Side Hustles – Part I: Make Extra Cash

Part I

On September 14, 2007, I closed on my house! This is the biggest accomplishment of my life, with the exception of having my most perfect blessing, my son:)

With that said, there are some expected (and some very unexpected) additional expenses that come with home ownership. For instance, as a renter, I never had to worry about hiring someone to come rake the leaves from my lawn (I know what you’re thinking…rake ‘em yourself). Well, unfortunately, my house sits on half an acre and it was a foreclosure that sat empty for almost year. So, when I say there are a lot of leaves out there, please believe me! Never mind that we found a dead baby snake in my house the first night we moved in – so, I’m really not feeling the whole being snake bait in the name of cleaning my yard<yikes!!!>. So far, I’ve gotten two quotes of $150 and $160, respectively. In addition to that, I have some plumbing issues that, while minor, are irritating as all get out. Let me tell you, having to turn the toilet switch on and off every time you go:> gets really old, really quick…lol.

Anyhow, when a single mama needs extra mullah (for whatever reason), what does she do? Well, she goes into single mama mode, of course, and gets her side hustle on (for those that don’t know, side hustle is another way of saying moonlighting or side job:).

So far, I’ve made a little extra cash to help out with the extra expenses. But, my short-term side hustle goal is to earn (at minimum) an extra $500.00 per month, which shouldn’t be a problem. Eventually, within the next six (6) months, I hope to earn an additional $1000.00 per month.

Why not get a second job you ask? Well, simply because I refuse to. As a single mother, I feel like a barely have enough quality time with my son. I also feel like it’s important for me to be there for him and his activities. On top of that, I don’t think anyone, especially single mothers, should depend on a job for their every cent of their income.

After all, if you think about it, a paycheck from a job is nothing more than an inflated WELFARE check. Hold on now, DON’T GET YOUR PANTIES IN A BUNCH, let me explain. When I was on welfare (yeah, I was on welfare; however, I used for what it was created to be: temporary assistance, not a way of life), I didn’t like that my welfare check determined what I could and couldn’t afford. Basically, it determined where I could live, what I could eat, what I could wear, etc. The same is true of a paycheck. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my paycheck – there’s nothing like a regular check, especially one that covers all the essentials plus some – it’s definitely a beautiful thing. However, as a single mother, sometimes or maybe most of the time, there seems like there’s never enough money. That’s why I firmly believe in the side hustle. My side hustles have kept me from starving in between jobs and have even helped me land better paying gigs because of the experience.

Read my previous Side Hustle posts:

Side Hustles: Make Extra Cash – Part II

Side Hustles: Make Extra Cash – Part III