pretty simple calculation from that vantage point…

Do You Know How Much Your Debt Costs You Per Day?

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One of the things that surprised me when I began my student loan payback journey was how much interest I had to pay when I started making my payments. What was even more surprising to me was how much interest my loans had accrued while I was in school (and making no money). In fact, when I graduated and made my first student loan payment, it didn’t even reduce my student loan balance at all. All of it went directly towards the interest!

Interest is one of those things that we all sort of understand in theory. Most of us basically know that when we borrow money, we agree to pay it back at some point, with a little extra on top. But I don’t think we’re very good at really understanding what interest looks like on a daily basis. Maybe that’s why we sometimes let debt linger in our lives…

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