Many of the firefighters, police officers, and paramedics you know have side hustles. They work as construction laborers, security guards, plumbers, real estate agents, fitness coaches, hospital technicians, etc.

There are a few reasons for this. The first is because we have so much time off and try to pass that time doing something productive. For some of us, if we didn’t have another job, our days off would be spent on the couch watching Netflix. Another reason is to make extra “play” money or to help pay for their child’s college degree. Still others have second jobs because they have to. Some of these folks might have alimony, child support payments, medical bills, or student loans to pay off, but many of them need a second job just to fund their lifestyle. They’re sacrificing their time and peace of mind so that the can drive the newest pickup truck, ride the lightest mountain bike, or go out on the town every night.

The truth is, I don’t need a side hustle to get by. By living within our means, we can pay our bills, fund our retirement accounts, have fun, and put money towards savings every month. If we needed to, we could pay ourselves from our rental income. For now, we’re saving the proceeds from our side hustles to buy a nice piece of land someday.

Besides our rental, here are some of the things we do to bring in some extra cash:

Yard Work

My wife and I take care of our neighbor’s yard. It doesn’t make us a lot of money, but we do it because it’s easy and convenient. It’s their second home, and are rarely there. I mow the grass in the summer and take care of the leaves in the fall, while my wife is responsible for tending their flowerbeds. We only make enough each month to pay our cell phone bill, but it only takes a little of our time. I say it’s worth it.

Overtime

I usually only work a few overtime shifts per year. Some people use it as a treasure trove of easy money, and it makes some sense. Overtime is usually always available, we’re already trained to do the job, and it helps boost our retirement contributions and pension payout calculation. Why don’t I do it more, you may ask? First of all, by living within our means, we don’t actually need the money. I also like to spend time with my family, and I’m already away from them enough as it is. I also get much better sleep when I’m off, and that helps reduce stress and keep me healthy.

By having other side hustles, I diversify my abilities and also spread my risk of unemployment around. Let’s say that I relied on overtime to make ends meet. If I were to lose my job, my primary career and secondary income would be gone in one fell swoop.

My Wife’s Side Hustles

Besides her job as an art teacher at an independent art program in our town, she has a few other gigs going. She has recently started getting paid to write articles for some of the magazines she reads. Her last submission brought in $600! She also scored a job working a few hours a week on a farm at a local boys’ camp during the summer. She gets paid and we get all the free organic produce we want. Last summer, she also hosted an art camp at our house for a week. It worked out so well that she’s going to do another one or two this summer. I might also try my hand at it. I’m thinking I could do a camp related to homesteading skills – chopping wood, fire building, curing meat, etc.

Fallback Side Hustles

Tree Work

I used to be a certified arborist, and I owned a tree service. I sold the business after my daughter was born. Between the fire department and tree work, I was never home. I decided that the extra money wasn’t worth it, and that I wanted to be around to see my daughter grow up. Tree work is also super dangerous. If I had fallen from a tree or cut myself with a chainsaw, it could have threatened my career as a firefighter. My health insurance, retirement savings, job security, etc. would be at risk. I think I made the right choice. If push comes to shove, there is always a market for tree work. I still own enough equipment to get back into it with very little overhead.

Teaching

I come from a family of teachers, so I come by it honestly. I’ve taught fire classes for years at my local community college and our fire academy. I stopped most of my teaching when I became an officer at the fire department. At that point, I was making more at work than I was teaching, and I wasn’t being paid for prep time or travel. I value teaching and passing on knowledge, so I could always pick it up again should we need the money. The opportunity is always there.

My Ideal Side Hustle

I’ve learned so much about personal finance in the last several years. There are also a lot of people out there that could use solid, common-sense advice from people who aren’t trying to sell them something. To that end, I’d like to start offering low-cost, fee-only financial coaching. My target audience would be those who can’t afford or don’t have enough assets for a regular financial advisor. I want to place an emphasis on helping public servants. My goal is to give people the building blocks they need to be able to do it themselves and succeed in retirement.

Since I don’t have any formal training in finance, I’ve been looking into education programs. There is a consortium of universities in the midwest that offers a master’s degree in personal financial planning. I’ve looked into several other programs, but this one looks promising. With scholarships and grants, I should be able to pay for a degree without going into debt for it.

Ideally, I’d be able to build my client base while I’m still working as a firefighter. I could then use these relationships to launch an encore career after I retire. It could provide a steady stream of income in retirement, I would only work when I wanted to, and I’d still be able to help people. Sounds like a good plan to me.

If you could choose from all of the different side hustles out there, what would you do?