Income
Do You Make Enough for FIRE?
A good way to determine if you make enough money is to use the FIRE calculator from Walletburst. If you find out the age you can retire is way passed when you want to retire that means you need to make more money or lower your expenses.
Your income from your employer is your first source of cash flow. In order to achieve FIRE, it helps to have a high income so you can invest your spare cash. However, it isn’t a requirement. If your primary income isn’t enough you have some options besides another regular part-time job. An option I like is side hustles.
Another option is to improve your current situation. If you think you deserve a raise ask for one! If you don’t but still think you deserve some additional perks ask for something smaller like an extra week of vacation or for your employer to cover your phone bill (because you use it for work). I did all of those things at my current job.
Side Hustles
A side hustle is a way to make money that doesn’t interfere with your full-time job.
One option I tried is driving for Skip The Dishes. The pros are it’s easy to start and you can work pretty much whenever you have time in your schedule. Shifts are 3-4 hours long. On my best night, I made $80. On the flip side, on my worst night, I made $50. Even at $50 a night for two nights a week that’s an extra $400 a month! Plus you can claim business expenses and wear and tear on your car.
Other options for low commitment part-time work include driving for Uber, Lyft or Spot Walk for dog walking.
If you are more creative, you can make and sell a product such as candles, bead oils, or paintings. Just make sure that you can sell the product for more than it costs to produce or ideally at least a 20% profit margin.