This weekend I finished watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix.  It’s a really good watch.  Who would have thought it was possible to make money by winning (and just placing in) chess tournaments? In the greater scheme of things, I guess it makes sense.  I just never really thought about chess as a side-hustle.

These days it seems like everyone has a side-hustle—a little something in addition to the regular full-time job (or full-time student gig) to supplement the income.  For some it’s automobile-based….ride sharing or food delivery.  For some it’s a genuine structured second part-time job.  For some it’s renting out that spare room in the basement. For some it’s a multi-level marketing sales thing.  There seem to be nearly as many different side-hustles as there are people….it all depends on your skills and drive.

I don’t currently have a side-hustle of my own.  And I’m starting to think maybe I should.  In my younger years I used to supplement my income by singing with a blues band.  It would yield me a couple hundred extra dollars a month for doing something I truly enjoyed.  But crank the clock ahead by 20 years and that’s not really something I want to do anymore.  My house has an unfinished walkout basement that with some investment could probably be a nice football rental for Penn State home games (once this Covid thing is over and done with).  But that will take more time and money than I have available at the moment.  I enjoy knitting.  I should probably be focusing on knitting something that I could sell on Etsy.  I enjoy thrift shopping.  I should probably look into thrifting items that I could resell online at a profit on sites like eBay and Poshmark.  I enjoy working in spreadsheets.  I should probably be looking into picking up some data entry and formatting work on Fiverr.  I enjoy writing.  I should probably get started on that book I’ve been thinking about writing for the last several years.

Is a side-hustle truly necessary in my life?  No.  Would it help me to attain my financial goals faster?  Definitely.  Would it drain some of my energy to engage in something like this?  Probably.  And that’s why I currently don’t have a side-hustle.  But it’s definitely something I’m going to keep thinking about.  Because putting it out there for everyone to be aware of just may inspire me to take the first steps.

Do you have a side-hustle?  How would you turn your skills into money?