How Can You Add Income Without Losing Your Life to a Side Hustle?

Speaker A00:00:00

You know what sounds amazing? Extra income. A little more breathing room in the budget.The ability to say yes without checking your account first, maybe even paying down your debt faster. So you start a side hustle. And at first it feels good. This is great. Empowering even. Until you realize something.You haven't had dinner with your family all week. You're answering emails at 10:00pm, 11:00pm, maybe midnight. Your weekends, they're gone.And that extra income is costing you something you didn't plan to pay your life friend. What if I told you there's a way to add income without sacrificing everything else? What if side hustles don't have to mean burnout?Today, we're going to figure this out together. So here's the question we're tackling today. How can you add income without losing your life to a side hustle?And by the time we're done, you're going to walk away with a completely different way to think about side income and some practical guidelines that protect what matters most and bigger than any of those things, the confidence to choose something that actually serves you instead of draining you. Hey, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here.Welcome to Financially Confident Christian, where we learn how to walk through life and money with wisdom, with peace, and with a heart anchored in God's truth. My mission every day is pretty simple.I want to help you break that cycle of financial shame and build steady habits rooted in faith and become financially confident Christians. I'm so glad you're here today. Thank you for sharing your time with me. Yesterday we finished our Mindset Shift series.We talked about how renewing your mind leads to true financial freedom and how thinking changes before behavior does. But today we're going to kick off at a thing I'm calling Income Week. And I'm starting here because this matters.The way you approach earning more money will either bring you peace or it's going to steal it. And I don't want you accidentally choosing the second one. Here's what someone asked me recently, and maybe you've wondered this too.Ralph, we really need extra income. I mean, we really need it. But I'm already exhausted. How do I add more without breaking? See that question right there? That's not weakness.I love this question because it's self awareness and it deserves a real answer. So let me ask you something. Have you ever wanted two opposite things at the same time? Think about that for a second.Two things that are completely opposite, but you want them at the same time. Let's like this. You need more money but you're already exhausted. You need more rest. You want to be responsible, but you're already running on empty.Man, you. You are running on fumes. So maybe you've looked at a side hustle idea online and, and part of that gets you excited.Oh, you know, I can make some money, I can get myself some margin, pay off some debts. But another part of you thinks, when am I going to do this? Or maybe you've already tried it. You started something, it worked for a few weeks.Then life got heavy, level got real, and you couldn't keep up, so you quit. And now you feel guilty about that too. Friend, if any of that sounds familiar, you're not alone and you're not feeling.You're just trying to navigate something that nobody really taught you how to do in the first place. So here's something I need you to hear. Not all income is good income. I'm going to say it again because so many people, oh, just go get more income.No, not all income is good income. And I know that sounds strange, but it's true.If making extra money cost you your health, if making extra money cost you your relationships, if it cost you your peace of mind, guess what? It's not worth it. A side hustle should serve your life, not hijack it. And if it's doing the opposite, it's time to rethink it.See, I've been helping people with money for a long time now, 30 years to be in fact. And I've seen both sides of this. I've seen people start side hustles that genuinely improved their lives. It was amazing.It gave them flexibility and it reduced stress instead of adding to it. But I've also seen people push themselves to exhaustion.Working nights, working weekends, working holidays, all for money that didn't feel worth it six months later. And the difference wasn't how hard they worked. They both worked hard. It was whether the hustle fit their life or fought against it.Let me tell you about someone I worked with. She needed extra income, debt was piling up, she liked to spend money. So she found a side gig that really paid well. I'm talking about it paid great.And at first it felt like the answer. Money was coming in, progress was happening. But here's the problem. It required her to work every evening after her full time job.Yeah, this wasn't like her main job. This was full time job number two and most weekends. And I remember her telling me she came in to get her tax done, she said something.She said, ralph, I'm making More money than I ever made. But I never see my kids anymore. I'm too tired to enjoy anything and I'm starting to resent this.So we sat down, we had an honest and frank conversation. We looked at her options and I led her to make a hard choice.She let go of that high paying side hustle and she found something simpler, something that fit her schedule. Now, I'd love to tell you she made more money, but she didn't. She made less money per month, but she made something so much bigger.She got her life back. You know what she told me? She said, ralph, I sleep better now.And honestly, I think I manage my money better now because I'm not too exhausted to think straight. So here's the question, and I want you to carry this with you today. Does this side hustle fit my life or does it fight my life?That's what we're talking about. Fit or fight. That one question will save you so much grief and so much heartache. So let's walk through this together.I'm going to give you a framework for thinking about side hustles differently. Not some hypey way, but in a sustainable way. Start with your real life, not your ideal life.So many people go into this idea of, well, if it was ideal, this is what I do. Most people choose a side hustle, but based on what they wish they had time for, not what they actually have time for.Time to be honest with yourself. How much energy do you really have after your full time job? How many weekends can you afford to give up? Realistically, what's already on your plate?You gotta choose something that fits your reality, not some fantasy. Because you've gotta understand flexibility beats high pay. A side hustle that pays great but demands rigid hours, that's a trap.It's a trap because life happens. If you got kids, kids get sick, your car breaks down and you need rest, you got to choose something with flexibility built into it.Something you can pause when you need to. Something that doesn't punish you for being human. Ask yourself this. Can this scale without me?See, some side hustles require you to trade time for money forever. Every dollar you make cost you an hour. Whereas other side hustles let you build something that keeps working even when you're not it.That's beautiful, isn't it? Which one sounds more sustainable to you? So you need to accept the fact that enjoyment isn't optional.If you dread doing it now, you're gonna hate it in three months. Like my client said, you're Going to resent it. So find something you don't mind doing, maybe on something you kind of enjoy doing.Because consistency beats intensity every single time. Because you can't be consistent with, with something you resent with something you hate. And you've got to know why you're doing this.The why is so very important. Are you trying to pay off debt? Are you trying to build an emergency fund? Are you trying to save for something specific?See, when you know your why, you'll know when to stop. But without a clear goal, without a why, side hustles just become another form of lifestyle inflation. I've seen that so many times.Because what happens is you take on that side hustle and then your lifestyle just goes up and up and up and you spend. And then you're dependent on two full time jobs. So I'm going to encourage you to do something right now before you even start. Set some boundaries.Decide right now what days are off limits. Like I'm not working on Sunday, I'm not working on Saturdays, I'm not working at night. Set this boundary. What time do you stop working at night?How many hours a week is your max? Because if you don't set boundaries, your work will expand to fill every single gap.And you're going to wake up one day wondering where your life went. And see it's okay to start small. A lot of people think, well, if I want to do a side hustle, I got to make hundreds and thousands a week.No, you don't need to make $2,000 a month from a side hustle. $200, $300 can make a huge difference in your budget. A small side hustle is an easy way to sustain it. Don't despise small beginnings.That's right from scripture. Choose something that gives your energy back. See, a lot of side hustles drain you. They wear you out. Where others can actually energize you.If you can find something that uses a different part of your brain or lets you do something creative, it might not feel like extra work at all. And remember this, this doesn't have to be forever. The most effective people that I know who do this see side hustles as seasonal.Maybe they help you hit a goal and then you can scale back or stop later. You don't need to build a second career unless that's what you actually want. And most of all, hear me on this. If it's stealing your piece, stop.Just stop. Money is important, but it's not worth your mental health. It's not worth your physical health. It's not worth destroying your relationships.And if a side hustle is making you anxious, if it's hurting those relationships, if you're losing sleep over it, it's okay to walk away. That's not failure. Your peace matters more.Let's look at Matthew, chapter 11, verse 28 Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And see what Jesus isn't calling us to exhaustion here. He's calling us to rest.So if your side hustle is making you weary, if it's making you burdened, that's a sign. And it's not a sign that you're weak. It's a sign that something needs to change.Because God wants you whole, your family wants you whole, not burned out. So here's your one action step for today. I want you to write down three things. First, one, how much time do I actually have available?If you're considering a side hustle, start there. How much time do I actually have available? That's the first thing. Second thing, what's my goal for this extra income?Like we talked about, what's the why am I doing this? Because I need to save for a trip? Do I need to pay down debt? Do I need to build that emergency? What is your goal with this extra income?And then third one, you're going to laugh when I tell you this one. What kind of work would I not hate doing? Yeah, you don't want to go into something you hate doing. If you hate doing it, don't even start.But ask yourself, what kind of work would I not hate doing? Just answer those three questions. That's it. And let clarity lead the way in this decision. Let's pray.Lord, thank you for caring about every part of our lives, including how we make money. Give us wisdom to choose well. Help us see the difference between opportunity and trap. Protect our peace, Lord.Protect our time and protect what matters most. Show us the path that honors you and blesses us. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen, friend.If you're trying to figure out how to make more money without losing yourself in the process, you don't have to do it alone. The financially confident Christian community is full of people navigating this same thing. One member told me recently.This is the first place where I didn't feel judged for needing to make more money or being tired. People here just get it. See, it's not about pressure. It's not about comparison. It's about. It's about real support.So join us at financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join again. That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join. I want to see you join us over there, friend.You don't have to sacrifice your life to improve your finances. You just don't. There's a better way and we're going to keep exploring this this week.Tomorrow we're going to talk about what are the five best side hustles for busy people in 26. That's going to be a show you don't want to miss.And if today helped you, I want to encourage you to share with somebody else who's thinking about starting a side hustle or maybe you know somebody that's in one and you're like Ralph, they are encompassed by this thing. They need to hear what you said today because this show's not about financial shame.It's about learning to walk in wisdom, staying financially savvy and truly becoming a financially confident Christian. God bless you, friend, and I hope you join me again tomorrow.