I coach most of my clients on a few simple behavioral strategies that work wonders when you are on the journey to financial peace. To achieve the baby steps, you must a) remain calm and b) get creative with side hustles. If you remain calm, you can think more clearly and make better decisions versus the careless decisions made under duress that simply get you deeper in the hole. Creative side hustles, so as long as they are legal, are a great way to earn extra cash and expedite your plan.
I wanted to find a real-life example of someone who personifies these strategies, particularly over these past few crazy COVID months. And there she was right in front of me all along … my son’s girlfriend, Patricia. She embodies creativity with respect to side hustles and does whatever it takes to survive, payoff debt and get ahead! And her angle is rather fascinating in that any job, no matter what it might be, is not only an opportunity to earn money, learn a new skill and meet new people, it affords her the occasion to “get a great work out on arms, legs, back and torso,” particularly when all these jobs leave no time for the gym. I mean … a girl’s gotta sleep.
Patricia’s background is common for someone in her twenty’s. She put herself through school in Orlando to accomplish her dream of becoming an esthetician. To make this happen, she took on the debt of two student loans totaling $10,000, notwithstanding a portion of the tuition coming out of her savings. While attending school full-time, earning awards, and studying, she worked full time in the evenings as a cocktail waitress at a high-end restaurant. Upon completing her schooling in Orlando, she and my son moved back to West Palm Beach to pursue their respective trades in January 2019.
In their apartment, Patricia is in charge of feathering the nest and early on, decided that the only two new pieces of furniture she wanted were a couch and a mattress. Accordingly, she has a small consumer loan. The rest of their furnishings were sourced at local thrift shops, items her father found on his travels, or friends getting rid of stuff. She has no car payment, but her little clunker, Ruby, a 19-year old Toyota, has over 200,000 miles on it and has had to undergo some pricey face lifts to keep her street worthy. Unless a ton of money is put into Ruby, she won’t be able to do the heavy mileage she did in her younger years. Appropriately, a newer used car is something Patricia wants to purchase…with cash.
In March 2019, shortly after graduation, Patricia started her first esthetician job at a spa in Wellington and was doing ok. She was slowly building her clientele and acquiring knowledge on new techniques in the industry. Additionally, she was learning the delicate balance of sales, which requires really listening to your client and subtly knowing their budget. Patricia was probably making around $400 week, which wasn’t bad, but not what she needed in order to establish an emergency fund, pay off debt and save cash for a newer car.
Supplementing her spa income with three extra side jobs, Patricia took up bar tending at a local brewery on Saturday nights, balloon making for children’s parties on weekends and holidays, and working part-time at a grocery chain earning $10/hour. As a result, she is now a beer aficionado, can twist a balloon into just about any animal you request, and can handle cashiering, stocking shelves and butchering meat like a pro. She wasn’t in love with the grocery job, but to her credit, she maintained her view that this situation was a proper workout: butchering developed her arm strength, cleaning/stocking shelves helped the quads, and being a cashier cultivated excellent customer services skills. Within a few weeks, grocery store management offered her the opportunity to go through their Manager Training Program, which she politely declined.
As Patricia could now safely count on just under $600/week with these four jobs, the pandemic hit and all “non-essential” small business owners were forced to close their shops. Buh-bye spa, balloon making and brewery. Her income went well below her minimal needs. Even full time at the grocery store would just not cut it.
Since she’s not a quitter, Patricia refused to file for unemployment and decided to secure Job #5 working for a local handyman who had lots of work on his plate. She paints, sands, and installs flooring (again all body workouts in her mind). Her sixth job, assisting a successful seamstress with fabric organization at her studio, takes up one day per week. She measures, cuts, and organizes fabric according to color and material types.
Now that Florida is, again, in business, the spa has re-opened and Patricia has resumed her esthetician career, which she loves so very much. The brewery, which is back up and running, has increased her shift to two prime nights per week (Thursdays and Fridays) and she continues to assist the seamstress with her studio. Additionally, she continues to work with the handyman for any sanding, painting, and floor installations, if she can fit them in her schedule. She did, however, decide to leave the grocery business and balloon making…for the time being. With her main job and 3 side hustles, this past weekend alone, Patricia earned just over $1,000 in take home. This may not be the case every week, but anything over and above her zero-based budget goes towards either debt or her new car.
I have no doubt Patricia will succeed in life, particularly as an esthetician. But if for any reason, she takes another path, I know this about her… she gives her all in any job she does no matter how odd it seems, she makes a point of getting to know the perspective of everyone she meets, and she allows people to inspire her.
And this brings me to our Thought of the Day: "Accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart." – Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor and Philosopher
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